Can some one post pics of your Black Silkies

[RAREROO]

Hi

I have to Silkies that I hatched from eggs that I bought from a man, be said they are black Silkies, they are kinda black but they have redish coloring also, but they are too black to be Partridges,
Has anyone else had this happen or do you think mine are a cross of colors? I'll try to get pics soon. But I would like to see some pics of other black Silkies to compare. Partridge silkies to if you have them.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

How about black showgirls?

If they are mostly black with some red/buff showing through, they could be from a mixed color flock. Some folks call those calico silkies.

 

[RAREROO]

Yeah, that's what mine look like, that's not "real" black is it?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
Silkies don't seem as black because they don't have that glossy sheen that hard-feathered breeds have.

Such as:

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I will disagree about silkies lacking a sheen. I have seen many black silkies with exactly that black sheen. I used to have one.

My question on the black with red showing. WHERE is the red, and how old is the bird?

Black showing red is not calico. The colours that have been called calico are grey with red shoulders and splash with red showing in various parts of the plumage.

Most silkies are built upon e^b, so partridge is a very easy colour to achieve--just add the pattern gene.

 

[jimnjay]

I have found Black Silkies are very difficult to capture in photographs. This is a black bird with a beautiful gloss but she lacks the beetle green sheen you often see in Cochins or Australorps. I do have a little girl I recently acquired that shows the green sheen and it is beautiful. I have also found that the males are more likely to show the Purple sheen or Green sheen in the feathers. The males bird is naturally more colorful than the female.

In my experience I have found that if the color in a bird does not please you, find a different bird unless it is exceptional in every other way. It seems color is something that keeps popping up down the road.

 

[Vanessabuffsnsilkies]

here's my little black silkie pullet

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

This silkie hen is not mine but I bought eggs from her and a couple other silkie hens just like her. This hen belongs to Shagbark Silkies. I've read that blacks can sometimes have red "bleed through" especially in their hackles...but it is not ideal for breeding black silkies. I have 5 black 3 month old babies and they are coal black. The eggs for them came from a breeder in Idaho.