Chabo Silkie Cross

[forfelyx]

Hiya! I'm excited to announce that my dear silkie hen Malf has successfully hatched four beautiful chicks. The father is a young Chabo (Japanese Bantam) roo we call Solaire. The little crosses all appear healthy and happy, but I had a question. The first three eggs all hatched right on time, all with their mother's signature five toes, but the last egg hatched five days late, and I noticed something peculiar about her toes. She appears perfectly healthy, with her fathers four toes, but the fourth toe faces completely forward - like a dinosaur - rather than backward like a normal chicken. I'm just curious, what the occurrance rate for this trait is and if anyone else has had chicks with non-opposable toes, and if so, any problems the little runt may face. Malf has been a gracious mother thus far, sitting faithfully on the late hatcher despite her older peepers becoming quite rambunctious. I'll try to post some pictures when I'm not on mobile. So yeah! Just a question about my littlest one.

 

[MageofMist]

I haven't had any hatch with dino feet, but I have had silkies hatch missing their second back toe or having them fused together... And in one case, one back toe being normal and the other being like a pea attached to it and some that had pink or orange toes that later turned the dark grey as they grew. All of them are just as agile and healthy as the ones with the more regular looking feet.

I also have one with odd feet, one foot has doubled back toes, while the other foot has a single back toe.

 

[forfelyx]

I haven't had any hatch with dino feet, but I have had silkies hatch missing their second back toe or having them fused together... And in one case, one back toe being normal and the other being like a pea attached to it and some that had pink or orange toes that later turned the dark grey as they grew. All of them are just as agile and healthy as the ones with the more regular looking feet.

I also have one with odd feet, one foot has doubled back toes, while the other foot has a single back toe.

Oh wow! Iguess thatmeans theres nothing to worry about, but still cool! It's amazing the variation between them! I never thought about odd-toed!

 

[ikkir11]

I may have a similar cross. Black Silkie hen and black tailed buff Japanese. She’s setting now. Do you have any pics of yours?