Cuckoo Silkies by accident. YAY!!

[FlightsofFancy]

I bred my Calico Silkie rooster (pictured) who has some barring on his tail and wings, to a pure Buff and got some broken black and white cuckooish looking chicks. Tell me what you think and what might happen if I breed them back to each other. Can I improve on the barring and how?


Rooster

Chicks

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

The chicks look Grey to me.

 

[Illia]

I believe what you're seeing is pencilling, not barring. Sorry.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Here are my 2 grey pullets.

 

[FlightsofFancy]

Quote:
EWWW! I knew I wasn't that lucky. haha!

Can someone explain penciling and barring?

 

[Illia]

Barring is when the feather is actually barred, stripes that run from edge to edge without curving. They have their own gene, B/- or B/b+

Pencilling is when black will lace the inner, outer, or both on the feather. It will appear curved in the shape of the feather. Pencilling is often from crossing colors relative to Partridge, Columbian (I think) BBR, Duckwing, and so on.

 

[FlightsofFancy]

side view

Wing

 

[FlightsofFancy]

So on the pictures I just posted....Would you say we have a gray/black wing with white penciling? Just trying to understand.....

 

[SilkieCRZYness]

I think that now that you posted the wing picture they might take back the penciling, looks barred to me on the Wing feathers, look like gray/cuckoo

 

[Illia]

The wings do look barred, the rest of the bird not so much. I'd say try and keep working on the Silkies with the most barred feathers. . . That or get yourself some Cuckoos to improve your current birds.