So, of the silkie crosses I hatched in December I have kept three. Two of them I sent eggshells in for DNA testing and have been identified as female. The third one is identified as female through dermal sex linking. I thought it would be fun and possibly informative for some others to document their development, so I decided to start this thread.
The first is Iris, hatched 12/4. I posted about Iris earlier, in a thread about eggshell DNA testing.
She is half silkie, half olive egger (ameraucana/BCM)
Really thought she was blue when she hatched but she is feathering in black. Her crest is developing and she also has significant ameraucana cheeks and beard. Not sure if her comb is flat silkie type or pea comb from her ameraucana grandparent. Some of the other chicks of this cross had single combs.
From what I could figure she has a 50-50 chance of laying a lighter olive green egg then her mother or possibly a dark brown egg.
Second one is Ivy who is Iris’ full sibling though she hatched on 12/24. She was black at hatch and she reminds me of a baby crow. She also has fluffy cheeks and a beard like her sister. I sent her eggshell in for DNA testing as well and the results came back female.
Lastly is Poppy. She also hatched 12/24. Her mother is a leghorn cross that I hatched from a grocery store egg last summer. She is a dermal sex link and is female based on this information despite the huge comb! She is quite the character and has her mother’s awesome personality!
Wondering if she will have the same egg laying ability of her mother or if she inherits this from the silkie side of the family!
Planning to update this thread now and then and in the end see if they are all indeed pullets and my other presumptions are correct!
The first is Iris, hatched 12/4. I posted about Iris earlier, in a thread about eggshell DNA testing.
She is half silkie, half olive egger (ameraucana/BCM)
Really thought she was blue when she hatched but she is feathering in black. Her crest is developing and she also has significant ameraucana cheeks and beard. Not sure if her comb is flat silkie type or pea comb from her ameraucana grandparent. Some of the other chicks of this cross had single combs.
From what I could figure she has a 50-50 chance of laying a lighter olive green egg then her mother or possibly a dark brown egg.
Second one is Ivy who is Iris’ full sibling though she hatched on 12/24. She was black at hatch and she reminds me of a baby crow. She also has fluffy cheeks and a beard like her sister. I sent her eggshell in for DNA testing as well and the results came back female.
Lastly is Poppy. She also hatched 12/24. Her mother is a leghorn cross that I hatched from a grocery store egg last summer. She is a dermal sex link and is female based on this information despite the huge comb! She is quite the character and has her mother’s awesome personality!
Wondering if she will have the same egg laying ability of her mother or if she inherits this from the silkie side of the family!
Planning to update this thread now and then and in the end see if they are all indeed pullets and my other presumptions are correct!
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