Getting Started With Silkies! Some questions.....

[PioneerChicks]

Okay, here is one compared to a medium sized standard chicken egg.View attachment 2017764Silkie egg on the right.

Woah, that's big! Mine are still small, hopefully just because they're pullet eggs.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Woah, that's big! Mine are still small, hopefully just because they're pullet eggs.

Yeah, how long have they been laying for?

 

[PioneerChicks]

Yeah, how long have they been laying for?

A couple of months. They started mid-winter with a bang. Really, they all started within a week of each other!

 

[MysteryChicken]

A couple of months. They started mid-winter with a bang. Really, they all started within a week of each other!

Mine all started laying late summer.
They'll get a hang of things.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Thanks for the tag, @cluckmecoop7! Very flattering!

Glad you're getting into silkies, they rock! Blues are a great color, and silkies are very addicting! I don't know much about genetics, but I do know a bit about the BBS rules:
Blue and blue make 25 percent black, 25 percent splash, and 50 percent blue.
Blue and black make 50 percent black, fifty percent blue.
Blue and splash make 50 percent blue, fifty percent splash.
Black and black make 100 percent black.
Splash and splash make 100 percent splash.
Black and splash make 100 percent blue.

If that is wrong than please tell me. I don't know anything about genetics beyond that, but @MysteryChicken might be able to help.

One warning I have for you is that silkie feathers are NOT waterproof, and they aren't afraid to stand in the rain and get soaked. Several times I've had to blow-dry them at night before it gets below freezing and they freeze. If I could start over with silkies I would get them a huge covered run.

My silkies are actually great layers! So are the silkies of other silkie keepers on here, I've heard. Enjoy your silkie and have a great day!

Maybe @Fur-N-Fowl and @HuffleClaw and @silkiemother will give you their opinions.

Thankyou for the mention!

@americanchicks I can’t advise on breeding greys with blues as grey isn’t a colour I’ve personally kept or bred myself. I’m happy to help whenever you need it though!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thankyou for the mention!

@americanchicks I can’t advise on breeding greys with blues as grey isn’t a colour I’ve personally kept or bred myself. I’m happy to help whenever you need it though!

Grey is Silver, or Silver based Blue Partridge, or Silver based Blue.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Grey is Silver, or Silver based Blue Partridge, or Silver based Blue.

Yes, not a colour I’ve ever had myself since it’s not standard

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

If you love Silkies, it don’t really matter what color they are I think your combo would work, though.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

If you love Silkies, it don’t really matter what color they are I think your combo would work, though.

That’s true, I love all colours of Silkies. I’ve even kept Cuckoo Silkies at one point but I’m personally limited to space and since I show, there is no point in me keeping colours that aren’t accepted in my country.

If I had the space, I’d keep all the colours and test out what colours I could get by mixing colours etc

I wish more colours were accepted for showing but there isn’t enough breeders to achieve it at the moment

 

[MysteryChicken]

Yes, not a colour I’ve ever had myself since it’s not standard

I haven't had the color yet either, but I can probably produce a gold based blue using my blue partridge & a dominate white hen, or pullets.