Giant Silkie Project.

[MysteryChicken]

Before the color change.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My birds are like a Mysterious Genetics Soup. Seems like there's always a surprise somewhere.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

@RoostersAreAwesome, I have a LF White Silkie hen who is changing colors. Molting out her White Plumage, & replacing with Yellow, & Gray feathers. Curious what you have to say about this.

(NOTE: She's the mother of the White Chick, & a Silver Partridge with Silver Neck chick)

here's pictures of her odd color change.
View attachment 2796555View attachment 2796556View attachment 2796557View attachment 2796558View attachment 2796559View attachment 2796560View attachment 2796561View attachment 2796562View attachment 2796563

Looks like she’s either actually heterozygous dominant white (paint) with leakage, or silver. I think she’s a paint with leakage.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks like she’s either actually heterozygous dominant white (paint) with leakage, or silver. I think she’s a paint with leakage.

She's 4 years old, so how does color appear so late in age? She's from my original stock.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

She's 4 years old, so how does color appear so late in age? She's from my original stock.

I don’t know, but I’ve read that paints can get a little more black as they age.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I don’t know, but I’ve read that paints can get a little more black as they age.

It's not black, it's gray. Hoover's doesn't carry paints. Plus the yellow color is also odd.

The parents of Poof.

Mother.

Father

The father is starting to go through a color change too, but I'll have to get a picture of that when I get the chance.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I don’t know, but I’ve read that paints can get a little more black as they age.

Could it be Autosomal Red? All my white silkies hatch a reddish color often referred as Dun.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

It's not black, it's gray. Hoover's doesn't carry paints. Plus the yellow color is also odd.

The parents of Poof.

Mother.View attachment 2796774FatherView attachment 2796775The father is starting to go through a color change too, but I'll have to get a picture of that when I get the chance.

Blue paint then? Hoover’s might mix the colors of their silkies a bit. I’ve seen it a lot with silkies in general. There’s also silver, though I would expect more of a pattern rather than spots with silver.

Could it be Autosomal Red? All my white silkies hatch a reddish color often referred as Dun.

Yes, but that wouldn’t appear on a recessive white silkie.
Dun? Genetically, that’s extremely improbable. They’re hatchery silkies, right?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Blue paint then? Hoover’s might mix the colors of their silkies a bit. I’ve seen it a lot with silkies in general. There’s also silver, though I would expect more of a pattern rather than spots with silver.

Yes, but that wouldn’t appear on a recessive white silkie.
Dun? Genetically, that’s extremely improbable. They’re hatchery silkies, right?

Not the actual color dun, it's just a color that describes the reddish color of the white chick down. Often seen with dominant white chicks. Recessive white has a silver tone in chick down.


Not sure about the mixing, but possible.

Yep, hatchery silkies.

Only ones I got from a SQ Breeder are some Bantam Silkies from show stock aren't hatchery birds, which are Blue Partridge, Black, & Partridge.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Examples of what's referred to as Dun chick down.

The headspot chick is a Satin.