Is this cross-breed growing silkie-type feathers?

[shanadienne]

This little chick is a hodgepodge of breeds, with Silkie ancestry on both sides.


(Taken at six days old. Just to give you an idea of what he looks like overall.)

I noticed something freaky was going on with its feathers and I was kinda worried until I realized they looked an awful lot like silkie wing feathers. But I haven't owned many so I'm not one hundred percent certain on that.


(Taken at eight days old.)


(Today, thirteen days old.)

More importantly, it's growing more wing feathers on its shoulders that I would expect to be silkie-like but they don't look very fluffy to me.







Thoughts? Is he going to be a variegated fluff ball? Do I just have to wait?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Looks like it'll have Silkie feathers to me!

 

[ChickenHermit]

x2

 

[shanadienne]

Eee! Thank you.

This is gonna be one freaky chicken. If it turns out female, it has at least a fifty-fifty chance of laying green eggs.

 

[ChickenHermit]

I'm intrigued by the color- definitely post pics as she/he gets older!Would love to see.

 

[shanadienne]

Is there a way to tell yet if it's going to be mottled? S/he's part Mille Fleur too.

 

[ChickenHermit]

I've found with my mottleds (Japanese, milles and cochins) often the mottling is minimal in their initial feathering, and comes through more and more with successive molts. I have no idea how it would express itself on silkie feathering, though! Does the chick have mottled ancestry on both sides? It's recessive, so both parents would need to carry the gene.

 

[shanadienne]

It should be just as likely as the chick being silkie. Its grandfather is half Mille Fleur and half Silkie; he and his male offspring are the only potential fathers.

 

[shanadienne]

Update on feathers. Gotta wonder what his tail is going to look like.

 

[ChickenHermit]

Interesting. Maybe getting a tail that's a little more towards the D'uccle side?