Is this silkie hen chocolate or black?

[Slothinc]

Hello! I have this silkie hen (she doesn’t really look like a hen because she has no crest, but she does lay eggs!) and I have always just assumed she was a sun bleached black. But I was looking at her today wondering if she might actually be chocolate. Especially next to my black chicks. In the pic with the black chicks she’s on the far right. Any idea?? Sorry the pics aren’t great.

 

[Slothinc]

I guess I’m wondering if it’s possible to tell the difference between sun bleached black and chocolate from just looking? Or do you have to know the genetics?

 

[JedJackson]

It's not pure black. Whether it's chocolate is another question, and I'm not sure of the answer. Hopefully a Silkie specialist will help out, but it could take time. You could also post in the genetics thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/exhibition-genetics-breeding-to-the-sop.16188/

My personal hunch is that it is a mix of colors, maybe Partridge or Buff mixed with black. Also, Silkies are well known for having hidden color genes that can pop up. For instance, a pair of white Silkies can occasionally have a partridge chick. So it's complicated.

 

[Slothinc]

It's not pure black. Whether it's chocolate is another question, and I'm not sure of the answer. Hopefully a Silkie specialist will help out, but it could take time. You could also post in the genetics thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/exhibition-genetics-breeding-to-the-sop.16188/

My personal hunch is that it is a mix of colors, maybe Partridge or Buff mixed with black. Also, Silkies are well known for having hidden color genes that can pop up. For instance, a pair of white Silkies can occasionally have a partridge chick. So it's complicated.

Thank you so much! That makes sense! This chick was hatched by my flock (when it was under the care of someone else) but I haven’t ever had any chocolates, so I would have been surprised. I do have a gold birchen silkie hen that I think is probably her mother - she has a darker brown tint to her feathers.