My first perfect hatch; 7/7 Silkies!

[LadiesAndJane]

This is the one that feathered in all white:

 

[- Serama Mama -]

First two look black, third one likely silver partridge, Chipmunk striped ones (all of them) are also likely brown based partridge. Chococlate one will likely stay that color. Other multicolor one (lighter brown) just may end up being calico or possibly white. I had a lighter one that I thought was a calico and feathered in all white.
They are all so adorable!

Thank you for the clarity on the colors!

Yay! I feel like I could just jump to the moon right now I'm so excited! Chocolate is definitely a new color for us. And if that other one winds up feathering out all white, that would be wild! We were lucky enough to get the ONE white one we have on the last hatch; of the 3, he's the only one with a visible comb but he's also the smallest in terms of growth so I've been really happy with the color assortments we've gotten from the particular seller. My other little light partridge up there has some barring or cuckoo like stripes on his wings that are becoming more noticeable but he's also getting some of the red leakage on his back and wings as well But he's still absolutely beautiful!

I agreed to split this hatch with my partner and another lady who had been coming and taking some of my chickens that needed re-homed as I selected for breeding stock but now, I may wind up keeping more than I originally intended to

I candled the rest of the eggs in there (*the randoms I've been pulling out of the nesting boxes that my 5 month old Serama pullets have been laying) and was pleasantly shocked to discover at least another 7-8 developing, with perfect air cells and everything! This has definitely turned out to be my best hatch ever!

 

[- Serama Mama -]

This is the one that feathered in all white:

Wow! No kidding?! Like a stark white or something a little off-white? I love the lightish gray/dun coloring on her. I would've pegged that one as partridge based on the coloring. Silkies are always such little mysteries! Between the difficulty is sexing them, how many colors there are, trying to determine the beak shape and size and the way they walk...they are such a fun breed.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Stark white, here he is now:

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Thank you for the clarity on the colors!

Yay! I feel like I could just jump to the moon right now I'm so excited! Chocolate is definitely a new color for us. And if that other one winds up feathering out all white, that would be wild! We were lucky enough to get the ONE white one we have on the last hatch; of the 3, he's the only one with a visible comb but he's also the smallest in terms of growth so I've been really happy with the color assortments we've gotten from the particular seller. My other little light partridge up there has some barring or cuckoo like stripes on his wings that are becoming more noticeable but he's also getting some of the red leakage on his back and wings as well But he's still absolutely beautiful!

I agreed to split this hatch with my partner and another lady who had been coming and taking some of my chickens that needed re-homed as I selected for breeding stock but now, I may wind up keeping more than I originally intended to

I candled the rest of the eggs in there (*the randoms I've been pulling out of the nesting boxes that my 5 month old Serama pullets have been laying) and was pleasantly shocked to discover at least another 7-8 developing, with perfect air cells and everything! This has definitely turned out to be my best hatch ever!

Happy for you! Remember these are just slightly educated guesses on my part! Wait to part with any until they feather in a bit!

 

[- Serama Mama -]

Oh absolutely! No chicken has ever left my clutches until their juvenile feathers have come in...can't risk giving away the pick(s) of the litter! Heh. My partner in all the chicken stuff, she's dying to bring hers home within the week so I might have to pump her brakes a bit! But even waiting til the juvenile feathers come in, you STILL don't know who will eventually wind up looking like what. One of the roos I gave her earlier this spring turned out to be this beautiful blonde, barred, gorgeous guy and one of the hens has the mille fleur I was looking for! And I wound up keeping this all cream colored skittish weirdo hen and the rooster I wound up with (that looked like a twin of hers) wound up being my calico jerk chicken who flew into the trees and stayed outside overnight But! At least they're with my partner and not somewhere else; we're doing this breeding project together full on and I know both our SOs are a little jealous cuz she and I have just been magnetized to each other lately. They just don't get the chicken obsession, haha, so it's SO nice for us to get on here and see we're definitely not alone!

Your silkie up there, btw, absolutely beautiful I would NEVER have pegged that chick as being white! Mine was a slight buff color at first and then lightened out over the first 3 days.

Thank you again for your responses! And I hope you have a great weekend!

 

[LynnaePB]

Ok! Took some pics in better lighting so here's everyone

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Two of the dark ones. Guessing black but they've both got the silver/blond tips on the end that Hershey, from the last batch, had as well so don't know if fully black or if they'll have the black undercoat and some silver or blond on top!
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This is the third "black" one but we notice a lot of grayish blue? So that's the one we suspect isn't going to be black
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This is one of my suspected chocolates!
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This is the other chocolate-y looking gal and one of the chipmunk partridges! Of course both can't look at me at the same time
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A better look at the other little brown one...
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And then this is the first one to hatch, the little chipmunk partridge with the curly toes. I've got her little "sandals" on already Stopped at Walmart for masking tape first thing this morning to give her the best shot at fixing this!

I will add more photos as they grow! Thanks everyone for your very kind and gracious comments. They mean a lot to me ❤ I feel like I worked so hard to get to this point!

Sorry for the late reply, glad jmns has covered things!

I'm happy to give my opinion as well, silkie colors sure are interesting!

If these guys were from a mixed color pen it's really hard to pin down what they might actually be without knowing what parents they had. Chick down can sometimes be deceiving or at the very least not give a lot of hints into some aspects of color!

The first two look black. Seeing as you had that cute little silver partridge from the same breeder that didn't have stripes who knows though.

The third one reminds me of maybe a dark blue (some of my black from paints look that light though so it might still be black). Again who knows though could end up silver partridge seeing as you got non striped partridges in the last batch.

The 4th chocolaty one looks like it has partridge like markings around the eyes. Any faint stripes on the back or a solid color on the back on that one? Reminds me of a gold based partridge from what I can see (so normal partridge). If the breeder had chocolate in their flock you could have a chocolate partridge, I can't say from chick down though on a partridge looking chick.

The other chocolaty looking one also looks like it has partridge influence to me, any faint stripes on that ones back? I'm really curious about this one as I haven't seen a chick like it before, I can't wait to see what she or he turns out like!

The chipmunk partridges are lighter than any of the partridges I've had before. I suspect they will end up quite a light colored partridge (lots of gold) as the chicks I've seen this light before seem to end up as light partridges. I think they will be gold but who knows maybe they are getting that redish tint from something besides gold ground color and they could possibly be silver based. If they are getting a red tint from something like autosomal red than they might end up silver partridge with red leakage making them what some call tortoiseshell or calico (pretty much any tri colored calico like bird can be called calico though there are all sorts of different genetics that can make calico like birds). I'm not even sure autosomal red can give a red tint to down but I had a gray (silver partridge) with red leakage that had some redish tint as a chick. I guess you could call mine tortoiseshell (I've only ever seen silver partridge/grays with red leakage being called that unlike calico which a lot of varieties are called).

I'm not sure this is helpful but here are some of my chicks that had partridge like down as chicks and what they turned out like as cockerels/pullets. Sorry the lighting is all over the place in the pictures!

Here is a partridge (albeit a bit dark)

Here are some red partridges (used to pair with dominant white to get red pyle)

Here is the gray/silver partridge boy with red leakage (tortoiseshell)

Here is another silver partridge with red leakage that I believe is blue silver partridge due to the lighter color. He may also be golden (one copy of silver one of gold) rather than silver partridge as it can be hard to tell and sometimes it looks like he has a bit of yellowness to his silver hackles. He didn't have obvious stripes as a chick.

Here is a little chick that had partridge like markings on her face but not her back. Her two female siblings were both normal partridge. She turned out looking blue with a kind of chocolate/brown tint to her feathers.

This is the one that feathered in all white:
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I just thought I'd mention your little cutie is that color because he is a silver based white. Reccessive white silkies aren't exactly the whitest looking chicks (the gold based ones can look almost buff and the silver based ones like your cutie). I think the deeper grey/smokey color goes more along with males, though I've got a girl from a paint line that had a smokey grey tint and two of her daughters did as well. I've seen some silver based white chicks from other breeders that were super dark, almost black looking, it was wild!

If you breed your silver based boy to your white girl you should get silver based female offspring as it is sex linked. Female offspring always get their ground color from their dad. Male offspring get one copy from dad and one copy from mom so they have two ground color genes. If you do breed I'd love to know if the female offspring look smokey like dad. From what I've seen it doesn't show up in the females very often as they only have the one copy of ground color instead of two like the males. My girls clearly express it and I'd love to see more examples of girls who express it too if they pop up.

The silver ground color in whites is good for making a nice crisp white that is less prone to yellowing (some males may show a bit of gray occasionally but usually still look fairly white).

Here is my little silver gene girl as a chick and as a pullet and her daughters who also both turned out very white.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Oh absolutely! No chicken has ever left my clutches until their juvenile feathers have come in...can't risk giving away the pick(s) of the litter! Heh. My partner in all the chicken stuff, she's dying to bring hers home within the week so I might have to pump her brakes a bit! But even waiting til the juvenile feathers come in, you STILL don't know who will eventually wind up looking like what. One of the roos I gave her earlier this spring turned out to be this beautiful blonde, barred, gorgeous guy and one of the hens has the mille fleur I was looking for! And I wound up keeping this all cream colored skittish weirdo hen and the rooster I wound up with (that looked like a twin of hers) wound up being my calico jerk chicken who flew into the trees and stayed outside overnight But! At least they're with my partner and not somewhere else; we're doing this breeding project together full on and I know both our SOs are a little jealous cuz she and I have just been magnetized to each other lately. They just don't get the chicken obsession, haha, so it's SO nice for us to get on here and see we're definitely not alone!

Your silkie up there, btw, absolutely beautiful I would NEVER have pegged that chick as being white! Mine was a slight buff color at first and then lightened out over the first 3 days.

Thank you again for your responses! And I hope you have a great weekend!

You are quite welcome! My family doesn’t get my chicken obsession either!
Hope you have a lovely week-end, too.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Sorry for the late reply, glad jmns has covered things!

I'm happy to give my opinion as well, silkie colors sure are interesting!

If these guys were from a mixed color pen it's really hard to pin down what they might actually be without knowing what parents they had. Chick down can sometimes be deceiving or at the very least not give a lot of hints into some aspects of color!

The first two look black. Seeing as you had that cute little silver partridge from the same breeder that didn't have stripes who knows though.

The third one reminds me of maybe a dark blue (some of my black from paints look that light though so it might still be black). Again who knows though could end up silver partridge seeing as you got non striped partridges in the last batch.

The 4th chocolaty one looks like it has partridge like markings around the eyes. Any faint stripes on the back or a solid color on the back on that one? Reminds me of a gold based partridge from what I can see (so normal partridge). If the breeder had chocolate in their flock you could have a chocolate partridge, I can't say from chick down though on a partridge looking chick.

The other chocolaty looking one also looks like it has partridge influence to me, any faint stripes on that ones back? I'm really curious about this one as I haven't seen a chick like it before, I can't wait to see what she or he turns out like!

The chipmunk partridges are lighter than any of the partridges I've had before. I suspect they will end up quite a light colored partridge (lots of gold) as the chicks I've seen this light before seem to end up as light partridges. I think they will be gold but who knows maybe they are getting that redish tint from something besides gold ground color and they could possibly be silver based. If they are getting a red tint from something like autosomal red than they might end up silver partridge with red leakage making them what some call tortoiseshell or calico (pretty much any tri colored calico like bird can be called calico though there are all sorts of different genetics that can make calico like birds). I'm not even sure autosomal red can give a red tint to down but I had a gray (silver partridge) with red leakage that had some redish tint as a chick. I guess you could call mine tortoiseshell (I've only ever seen silver partridge/grays with red leakage being called that unlike calico which a lot of varieties are called).

I'm not sure this is helpful but here are some of my chicks that had partridge like down as chicks and what they turned out like as cockerels/pullets. Sorry the lighting is all over the place in the pictures!

Here is a partridge (albeit a bit dark)


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Here are some red partridges (used to pair with dominant white to get red pyle)

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Here is the gray/silver partridge boy with red leakage (tortoiseshell)

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Here is another silver partridge with red leakage that I believe is blue silver partridge due to the lighter color. He may also be golden (one copy of silver one of gold) rather than silver partridge as it can be hard to tell and sometimes it looks like he has a bit of yellowness to his silver hackles. He didn't have obvious stripes as a chick.

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Here is a little chick that had partridge like markings on her face but not her back. Her two female siblings were both normal partridge. She turned out looking blue with a kind of chocolate/brown tint to her feathers.

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I just thought I'd mention your little cutie is that color because he is a silver based white. Reccessive white silkies aren't exactly the whitest looking chicks (the gold based ones can look almost buff and the silver based ones like your cutie). I think the deeper grey/smokey color goes more along with males, though I've got a girl from a paint line that had a smokey grey tint and two of her daughters did as well. I've seen some silver based white chicks from other breeders that were super dark, almost black looking, it was wild!

If you breed your silver based boy to your white girl you should get silver based female offspring as it is sex linked. Female offspring always get their ground color from their dad. Male offspring get one copy from dad and one copy from mom so they have two ground color genes. If you do breed I'd love to know if the female offspring look smokey like dad. From what I've seen it doesn't show up in the females very often as they only have the one copy of ground color instead of two like the males. My girls clearly express it and I'd love to see more examples of girls who express it too if they pop up.

The silver ground color in whites is good for making a nice crisp white that is less prone to yellowing (some males may show a bit of gray occasionally but usually still look fairly white).

Here is my little silver gene girl as a chick and as a pullet and her daughters who also both turned out very white.

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Love all the detail here! Your silkies are all just gorgeous! This color genetics is so fascinating and cool. My other white silkie was warm yellow as a chick. I was sure she was buff!
So you are saying the two whites offspring should be sex linked? Smokey down girls and buff down boys? So cool, I will definitely let you know. Any ideas what my silver based male will do with my very gold looking partridge? She also has very blue/grey under all the gold. Yes I know, not suppose to breed these two colors, but I live on an island, no one is showing silkies here and I sincerely doubt I will be shipping eggs or chicks off island.
He came from a several generation all white pen.
Thanks!

 

[LynnaePB]

Love all the detail here! Your silkies are all just gorgeous! ❤ This color genetics is so fascinating and cool. My other white silkie was warm yellow as a chick. I was sure she was buff!
So you are saying the two whites offspring should be sex linked? Smokey down girls and buff down boys? So cool, I will definitely let you know. Any ideas what my silver based male will do with my very gold looking partridge? She also has very blue/grey under all the gold. Yes I know, not suppose to breed these two colors, but I live on an island, no one is showing silkies here and I sincerely doubt I will be shipping eggs or chicks off island.
He came from a several generation all white pen.
Thanks!

Thank you!

I had a little recessive white girl I hatched that was really hard to tell from a buff too. I suspect she was probably gold based, maybe your little white girl is as well. She still might be silver based and the one copy of silver just doesn't shine through though.

The ground color is sex linked but I don't really know that it'll be obvious which one has which ground color at hatch. Maybe I shouldn't have called it sex linked but rather just said the father determines the ground color in girls. I just really like the bright white of the silver gene so thought it would be nice to know your females would all have that with your silver gene boy as the father. I am really interested to see if the females hatched do actually express the smokey color in yours like they do in mine though!

If your white girl is gold based the male offspring would carry both silver and gold (I've seen it called golden before). I'm not sure how the down would look in these. I think the silver tends to be more dominant than the gold in golden males but it's still a bit different looking than a silver/silver male in colors where ground color is more obvious (like partridge).

As far as what you might get with your silver gene white boy over the partridge girl it is a bit hard to say. Recessive white is really good at hiding other colors. That being said I've heard a lot of recessive whites are partridge under the white. If your silver gene boy is like a lot of recessive whites and carries partridge than you could get partridge offspring from the pair. They will all carry a recessive white gene from dad and if bred back to a recessive white would produce 50% recessive white offspring.

If your boy is partridge under the white you should get silver partridge females and golden partridge males from the pairing. It sounds like your partridge girl may also be blue rather than black so you might also get 50% that have the lighter blue underfluff if that is the case.

If you try out the white/partridge pairing what offspring you do get hopefully will help to figure out what color dad is underneath the white.

I'm definitely not one to judge when it comes to mixing colors. I know some breeders really discourage it but I don't have anything against it as long as someone is upfront about their chicks coming from a mixed color pen when selling. I myself am trying to breed my paints to standard but I also really like the calico look of some color combos and I'll be doing that as a fun project as well hopefully next year. It sounds like the arguments against mixing colors really don't apply much to where you live anyway so that is a bonus!

I can't wait to see what kind of offspring you do get from your silkies!