Needing Help With Silkie Genetics!

[jas humbert]

From personal experience, you don't always have consistent pigmentation. Paints can have pigment holes (occasional pink splotches on black skin pigment) so I suppose others can too and I had a very nice black with good overall skin pigment and legs but one full pink toe. Sure, colors can change as they grow but that one never did. A good friend's child has her and she is 3 years old and still pure black with one pink toe. In my limited experience if there is a purple or grayish cast to the pink it is more likely to darken up than just pure baby pink.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

From personal experience, you don't always have consistent pigmentation. Paints can have pigment holes (occasional pink splotches on black skin pigment) so I suppose others can too and I had a very nice black with good overall skin pigment and legs but one full pink toe. Sure, colors can change as they grow but that one never did. A good friend's child has her and she is 3 years old and still pure black with one pink toe. In my limited experience if there is a purple or grayish cast to the pink it is more likely to darken up than just pure baby pink.

Oh right, the one pink toe sounds interesting though! Maybe not what was wanted but more unique I guess.

The pink on the legs seems like a more grey pink compared to the Belgian Bantams pink legs which is in there with them.

One of the chicks has super dark legs.

Things may look different when I see them under proper lighting. When I get photos I'll post them!

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Here are the chicks I just hatched!

I'm honestly so pleased with these little chicks, more hatched than I expected and they are so adorable.

I didn't know what to expect. It's my first time hatching my own chicks from my own Silkies.

I was a little worried about what my Cockerel would produce. There was no way I'd ever know 100% what genes he was hiding or if he'd even be successful in fertilising eggs.

The only thing I knew which was my main worry that there was a possibility he was hiding the 4 toes gene.

He fathered 6 of these chicks and only one hatched with 4 toes, the rest has 5. I'd only really worry if all his young hatched with 4 toes.

Unfortunately that chicks future won't be for showing or breeding purposes but it will definitely get a good home as a pet for someone.

My current Cockerel will be staying as my breeding male. Despite the 4 toes gene, he has produced some beautiful poofy chicks.

He also managed to produce some bearded chicks! I never knew two non bearded Silkies could produce bearded chicks

So, here they are!

Booted Bantam x D'Anvers:
(Unsure on the colour at the moment)

Partridge Silkie:
(Not from my Cockerel. Was bred from 2 brown partridge Silkies but the chick looks more silver partridge with flecks of brown?)

White Silkie 1:
(First chick to hatch, has nices toe feathering so far)

White Silkie 2:
(I adore this one...)

White Silkie 3:

White Silkie 4:
(Possibly another keeper...)

White Silkie 5:
(The 4 toed chick, was the last one to hatch, still slightly damp on photo)

White x Gold Silkie:
(Seems to be white with gold back streaks and a blue chest?)

I still have PomPom sitting on 5 Silkie eggs and I've just put my other broody Silkie Audrey onto 4 Silkie eggs!

 

[jas humbert]

Congrats! What cuties! Hatching is so fun, isn't it? It is sometimes hard to tell what the baby colors will turn out to be. With one exception, every partridge silkie I've ever hatched was that same taupe gray brown chipmunk as yours and turned all typical partridge with no gray as they feathered out. Much harder to tell what that grey and gold is- I had a splash once that started something like that but he had a subtle gray strip along the back too- but absolutely no blueish splash color until feathers came in. Or I was thinking maybe blue cream/porcelain? That's the fun of babies is watching what they will become- you are probably in for a few surprises. In my most recent batch I had one who was born solid light blue but is now growing in quite a few gold feathers on his shoulders- only a month or so old so hard to say what I've got- but I love the surprises. I don't show, so funky colors are okay with me but I love trying to understand the genetics.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Congrats! What cuties! Hatching is so fun, isn't it? It is sometimes hard to tell what the baby colors will turn out to be. With one exception, every partridge silkie I've ever hatched was that same taupe gray brown chipmunk as yours and turned all typical partridge with no gray as they feathered out. Much harder to tell what that grey and gold is- I had a splash once that started something like that but he had a subtle gray strip along the back too- but absolutely no blueish splash color until feathers came in. Or I was thinking maybe blue cream/porcelain? That's the fun of babies is watching what they will become- you are probably in for a few surprises. In my most recent batch I had one who was born solid light blue but is now growing in quite a few gold feathers on his shoulders- only a month or so old so hard to say what I've got- but I love the surprises. I don't show, so funky colors are okay with me but I love trying to understand the genetics.

Thankyou, indeed it is!

By far one of the most enjoyable things is seeing them hatch right in front of you. A totally different feeling to when you buy them fully grown.

Ah right, I'm glad you've experienced that with the partridge too! I own the mother and saw the father so when it hatched a grey colour I was thinking...Hm I'm sure both parents were brown partridge. It sounds promising he/she will colour up to be a brown partridge

Yes the gold x white is definitely a strange colour at the moment. A splash would be nice if that's what it turns out to be. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one but I can't wait to see how it colours up! I checked closer today and this one has 5 toes on its left foot and 4 on its right. Yes it's not show standards but it's still super cute...

You sound like you've ended up with some nice unique colours with yours. Must be great watching them grow and colour up!

I do show my Silkies but I'm not as serious as some people are with it. It seems where I live, the more unique the colour you get, the easier they sell. A lot of people have them as pets where I live so I'm sure any I don't keep will get loving homes.

I'll see how they colour up, may even get some surprises with the whites and then I'll be deciding on which will join my flock

As they grow I'll post them back here.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

He also managed to produce some bearded chicks! I never knew two non bearded Silkies could produce bearded chicks

So, here they are!

Booted Bantam x D'Anvers:
(Unsure on the colour at the moment)
View attachment 1848000
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Partridge Silkie:
(Not from my Cockerel. Was bred from 2 brown partridge Silkies but the chick looks more silver partridge with flecks of brown?)
View attachment 1848003
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White Silkie 1:
(First chick to hatch, has nices toe feathering so far)
View attachment 1848006
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White Silkie 2:
(I adore this one...)
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White Silkie 3:
View attachment 1848013

White Silkie 4:
(Possibly another keeper...)
View attachment 1848014
View attachment 1848015

White Silkie 5:
(The 4 toed chick, was the last one to hatch, still slightly damp on photo)
View attachment 1848022
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View attachment 1848024

White x Gold Silkie:
(Seems to be white with gold back streaks and a blue chest?)
View attachment 1848016
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View attachment 1848019
View attachment 1848020

I still have PomPom sitting on 5 Silkie eggs and I've just put my other broody Silkie Audrey onto 4 Silkie eggs!

Could you post pictures of the non-bearded parents?

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Could you post pictures of the non-bearded parents?

Here they are

Father:

Mother:

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Here they are

Father:
View attachment 1851002
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Mother:
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The father has a beard, it's just small.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

The father has a beard, it's just small.

Yes but still super small, the chicks appear to have big poofy beards so far.

I know they can change but beard genetics I know nothing about. I would have though 2 bearded would have been needed to produced nicely fully bearded chicks. Unless my female has genes for a beard to but they aren't shown on her?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Yes but still super small, the chicks appear to have big poofy beards so far.

I know they can change but beard genetics I know nothing about. I would have though 2 bearded would have been needed to produced nicely fully bearded chicks. Unless my female has genes for a beard to but they aren't shown on her?

Your hen can't carry a bearded gene. My best guess is that the beards will get smaller as they get older, and be around the size of the father's.