Needing Help With Silkie Genetics!

[The Moonshiner]

Silkies are one of the most notorious breeds for producing unexpected colors IMO.
Not long ago I picked up a trio of show quality blacks. They were beautiful and looked black as coal. Imagine my surprise and delight when I hatched my first batch of eggs and when I opened the incubator it was full of blue, black, splash and white chicks.
Apparently the rooster and at least one hen carried recessive white and the rooster and at least one hen was actually blue instead of black.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Silkies are one of the most notorious breeds for producing unexpected colors IMO.
Not long ago I picked up a trio of show quality blacks. They were beautiful and looked black as coal. Imagine my surprise and delight when I hatched my first batch of eggs and when I opened the incubator it was full of blue, black, splash and white chicks.
Apparently the rooster and at least one hen carried recessive white and the rooster and at least one hen was actually blue instead of black.

Oh gosh wow...did you still get some nice blacks out of them?

I know what you mean though, I've found it to be a breed that hides many things well then when you breed them, out pops something you don't expect or particularly want.

I mean, my rooster isn't fantastic, he could be better in ways but he still produces some nice chicks. I was hoping to get another with a better beard than his but I'm having a hard time finding another recessive white with half decent features. I'm in no hurry I guess though!

What you say about the black hen actually being blue was something I learned the other day. Someone posted (on another site) a photo of their 'blue silkie' which appeared to look super dark and black in colour. It was in fact blue though which I'd never seen such a dark blue Silkie. First they trick us with what sex they are now silkies have learned to trick us with their colour.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Ya I had some really outstanding birds in each of the colors after that summer.
They did throw some really dark dark blues but also some medium and lighter blues to which was nice.
I had been using some hatchery silkies just for broody purposes and when I saw them for sale at a show I decided I should get them. Broodies or not why not go with some quality ones over the poor examples hatcheries are offering now days.
I showed silkies in my youth so nice ones are always exciting.
I kept back about 2 dozen hens and used them for a couple years but although they hatched great they were poor mothers in a free range flock set up. I ended up ditching all but a few. And then picked up some show girls which I was going to cross to improve the show girls type though they were fairly decent.
Well the show girls didn't last....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...te-chicken-story.1278991/page-4#post-20614000
Post #32. So soon after that ordeal I let them all go.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Ya I had some really outstanding birds in each of the colors after that summer.
They did throw some really dark dark blues but also some medium and lighter blues to which was nice.
I had been using some hatchery silkies just for broody purposes and when I saw them for sale at a show I decided I should get them. Broodies or not why not go with some quality ones over the poor examples hatcheries are offering now days.
I showed silkies in my youth so nice ones are always exciting.
I kept back about 2 dozen hens and used them for a couple years but although they hatched great they were poor mothers in a free range flock set up. I ended up ditching all but a few. And then picked up some show girls which I was going to cross to improve the show girls type though they were fairly decent.
Well the show girls didn't last....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...te-chicken-story.1278991/page-4#post-20614000
Post #32. So soon after that ordeal I let them all go.

I'm glad you still got some nice chicks out of them despite the range of colours that hatched!

Oh wow that story made my day, I can't believe that bird roosted under your car best keep my car away from my Silkies...

Somehow I think chickens in my workplace wouldn't go down too well unfortunately.

I guess the showgirls had their own plans!

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I'm not sure that anyone has ever looked into this before but my boy Zoltan has the electric blue earlobe colour under his eyes?!

It looks like he's wearing blue eye liner

As of yet, it hasn't showed up in his offspring, only him.

I find it quite pretty but was wondering what on earth are the genes that cause earlobe colour to be elsewhere?

I've tried searching but never seen it in another Silkie either

His actual earlobes are turquoise, not as electric blue as his 'eyeliner'.

 

[Nigel27]

I'm not sure that anyone has ever looked into this before but my boy Zoltan has the electric blue earlobe colour under his eyes?!

It looks like he's wearing blue eye liner

As of yet, it hasn't showed up in his offspring, only him.

I find it quite pretty but was wondering what on earth are the genes that cause earlobe colour to be elsewhere?

I've tried searching but never seen it in another Silkie either

His actual earlobes are turquoise, not as electric blue as his 'eyeliner'.

View attachment 1969351

Will you breed him with his offspring to isolate that gene?

 

[msiler]

I'm not sure that anyone has ever looked into this before but my boy Zoltan has the electric blue earlobe colour under his eyes?!

It looks like he's wearing blue eye liner

As of yet, it hasn't showed up in his offspring, only him.

I find it quite pretty but was wondering what on earth are the genes that cause earlobe colour to be elsewhere?

I've tried searching but never seen it in another Silkie either

His actual earlobes are turquoise, not as electric blue as his 'eyeliner'.

View attachment 1969351

Chanced upon this thread again! How are you and your Silkies doing?

 

[ExtendedBlack]

This is how the calculator settings should look for white rooster and Porcelain.

View attachment 1820886

How would these setting look like for an Americauna and a Cemani?