Pair of white silkies had black chicks..

[revampedfashion]

I have 2 silkie young hens and one silkie roo. He is the only roo I have. I thought I would try to let them hatch a couple of eggs.. Well they didn't survive unfortunately.. Both were shrink wrapped. I opened them up and was shocked to see black chicks! The only other hen I have that lays white eggs is a tolbunt polish and I am positive they weren't her eggs because the silkie eggs are more "pointy" looking.. How common is this? have a pic to post if anyone is interested.. It is a sad pic though

 

[nchls school]

I have 2 silkie young hens and one silkie roo. He is the only roo I have. I thought I would try to let them hatch a couple of eggs.. Well they didn't survive unfortunately.. Both were shrink wrapped. I opened them up and was shocked to see black chicks! The only other hen I have that lays white eggs is a tolbunt polish and I am positive they weren't her eggs because the silkie eggs are more "pointy" looking.. How common is this? have a pic to post if anyone is interested.. It is a sad pic though

Quite common. Unless you know the background of the birds it is very possible that they have hidden traits that show up in the young.

 

[revampedfashion]

thankyou very much!

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I have white Silkies from SQ stock. They've not had a black bird ancestor for at least five generations, and over 5 years of breeding, they've thrown 3 black chicks. It's even more common if you don't know their 'ancestors' so it's perfectly normal I think it's fun. I have a pen of non-SQ birds that I still breed, all kinds of colour mixes in there, and I never know what I'm gonna get! Good luck hatching babies in the future

 

[keesmom]

White is a shut-off switch, preventing colors and patterns from showing. So having a non-white chick result from a pairing is not unusual.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

White is a shut-off switch, preventing colors and patterns from showing. So having a non-white chick result from a pairing is not unusual.

Actually, having anything other than a white chick from a white to white pairing is EXTREMELY unusual. White ot non-white is completely unpredictable, although I would not tyically expect white offspring when one parent is not white.

Now that paints are becoming more common, it is becoming a possibility for non-white chicks, if one of the white parents comes from a paint background, as paint is dominant white, not recessive.