Self Blue (Lavender) Silkie Thread

[Darling Farms]

We have had a bit of trouble hatching our lavenders as well. Once they hatch though... they are almost always good to go!
Some of the things we have done that have helped a lot are:

~ Adding B (and a few other) vitamins to the mamas feed. (there are some wonderful articles written about what to add for clubbed feet etc.)
~ Bumping up our humidity to 65% all the way through incubation.
~ Waiting an extra day... ours alway take 22 days to hatch. Silly Monsters!
~ We give our little guys a mash with, fine oatmeal, vitamins, peanut butter, yogurt, electrolytes and fruit. When we feed them this we almost NEVER loose any.

We do help a lot of them out of the shells. It is an art that takes patience and lot of time.
We are also becoming experts at making boots for curled feet and yarn hobbles for splayed legs.
If anyone needs hatching support let us know!

~

We have a few lavenders at certain times of year (I think it's due to how much time they spend outside) that look a bit splashy!
All of our lavenders are PURE lavenders and I think it will just take time for the color to smooth out by breeding back to blacks.
Again, thats the problem when they get bred to BBS... it's so hard to tell what's what!
I would hold them back from the breeding pen and reevaluate after they moult... and of course inquire with the breeder that you got them from.

~

Darling Farms

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Personally I would not use white birds in a lav project, just because of what else the white could be masking. But since you already have it going, the lav chicks (presuming they are out of a white) will be carrying a copy of recessive white. Breed two of these chicks together and you will get 25% white out of them, as well as 25% of them carrying a copy of white.

As for the blue/buff question, it's not blue and buff that make isabel porcelain, it's lav and buff.

I agree with Julie, breeding white to a colour (unless you KNOW the genetic background of the white) is is likely to result in a mess. However, I am confused: you have all white birds that are split for lav? You should only get whites from two whites. How old is you lavender chick? Could it actually be a silver gene white? If not, then one or more of your visually white birds are not the typical recessive white.

Isabel is a lavender diluted buff, should have little or no lavender showing (much as buffs should have little or no black showing). Porcelain is lavender diluted mille fleur. Mottling is not yet in porcelain silkies, but much of the rest of the formula is present. The bird should show plenty of lavender and also isabel. There should be absolutely no undiluted colouring present.

 

[friedeggs]

MeettheFlockers
Those are some mighty fine looking ginger reds! I saw them at the OH Nationals. Get your sun glasses on for those beauties!
I'm a sucker for that color anyway. I have an orange one out of a partridge breeding you need shades for and even though he
is not the proper color, I know he will throw some fine bright girls.
Your birds are "eye poppers" I walked by and it took a second to register and backed up down the isle and said "YOWZA"
Good job!!

I second that​

 

[Donna McCormick]

Yo Girlfriend! What's up...see we have the same taste in mighty fine birds.
Imagine that! Gotta love those ginger reds for sure. Where is the person with those mighty fine birds anyway?
Probably giving their eyes a rest. All the glare from feeding and watering that coop! LOL

 

[Smokin Silkies]

Well, upon reading and reading...I've came to the conclusion that I was going to try and up the humidity to about 60% with my Lavender eggs. I can never get them to hatch & this will be my last time with Lav eggs....for good prob...unless I have a decent hatch rate. Anyways I keep reading that I'm not the only one having problems with them. I also heard that some have made their humidity higher through the whole hatch, and have had better success. I usually keep mine around 45%-50% so I'll try 55%-60% and see what happens. I'll also mist them quickly the last few days. My room temp is about 75 degrees because its in my furnace room and the humidity stays around 40%-45% at all times (in the room itself). I can only cross my fingers now, it hasn't been a week yet...

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

what color could "she" be?!

she has a black/lavender mom, and a black/partridge/blue dad

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I have a ginger red program- My boy just won 1st and Best of Variety at Nationals. When I start selling eggs I can let you know.
http://webzoom.freewebs.com/rubinranch/photos/Buff-Red-amp-Partridge/IMG_9493small.jpg
http://webzoom.freewebs.com/rubinranch/photos/Buff-Red-amp-Partridge/IMG_9148.JPG

What color did you get the ginger reds out of? Buffs? I hatched out a dark male, almost like those from my buffs.

 

[Donna McCormick]

Quote:
Heres a picture of one of my 8 week old Lavs.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56059_8weeklav.jpg

And just because I have to show off these cuties. Here's what the Gray/Lav splits are turning out like. This little guy is 6 weeks now

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56059_graysplit5wks.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56059_graysplit5wks2.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/56059_graysplit5wks3.jpg

Do you by chance have a photo of the gray used in that split?
Curious because of the deepness in the gray.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

That's the depth of colour a grey should be.

 

[Donna McCormick]

Gray should be Chinchilla. I don't believe I said it should not be that color.