Silkie breeding question

[thanai]

Hi guys,
I had a question about genetics for silkies. If I breed my pure white silkie rooster with by black silkie pullet (note: the black silkie girl has some gold leakage along her neck) what colours is it possible that I'd get? Or is it impossible to know? Sorry if this is an odd question, newbie here

 

[PioneerChicks]

@LynnaePB @MysteryChicken

 

[JessesChickens101]

Hi guys,
I had a question about genetics for silkies. If I breed my pure white silkie rooster with by black silkie pullet (note: the black silkie girl has some gold leakage along her neck) what colours is it possible that I'd get? Or is it impossible to know? Sorry if this is an odd question, newbie here

I used to think it would give you splash Lol, But I dont know

 

[MysteryChicken]

Paint, with some possible gold leakage.

 

[thanai]

Paint, with some possible gold leakage.

Awesome! Thanks for replying.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Awesome! Thanks for replying.

You're welcome.

 

[Mariella posey]

I was kinda curious about that too, I have black roosters on white pullets so I wonder if it would work the same?
Would they really make paint babies? I thought paints were hard to get?

 

[LynnaePB]

It is difficult to predict what you might get. I'm definitely not an expert but can share some insight based on my understanding (just take it with a grain of salt as I am still learning too).

White silkies are usually recessive white but can also be dominant white.

If your rooster is recessive white which is probably more likely than dominant white it's really hard to say what you might get. The recessive white can hide all sorts of colors. I've heard partridge is one of the more common ones though. If your boy is partridge under the white you'll likely hatch black chicks with possible leakage. Of course if he is something else under the white you might have different results like possible blue chicks etc. Unless your black hen happens to be carrying a recessive white gene this pairing should not result in any white chicks. With this pairing you also shouldn't be able to get any splash chicks (this is assuming your black hen is definitely black and not dark blue which can sometimes look black).

If your rooster is dominant white than paired with the black hen you'll likely get paint and black chicks with possible leakage. Sometimes the chicks inheriting the dominant white will not get the typical paint spots and will appear white even though they are heterozygous for dominant white (lacking two copies of it). With dominant white it is probably more likely your rooster is black based under the white but there is a possibility of splash or blue as well which could give you the chance of blue based paint chicks and blue chicks too.

If your black hen happens to be carrying some recessive genes for partridge/penciling and your rooster does as well there is a chance of getting some partridge like chicks too. If the rooster is dominant white and this is the case their would also be a chance of getting some sort of red pyle like chicks too.

All in all guessing what you'll get is really tough. On the upside you'll likely gain more insight into the parents genetics depending on what kind colors the chicks turn out to be.

 

[nmr]

It is difficult to predict what you might get. I'm definitely not an expert but can share some insight based on my understanding (just take it with a grain of salt as I am still learning too).

White silkies are usually recessive white but can also be dominant white.

If your rooster is recessive white which is probably more likely than dominant white it's really hard to say what you might get. The recessive white can hide all sorts of colors. I've heard partridge is one of the more common ones though. If your boy is partridge under the white you'll likely hatch black chicks with possible leakage. Of course if he is something else under the white you might have different results like possible blue chicks etc. Unless your black hen happens to be carrying a recessive white gene this pairing should not result in any white chicks. With this pairing you also shouldn't be able to get any splash chicks (this is assuming your black hen is definitely black and not dark blue which can sometimes look black).

If your rooster is dominant white than paired with the black hen you'll likely get paint and black chicks with possible leakage. Sometimes the chicks inheriting the dominant white will not get the typical paint spots and will appear white even though they are heterozygous for dominant white (lacking two copies of it). With dominant white it is probably more likely your rooster is black based under the white but there is a possibility of splash or blue as well which could give you the chance of blue based paint chicks and blue chicks too.

If your black hen happens to be carrying some recessive genes for partridge/penciling and your rooster does as well there is a chance of getting some partridge like chicks too. If the rooster is dominant white and this is the case their would also be a chance of getting some sort of red pyle like chicks too.

All in all guessing what you'll get is really tough. On the upside you'll likely gain more insight into the parents genetics depending on what kind colors the chicks turn out to be.

How do you know if your silkie is carrying recessive or dominant? Or is that something you can't really find out until eggs start hatching?

 

[msiler]

How do you know if your silkie is carrying recessive or dominant? Or is that something you can't really find out until eggs start hatching?

The easiest way is to know the parents. Usually dominant whites now will only result from birds who came from a Paint x Paint crossing, and even then it's only a 25% chance of this.
But yes, if you don't know the parents the only sure way to know is based on what color chicks you hatch out like @LynnaePB said above.
My bet is that you will hatch out mostly black chicks with some leakage, and a couple partridge. All chicks will carry a recessive white gene but that won't effect anything on the chicks color.

I hatched an accidental black x recessive white pairing. The boys were black with gold or silver leakage and the girls were solid black.