Silkie chick colors?

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

Do they have any little feathers starting to grow in? That may give a clue. One of them looks like it could be lavender, however, for that to be true, the rooster would have to be carrying lavender, which is pretty unlikely in silkies (unless you know he came from lavender lines.) I don’t see a lavender hen in your pics - if you have any pics of your lavender girl, post them! The other two both have the chipmunk stripes that are indicative of partridge so I would guess that they will both end up being gray partridge.

If you have multiple birds carrying lavender, you could have a diluted partridge (not sure what they call that, but think of kind of the Isabel or blue cream look.) It will be pretty easy to tell once they feather out though. The lighter yellow chick is the one I was thinking could be that. Again though, it is fairly rare to have lavender pop up in silkies unless the breeder was working with lavender birds and making splits. I am excited to see how they feather out!

Thank you so much! I was thinking the one looked lavender but wasn't totally sure. The lady I purchased my adults from had gotten eggs from multiple people and once they hatched they all kind of got mixed together. So she wasn't able to tell me exactly what they could carry I'm not sure if she even knows.(Good quality silkies have been kind of hard to find here and when I did find some they were way out of my budget, so I'm working with what I could afford.) so there is the possibility my rooster could carry lavender. I only have one hen that I believe is lavender she's very light colored but definitely isn't white. I don't have the greatest pictures of her, but definitely correct me if she's a different color.
I haven't seen any feathers yet but they are under a broody hen that doesn't like me messing with them. I'll definitely post pictures as they grow! I'm just breeding silkies for fun and I also have a soft spot for them!

I am also just going to go out on a limb here and say that I would bet that the yellowish chick is a boy based on the comb size at this point. It’s not always a reliable indicator but ends up being the case most of the time. (I know you weren’t asking for that observation but just wanted to share in case you wondered.)

Thanks for this! I'm hoping I'll get lucky with some more girls but I was also suspicious with the comb size on that one as well. Here's to hoping it's a girl

Here's some pictures of the hen I think is lavender.

The yellowing is staining, she's a very pale gray in sunlight.

 

[Slothinc]

Thank you so much! I was thinking the one looked lavender but wasn't totally sure. The lady I purchased my adults from had gotten eggs from multiple people and once they hatched they all kind of got mixed together. So she wasn't able to tell me exactly what they could carry I'm not sure if she even knows.(Good quality silkies have been kind of hard to find here and when I did find some they were way out of my budget, so I'm working with what I could afford.) so there is the possibility my rooster could carry lavender. I only have one hen that I believe is lavender she's very light colored but definitely isn't white. I don't have the greatest pictures of her, but definitely correct me if she's a different color.
I haven't seen any feathers yet but they are under a broody hen that doesn't like me messing with them. I'll definitely post pictures as they grow! I'm just breeding silkies for fun and I also have a soft spot for them!

Thanks for this! I'm hoping I'll get lucky with some more girls but I was also suspicious with the comb size on that one as well. Here's to hoping it's a girl

Here's some pictures of the hen I think is lavender.
View attachment 4119173View attachment 4119174The yellowing is staining, she's a very pale gray in sunlight.View attachment 4119178

I have gotten my silkies from many different breeders and I am always surprised every time I hatch with what I end up with haha. I think it’s just the nature of it when working with different colors and gene pools and limited birds. I also just breed for fun/hobby and am working on blue egg laying silkies so that’s a whole other thing going on. But I am definitely not an expert!

I think your hen could possibly be lavender! She looks so light! Maybe is is possible that she is a lavender with a blue or splash base rather than black. I have been pondering to myself if there may be any visible cues to having a bird that is blue or splash with the lavender gene. I have some lavender birds now - 3 silkies and a few mixes (part of the blue egg project) and they are all kind of different shades of lavender, with the mixes being a little darker than the silkies. I can share some pics if you want me to, but I won’t unless requested, as I don’t want to drive this thread totally off topic lol!

I think if you do a little bit of studying on partridge you may have a better idea of what they can produce. I unfortunately don’t know much about partridge as I haven’t had them. But I do believe it is a recessive gene. So that could be why the lavender looking baby isnt partridge even though the dad is - I believe that means that baby came from a non-partridge mom!

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

I have gotten my silkies from many different breeders and I am always surprised every time I hatch with what I end up with haha. I think it’s just the nature of it when working with different colors and gene pools and limited birds. I also just breed for fun/hobby and am working on blue egg laying silkies so that’s a whole other thing going on. But I am definitely not an expert!

I think your hen could possibly be lavender! She looks so light! Maybe is is possible that she is a lavender with a blue or splash base rather than black. I have been pondering to myself if there may be any visible cues to having a bird that is blue or splash with the lavender gene. I have some lavender birds now - 3 silkies and a few mixes (part of the blue egg project) and they are all kind of different shades of lavender, with the mixes being a little darker than the silkies. I can share some pics if you want me to, but I won’t unless requested, as I don’t want to drive this thread totally off topic lol!

I think if you do a little bit of studying on partridge you may have a better idea of what they can produce. I unfortunately don’t know much about partridge as I haven’t had them. But I do believe it is a recessive gene. So that could be why the lavender looking baby isnt partridge even though the dad is - I believe that means that baby came from a non-partridge mom!

Thank you for all your help!
I have a feeling the more I hatch the more surprised I'll be with the different colors that'll hatch!
I've been wanting to start a blue egg laying silkie project, but I've been way to busy this year to even think about beginning another project.
She is super light so she very well could be blue or splash based lavender. She's my first lavender silkie, I had some breeder quality lavender orpingtons a few years ago and she almost looks white in comparison. But I know she's not!

I'd love to see some pictures of your lavenders!

I'll definitely do some more research on partridge genetics. I've done minimal research in the past and I do believe your correct with partridge being a recessive gene! Meaning the lavender looking baby has to have come from the lavender hen or the black with silver leakage hen, but I don't believe she's laying yet.

Thanks again for all your help

I'll definitely update with pictures as they grow!

 

[Slothinc]

Thank you for all your help!
I have a feeling the more I hatch the more surprised I'll be with the different colors that'll hatch!
I've been wanting to start a blue egg laying silkie project, but I've been way to busy this year to even think about beginning another project.
She is super light so she very well could be blue or splash based lavender. She's my first lavender silkie, I had some breeder quality lavender orpingtons a few years ago and she almost looks white in comparison. But I know she's not!

I'd love to see some pictures of your lavenders!

I'll definitely do some more research on partridge genetics. I've done minimal research in the past and I do believe your correct with partridge being a recessive gene! Meaning the lavender looking baby has to have come from the lavender hen or the black with silver leakage hen, but I don't believe she's laying yet.

Thanks again for all your help

I'll definitely update with pictures as they grow!

That would be super cool and amazing if your boy carries lavender. I would try to hatch more eggs from your lavender hen and you should be able to see - if 1/2 of them turn out to be that lavender color, then he probably does carry it! You can also test birds at The Silkie Lab, and her price recently lowered to $20 for the lavender test, so if you ever want to know *for sure* you could test. You could even test one of his lavender looking offspring and if it has 2 copies of lav then you will know that the father for sure carries it.

When you do want to think about blue egg silkies, message me, maybe I will be close to having some by then. Right now I am on F2/F3 generations (have my first F3s in the incubator now) But it is all kind of a muddled mess lol because I don’t have multiple coops and breeding pens etc. However I think I am slowly getting closer. I have many F1 birds and they are just so cute, I love them.

I’ll attach a few pics. Lately I have just been snapping random pics here and there so none are great. I have the 3 lavender silkies and then 3 lavender F1 (silkie/lav ameraucana bantam cross.) I did just give away my F1 boy though. But you can see the F1s (the satin birds including the frizzle) are darker and the lavender silkies are lighter. I did genetically test the frizzle chick though and she carries 2 copies of lavender, so they aren’t just light blue. I included a picture of a lavender silkie next to a white pullet to show the color difference. I also included several pics of the frizzle F1 pullet to show that in different lighting she looks different colors. Lavender is my favorite color, I am so happy after so many years of trying to finally have some lavender birds!! It has been a long journey lol!

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

That would be super cool and amazing if your boy carries lavender. I would try to hatch more eggs from your lavender hen and you should be able to see - if 1/2 of them turn out to be that lavender color, then he probably does carry it! You can also test birds at The Silkie Lab, and her price recently lowered to $20 for the lavender test, so if you ever want to know *for sure* you could test. You could even test one of his lavender looking offspring and if it has 2 copies of lav then you will know that the father for sure carries it.

When you do want to think about blue egg silkies, message me, maybe I will be close to having some by then. Right now I am on F2/F3 generations (have my first F3s in the incubator now) But it is all kind of a muddled mess lol because I don’t have multiple coops and breeding pens etc. However I think I am slowly getting closer. I have many F1 birds and they are just so cute, I love them.

I’ll attach a few pics. Lately I have just been snapping random pics here and there so none are great. I have the 3 lavender silkies and then 3 lavender F1 (silkie/lav ameraucana bantam cross.) I did just give away my F1 boy though. But you can see the F1s (the satin birds including the frizzle) are darker and the lavender silkies are lighter. I did genetically test the frizzle chick though and she carries 2 copies of lavender, so they aren’t just light blue. I included a picture of a lavender silkie next to a white pullet to show the color difference. I also included several pics of the frizzle F1 pullet to show that in different lighting she looks different colors. Lavender is my favorite color, I am so happy after so many years of trying to finally have some lavender birds!! It has been a long journey lol!

It definitely would! I've been cut off from hatching anymore this year (I currently have 3 goslings indoors). But maybe I'll be able to convince the family.
I'll definitely look into testing him it'd be interesting to see if he does carry lavender! Or possibly testing one of his lavender looking offspring.

I'll definitely message you when I'm ready for some blue egg silkies! I think it'd be fun to have some fluffy blue layers! I know it's a long process and it sounds like you are well underway. You have some beautiful birds! That lavender frizzle is a dream of mine!

Lavender is a favorite of mine as well! That's why I jumped on purchasing my lavender looking hen! I only know if one breeder that works with lavender somewhat local to me and she has some beautiful birds but they are crazy expensive. So the possibility of producing some of my own is super exciting!

I got my Silver partridge rooster because silver partridge silkies are my favorite color currently! If he carries lavender that's a fun bonus!!

I know the struggle and journey to get the birds you want. It's taken me three years to get my current silkies from multiple different breeders. I traveled over 2 hours to pick up some silkie roosters a few years ago (from what I thought was a quality breeder) and the one has perfect type but a single comb.

Thank you for sharing all the pictures! Your birds are gorgeous!

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

Hello everyone! Here's how these three cuties are feathering in! Please excuse the photo quality I took them quickly this morning while the weather was still decent. I'll do a separate post for each baby!

This little one is the baby we thought might have been lavender. It's feathering in dark, but it has different colored feathers in sunlight ranging from black to gray/blueish.

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

This little one looks almost white but definitely has some patterning to it's wing feathers and a slight off white coloring.

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

This little one is definitely patterned it's feathering in different gray tones!

 

[NatJ]

Hello everyone! Here's how these three cuties are feathering in! Please excuse the photo quality I took them quickly this morning while the weather was still decent. I'll do a separate post for each baby!

This little one is the baby we thought might have been lavender. It's feathering in dark, but it has different colored feathers in sunlight ranging from black to gray/blueish.
View attachment 4136826View attachment 4136827View attachment 4136828View attachment 4136830View attachment 4136831

Based on how the feathers look, I am now thinking this one is blue, rather than lavender.

I don't have any useful thoughts about the coloring of the other two (because "cute!" is not really useful )

 

[CrazyForMyPeeps802]

Based on how the feathers look, I am now thinking this one is blue, rather than lavender.

I don't have any useful thoughts about the coloring of the other two (because "cute!" is not really useful )

Thank you! I was also thinking it is probably a very dark blue.

That's ok! I'm completely clueless on those two as well. It'll be interesting to see what they look like as they continue to grow! I'll definitely continue to take updated pictures of them.

I believe I've narrowed down the potential Mom's to my Lavender hen and my Silver partridge hen (I haven't seen the others lay and I've only been getting 2 eggs). I looked back and I had purchased these hens the beginning of March and I gave my broody hen the eggs April 14th. The only rooster they had been with for over a month was my silver partridge. So there's definitely some interesting hidden genetics at play!