Silkie color?...*pics*

[Mrs MIA]

Boy, did you ever get lucky!

 

[LilPeeps]

gotchooks? :

LilPeeps- I met Joni and Mike, owners of Destiny Farms in Brighton, MI when I was ready to purchase chickens. Joni breeds and hatches lots of different layers and dual purpose birds. She also has Silkies, white and black. I mentioned in passing, I might like a couple of Silkies because they seem so sweet...she called me out of the blue one day saying she had an unusually colored chick just hatch (different than other black and white chicks) and would I be interested in taking it? We keep in touch and she was curious to see what it would look like. She has birds with and without beards.

Thanks everyone for your answers and nice comments. I'm really glad I got my other chickens first or I would be OVERUN with Silkies!

Wow, that's great! I've been looking for nonbearded greys for quite a while LOL She's gorgeous!

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi!
So that's where grays come from?

... an unusually colored chick just hatch (different than other black and white chicks)...

I've loved the color since I first saw it and wondered how one would bred for gray.

I'd imagine you'd have to hatch a lot of black x white (or just get lucky) to get a gray.

What would you get from gray x gray? Or gray x black / blue?

Thanks,

Lisa​

 

[LilPeeps]

Actually, grey does not simply come from crossing a black with a white. The white would've had to be carrying a hidden gene for grey or partridge in order to produce a grey. Grey is basically a partridge with a silver gene. Instead of yellows, golds, and browns, it's silvers and whites. Look at a black and white pic of a partridge and you'll see what a grey should look like.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Thanks for the explanation! I think the coloration is just beautiful.
Is there a more straight-forward way to get gray?
Does gray breed true?
Thanks again,
and thanks for sharing the pics, GotChooks?,
Lisa

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

gotchooks? :

She also has Silkies, white and black. I mentioned in passing, I might like a couple of Silkies because they seem so sweet...she called me out of the blue one day saying she had an unusually colored chick just hatchD

Then you have a "mutt." Greys dont come from white/black breedings unless you are HIGHLY lucky, and the chances of that happening, I'm sure are not very high.

White is a recessive gene that covers up a lot of other colors. And it takes two copies of the white gene in order to have a pure white bird. At least thats how I understand it at this point.

When you cross a white with any other color bird, the resulting offspring only gets one copy of the white gene, thus allowing whatever undercolor the parents are carrying come through.

Go here to see pictures of gray silkies. This is one of the top breeders websites.
http://windrift.homestead.com/gray.html​

 

[gotchooks?]

Yes, LilPeeps thanks for the explanation and I loved looking at the photo albums of your birds. They are AMAZING!

PouletsDeCajun, after reading LilPeeps post a few days ago, I called Joni and she does have 2 partridge hens. She also has 2 white roos and 3 black roos. Her Silkies are kept separate from and have no contact with other birds so I guess she is fortunate to have hatched a grey. I don't believe she has 'mutts' as she is as serious a poultry woman as anyone else on this site. Her birds are beautiful. The Cochin/Silkie crosses I have are birds she took in as a favor to a neighbor, not her birds. I don't know what goes into the breeding of chickens for this color, or that pattern, I just wanted to know what color I should put before her name on my signature line...

Thanks everyone for all the good info. I knew someone on here would know what color Dizzie is, I'm learning lots!
Jenn

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

gotchooks? :

PouletsDeCajun, after reading LilPeeps post a few days ago, I called Joni and she does have 2 partridge hens. She also has 2 white roos and 3 black roos. Her Silkies are kept separate from and have no contact with other birds so I guess she is fortunate to have hatched a grey.

It may be "gray" in color, but if used for breeding later on you'll see what i am referring to. The resulting offspring will be every color but what you are looking for, because grays aren't hatched from a crossing of colors.

So though you may have a "gray" colored bird, the likelihood of you having a true "gray" are slim to none.

But as you said, gray would be the color you would want to put on your signature line.

 

[silkieluver_07]

I know Ideal has gray silkies, but of course most times they will be pet quality. If you want them just for pets, then I suggest getting some! (They are on my list for my next order)

 

[gotchooks?]

Not that I'm a breeder...

I read on here somewhere that buff isn't a 'natural' silkie color either and had to be 'introduced'. That being said, is the same true for grey? I mean do Silkie breeders have to cross 2 grey birds to ALWAYS get a grey at some point or will there be other colors thrown from this pairing?

Just curious.

*Edited to add~ I just realized that you wrote the buff comment

I really am just curious about breeding for color and don't want to come across as giving you sass. I find it fascinating, the work that goes into breeding the bird you want. Thanks!
Jenn