Silkie coloring confusion!

[Loupup98]

I just got silkies this season, they are around 18 wks old. I have been trying to figure out this guy, especially, because I think he is beautiful but don't know what the color terminology would be? It is all very confusing to me, partridge splash/porcelain blue cream/isabel.. What does all of this mean and what correctly describes him? I have read so many threads and now it is all just a jumble, lol!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I just got 6 silkie babies, now a little over a month old. 3 are frizzle/sizzle so I'm following for other silkie people's feedback lol.

 

[NNYchick]

He is very pretty. He is not a standard color so there really is no name for his coloring.

 

[Matilda Belle]

No idea on the lighter one. Looks like a partridge mix maybe?

The darker one is a smutty buff.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

It is all very confusing to me, partridge splash/porcelain blue cream/isabel.. What does all of this mean and what correctly describes him?

I got this!

It's actually fairly simple... Your (lighter) Silkie appears to be Blue Cream (as far as I can tell). Which is a cross between Lavender and Buff and not currently consider an accepted color by APA/ABA in the Silkies. It's fairly new and very hard to come by in my experience, but not impossible as many folks are working on project colors. Different breeds call the same color something different... I think to keep us confused. But Blue Cream, Porcelain, and Isabel are ALL the same color, with different names according to which breed you are discussing!

Partridge (in some breeds) is the same as Brown in Leghorn is the same as Silver in Ameraucana...

Some call Lavender what other breeds call Self Blue. The correct term would depend on what the SOP (standard of perfection) calls it if it has been accepted into that breed. Until it becomes part of the SOP, people who are working with it need to come up with a consensus and present a solid front to try and get it accepted.

Splash is a derivative of blue and called splash or blue splash in most breeds.

And yes, according to the red on his wings... he is indeed a cockerel.

I had just spent over $150 on hatching eggs which yielded 2 Cuckoo cockerels and 1 blue cream... but Silkie broodiness took its' toll on me and I sold off all my Silkies and quit working with them after several years of doing so. Love to see the new varieties being worked with!

See, Cuckoo is another example... used in Silkies and Marans, but in Rocks it's just called barred.

I did not work with your darker buff variety with the black tail so not sure if that one has its' own name or just poor breeding of buff.

Here is what I have gathered with regards to Silkies and SOP color names... does not include project color names....
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Standard.html

Anyways, I hope this helps to clear up the color name confusion SOME!

 

[Loupup98]

Thank you! No wonder why I was so confused, haha! I got the silkies for my girls because they wanted their own chickens to collect eggs from (my nest boxes are now off limits as they can't collect without breaking most of them, haha!). I only wanted a couple bc I have heard they are notorious for going broody- so far so good, 3 out of the 6 straight run are cockerels, so I am glad I wont have all 6 going broody on me at once.

 

[Loupup98]

No idea on the lighter one. Looks like a partridge mix maybe?

The darker one is a smutty buff.

See... Another term that I didn't understand, haha! I thought buff was golden (like buff orpington) and had no clue what "smutty" meant!

 

[Matilda Belle]

They are pretty silkies.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

See... Another term that I didn't understand, haha! I thought buff was golden (like buff orpington) and had no clue what "smutty" meant!

Smutty would be in reference to poor quality buff in my experience and not a term related to any standard color that I know of.

Buff is the same color as buff Orpington in all breeds that use Buff. Golden is more orange in color like Golden Laced Wyandottes or Seabrites.

Welcome to your non stop learning adventure! So cool to have the kids involved.