Silkie Cross sex-link = 2 very different chicks

[L1sa]

Hi there,

I’ve recently been hatching some Silkie Cross ISA Browns. About 3 months ago I hatched 2 Roos that looked much like their ISA brown mother just with a little more white fluff, they were beautiful boys and I would have loved to see them grow up, but alas have now been rehomed, I’ve attached a picture. Then 3 weeks ago another 2 hatched, I just assumed that they would end up looking the same as the other 2, but they are very different. One of these new chicks was a very pale white/yellow so I just assumed that it would be male as per ISA brown genetics, but now I’m no so sure, all of it’s incoming feathers are white, but it doesn’t seem to have any other male traits. And the other one seems to have partridge colouring. They are both stunning looking chicks, I have attached pics.

There’s nothing to tell between them, same size legs, same size combs, feathered out exactly the same time, so either I have bred 2 males or 2 females! Do you think I’ve struck lucky and have bred beautiful females? It’s hard to tell because of the mixed genetics. I have 2 roosters just to confuse things even further so either of them could have been the sire. I have one pure bread white Silkie and one partridge Silkie.

Allowing cross breeding to happen is a bit like a surprise Christmas present, you never quite know what you’re going to get!

 

[Willawong Hill]

With a silkie rooster and ISA hens you may have a dermal sex link, ie chicks with dark skin (esp on body rather than legs) are likely to be girls and chicks with light skin are likely to be boys. I don't think the feather colour sex link works with the colours you have when you crossbreed.