Silkie thread!

[aoxa]

So your blue hen is throwing white babies! What color is the dad? Genetics are so fun.

Father above. He is also not the 'greatest' of quality, but he has some fantastic feet!

At a better time.. He had a ton of feathers pulled by my barred rock rooster, who is actually a big sweet heart. Steve bullied him through adolescence and now Jagger is seeking revenge. They are separated now lol. Steve is on daddy duty. The chicks actually sleep roosted on his back!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

We always need more people like you on here so we don't think we are crazy!! Can't wait for pictures!!! When you say SQ chicks, I assume you mean they came from SQ parents?

Yes, thats what I meant. They came from SQ parents, so I guess that would make them BQ? I'm still working on my chicken lingo. And I'm very glad to feel welcomed here, you all have just been fabulous!

 

[Nikkipar]

Can someone tell me what color these two are considered?
Thanks

 

[Nikkipar]

Also, would you consider this a boy?

 

[Hawkeye95]

Can I just let y'all know this thread is BAD.....bad, bad, bad! I've read through almost the entire thing now, and decided I just HAD to have Silkies again. So, I picked up 3 SQ Porcelains, a blue and an off colored Silkie to get my fix. That breeder gave me 3 tiny Silkie eggs, of which one tiny black Silkie hatched. Well, that poor tiny black Silkie was all alone, so of course it needed some company! A few days ago I picked up 11 more SQ chicks- 3 more blacks, 5 blues, 2 lavenders and a splash (at least I think its splash, the feller sold it as a pearl?). And, over the course of the last few weeks I've gotten rid of all but 2 of my beloved LF Cochins to make room for more (not to mention I've finally convinced my DH that I NEED another coop for my precious Silkies)! So, thanks fluffy enablers! Now I'm over run with poof headed puffy butts! Hopefully I can share some pictures soon- I'm just dying to show them off to anyone who'll look!!!!

this entire thread is a big enabler! LOL!! Yeah, there's no telling what quality of birds you will get out of SQ birds. I have SQ and BQ birds and still get an assortment of very nice chicks, but some of them just would never be SQ even though their parents are.

The ones that get large rounded crests are most always girls. Also I can tell by her demeanor. The girls sit around, posing, looking pretty. The boys are more active and alert, craning their necks, looking this way and that.

It is always possible to be fooled by Silkies, but I am 97% sure.

My boys all look like girls at 8 weeks... just warning you! LOL!! Every single one of my chicks out there have beautiful round crests. And I KNOW there have to be boys out there-- there's too many of them for there not to be boys. You can't go on crests alone. And my roosters are often the most laid back and sweet little things. I like my boys the best because of their sweet tempers. My nice rooster started out looking exactly like a girl-- beautiful big round crest. Then the streamers came in around 5 months....

The nicer the quality, the harder it's going to be to judge.

Most of us started with hatchery silkies and we all loved them too! That picture with the babies hand is soooo adorable!!

X2!! I started with hatchery quality. Nothing wrong with them. If you do intend on showing, you'll want to get something nicer. But if you just want fluffy happy pets, you're set!

Yes, thats what I meant. They came from SQ parents, so I guess that would make them BQ? I'm still working on my chicken lingo. And I'm very glad to feel welcomed here, you all have just been fabulous!

No, BQ doesn't mean they came from SQ birds. You can only tell what kind of quality of bird you have once they have matured and see how closely they come to the SOP. (standard of perfection) Any birds that have less than or more than 5 toes are a DQ (disqualified-- can not breed or show), birds that have smaller than desirable crests are then pet quality, and the list goes on and on. For your bird to be a Breeder Quality (BQ) you will need a pretty darned good bird with very few faults that keep it from being very competitive as a show bird. So you could show a BQ, because there will be minimal faults, BUT-- you won't place as well next to the REALLY nice birds. Chicks hatched from SQ stock will still give you an assortment of pet quality, breeder and possibly some SQ. The SQ are much harder to come by, though different people will call birds SQ when really it's up to a judge and see how well they fare against other birds that have excellent type, etc. If you haven't been to the ASBC site (american silkie bantam club) --do take a look at their birds and you can quickly see the difference between the qualities of birds. If your birds could compete with the really amazing birds that are winning those shows, then you absolutely have a SQ bird... if not, but you have very little faults, then you have a BQ. But you'll have to wait till your birds are much older before you can assess your quality. For example.. I have a bird right now that has such incredible potential to be a BQ or SQ... BUT, I *think* her wings might possibly be split! In which case, it doesn't matter how fantastic looking she is-- I can't breed her. Making her a pet quality bird because that fault is so bad, that to breed her would be very irresponsible of me. But I'm going to wait until she's older and be sure her wings are indeed split before I get rid of her. Anyway, I hope that gives you a better idea of what we're saying when people are talking about qualities.. it's all based off the SOP.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Also, would you consider this a boy?

way too young to know! But he's cute! What does his comb look like? If it's already getting really large, then you could possibly have a boy. Beautiful color!

 

[peepblessed]

Father above. He is also not the 'greatest' of quality, but he has some fantastic feet!

At a better time.. He had a ton of feathers pulled by my barred rock rooster, who is actually a big sweet heart. Steve bullied him through adolescence and now Jagger is seeking revenge. They are separated now lol.
Steve is on daddy duty. The chicks actually sleep roosted on his back!

Looks like they both carry the white gene! I sure like his nice tight wings! My boy doesn't carry his wings tight since he met the girls. He thinks he's more handsome with them hanging down.

 

[peepblessed]

Yes, thats what I meant. They came from SQ parents, so I guess that would make them BQ? I'm still working on my chicken lingo. And I'm very glad to feel welcomed here, you all have just been fabulous!

You can't know their quality until they are mature. DQ's can develop on any chick though they will likely be very beautiful!

 

[peepblessed]

Can someone tell me what color these two are considered?
Thanks

They look splash to me.

 

[peepblessed]

Also, would you consider this a boy?

The light colored partridge like this usually indicates girl, it's too young to tell.