Silkie thread!

[QueenMisha]

Cute ! Cuckoo ?

I'm not sure. I'm running a mixed color pen right now - two Partridge cocks over one Partridge hen, two White hens, one Cuckoo hen, one Silkie/Cochin cross Blue hen, and one Black hen. But I'm fairly certain that neither the Patridge nor Black hens are laying and this on doesn't look like offspring of the Blue, so I'm thinking it's either from a Partridge X White cross or a Patridge X Cuckoo cross.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I'm not sure. I'm running a mixed color pen right now - two Partridge cocks over one Partridge hen, two White hens, one Cuckoo hen, one Silkie/Cochin cross Blue hen, and one Black hen. But I'm fairly certain that neither the Patridge nor Black hens are laying and this on doesn't look like offspring of the Blue, so I'm thinking it's either from a Partridge X White cross or a Patridge X Cuckoo cross.

Judging by the pigmentation in the feet, I'd say cuckoo/partridge.

 

[jas humbert]

How exciting, Misha! Hope its partridge/cuckoo. Can't wait to see what it it feathers out like. Is this your sex-link trial? Can you tell anything yet?

 

[joydix]

partridge???? VERY cute!

 

[sunnyroller]

I know white, black, buff, blue, gray, splash and partridge are "official" silkie colors, but I have seen people refer to chocolate, porcelain and other colors. What all color or color combinations can Silkies have and does anyone have examples of what crosses it takes to have a chance of producing those colors. I found the Paint chart by Bibi Billion and it is very helpful.

I currently have a quad of black silkies but my rooster has too many hard feather. I bough a sweet little 5 month old black rooster who may be split to paint to eventually replace the current rooster. I have the following babies in my brooder from a week to 6 weeks old: 2 white, 4 blue, 6 buff and 2 partridge. A friend is hatching out 16 eggs from the current quad and my phoenix hen went broody and she is sitting on her Silkie daddy eggs and some of the straight silkie girls' eggs. Based on the colors I will have in flock, I am curious to see what I can do with what I have. My plan originally, and may remain the same, was to keep everyone separated by color, but now that I have dug into this more and see their are other color possibilities out there, I may experiment.

Input is greatly appreciated.

Sunny

 

[QueenMisha]

Judging by the pigmentation in the feet, I'd say cuckoo/partridge.

Good point. That makes me think it must indeed be a cockerel - I can also see what looks like a white spot developing on its (his?!) head. If it was a pullet I don't suppose it would likely have the lack of pigment - since female offspring would lack the Barring gene and it seems like the lack of pigment is a trait affected by the bird itself possessing Barring, regardless of its ancestry. We shall see, I suppose. I'm at work now but there were another two or three pips when I left. Which I realized today isn't as concerning as I thought - turns out I miscounted the days of incubation and they were hatching on day 20, not 19. Guess my incubator is working just fine.

How exciting, Misha!  Hope its partridge/cuckoo. Can't wait to see what it it feathers out like.  Is this your sex-link trial? Can you tell anything yet?

Yep, this is probably from the Sex Link trial. The pen was mixed color but unless the Whites are hiding Cuckoo, I don't think it could be from them or the other three various hens. I'm thinking I'm probably going to remove the white hens from the pen soon anyways, since I've collected plenty of eggs from them now and will have a good idea of what colors they are hiding based on what offspring will be. That will leave me with just the Cuckoo, Black, and Partridge hens in that pen, but I don't think that either the Partridge or Black are laying, so all babies after that will be definitely from the Sex Link trial.

Looking at the lack of pigment in the feet and the white spot developing on the head, I think it's a little cockerel. If so, he has a lot more color than expected! Silkies seem to surprise me every time. That is fine by me though - as long as I can tell which are male and which are female, they are welcome to have all the color they want. So far, so good!

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Is this a roo? I am thinking he is.. Also is it normal for silkies or chickens in general to have droopy wings? The silkie in the picture drops his wings a lot especially when he's laying down. Also when he's standing the ends of his wings don't stay up. Here are some pictures.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Is this a roo? I am thinking he is.. Also is it normal for silkies or chickens in general to have droopy wings? The silkie in the picture drops his wings a lot especially when he's laying down. Also when he's standing the ends of his wings don't stay up. Here are some pictures.

That is called ' split wing ' .
Yes I would say roo.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

That is called ' split wing ' .

Should I be concerned? Or is it something that will go away?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Should I be concerned? Or is it something that will go away?

Unfortunately this is a genetic trait that you don't want to duplicate, in other words , not one for breeding. It's thought to be a result of inbreeding too closely.