Silkie thread!

[Sanna]

Thank goodness We would be terribly unhappy if Bruce Lee was a rooster

How old is Bruce Lee now? Post a side profile picture and a close up on the face with comb, I bet someone will be able to tell if Bruce indeed is a Bruce...or not! lol

I'm out picking a silkie and I notice on some of them have tanner beaks but 5 black toes I this a silkie? And also the gray ones are having white feathers she says those will be the really white ones?

Well she has a sizzle I'n the cage with her full grown silkies and he doesn't have a nlak beak. And her little week old ones wings are starting to turned out and has a tannish beak? She says the wings are normal

Not all silkies have black beaks. I hatched a buff last year (one on bottom left), he had a lighter colored beak. So does the partridge on the right. Her beak is dark but not black.
What color are these chicks you're looking at? Their feathering? White chicks usually hatch a little yellowish or pure white. So whatever she's telling you is white, probably isn't.


This chick here is a splash. It looks pretty white. I guess you could call them very, very light gray. You can also see here what a Silkies wings should look like. If the chick you're talking about with feathers that are starting to turn, as in curl out, I bet it'll be a sizzle. A pure Silkie does not have feathers that turn/curl.


These chicks in this picture are blue (so is the hen). They look grey.



Does this woman you're buying Silkies from keep all different colors breeding birds in one pen? Or are her breeding birds in separate pens by colors? Doesn't really sound like you're dealing with a real breeder. I wouldn't be surprised if you're looking at several mixed colors that are really not any actual accepted colors. There are lots of nice pet birds out there that are different colors. If you're looking for just a pet bird, it doesn't really matter. If you're looking for birds that you can breed and/or show in the future, find a professional breeder that you can trust. Someone that will sell you proper birds.

New silkie owner needs help. Please let me know if I got this right?

This is a splash, right? For some reason I want to say it's a painted.

Here is a picture of it's wing. I see some dark feather coming out.


So here it is again. What color is the other chick blue?

Here is a closer picture of the 2nd chick

Here is another of the 1st and 2nd chick

confused because the second chick is so much lighter than my other blues

Your first bird could be a splash. There are no painted splashes. Just splashes. The paint color is very clear, they look like this. Found this picture on Google. A white bird with very clear black spots on the body.



Your other two chicks look like blues. There are different shades of blues. Some are darker, some lighter. Like these chicks I hatched a year ago. There is one white and the rest are blue, all different shades.

 

[drumstick diva]

Brie I know what's done is done but, I would have nothing to do with that person. She has a story for everything you ask about. A real breeder is best.

My friend has gotten silkies from out of state because she didn't want any more hatchery surprises. She got them from a show breeder- they were not offered as show quality - one was a pet because of smutt in her buff feathers and another was breeder quality. She has no intention of showing/breeding but wanted healthy well bred, attractive house chickens. - that is just what she got.

 

[Brie6895]

I'm seriously thinking of taking these back.. I just want one so bad and I can't afford to drive out of state to just get one or two silkies.
Is it true that their feathers will turn out and some won't? Or was she just trying to sell me her sizzle

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Well I ended up getting 3 I will post pictures.
This is the one I'm guessing is white. It doesn't have very good feet feathers at all.. And it's beak is tanish




I'm guessing this one is gray and has better feet feathering


And this one is darker gray but its wings are starting to flair out, thinking it might be a sizzle? Any input? It has really good feet feathering




I'm actually upset that most of the chicks she has had tan beaks and flaired out wings and she said that was normal but there were only a few that didnt have flaired out wings. I am very confused. Especially when there was a frizzle in the grown up pin with the other silkies...

They look silkie to me, The top one will probably be white, the beak color is normal. Should get darker. The skin is black so that is good. How many toes? The feet look like the feathers have just been pulled out, babies will do that. It DOES have feathers on the middle toe you can see stubs. The second one is either light blue or splash. Looks god to. Last one, blue, may be a frizzled silkie, which would be fine if it is it's still a silkie. Or it could have a protein deficiency. Try giving some egg yolks every other day and see if it helps them grow normal. Also silkie chicks need a higher protein feed than other chicks, about 21% and I give that to my adults too. It's feet look good =) Just check that they all have 5 toes on each foot. Does she have any pictures of the parents?

 

[Jharper]

How do you get a paint silkie? Like which colors?

 

[CookFarms]

Can you show a sizzle hen? Is that a recognized breed?

 

[ChickNmamma]

Well I ended up getting 3 I will post pictures.
This is the one I'm guessing is white. It doesn't have very good feet feathers at all.. And it's beak is tanish




I'm guessing this one is gray and has better feet feathering


And this one is darker gray but its wings are starting to flair out, thinking it might be a sizzle? Any input? It has really good feet feathering




I'm actually upset that most of the chicks she has had tan beaks and flaired out wings and she said that was normal but there were only a few that didnt have flaired out wings. I am very confused. Especially when there was a frizzle in the grown up pin with the other silkies...

The real question is - are you planning on showing these? If you want them for pets then what you have will work, and they are much better quality than the hatchery chicks. If you want them to show - you may still have some good birds there - looks like good beards and good toe feathering (even the first one - it has feathers on its middle toe).

The first one with the light beak - some Silkies will be lighter and darken up as they age - at least its feet are black. I think you are correct, it is white.

The second chick may be what is called "Blue" - its a gray color but in chickens we call them blue. I think the third chick is blue too.

Those wing feathers do not have the curl like my Sizzles/Frizzled Silkies do. I would guess you have 3 Silkies. As I said above, my Sizzle/Silkie chicks had light skin on their toes when they were a week old - it is darker now. The middle one looks a bit younger than a week old though - the other two have feathering closer to what mine have at a week old.

It is up to you what you decide - but I believe you have three Silkie chicks there.

 

[PaintedFeathers]

How do you get a paint silkie? Like which colors?

You need paint stock, I don't believe you can just mix a few colors and "get" paint.

Can you show a sizzle hen? Is that a recognized breed?

If she meets the standard for a silkie but has frizzled feathers then yes you can =)

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
I agree - I believe paint is dominant white over black - and Silkies do not carry dominant white or a solid black without modifiers. Paints had to be "created" in Silkies. If you don't have a paint - you wont get a paint.

You will not get a paint from the White in regular Silkies, they are based on recessive white and need two copies of the gene to be White. That's why if you cross a White to another color you get a mess.

Paints are still a work in progress because a pure paint is ONLY dominant white over solid black - no other modifiers. There are still too many modifiers in most Paint Silkie breedings - and if you cross them with a Black carrying any other modifiers - it messes them all up again. If you keep crossing Paint x Paint you will get solid white at some point....



I think if she is a Frizzled Silkie you can show her. If she doesn't have black skin - silkied feathers - etc.. then no - they are not recognized - yet. I have heard of them being shown at local Fairs under AOV with the smooth feathers - but not at an APA/ABA show.

I believe people are working on getting them accepted as their own breed, but that is a 5+ year process. The breeders have to agree on and write the Standard Of Perfection (SOP) for their birds, they have to have 5 breeders who's birds all match that SOP and have been breeding them for at least 5 years AND hold a qualifying meet to prove their birds all meet their SOP by submitting them for judging. Don't hold your breath.

 

[jmanderson777]

Here is one of my paint growing up nicely.