Silkie thread!

[theimis67]

My thoughts for what it is worth: She would be a blue, not a black. Many breeders that I have talked to refer to black silkies as good blacks and bad blacks. They prefer producing black silkies out of true black silkies x black . A bird can appear black but they are usually just dark blues that look black. A bird that has blue or splash in their background are not normally what a black silkie breeder prefers. At least that is what I have been told by some good breeders. I know there are experts out there that will be willing to guide you.

It looks like you have some really nice qualities in your birds. To get your "feet wet" in a new breed, it is fun to have a variety of colors as you learn. When you decide to get serious about breeding and showing, you will have experiences to learn from.

If I may; I would encourage you to look at the outer toes of your blue pullet you produced. In the picture of her as chick, it looks like her outer toe is too short and may even be missing a toenail. It is not a big deal for having pets, but if you plan to show and breed show birds, you may want to watch for things like that. I prefer a bird that has a full length outer toe with a toenail. Feather legged breeds tend to have this issue more often than others.

You have beautiful birds. A lot of us enjoy when people share their pictures. Grays are one of my favorite colors.

 

[Beth G.]

Hi, Thanks dwegg but, this was not my first show

It was my first time going to the Congress since I was a young adult but, not the first show for my flock or I. Thank you so much for the congrats and compliments!!!

Beth...congratulations!!!! Wow what a great day for and for your first show...was it daunting? your silkies are beautiful...well done.

 

[Beth G.]

Thank you Rita!!! We need to get you out to some shows to hang out and show off some of those cutie pie silkies ya got at home!!!

Congratulations Beth they all look great

 

[Beth G.]

April I had a great time getting to you know you, your son, and Mom. Your Mom is sooo awesome and I know Pam would feel the same. Your two Dark Partridge pullets that you sold me are soo awesome and I love them alot! They both did great this weekend. I had sooo many compliments on them I must have told a dozen or more people that you were the breeder and if they want A++++ Quality Partridges they need to contact Brody's Broodello!!!!!

Also, thank you sooo much for the two Blue Parti pullets. I am really kicking myself for giving up that Blue Parti Cockrel. Ann loves him but, I am sitting here pouting in a sense

I look forward to those pictures of the other boy you mentioned to me. My husband is SOoooOOOoooo in love with that heavy crested blue parti girl. But, he agreed with you the little pullet has nice parti colors and he feel she is going to outpass her sis next year in type and color

I guess only time will tell.

Thanks again for an awesome time and awesome show. Best part was I got to see the two parti pullets Momma! How cool is that to be able to see my babies parent stock!!! Love it!

TTYS

Hi Beth,
It was great finally getting to meet up at the show. The girls look great, I'm so proud to see my fluffy kids doing well. Good luck with the new girls as well!
April

 

[mopargal1972]

Thank you for your feedback

. I will have to take a closer look at her feet. I know that she has all of her toenails because I also breed d'Uccles and it is a common problem with them too. I do not keep any birds who hatch with missing toenails. Thankfully, these little feather-footed beauties are easy to find good homes for. I may pick up a few more good quality Silkies at the next show that I attend. I am looking for a good quality black roo, and a good quality white roo to go with the hens I have. And of course a few grey pullets. If anyone here has anything available, PM me.

 

[spowell]

Opinions of these two? If memory serves me, they are around 6 weeks old. They are both grey if the pic does not reflect that.



It has blk and white striped feathers on the crest.






This one has a solid crest that is grey brown.







Their feet are dirty but they have 5 toes and pretty good feathering. I know they are not a std. color. I have my flock mixed right now and hatched a few mixed color eggs with my daughter.

 

[pinkchick]

Whoaaaa! How did I end up in here in the Silkie thread?!?!?!? LOL!


I hit reply in the Marans thread and took a ride over the Silkie side!

Evil little Silkies always trying to find a way to suck a person in......they even take full advantage of the bugs here in the new BYC to getcha lured into their evil cuteness!!!

Hi Everyone!

 

[spowell]

Whoaaaa! How did I end up in here in the Silkie thread?!?!?!? LOL!


I hit reply in the Marans thread and took a ride over the Silkie side!

Evil little Silkies always trying to find a way to suck a person in......they even take full advantage of the bugs here in the new BYC to getcha lured into their evil cuteness!!!

Hi Everyone!

 

[Beth G.]

Glad to see another person that breeds other breed chickens get into silkies!!

Okay, Because you are using all different colors of adult stock I can't say for sure who the momma is b/c remember White is a color that is white in appearance but, no one knows what is hiding in the genetics behind the white bird. I will leave the color genetic thing for someone else to approach and explain to you.

As for the silkie in question pictured it is a blue with what I can take a guess might have some leakage down the line. I have a hen that appears very similar to yours pictured at home. It was a baby that hatched out unintentionally by a broody when I put all my silkies together for non-breeding months. She appeared much like this Juvie with a dull looking blue. After her first molt she developed leakage on her hackles, wings, and tail ever so faint but, it was red leakage.

So I guess all I can say is only time will tell but, I'm pretty positive that is not a black. Most times you can tell by flipping the bird over and gently blowing into the underfluff and see what appears blue or dull brown. Blue is a blue and dull brown could mean black. I find it really takes a trained eye in person sometimes to give a 100% answer on a black bird.

Hope my information was helpful and not harmful! BTW your hens and chick seem very nice for just getting started

I have a question for all you silkie experts. I only have 3 adult Silkies right now. A grey roo, a white hen, and a black hen. I hatched 1 chick in Oct from them. At first it appeared to be blue, but now it looks black. Is it just a really dark blue? I am assuming that it is from my black hen because I would think that if it was from the white hen, it would be white. Anyways, here are the pics of my Silkies and the chick.
Grey Roo:


White hen:


Black hen:


Chick(when it first hatched):


Chick at 3 months old:


Foot feathering on chick:


Any feedback or advice would be appreciated. I am concentrating on my Phoenix bantams and d'Uccles right now, but I do plan on getting more Silkies this year. Right now they are just pets for the kids and fun to have around. I would like to eventually start showing them.

 

[Beth G.]

Whoaaaa! How did I end up in here in the Silkie thread?!?!?!? LOL!


I hit reply in the Marans thread and took a ride over the Silkie side!

Evil little Silkies always trying to find a way to suck a person in......they even take full advantage of the bugs here in the new BYC to getcha lured into their evil cuteness!!!

Hi Everyone!

Too funny Pinky but, welcome even though I love and breed Marans too My first love will always be my fuzzy butt silkies!!!