Silkie thread!

[Sanna]

Gray is a standard recognized color - silver partridge is usually just another name for Gray. But the color standard calls for no evident penciling/barring (like a partridge has) but many of the Grays out there have penciled wings and necks, so I *think* that is why people started calling it Silver partridge

That makes sense.
Thank you.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I guess it would be pretty clear that it would be this guy, right? What color is he anyway?
Can a Splash carry white?

You could consider him Gray or Colombian?? not sure. but he may be the one carrying a recessive white gene. - its not always evident. I have a white girl that originated from a pair of partridge parents - don't ask how that happened, but she does throw partridge babies when paired with a partridge roo.

 

[mama2my4]

OKay, I had a chick just hatch. He did great! Once he started to zip, he just went right for it. I took pictures of him right when he pushed out of the shell and now he's starting to fluff... Here we go!!! I'm thinking he's Blue??? Has a bit of a vaulted skull-- not nearly as high as his siblings have been hatched with.

SO cute!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

I guess it would be pretty clear that it would be this guy, right? What color is he anyway?
Can a Splash carry white?

OMGosh!! You have a Columbian!? Is this your rooster?? This is the color project I want to work on in a year or two down the road! (when I learn more so I know what I'm doing!--HA!) Did you get him from a breeder that was working on Columbian? He's pretty!

 

[sager:)silkies]

hey everyone i just got some of my chicks and he couldnt give me my splashes but i think the ones i got are splashes and the ones he forgot are the self blue/lavender silkies here some pics



sorry the pics just do justice they make them look darker then they really are they look kinda grey but what do u guys think are they splash or lavender also one has a pink toe so thats whats got me thinking atleast one is splash

 

[sager:)silkies]

also could u guys post pics of some day old splashes and day old lavenders

 

[marlo1968]

Lovely will enjoy her reign as Head Hen. In my experience, silkies are more likely to take a dominant role than are larger breeds.

I think you are right, today they free ranged together, well I say together, but really not so much, all hens (except babies) free ranged at the same time. Any time that the leghorns or red stars would come anywhere near Lovely, she attacked. Claws, beak, and wings flapping. Many of the hens she attacked crouched with wings out as soon as Lovely got close then she would peck at them and pull at their feathers. I am assuming this crouching is a submissive behavior.

The rooster, Prune, seems completely and blissfully unaware of anything or anyone around him. He seems quite happy to just scratch and peck at the ground, sometimes clucking to the hens, who ignore him, and he crows very little. I have not seen him mount or even act like he is interested in that. Is this just because its a new place or could he just be a happy go lucky guy?

Also, Lovely and the other silkie hen (she isn't named yet) have not laid any eggs. Now I know they don't lay as often as a leghorn or red star, and they've just moved, but shouldn't they begin laying sometime soon? They are a year old.

These silkies are so very different in their attitudes than my leghorns and red stars.....not like any other chickens I've had. And they are so aloof, just not used to it. And Lovely, you should see her run, she kind of hops when she runs, but its a funny hop, sort of like a little kid on a stick horse. I will have to get a video and post it for y'all to see.

Sorry I've kind of rambled in several different directions here, just very confused by the way these gals and guy behave....

really enjoying them, just baffled by them lol. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[sager:)silkies]

here is a little better pic

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

YES! duh! LOL she must be Blue.

In which case, I won't be getting any black. That chick yesterday must have been a VERY dark blue, because it was solid black!
Hu?!? LOL Yeah, I read this a couple of times... It doesn't sound like you have a rooster that is a solid color? Not sure how they got white feet. If your hen is black, you need a rooster that is a solid blue, black or a Splash. I wouldn't use white to get to blue. I also would not use any rooster that has red earlobes.

ETA-- okay, now I re-read and see your hen is WHITE. I was totally thrown by all the blue rooster talk. A white and a blue doesn't mean Blue. I suppose it's a shot in the dark and who knows what odds there are to it, since you don't know the white background...*maybe* you could get blue??? I guess try and see.

Sorry to be confusing

The white hen (pullet actually) that is being planned on being used to attempt for a blue.

There are two roosters in the pen. One is black with white feathering feet,not all feathers are white, but you can see white feathers there. This is the white pullet's father. I cant tell you which one is the mother -I think there are 4 silkie hens in there. The second rooster is I believe is a hatchery silkie, he is blue. They got two silkies from the hatchery - one is definitely black and smaller. The younger rooster has a blueish tint under black feathers. I will have to look at the ear lobes the next time. Most of the hens are black.

Those are definitely not show type of the birds.. those were used for the hatching large fowl eggs.

Hope that makes sense

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

This is for a friend since I dont personally have silkies but we have been discussing this - we are trying to get BLUES.

They are mostly blacks. the older rooster has white feathering on feet. 3 (or 4??) black hens, the younger rooster is a blueish black. and finally the white pullet with blue earlobes. Her sire is the older black rooster with white feathering on feet out of one of the black hens. The younger blueish black rooster is not related. I say blueish because he has blueish tint under the black feathering. He has red earlobes. The white silkie hatched out some of LF eggs so we are planning on putting her in a selective breeding pen with one rooster to try for blues when those chicks are six or seven weeks old. But which rooster should be used? her sire or the blueish black? I think we have a chance of all four colors (black, blue, white and splash) as she is WHITE, not a splash if she is crossed with the blueish black rooster and more of white/black with her sire with maybe a chance of blue (?).

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

You need a parent that carries the blue gene to get blue offspring. Black does not have it. With white you can never tell unless you KNOW that a parent was splash, or that a child was BLUE or SPLASH. You can suspect that it MIGHT be there if a parent was BLUE, but there is a 50% chance that it is not present. White has NOTHING to do with blue. WHITE is NOT a dilution gene. It completely turns OFF the display of pigment that might genetically be present lacking the white gene.

From your description, the white hen cannot carry blue. Paired to the black cock, there is 0% chance of a blue. IFF the bluish black cockerel is in actuality blue, there is a possibility of a blue when paired with the white. NOT a certainty. At best 50%. There is no chance of splash as she does not carry blue.