Silkie thread!

[Basel]

CJ's has baby photo pictures on their website. This chick looks blue but gray can come in a wide variety.

Yes, I've looked at those. I think this baby looks like some of the ones she has pictured, I just don't know if the down coloring and pattern can show which ones will be that "salt and pepper" look. The baby I posted is from an egg from her black lav split pen. I know I could get lavender [and black], but could I get blue?

Black/lav splits should be black. Lavender (self-blue) is completely recessive.

Hmmm. Well then where does that "salt and pepper" look come from? The adult pictured of CJ's is from her black lav split pen too. Sorry if these are dumb questions.

And congratulations on your hatch today!! Pix please...

 

[Basel]

X a million!

Thank you, tilosi. Can't wait to see yours in 3 weeks!!

 

[peepblessed]

Yes, I've looked at those. I think this baby looks like some of the ones she has pictured, I just don't know if the down coloring and pattern can show which ones will be that "salt and pepper" look. The baby I posted is from an egg from her black lav split pen. I know I could get lavender [and black], but could I get blue?


Hmmm. Well then where does that "salt and pepper" look come from? The adult pictured of CJ's is from her black lav split pen too. Sorry if these are dumb questions.

And congratulations on your hatch today!! Pix please...

People have any number of genetics in a pen. It's just that if you cross lav and black the babies will be black. Lavender will only carry lavender. But if the black splits are crossed with each other then hidden genes can surface. Here is a simple chart on lav split. Any color can have a recessive lav gene, such as grey, blue, splash white, etc. Maybe CJ's has a pen of lav splits that are mostly black but not all.

Lav x split lav = 50% lav, 50% split

Split x split = 25% lav, 50% split, 25% non lav

Split x non lav = 50% split, 50% non lav

lav x non lav = 100% split

 

[aoxa]

I have a hen in my laying flock that used to crow. Her spur nub also grew a little bit. Her hormone level was messed up and she was the top hen at the time. After her hormones leveled back out, she started laying good again and acting like a normal gal. Your silkie's hormones could be the reason she is crowing. I would give her some time before deciding on anything. 

Either way - he/she is staying put They've become really attached. This just means they will need more girls lol

 

[Sweetpeeps]

I had a Black Star hen who started "crowing' after I placed the rooster that had been with them. The Black Star was laying so there was no doubt that she was absolutely a hen. She just stopped crowing after a while. I read up after that experience and found that although not common, it was not all that rare. Your bird looks like a pullet, hope she turns out to be.

 

[aoxa]

I had a Black Star hen who started "crowing' after I placed the rooster that had been with them. The Black Star was laying so there was no doubt that she was absolutely a hen. She just stopped crowing after a while. I read up after that experience and found that although not common, it was not all that rare. Your bird looks like a pullet, hope she turns out to be. 

That's very helpful! Thank you

She was going to take a special white silkie roo off my hands (he has crooked feet) so I was concerned when she found out her other silkie could be a male. She said she will keep them both though, so I'm a little less worried lol. She will just need enough hens to keep them satisfied!

 

[Sweetpeeps]

That makes sense to me.

the ability to see when she is watching out for her peeps comes in real handy!!!

 

[Basel]

People have any number of genetics in a pen. It's just that if you cross lav and black the babies will be black. Lavender will only carry lavender. But if the black splits are crossed with each other then hidden genes can surface. Here is a simple chart on lav split. Any color can have a recessive lav gene, such as grey, blue, splash white, etc. Maybe CJ's has a pen of lav splits that are mostly black but not all.

Lav x split lav = 50% lav, 50% split

Split x split = 25% lav, 50% split, 25% non lav

Split x non lav = 50% split, 50% non lav

lav x non lav = 100% split

Thanks much.

The baby I have has lighter gray wings and feet feathering, with a darker body. Lots of pale gray/silver/cream coloring on its head in single hair wisps, as well as a little gray/cream spot on the top of its head and this light color around its eyes [as I tried to show in the 2 pix I posted]. Would you have any guess what coloring this baby could be or is there no way to tell? It doesn't seem black or lavender. ???

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks hawkeye. My run is covered. Ileft the door open because we haven't had any predator problems and I was to trusting inmy thinking they would be safe. I won't make the same mistake twice.

No problem, I wasn't sure if you knew about the poultry netting for the fruit trees or not. They are popular to use over chicken pens. I'm really sorry about your losses.

Thank you very much!

Also, do you use a turner?

I don't have the automatic turner, because I have the Brinsea Octagon. I don't have to lift the lid to turn it manually. I simply rock it forward and backwards. So I can get away with not opening the lid. If I didn't have this machine, I would likely buy a turner so I could regulate my humidity and temps better. But this is working out really well. So much so, that I am considering buying another one. The turners on these machines are on the OUTside. So they just rock the machine from the outside. I like to be really hands on with the turning, so at times, I'll turn it more than I know a machine will when I can see the development looks like it's on one side or the other. I may be a bit more obsessive than most people, though.

Aoxa-- not sure what to tell you about the other birds. The white one looks like a boy (but it's too young to really know!) and the others look more like pullets. Still.... too early to know! If I were going to judge my birds at that same age, I just wouldn't have an accurate guess. I can make a guess and then wait and see! I have 3 month olds that ALL look like girls. I know there have to be boys in that pen. Here later on, I'll see if I can get out there and post some pictures of them and let you see what I'm talking about. The thing is, that even a pullet can develop a bit of a comb early on... and then stop. A boy could be late to grow... No real good way to knowing, but I do have a better idea based on how wide the comb path is and what the beak looks like. I would not judge boys on how they play and chest bump-- even girls will do that for the first few months and then they settle down. But the boys do tend to continue to play spar later after the girls have settled down. They don't hurt each other though. They tend to get along just fine with each other and even prefer each other's company when they are resting. We are going to the pool here in a bit and then after that, I'll get some pictures of my "boy hopefuls" and my "girl hopefuls" (just my guesses) and show you how it's really going to be a crap shoot on whether I'm right or not! LOL

 

[peepblessed]

Thanks much.

The baby I have has lighter gray wings and feet feathering, with a darker body. Lots of pale gray/silver/cream coloring on its head in single hair wisps, as well as a little gray/cream spot on the top of its head and this light color around its eyes [as I tried to show in the 2 pix I posted]. Would you have any guess what coloring this baby could be or is there no way to tell? It doesn't seem black or lavender. ???

Too young to tell, but definitely not lav. It could still be black but likely very dark blue. Here's a picture of a chick that turned out to be black and not drk. blue.