Silkie without leg feathers??

[ErinEliz]

I purchased 6 "assorted bantams" at my local TSC about three weeks ago. They are between 3 and 4 weeks now and feathering up nicely but two of the six have no leg feathering at all. They all have black skin, legs, and beaks and all have 5 toes so i am pretty positive that they are silkies. Is this possible? I have never had silkies before and am not sure if it takes a while for their leg feathers to come in or not and think its odd that two out of six just wouldnt have them.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Can you post a picture?
I'm don't know much about Silkies but I've never heard of one having clean legs. Maybe it's a mix?

 

[Lolipop]

Some of my 2 week old TSC silkies have clean legs... They just aren't SQ.

 

[hdowden]

silkies should never have clean legs at any age. can you post a pic please

 

[ChicCrazyInNC]

Some of my 2 week old TSC silkies have clean legs...  They just aren't SQ.

X2!! I have silkies from tractor supply too, and alot if them are clean legged, others are not. I also have show quality and there is a HUGE difference as far as the crest and feather legs. Most hatchery chicks are inbred and most hatchery books tell you they breed pretty quality and not show quality. It's also possible to get silkies with only 9 toes or even 8. I was lucky enough to pick my chicks from TSC since I use to work there and I counted their toes before I got them even though they will be pets only.

 

[ChicCrazyInNC]

** pet quality I meant not pretty quality**

 

[Kev]

yeah pet quality or better, hatchery stock. hatcheries pretty much don't care how they look as long as they lay fertile eggs.

things like single combs, wrong number of toes, even pink skin aren't that rare in hatchery stock either.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yep, hatcheries breed for quantity, not quality. The girls will probably lay more eggs than my breeder quality Silkies though

 

[Hal Porcher]

I've seen lots of single combed , yellow skinned Silkies purchased from hatcheries.

 

[ErinEliz]

Thank you all for the input. I knew that they wouldn't be show quality when I got them, I am just interested in having some really cute pet birds in the yard, so I really don't mind what they look like. I was just interested to hear if others have seen this in this breed. I work in a small animal vet clinic, so am well aware of all the deformities and conformation flaws that come with poor breeding. I did take many pics but unfortunatly I am unable to upload them because I haven't placed enough post on here yet
Thank you for the quick replies