Silkie

[ChickenBoyAfrica]

Ok, here are some photos of the silkie hen. At least she isn’t crowing

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Ok, here are some photos of the silkie hen. At least she isn’t crowing

Looks like my partridge, Nala. Very cute.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Ok, here are some photos of the silkie hen. At least she isn’t crowing

Definitely is a girl! Pretty!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hallo, greetings from South Africa.
We got a silkie rooster and I want to know if he is a mix breed or pure Silkie.
He has red facial skin and a single comb and white skin. He also has plymouth rock colouring and is also smallish.View attachment 2433923

I'm gonna go ahead and say that he is AT least a second generation cross if not just a poor quality pure bred Silkie... First non Silkie generation crosses will be hard feathered and he looks Silkied to me. So I would say at the very least he is pure for the Silky gene.. but not bred to the standard of perfection.

5 toes is a dominant feature.. as is cresting and bearding and feathered shanks. Single comb.. is lack of a comb gene.. and sometimes pops up unless test mating is done to eliminate the parent stock hiding these features, if hidden.

I bred Silkies for several years including project colors like paint, lavender, and yes cuckoo (they ARE available in the US)! The lack of pigment or melanin in the wattles, face, comb.. is one of those things that must be selected against and pops up easily.. Silkies are a melanistic breed just like Cemani. Skin color can indicate breed.. or just breeding quality. I mean no rudeness regarding breeding quality.. I just mean pet, show, breeding, or soup pot quality and for discussion purposes only.
IN the US we have only one standard for Silkies size, bantam. Some countries recognize standard and bantam.. with the standards still being a bit smaller than most average large fowl breed and the bantams being the tiny Silkies as they should be. I love the name Almost!

Thank you ! I also like him very much . I also got a pure silkie hen the other day , the people said she is 11 months old but not laying yet . Anyone know why .

Lovely partridge pullet! Her color concurs that her gender is female.

Laying is light induced after genetics.. They need 14+ hours of light to induce the hormone. But nutrition also impacts many bodily functions including reproduction. What is her feed routine?

I've never had a Silkie or any bird lay that late.. and they would be sold off or harvested.. presuming genetic weakness. That is one reason WHY folks in the know don't hatch first laid pullet eggs and such.. the reproductive system is still working out it's kinks and these type of situations with late layers or never layers ARE one of those largely undetected outcomes. Chickens are hatched with ALL the follicles that will EVER become eggs already on board AND coming from ONE ovary only. If the egg ovary or the hormone ovary either one get damaged it anyone's guess at the outcome, and some hens spontaneously grow male saddle feathers, etc. Just because an egg CAN be hatched.. doesn't always make it WISE choice. However many folks who don't have the obsession for attention to detail, or aren't working on a specific line long enough to reap the fruits of their labor both good and not. Breeding chickens is both easy and complex but tons of fun!

To ME.. he is a low quality (regarding skin color and comb type) cuckoo Silkie.. with excess silver leakage in the hackle area.. bred to another SIlkie.. get Silkie offspring. color pattern probably unknown (and likely not meeting any standard of perfection) because males get a double dose of barring from their dames.. So he had at least a barred dame.. but not sure about his sire's heritage.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

Hallo, greetings from South Africa.
We got a silkie rooster and I want to know if he is a mix breed or pure Silkie.
He has red facial skin and a single comb and white skin. He also has plymouth rock colouring and is also smallish.View attachment 2433923

Very pretty silver partridge but definitely not purebred.

 

[ChickenBoyAfrica]

I'm gonna go ahead and say that he is AT least a second generation cross if not just a poor quality pure bred Silkie... First non Silkie generation crosses will be hard feathered and he looks Silkied to me. So I would say at the very least he is pure for the Silky gene.. but not bred to the standard of perfection.

5 toes is a dominant feature.. as is cresting and bearding and feathered shanks. Single comb.. is lack of a comb gene.. and sometimes pops up unless test mating is done to eliminate the parent stock hiding these features, if hidden.

I bred Silkies for several years including project colors like paint, lavender, and yes cuckoo (they ARE available in the US)! The lack of pigment or melanin in the wattles, face, comb.. is one of those things that must be selected against and pops up easily.. Silkies are a melanistic breed just like Cemani. Skin color can indicate breed.. or just breeding quality. I mean no rudeness regarding breeding quality.. I just mean pet, show, breeding, or soup pot quality and for discussion purposes only.
IN the US we have only one standard for Silkies size, bantam. Some countries recognize standard and bantam.. with the standards still being a bit smaller than most average large fowl breed and the bantams being the tiny Silkies as they should be. I love the name Almost!


Lovely partridge pullet! Her color concurs that her gender is female.

Laying is light induced after genetics.. They need 14+ hours of light to induce the hormone. But nutrition also impacts many bodily functions including reproduction. What is her feed routine?

I've never had a Silkie or any bird lay that late.. and they would be sold off or harvested.. presuming genetic weakness. That is one reason WHY folks in the know don't hatch first laid pullet eggs and such.. the reproductive system is still working out it's kinks and these type of situations with late layers or never layers ARE one of those largely undetected outcomes. Chickens are hatched with ALL the follicles that will EVER become eggs already on board AND coming from ONE ovary only. If the egg ovary or the hormone ovary either one get damaged it anyone's guess at the outcome, and some hens spontaneously grow male saddle feathers, etc. Just because an egg CAN be hatched.. doesn't always make it WISE choice. However many folks who don't have the obsession for attention to detail, or aren't working on a specific line long enough to reap the fruits of their labor both good and not. Breeding chickens is both easy and complex but tons of fun!

To ME.. he is a low quality (regarding skin color and comb type) cuckoo Silkie.. with excess silver leakage in the hackle area.. bred to another SIlkie.. get Silkie offspring. color pattern probably unknown (and likely not meeting any standard of perfection) because males get a double dose of barring from their dames.. So he had at least a barred dame.. but not sure about his sire's heritage.

THank you for all the input!

 

[Patriot1672]

I was wondering what some of the more rare colors a Silkie might be. I just hatched out 8 that I had purchased from eBay. 4 appear to be blonde or buff, 2 appear to be all black, and 2 appear to be dark grey with some white around the neck and other parts.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I was wondering what some of the more rare colors a Silkie might be. I just hatched out 8 that I had purchased from eBay. 4 appear to be blonde or buff, 2 appear to be all black, and 2 appear to be dark grey with some white around the neck and other parts.

Can you post pics?

 

[Patriot1672]

Can you post pics?

2 of them are tucked under the gosling lol

 

[Egg Snatcher]

The ones with white and black spots I think is are splash. The Gray is blue, and the blondish one is going to be a light buff color. You probably can call it blonde. And your little goose is an African Goose! Their very sweet!