Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[LynnaePB]

Yall this Silkie thread is closest thing for Satins...and yall know all my questions with regard to Bluey from chick to now.
We have established he is definitely a boy.
He is now 4 months old today.
Since I put Joey in a bachelor pad behind the main run, Bluey has stepped up his dominance over Daisy mostly.
They are hatchmates...so ain't gonna work.
I stuck him out with Joey just in open yard and Bluey went basurk! Flying into the HWC trying to get back inside the run! It was insane!
So I put him in the bachelor pad for hour or so til bedtime...and of course instead of Joey helping me get Bluey out of lil coop, he attacked him right there at my feet!
Dadgum boys!
Anyways...my question, if ya stayed with me this long lol, is since Bluey has NEVER shown any typical personality traits of a roo..cuddle, always first, etc...and now he's acting like a crazy dude just with Joey...what am I lookin at here? Is he gonna be mild mannered boy with humans or girls, or both? Too early to tell yet?
I'm wandering if I should keep him cuz he is so tall and long legged...he's not luvable at all! And based in my breeding questions it doesnt sound like he will really give me much of what i am wanting...with d'uccles for sure. So the only thing going for this dude is his gorgeous feathered legs and feet!
So questions and pondering here!

Hmm well as far as color goes if he's not what you want that would certainly be something to consider.

As for the rest I'd say it's much too soon to tell. His hormones will probably go all over the place and it'll be hard to see what they settle into until he is older. I'd say you'll probably have a pretty good idea of type by 7 months. At 4 months looking awkward and gangly is pretty normal and he still may fill in really nicely. Some of my most gangly boys really filled in beautifully given enough time....they did end up a little on the larger side though.

These two boys are the same age and at about 4 months old here. The darker of the two had filled in a decent amount already and didn't change drastically from this point. The lighter was really gangly compared to his siblings at 4 months.

Then this is the lighter boy around 7-8 months, he definitely needed the extra time to fill in.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Hmm well as far as color goes if he's not what you want that would certainly be something to consider.

As for the rest I'd say it's much too soon to tell. His hormones will probably go all over the place and it'll be hard to see what they settle into until he is older. I'd say you'll probably have a pretty good idea of type by 7 months. At 4 months looking awkward and gangly is pretty normal and he still may fill in really nicely. Some of my most gangly boys really filled in beautifully given enough time....they did end up a little on the larger side though.

These two boys are the same age and at about 4 months old here. The darker of the two had filled in a decent amount already and didn't change drastically from this point. The lighter was really gangly compared to his siblings at 4 months.

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Then this is the lighter boy around 7-8 months, he definitely needed the extra time to fill in.

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Oh wow! So I should keep working with him even if I don't put him with the d'uccles! Yeah he turned out gorgeous!!!
Joey did more like your first pic and not much change over time. I just hate he's being a bootyhead now...but I realize that is partly my fault!
Here I said I wasn't gonna do a "breeding project" ...OMGeeze idk what I'm doin! Lolol

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Hmmm well I'll make a guess with each color but I could definitely be off.
I'm assuming your current birds are not carrying unexpected recessives for my guesses although if they happen to be from a mixed color flock those recessives become much more likely.

Buff boy x buff girl should give buff offspring

Buff boy x white girl is unpredictable as white can hide lots of things underneath. In silkies it often hides partridge though so if your girl hides partridge you'll probably get something between buff and partridge from this cross (sort of a smutty buff). If your girl happens to be silver based instead of gold you'd get some sort of Columbian gray looking males who would probably get red leakage later on along with the sort of smutty buff females.

Buff boy x splash girl should give 100% blue offspring that will probably get a lot of leakage later on. Girls with gold leakage and boys may have silver and possibly red leakage as splash is generally bred to be silver based.

Buff boy x blue girl should give 50% blue and 50% black offspring that will get similar leakage to the babies from the buff x splash pairing.

Buff x self blue should give all black offspring as self blue is basically a black bird that is homozygous for lavender which is recessive. Like the offspring from the blue and splash pair they will likely get leakage. I'm not sure whether self blue is usually gold or silver based so the leakage may all be gold or could possibly be silver in the males but dad being gold based the girls will have gold leakage not silver.

Buff is generally a color that is going to add leakage in a lot of color varieties. Other than buff x buff I'd call all the offspring mix colored if selling chicks.




I started at $5 each for young chicks but that was low. I've increased to $10 for chicks without any obvious DQs which is what I see a lot of breeders charging in the area. I'd take into account what prices are in your area as it can vary pretty widely. If you keep them for more than a month I'd increase the price especially if they are old enough to be off heat. I sell sexed pullets starting at $25 for pet quality (obvious large faults or DQs but healthy). Boys I usually just charge $10 for unless they are very nice quality. For me selling chicks can be really hit and miss. Boys are very hard to sell, and girls usually easy to sell. I'd like to see how well pairs sell sometime to hopefully help get more boys homes.



He does look like a boy to me. It looks like he has streamers and that tail is looking fairly male. He's a cutie!

Omg that is so cool thank you for this cool info!

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Omgggg the middle one is so prettyyyyy

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Hey I value yalls input greatly! So if u get a chance could you give this a look?
Post in thread 'What did you do with your flock today?' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-flock-today.1371402/post-26025561

 

[chickengr]

Hey I value yalls input greatly! So if u get a chance could you give this a look?
Post in thread 'What did you do with your flock today?' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-flock-today.1371402/post-26025561

it is strange that she has no real feathers by now. I think it is warm enough to stay outside but she might have another health or genetic issue.

 

[chickengr]

My white D'uccle does that same type of breathing, especially when she's hot. I suspect she has a heart issue, sometimes the "red" drains from her face, then comes back later. It was happening when she lived in the house too, so its not only heat related. Might be good to cull him in case its a genetic issue.

as soon as you suggested culling my boy stopped making that rattling sound

 

[AngBantamLuv]

as soon as you suggested culling my boy stopped making that rattling sound

Good!!! Maybe he was just fighting something off infection wise!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

So it's the same thing.... every. Single. Night. Everyone goes to bed except Elsa. The silkie and polkie sleep in the doorway and block Elsa. She terrorizes them until they move.

Well last night, they stood their ground.. and the polkie (Betty) raised her wing up and the silkie (Bambina) cuddled under. So i had to save them and get Elsa. I ended up putting her inside through the nest door. But these two little ones are just the best of friends.

It was dark out already, so it looks grainy.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

So it's the same thing.... every. Single. Night. Everyone goes to bed except Elsa. The silkie and polkie sleep in the doorway and block Elsa. She terrorizes them until they move.

Well last night, they stood their ground.. and the polkie (Betty) raised her wing up and the silkie (Bambina) cuddled under. So i had to save them and get Elsa. I ended up putting her inside through the nest door. But these two little ones are just the best of friends.

It was dark out already, so it looks grainy.
View attachment 3212007

I had to go do similar with mine last night!
I'm amazed at how they can have best buddies so quickly!!!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I had to go do similar with mine last night!
I'm amazed at how they can have best buddies so quickly!!!

Oh, I've met inseparable twins (although not conjoined), so its not surprising to me. Birds especially have strong imprinting instincts. All of my girls hang out in their original hatchmate groups. But these two are the gentlest, so its sweeter to see them protect each other.