Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[AngBantamLuv]

That was me and I was just guessing.

What about a lemon blue??

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

What about a lemon blue??

Here's some better pics.. I tried to look up Red Pyle silkies and he kinda does look like one but has the grey/blue feathers and green sheen on his tail... Wonder if I breed him to my white silkies if they come out a buff colour? He is mating with them anyway but so is my rooster, I was going to put Cookie out so my rooster has the 5 ladies to himself. I have another coop with 3 girls but they aren't laying yet, but should be any day.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Here's some better pics.. I tried to look up Red Pyle silkies and he kinda does look like one but has the grey/blue feathers and green sheen on his tail... Wonder if I breed him to my white silkies if they come out a buff colour? He is mating with them anyway but so is my rooster, I was going to put Cookie out so my rooster has the 5 ladies to himself. I have another coop with 3 girls but they aren't laying yet, but should be any day.
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Ok i THINK i found it.. thats what 6 am googling does do an image search for blue cream silkie... there is some variation in dark/ light, but there is one image that is exact!!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/206532332896534349/

 

[LynnaePB]

I got him!

His name is Pewee and he is five months old. I was a bit disappointed because his owner said she got him from a breeder but I am guessing the "breeder" was just a hobby breeder sorta like me. he has a lot of smooth-feathers on his wings and tail. However, he has a very nice crest and a lot of fluff!

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He was raised in a house and his three siblings all ended up being boys (what luck!). So it will take a bit of work to get him used to the outdoors. He has never been around girl chickens so I hope he will be polite!

He is SO cuddly and sweet! And he doesn't run away when I put him down, probably because he can't see. I need to trim his crest.


Also, does he have vulture hocks? And if so, is it genetic? (Excuse the dirt on his bum)
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He is a cutie!

The vulture hock thing is something I've wondered about as well. Some of my silkies seem to have something like that. I'm not sure if they are vulture hocks but I believe from what I read about it that as long as there is no hard feathering there it should be alright. I do believe vulture hocks are genetic. I'm not really worrying too much about it in my own silkies as all the feathering is soft.

Good Saturday lovely silkie fans! Not sure if this is the right thread to post this. There are so many silkie threads on BYC, this one has the most traffic lately.
My questions are for the breeders out there. I keep my silkies with large fowl in a mixed flock. My only cockerel is with them and they all get along well. He is becoming more amorous and is trying to mate everything!
My pullets are not quite ready for this attention, but he is not tormenting them yet anyway. I have been keeping a close eye.
1) should I separate him until the girls get bigger? I think he is OK for now. Hear an occasional squak when he tries to grab the back of their necks.
2) should I separate the silkies when I want to start breeding them? I have the one boy and three pullets. Asking as will his mating all 11 girls I have including the large fowl affect his fertility? He will of course try to mate any of them that let him!
Thanks for any advice!

As long as your little cockerel isn't too hard on the girls I'd think they should be ok. If it ramps up too much before they are ready you may want to separate though.

I think it depends on the cockerel/cock how many girls he can handle. I'm getting pretty good fertility right now and I've got over 15 hens with one cock. I've heard of silkies that can barely handle 3 hens but I haven't experienced that yet. If you like having the flock together I'd keep them with each other for now and decide later on depending on how fertility is once they start laying.

Here's some better pics.. I tried to look up Red Pyle silkies and he kinda does look like one but has the grey/blue feathers and green sheen on his tail... Wonder if I breed him to my white silkies if they come out a buff colour? He is mating with them anyway but so is my rooster, I was going to put Cookie out so my rooster has the 5 ladies to himself. I have another coop with 3 girls but they aren't laying yet, but should be any day.
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Hmmm I wonder if he might be a Columbian gray with autosomal red leakage. I've seen some birds being called Columbian gray that look similar minus the red.

Columbian would restrict black pigment to more of the tail/wing/neck area. His neck doesn't have the darker color so much but seeing as his tail and wing feathers do that is what I'd suspect. He might even have blue at play diluting the black with his tail feathers that lighter color. Not sure though. I'd probably just call him a pretty mix color (he really is pretty)!

If he was red pyle I'd expect the black feathers to be a bit more randomly placed.

Ok i THINK i found it.. thats what 6 am googling does do an image search for blue cream silkie... there is some variation in dark/ light, but there is one image that is exact!!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/206532332896534349/

Good searching, that really does look a lot like him! I kind of think the bird in the photo was mislabeled though. Because of the lavender involved in creating blue cream rich reds and buffs aren't likely as lavender dilutes. I don't have enough experience to really say but searching through the genetics group I've seen there are a lot of birds people call blue cream that actually don't match genetically as they don't have the required lavender.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Thank @LynnaePB for your always helpful and detailed response. I appreciate it!
Glad to hear ok to keep the flock together, at least for now. It took along time to make them a somewhat cohesive group.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Ok.. i need info.. can silkies go broody after only 2 weeks laying?? Nala has spent the second day in the coop keeping the ceramic egg warm she does come out to get treats, but then goes right back in to the fake egg!!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Ok.. i need info.. can silkies go broody after only 2 weeks laying?? Nala has spent the second day in the coop keeping the ceramic egg warm she does come out to get treats, but then goes right back in to the fake egg!!

I believe they can and will! If she is trying to sleep on the egg, then you can “break” her of it. I just had to do this with my olive egger.
It worked well, but not sure when she will start laying again. Can be several weeks.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I believe they can and will! If she is trying to sleep on the egg, then you can “break” her of it. I just had to do this with my olive egger.
It worked well, but not sure when she will start laying again. Can be several weeks.

Maybe I'll put her diaper on her and let her hang out in the office w me.. distract her!! I was expecting 4 eggs today, but only got 1.. not sure whose it was!

 

[Hinotori]

Ok.. i need info.. can silkies go broody after only 2 weeks laying?? Nala has spent the second day in the coop keeping the ceramic egg warm she does come out to get treats, but then goes right back in to the fake egg!!

I had one pullet go broody without ever laying...

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I had one pullet go broody without ever laying...

Ok then that makes perfect sense!!! They are all asleep now, but i wanted to see if maybe we got a late egg. Will it go bad if they are keeping a new egg warm??