Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[LynnaePB]

What will I get if I breed a silver partridge silkie hen to a blue or white rooster?

Hmm it's always hard to tell with white but I've heard a lot of breeders say they often have partridge underneath so my guess is you'd get partridge offspring. Depending on the ground color of the father you may end up with more silver partridge, regular gold based partridge, or in the case of the male offspring possibly both ground colors (which tends to look a little closer to silver partridge but has a bit more of a straw/yellow tint). The babies from that pairing will all carry a recessive white gene which won't affect the color but if paired with a white or another carrier of recessive white will make some white offspring possible in future generations. I am assuming your white rooster is recessive as most white silkies are. If it were dominant white you'd have a different outcome.

The blue with the silver partridge will likely give blue and black chicks that may have color leakage. Partridge popping out of blue breeding isn't unheard of though so there may be a chance you could get some partridge from the pairing. I think blues are usually silver based so the partridge would likely be silver as well as the leakage that might show up.

All in all it can be hard trying to guess what you might get when mixing colors. Hidden genes and ground color not being able to be guessed at very well can really complicate things!

Here better pictures of two of the babies.

Aww what cuties! I'm going to say that little guy and the others colored similarly are likely splash as lavender is not very common. Watch out for any darker feathers coming in as they grow. If they are splash some should hopefully start growing in during the next few weeks.

 

[gothicpicasso]

Aww what cuties! I'm going to say that little guy and the others colored similarly are likely splash as lavender is not very common. Watch out for any darker feathers coming in as they grow. If they are splash some should hopefully start growing in during the next few weeks.

Thank you. I know the place I got my hatching eggs from has both splash and lavender. If fact I think they have pretty much every color and sizzle. They don’t tell you what you get. It’s a mix and each hatch is a surprise. So I’m super excited to see what they are. Also the light colored chicks look much lighter that the white silkie chicks we got when we first started out. Sadly we lost one and the other two had to find new homes. I wish I could have roosters. I’d love to try breeding based on the info in your post. Trying to find colors and breed for interesting combinations would be fun.

 

[LynnaePB]

Thank you. I know the place I got my hatching eggs from has both splash and lavender. If fact I think they have pretty much every color and sizzle. They don’t tell you what you get. It’s a mix and each hatch is a surprise. So I’m super excited to see what they are. Also the light colored chicks look much lighter that the white silkie chicks we got when we first started out. Sadly we lost one and the other two had to find new homes. I wish I could have roosters. I’d love to try breeding based on the info in your post. Trying to find colors and breed for interesting combinations would be fun.

Ah I see, well that is very neat!

It sure can be tough to tell sometimes with chick down. I haven't ever seen a lavender in person but your little ones do remind me of the splash I've had as chicks.

Having hatched both gold and silver based recessive and dominant whites I would be kind of surprised if the chicks turned out to be white. Like you experienced the more common recessive whites do tend to be darker colored than that at hatch.

That is too bad about not being able to keep a rooster. Genetics and trying to figure out how things will mix is definitely fascinating!

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

What age would you suggest breeding silkie hens? I have 2 that are 19 weeks old and I am planning on breeding them in February? Do you think they'll be laying by then?

 

[LynnaePB]

What age would you suggest breeding silkie hens? I have 2 that are 19 weeks old and I am planning on breeding them in February? Do you think they'll be laying by then?

It can really vary with silkies when they start laying. Mine seem to start around 6-8 months usually, probably averaging around 7 months. I've heard of some silkies taking as long as a full year or even a bit longer to start laying though.

I would guess yours will probably start laying around February though they might take a little longer.

I've been impatient and usually start incubating the pullets eggs relatively soon after they start laying. If the eggs are extra small I'll wait until they reach a reasonable size. Waiting longer is a good thing if you want to make sure the parents are healthy stock. I've seen many silkie breeders mentioning not breeding until after a year old and recently saw a chicken breeder who wouldn't breed until after 2 years so they could really be sure the parents were healthy and give enough time for any issues to manifest themselves. I think I was overeager being a beginning breeder and I'm going to try out waiting at least a year before breeding now.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

It can really vary with silkies when they start laying. Mine seem to start around 6-8 months usually, probably averaging around 7 months. I've heard of some silkies taking as long as a full year or even a bit longer to start laying though.

I would guess yours will probably start laying around February though they might take a little longer.

I've been impatient and usually start incubating the pullets eggs relatively soon after they start laying. If the eggs are extra small I'll wait until they reach a reasonable size. Waiting longer is a good thing if you want to make sure the parents are healthy stock. I've seen many silkie breeders mentioning not breeding until after a year old and recently saw a chicken breeder who wouldn't breed until after 2 years so they could really be sure the parents were healthy and give enough time for any issues to manifest themselves. I think I was overeager being a beginning breeder and I'm going to try out waiting at least a year before breeding now.

Thanks for the info! I breed for pets not for show. Some of mine have a more wine colored comb or white feet instead of black. I haven't had anyone be upset because I tell them they aren't show quality. I just be sure they are healthy and send them to their new homes!

 

[TGeysen]

Hello, I've got ringnecks pheasants and silkies in the same coop. A couple months ago, some of the silkies eggs hatched. But the offspring doesn't look like normal silkies to me. Does anybody perhaps now if they are crossbreed between the silkies and ringnecks? I suspect they are crossbreed because the missing of a comb, the pattern of the feathers that is simular to the one from the ringnecks and because the 5th toe isn't fully developed. Thanks in advance!

 

[gothicpicasso]

I’m no expert on breeding. I did just do a quick google search and it turned up something from the Audubon Society about avian cross breeding and it mentioned pheasant and domestic chicken cross breeds. So looks like it possible. They are in the same family. Here is the link:
https://www.audubon.org/news/the-amazing-world-hybrid-birds

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hello, I've got ringnecks pheasants and silkies in the same coop. A couple months ago, some of the silkies eggs hatched. But the offspring doesn't look like normal silkies to me. Does anybody perhaps now if they are crossbreed between the silkies and ringnecks? I suspect they are crossbreed because the missing of a comb, the pattern of the feathers that is simular to the one from the ringnecks and because the 5th toe isn't fully developed. Thanks in advance!

See my reply in your other post!

 

[LynnaePB]

Hello, I've got ringnecks pheasants and silkies in the same coop. A couple months ago, some of the silkies eggs hatched. But the offspring doesn't look like normal silkies to me. Does anybody perhaps now if they are crossbreed between the silkies and ringnecks? I suspect they are crossbreed because the missing of a comb, the pattern of the feathers that is simular to the one from the ringnecks and because the 5th toe isn't fully developed. Thanks in advance!

Aww what a cutie!

As far as whether they could be part pheasant my guess is probably this little one is pure silkie.

Silkie feathering is recessive. In a regular chicken x chicken cross one with silkie feathers crossed to another with normal feathers that isn't carrying a recessive silkie feathering gene is going to produce 100% normal feathered offspring. I would think this would probably work the same in pheasant x silkie crosses.

The very flat comb isn't too uncommon in young silkies especially in young pullets. I'd guess it will probably grow a bit as the little one matures. Sometimes even at maturity the combs stay quite small though.

As for the toe being a bit fused that is also something that can pop up rather often in silkies. The polydactyly gene which is responsible for the extra toes in silkies is rather finicky and can vary widely in its expression. Fused toes, extra toes, extra nails, missing fifth toes etc are all possible and not too uncommon.

The partridge like color your silkie is displaying is also pretty common and can pop up especially when mixing colors.

All in all I think your little one looks pretty normal for a silkie chick though I don't know enough about chicken x pheasant hybrids to completely rule it out.