Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[chickengr]

just hatched 2 black babies

 

[LynnaePB]

The pluses of working from home! Sitting on my front lanai (patio) and get to see this spectacular sunrise. if you look closely you can see the snow on MaunaKea around all the observatories. This is from the recent “blizzard“ that the media was hyping up. No snow on the beach though.
And now the chicks get to be out on the grass where I can see them while I work.
Life IS good.View attachment 2924613View attachment 2924612

Oh that is beautiful!!! I bet the babies love all that grass and space!

just hatched 2 black babies

Congratulations on the new little ones!

 

[LynnaePB]

I got to go to a big poultry show last Saturday nearby in Knoxville. I went early hoping maybe some nice birds would be available still. Since we got there right before judging started I didn't get a great look at most of the show birds (especially the silkies, their isles were busy with everyone doing last minute touches). It was still a lot of fun to see everything there, I never really realized just how tiny some breeds can be, and I loved seeing how little the call ducks were in person. They had some enormous geese there too, I never knew geese could get so big!

Anyway I was so happy to find there were a couple little cockerels from a mottled line available as I'd been really hoping to get some mottled silkies at some point to start working on the color (regular mottled and some fun color projects). I got the one the breeder said was the nicer of the two (and he definitely does seem like a sweetheart). He also happens to be my first NN silkie. I know the NNs aren't everyone's cup of tea but I am sure excited to get some NN chicks from him! He's not got a lot of mottling himself (mostly a bit of white in his crest) but the breeder was showing two lovely mottled pullets that he is related to with beautiful heavy mottling. She explained she's had some really pretty ones pop up from parents that don't necessarily have heavy mottling themselves. I'm hoping with some patience I'll be able to get some nice mottling too.

Here he is (sorry for the poor picture). He's non bearded but the beard should be easy to breed back in. I'm kind of happy to have another non bearded as my only non bearded girl is too prone to health issues for me to want to breed her.

I said I'd update with genders of my 4 older grow outs that I was trying to guess at gender based on vaults so here they are too. Sorry again for the not so great picture. I had guessed 3 pullets and 1 cockerel based on 3 having vaults and one non vaulted. It turned out one of the vaulted is a cockerel as well so I got 3 of 4 correct. The one in the front and the one at the back are the boys.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I got to go to a big poultry show last Saturday nearby in Knoxville. I went early hoping maybe some nice birds would be available still. Since we got there right before judging started I didn't get a great look at most of the show birds (especially the silkies, their isles were busy with everyone doing last minute touches). It was still a lot of fun to see everything there, I never really realized just how tiny some breeds can be, and I loved seeing how little the call ducks were in person. They had some enormous geese there too, I never knew geese could get so big!

Anyway I was so happy to find there were a couple little cockerels from a mottled line available as I'd been really hoping to get some mottled silkies at some point to start working on the color (regular mottled and some fun color projects). I got the one the breeder said was the nicer of the two (and he definitely does seem like a sweetheart). He also happens to be my first NN silkie. I know the NNs aren't everyone's cup of tea but I am sure excited to get some NN chicks from him! He's not got a lot of mottling himself (mostly a bit of white in his crest) but the breeder was showing two lovely mottled pullets that he is related to with beautiful heavy mottling. She explained she's had some really pretty ones pop up from parents that don't necessarily have heavy mottling themselves. I'm hoping with some patience I'll be able to get some nice mottling too.

Here he is (sorry for the poor picture). He's non bearded but the beard should be easy to breed back in. I'm kind of happy to have another non bearded as my only non bearded girl is too prone to health issues for me to want to breed her.
View attachment 2925446

I said I'd update with genders of my 4 older grow outs that I was trying to guess at gender based on vaults so here they are too. Sorry again for the not so great picture. I had guessed 3 pullets and 1 cockerel based on 3 having vaults and one non vaulted. It turned out one of the vaulted is a cockerel as well so I got 3 of 4 correct. The one in the front and the one at the back are the boys.

View attachment 2925451

I wish we had poultry shows here, sounds like it was a fun experience.
I LOVE your new boy!
I did not like the "showgirls" at first either, but now after I have seen them the past few years, and finally in person, they are growing on me too.
I have not seen mottled silkies before, what a great project to get into.
Which birds will you breed him with to get more mottling?
Your grow outs looks great, super fluffy!
I am very curious how the vaulted skull tends to be linked to female gender. I have done some research online, trying to find out how the genetics work, as it seems to be sexlinked to some extent, but there must be some other factors involved too. I have not found any clear connection written up anywhere.
I have had both male and female chicks with vaulted skulls, and both male and female without, though there is definitely a weight towards the vaulted skull chicks being female. Does not seem to work the other way around, as many of my non-vaulted skull chicks are female, too.
I also had a chick hatch this year with a huge vaulted skull, both parents are non-vaulted, so there is that question, too, how does it pass down, recessive, partially dominant? Lots of research to be done still, it seems.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Updated pic of 'Burtle' the cockerel 9 weeks old. I'm liking his colouring so I think I'll try keep him as a backup to Biscuit if they can all get along. He has red leakage

So far the other 2 in the hatch look like pullets. The 3 mumma Puff is raising I don't know yet boy or girl no early indications just yet unlike Burtle who I knew weeks ago!

 

[Silkie Princess]

Updated pic of 'Burtle' the cockerel 9 weeks old. I'm liking his colouring so I think I'll try keep him as a backup to Biscuit if they can all get along. He has red leakage

So far the other 2 in the hatch look like pullets. The 3 mumma Puff is raising I don't know yet boy or girl no early indications just yet unlike Burtle who I knew weeks ago!
View attachment 2925934View attachment 2925936
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He looks a teeny bit like my cockrell Melody

 

[Silkie Princess]

He looks a teeny bit like my cockrell Melody

Well not really but the red patches

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

He looks a teeny bit like my cockrell Melody

Wow such pretty colours
Wish I had a few more different sort of colour ones like yours!

 

[Silkie Princess]

Wow such pretty colours
Wish I had a few more different sort of colour ones like yours!

Thanks. They are mixed colours. I have no idea how could I get a buff columbian Silkie. The seller only had black, splash, partridge, white and buff silkies. I think Melody is a Splash X Buff silkie

 

[Silkie Princess]

Wish I had a few more different sort of colour ones like yours!

I have more... Around 15 adult pure Silkies (some are mixed colours) and 6 silkie mix chicks