Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[PioneerChicks]

My leap day hatch is hatching a day early

So "egg-citing"!

 

[LynnaePB]

Do Red Pyle breed true?

Hmm I'd like to know this as well!

Given my understanding of the genetics of red pyle you should be able to get it to breed true.

If both parents are red pyle and have 2 copies of the dominant white gene you should get 100% red pyle offspring. If both parents are red pyle but only have one copy of dominant white you would get red pyle babies some with two copies of dominant white, some with only one copy but you would also get some partridge babies.

I'm not sure if there is a good way other than test breeding to find out if a red pyle is carrying one or two copies of dominant white. One copy of dominant white is often leaky however so if the red pyle has any black feathers/spots it is very likely it is only carrying one copy of dominant white.

I could be wrong though. I don't really have experience with red pyle yet but I am getting started breeding paints and they are based on dominant white as well so I can kind of extrapolate from that somewhat.

 

[CuteFluffyButtSilkies]

First hatch is over, set 59 eggs and got 33 chicks. Not bad considering some eggs were held for over 3 weeks and the first eggs from some pens are lower fertility.
I am keeping 16, 12 marans (3 lavender, 9 blacks split to lavender) and 4 (2 pairs) Isabel Legbars (aka Opals). Those 2 kinds are ones where I have just a pair or trio and could lose one birds and never be able to recover the genes, so I'm raising chicks in February, once again.

Hmm I'd like to know this as well!

Given my understanding of the genetics of red pyle you should be able to get it to breed true.

If both parents are red pyle and have 2 copies of the dominant white gene you should get 100% red pyle offspring. If both parents are red pyle but only have one copy of dominant white you would get red pyle babies some with two copies of dominant white, some with only one copy but you would also get some partridge babies.

I'm not sure if there is a good way other than test breeding to find out if a red pyle is carrying one or two copies of dominant white. One copy of dominant white is often leaky however so if the red pyle has any black feathers/spots it is very likely it is only carrying one copy of dominant white.

I could be wrong though. I don't really have experience with red pyle yet but I am getting started breeding paints and they are based on dominant white as well so I can kind of extrapolate from that somewhat.

Thank you. This makes sense

 

[CuteFluffyButtSilkies]

I have 5 babies so far

 

[LynnaePB]

I have 5 babies so farView attachment 2038094

Adorable!

What colors are you hatching?

 

[Clrflowers]

Here's my Silkies, I got them last May and have never had any other chickens. I heard from a couple people that worked on farms that chickens were mean and pecked at you and each other. So I was amazingly surprised at these gentle cute loving animals. I just had a silkie egg hatch and want to let the next hen that goes broody try to hatch a lot more (I only left her 2 and one was not fertile)

 

[CuteFluffyButtSilkies]

Adorable!

What colors are you hatching?

Thank you. I have blue, splash, partridge and white. I have leap day babies ❤

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Hi! I was at Orschelens last week and their chicks were all marked down so I splurged a bit, lol. I got a nice assortment and 3 are silkies. Here's what I'm curious about: All 3 have different colored down,1 is white, 1 is a peachy yellow color, and 1 is kind of silvery white with some random dark patches and it looks like a faint stripe on its back. All 3 have white feathers coming in on their wings tho so are they all white then? I knew the first one was a white but I thought the peachy one would be buff and I had no idea about the darker one. I know they're hatchery birds so is that why their down color is so varied even tho they all have white wings?
The definite white:

The peachy one:

The greyish one:

Here's all 3 next to each other(from top left: grey, white, peach) :

I just thought it was so curious they could look so different but actually be the same!

 

[LynnaePB]

Hi! I was at Orschelens last week and their chicks were all marked down so I splurged a bit, lol. I got a nice assortment and 3 are silkies. Here's what I'm curious about: All 3 have different colored down,1 is white, 1 is a peachy yellow color, and 1 is kind of silvery white with some random dark patches and it looks like a faint stripe on its back. All 3 have white feathers coming in on their wings tho so are they all white then? I knew the first one was a white but I thought the peachy one would be buff and I had no idea about the darker one. I know they're hatchery birds so is that why their down color is so varied even tho they all have white wings?
The definite white: View attachment 2040654
The peachy one:
View attachment 2040657
The greyish one:
View attachment 2040658
Here's all 3 next to each other(from top left: grey, white, peach) :
View attachment 2040659
I just thought it was so curious they could look so different but actually be the same!

Aww look at those little cuties!

I have seen white chick down vary quite a bit in color. Your little ones are probably all going to be white. I don't breed recessive white (which is what most white silkies are) so someone else who does breed them may be able to answer better.

I have paint silkies and some of their chicks turn out white (with paint the white is dominant white rather than recessive). These are both white chicks from paint parents. As you can see they definitely have different colored down. In this case the down color is different because the little greyish chick has the silver gene vs the other who probably only has the gold gene. Silver gene whites often have a bit of a brighter/crisper white when grown. Your little greyish chick could possibly be getting that grey color from having the silver gene.

(Sorry for the poor lighting in the picture).

 

[CindyinSD]

I don't like her because she's mean. She hasn't attitude problem.

I know this is old, but... I have Silver-laced black & Columbian Wyandottes. It's so strange how different they are from one another personality-wise. The Columbians are snuggly sweeties but the SLB are skittish. Not mean, but they try their best to avoid contact.