Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

It's Winter here with some nights with a low of 0 degrees Celsius or less but I have a broody who is very much insisting she raise babies, 2nd time full broody this month and continues to lay eggs even when caged. So I have just moved her and gave her 5 eggs (since it's cold) though I don't think they are fertile but I'll give it a try anyway and check in a couple days if they develop or I'll have to break her again.
I haven't allowed her to brood chicks yet so this will be her first time. I moved her in daytime and she happily sat and snuggled in her new nesting spot without a problem so that's a good sign she'll stay there.
Hope her eggs are fertile

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Yall my first actual silkie hatched and it has a vault!so funny looking

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Yall my first actual silkie hatched and it has a vault!so funny looking

Awe! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Not really related to silkies but you guys seemed like the best people to ask haha. I think it's recessive white/white in general that will hide a lot of colors. I have a white cochin bantam hen and bred her to a buff laced polish several times and all the chicks hatched yellow with black spots that stayed with them/increased as they got older. I bred her to a blue Cochin rooster dark blue but still blue and the 2 chicks that have hatched so far are black!? I thought they would be splash but maybe the boy has some black too idk I wouldn't think so cause I got him from a show breeder and he won a lot of stuff at show.
Thanks for answers

 

[LynnaePB]

This frizzle satin baby amuses me with the way the dark feathers coming in on his/her face are looking like little eyebrows right now. I thought others might get a chuckle out of it too. Sorry for the terrible picture quality.

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

Oh goodness yeah boys can be such handfuls sometimes! I think figuring out how to deal with their hormonal little selves is one of the harder aspects of breeding.

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

Aww little munchkin. There could be something off but hopefully the little one catches up and will do ok. Slower feathering can happen due to a gene which is sex linked but your baby is feathering in even slower than most slow feathering ones I've seen. I had a little jubilee orpington baby once in an assortment from cackle hatchery that was so much slower to feather than the rest and he turned out just fine. I'm hoping it'll be the same for your baby.

It's Winter here with some nights with a low of 0 degrees Celsius or less but I have a broody who is very much insisting she raise babies, 2nd time full broody this month and continues to lay eggs even when caged. So I have just moved her and gave her 5 eggs (since it's cold) though I don't think they are fertile but I'll give it a try anyway and check in a couple days if they develop or I'll have to break her again.
I haven't allowed her to brood chicks yet so this will be her first time. I moved her in daytime and she happily sat and snuggled in her new nesting spot without a problem so that's a good sign she'll stay there.
Hope her eggs are fertile
View attachment 3213100

Aww I hope they are fertile too and she turns out to be a good first time momma!

Yall my first actual silkie hatched and it has a vault!so funny looking

How adorable!

Not really related to silkies but you guys seemed like the best people to ask haha. I think it's recessive white/white in general that will hide a lot of colors. I have a white cochin bantam hen and bred her to a buff laced polish several times and all the chicks hatched yellow with black spots that stayed with them/increased as they got older. I bred her to a blue Cochin rooster dark blue but still blue and the 2 chicks that have hatched so far are black!? I thought they would be splash but maybe the boy has some black too idk I wouldn't think so cause I got him from a show breeder and he won a lot of stuff at show.
Thanks for answers

Oh yeah I think I know exactly what is going on there.

So your little white girl is recessive white. Recessive white is great at hiding all sorts of things but needs two copies to show being that it is recessive.

It was actually your buff laced polish who was giving the babies their white. This is because buff laced involves dominant white. Unlike recessive white dominant white lets red/buff bleed through. So if a gold laced bird has one or two copies of dominant white it will turn the areas that would be black laced white but leaves the gold/buff color. Dominant white is leaky when it only has one copy though hence the spots on the babies (this is how paint works in silkies too). Your buff laced is probably homozygous for dominant white so always gives his babies one copy.

Your recessive white girl and your blue boy won't give you white chicks since he shouldn't be carrying recessive white to make any white chicks with her. What colors hatch depends on what she is hiding under her white but given you've already got black chicks I'd say blue and black chicks is most likely (blue since dad is going to give the blue gene to 50% of his babies and the other 50% won't get it so should be black). Splash from this pairing is only possible if your recessive white girl happened to carry blue. If she did carry blue you could get 25% splash, 50% blue, and 25% black offspring but I'm guessing she probably isn't carrying the blue so I'd expect 50% blue and 50% black. Oh and I've just got to say I love your blue cochin boy! He really is just so gorgeous!

 

[chickengr]

Not really related to silkies but you guys seemed like the best people to ask haha. I think it's recessive white/white in general that will hide a lot of colors. I have a white cochin bantam hen and bred her to a buff laced polish several times and all the chicks hatched yellow with black spots that stayed with them/increased as they got older. I bred her to a blue Cochin rooster dark blue but still blue and the 2 chicks that have hatched so far are black!? I thought they would be splash but maybe the boy has some black too idk I wouldn't think so cause I got him from a show breeder and he won a lot of stuff at show.
Thanks for answers

I had a recessive white roo and a (black) barred hen. I got blue and black chicks from them (boys were barred). so obviously my roo was blue under recessive white.

 

[Hinotori]

Blue and splash are genetically black birds. They just have the blue gene modifier. One copy lightens black to blue, and 2 copies gives you splash.

 

[ikoCRO]

It's Winter here with .....

The picture was taken this year on January 5, when the daytime temperature in Croatia was around -5 C°, and at night it dropped to -15 C°.
My silkie successfully raised 6 chicks without any problems.
So, don't worry, they are excellent mothers!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

This frizzle satin baby amuses me with the way the dark feathers coming in on his/her face are looking like little eyebrows right now.

Oh my gosh that is too stinkin cute!!! Sure hope it keeps em as it grows out! Would make for a killer roo!!!

Slower feathering can happen due to a gene which is sex linked but your baby is feathering in even slower than most slow feathering ones I've seen

Idk it is super weird. Breeder said she had never had one like this happen before. I can tell her upper portion of wings are starting to grow this past week but that's it...still floof everywhere else!
And this is one reason I prefer to hatch my own...I know exactly what environment they are brought into but I guess if it is genetic that wouldn't matter at all. She'll be 4 weeks old on Tuesday and still looks naked!

Recessive white is great at hiding all sorts of things but needs two copies to show being that it is recessive.

When u say it needs 2 copies to show...you mean the mom and dad must have the recessive white gene in order for the chick to be recessive white too?
Am I understanding that right?
I an excited to see I Joey or Bluey have the recessive white gene since they are from same breeder...and we already established Daisy is recessive white.
Would love to get more recessive white babies!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

This frizzle satin baby amuses me with the way the dark feathers coming in on his/her face are looking like little eyebrows right now. I thought others might get a chuckle out of it too. Sorry for the terrible picture quality.

View attachment 3214221
View attachment 3214223


Oh goodness yeah boys can be such handfuls sometimes! I think figuring out how to deal with their hormonal little selves is one of the harder aspects of breeding.



Aww little munchkin. There could be something off but hopefully the little one catches up and will do ok. Slower feathering can happen due to a gene which is sex linked but your baby is feathering in even slower than most slow feathering ones I've seen. I had a little jubilee orpington baby once in an assortment from cackle hatchery that was so much slower to feather than the rest and he turned out just fine. I'm hoping it'll be the same for your baby.



Aww I hope they are fertile too and she turns out to be a good first time momma!



How adorable!



Oh yeah I think I know exactly what is going on there.

So your little white girl is recessive white. Recessive white is great at hiding all sorts of things but needs two copies to show being that it is recessive.

It was actually your buff laced polish who was giving the babies their white. This is because buff laced involves dominant white. Unlike recessive white dominant white lets red/buff bleed through. So if a gold laced bird has one or two copies of dominant white it will turn the areas that would be black laced white but leaves the gold/buff color. Dominant white is leaky when it only has one copy though hence the spots on the babies (this is how paint works in silkies too). Your buff laced is probably homozygous for dominant white so always gives his babies one copy.

Your recessive white girl and your blue boy won't give you white chicks since he shouldn't be carrying recessive white to make any white chicks with her. What colors hatch depends on what she is hiding under her white but given you've already got black chicks I'd say blue and black chicks is most likely (blue since dad is going to give the blue gene to 50% of his babies and the other 50% won't get it so should be black). Splash from this pairing is only possible if your recessive white girl happened to carry blue. If she did carry blue you could get 25% splash, 50% blue, and 25% black offspring but I'm guessing she probably isn't carrying the blue so I'd expect 50% blue and 50% black. Oh and I've just got to say I love your blue cochin boy! He really is just so gorgeous!

Adorable!!