Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

Trying to get a head-count on silkie lovers...

  • ME! - I like silkies!

    Votes: 787 96.0%
  • ^

    Votes: 95 11.6%

  • Total voters
    820
Oh my gosh that is too stinkin cute!!! Sure hope it keeps em as it grows out! Would make for a killer roo!!!

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!
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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!

That really is so strange she has so little feathers still, I'm stumped. :confused: It's good at least there is a little growth, I hope eventually she catches up. :fl

And that is correct about the recessive white, both parents must carry at least 1 copy to get recessive white chicks. If Bluey or Joey did end up carrying it and you breed them with Daisy you should get 50% recessive white babies from the pairing. ☺️
 
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. 😅 😂

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Omg!
But the frizzly feathers🤩
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. :fl



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



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! 😍
Wow thank you so much that really clears a lot up! I've thought for years you would always get splash from blue x white😂 and that's exciting that I might get some more blues. I have a ton more fixing to hatch so we'll see and thank you he will appreciate the compliments ☺️☺️!
 
@LynnaePB you were right about the chick colors!!!
Another buff colored chick hatched and when it dried it looks more partridge! The genetics stuff is so cool!
 

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That really is so strange she has so little feathers still, I'm stumped. :confused: It's good at least there is a little growth, I hope eventually she catches up. :fl

And that is correct about the recessive white, both parents must carry at least 1 copy to get recessive white chicks. If Bluey or Joey did end up carrying it and you breed them with Daisy you should get 50% recessive white babies from the pairing. ☺️
Ah only 50% would be recessive white...that's just so weird how ya get the different % with each chick and they can be different. I wish I could just let it happen...but it's so dang interesting and exciting I'm having a hard time just letting go lololol!
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on the subject so much!
 
@LynnaePB you were right about the chick colors!!!
Another buff colored chick hatched and when it dried it looks more partridge! The genetics stuff is so cool!

Aww congratulations on the new babies! I'm glad you are happy to get some little blues. ☺️ 🥰

The genetic stuff really is neat, I just love it! :D

Ah only 50% would be recessive white...that's just so weird how ya get the different % with each chick and they can be different. I wish I could just let it happen...but it's so dang interesting and exciting I'm having a hard time just letting go lololol!
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on the subject so much!

Yeah I find it fun trying to figure out percentages.....sometimes pairs have so many different genes at play it gets hard though. My friend had a pair that gave so many colors of babies it was amazing! 😂 Dad was recessive white and mom was a blue based gray. From the colors of babies they had we figured out dad was silver/gold, was blue, carried sex linked chocolate, and was split to eb (partridge). We also found out mom was carrying recessive white as well. They could make so many colors when bred together, 19 different ones if I'm counting right. That is the pair my little mauve partridge like girl is from. 😁

Recessive white will give 100% recessive white when bred together even if they've got all sorts of other recessives hiding. It makes recessive white easy to breed for. :)
 
Aww congratulations on the new babies! I'm glad you are happy to get some little blues. ☺️ 🥰

The genetic stuff really is neat, I just love it! :D



Yeah I find it fun trying to figure out percentages.....sometimes pairs have so many different genes at play it gets hard though. My friend had a pair that gave so many colors of babies it was amazing! 😂 Dad was recessive white and mom was a blue based gray. From the colors of babies they had we figured out dad was silver/gold, was blue, carried sex linked chocolate, and was split to eb (partridge). We also found out mom was carrying recessive white as well. They could make so many colors when bred together, 19 different ones if I'm counting right. That is the pair my little mauve partridge like girl is from. 😁

Recessive white will give 100% recessive white when bred together even if they've got all sorts of other recessives hiding. It makes recessive white easy to breed for. :)
That is insane!!!
I'm just worried if I get started letting em have babies (or me incubating them) that I won't be able to find homes for all of em and I can't keep em all!
I actually was shocked when I counted this morning...idk bout me.
Major addiction here!!!
 
That is insane!!!
I'm just worried if I get started letting em have babies (or me incubating them) that I won't be able to find homes for all of em and I can't keep em all!
I actually was shocked when I counted this morning...idk bout me.
Major addiction here!!!

I get it, it can be tough finding homes! 😩

With limited space/funds hatching gets tricky...... it's so hard to resist doing though. :oops: It definitely is very addicting! 😅😂
 
Oh my gosh that is too stinkin cute!!! Sure hope it keeps em as it grows out! Would make for a killer roo!!!

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!
View attachment 3214346

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!

Yes, but if both parents only carry 1 copy, only 25% chance for a white chick. 50% chance for carriers. 25% chance they wont carry recessive white at all.

If one parent is white and one a carrier, 50% white chicks and 50% carrier.

Recessive genes work in punnett squares to give you a percentage for offspring.
 
:celebrate
Silkies get a bad rap for the following:
"Looks like a dust mop"

Well my friends - I thought so too, until I actually got silkies for myself. These are some of the most wonderful birds out there.

Off-topic discussions are allowed, though try to maintain the subject of silkies.

-Kayla-
Heeeey, any chicken rocking a 'fro has my vote. With 27 biddies, I have space for only three more. Therefore, come spring I hope to get a silkie, a frazzle and something else. Maybe a barred rock. :thumbsup.
 

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