Unusual Blue Color on Showgirl Silkie Feet

[HopeTheMillie]

Hello! I just signed up to ask if anyone could possibly explain the unusual color of this little showgirl’s feet. I’ve never seen this blue anywhere but on some Silkie ears. It’s very vibrant and I don’t think my camera really captures it.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

Hello! I just signed up to ask if anyone could possibly explain the unusual color of this little showgirl’s feet. I’ve never seen this blue anywhere but on some Silkie ears. It’s very vibrant and I don’t think my camera really captures it.

I can't, but it's pretty.
Could this be a characteristic of a mottled Silkie?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

ello! I just signed up to ask if anyone could possibly explain the unusual color of this little showgirl’s feet. I’ve never seen this blue anywhere but on some Silkie ears. It’s very vibrant and I don’t think my camera really captures it.

Welcome to BYC!

Well, for starters showgirls are Silkies with the NN gene.. making that one reason you're also seeing it here.

The black skin is lacking melanin or has some other dermal inhibitor at play.. (creating holes int he pigment sometimes caused by breeding dominant white over black creating the "paint" effect, so could even happen in dominant white over recessive white or other matings). I'm not great at genetics but this is a basic explanation.. notice the comb is also very light not black or mulberry. His beak and toe nails are also white. So it's from the interplay between some melanin and the white skin. If you need more detail than that maybe @NatJ knows or you can post to the following thread and likely get lots of feedback..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-ask-anything-to-nicalandia-thread.1509343/page-359

When the lobes are nicely blue it's a white lobe on top of the dark skin.

So.. his forth and fifth toe have almost no separation on his left foot.. can you confirm is there any fifth toe on the right foot as I'm not seeing it but it might be the angle.

Looks like perfect pet quality cutie.. NOT recommended for breeding.. I know you didn't ask.. but I do hope the rest of the information is somewhat helpful.

 

[NatJ]

Well, for starters showgirls are Silkies with the NN gene.. making that one reason you're also seeing it here.

The black skin is lacking melanin or has some other dermal inhibitor at play.. (creating holes int he pigment sometimes caused by breeding dominant white over black creating the "paint" effect, so could even happen in dominant white over recessive white or other matings). I'm not great at genetics but this is a basic explanation.. notice the comb is also very light not black or mulberry. His beak and toe nails are also white. So it's from the interplay between some melanin and the white skin. If you need more detail than that maybe @NatJ knows or you can post to the following thread and likely get lots of feedback..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-ask-anything-to-nicalandia-thread.1509343/page-359

When the lobes are nicely blue it's a white lobe on top of the dark skin.

I don't have anything useful to add.