What Cross Created the Lavender (self-blue) Silkie?

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

My meager understanding is that the only true silkie is the white. The colors were created by breeding out to another breed, then back in to perfect the silkie characteristics. Would that be a correct statement? If so, i'm wondering what the silkie was crossed out with to create the lavender or self-blue colors. i ask because it seems my lavenders (that i bought from Ideal in February) are more um, not really aggressive, but pushier than a regular silkie.

Also have an interest in how the cuckoo silkie was created, as the ones i hatched out from eggs purchased on ebay have really bright red combs and wattles.

Thanks for any info anyone might provide.

 

[ninny]

i think the self blue was from d'uccles and the cuckoo from barred rocks.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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By that logic, the only true chicken is the red jungle fowl. I would say rather that the original silkies were only white.

Various crosses of different breeds are and have been used to bring colours and genes into the breed. Cochins and polish are common crosses as they each have characteristics that mesh well with silkies.

I am pretty sure that one of the original self-blue input came from OEGB. Cuckoo has been brough in from a number of different breeds. In my own birds I got cuckoo from a barred rock.

The barring gene is very closely linked to the gene for white skin, so you have to have crossover to get dark skin and barring. This is an issue even with some of the best cuckoos from breeders. I would be enormously surprised to find a hatchery cuckoo silkie with dark skin.

Oh, and the red comb/wattles is related to not having dark enough skin.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I should have added taht I am aware of cuckoos that came from polish crosses and others from cochin crosses.

 

[LilPeeps]

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I would love to find this hatchery carrying cuckoo silkies LOL

 

[Krys109uk]

The barring gene is very closely linked to the gene for white skin, so you have to have crossover to get dark skin and barring.

Don't you mean I^D (inhibitor of dermal melanin)?......W+ the white skin gene is autosomal.
I^D is 14 map units from B. B also inhibits pigment from the skin.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yes, I didn't look up the gene to verify which (wasn't sure whether it was Fm or Id), and used a "generic" term that isn't generic

Of course I^D is dun, an allele of dominant white, not the Id to which you refer

I think we both need coffee!

 

[Krys109uk]

You're quite right.

My head gets frazzled with all the confusion of terms & now I can't even get the genetic symbols right ....Cripes.

 

[Windchyme]

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The barring came from bantam cochins in one line, cuckoo polish crested I think for another line....