What will the chicks look like?

[Farmgirl283420]

Just to clarify something:


No, a cross of Buff Orpington with Silkie will NOT give chicks with silkie feathers.



No, a cross of Jersey Giant with Silkie will NOT give chicks with silkie feathers. Calling it a "Satin Giant" is a good hint: it would not be called "satin" if it had silkie feathers.

For any cross with Silkies:
The gene that causes silkie feathers is recessive. That means any cross of a silkie with a normal-feathered chicken will give chicks with normal feathers. The only exception is if the normal-feathered chicken is carrying the silkie gene (for example, a half-silkie chicken that has normal feathers can be bred back to a silkie to produce some silkie-feathered chicks.)

@GirlsHuntToo It is very difficult to read posts in certain colors. If you want people to understand what you post, I suggest you stick to normal black or at least use dark colors instead of light ones. (I figured out how to strip out the color from the parts I was quoting, so they are easier to read.)

My silkies are also female. Unless my two boys are part silkie it is possible.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

From either of those two males:

Chicks will probably have feathered feet.

For any hen with a single comb, her chicks will also have single combs. For hens with other kinds of combs (rose, pea, etc.) chicks may have combs that match the mother or they may have single combs too.

I expect all chicks to have normal type feathering, not silkie style feathering, even if they have a silkie mother. (If either male is part silkie, he could carry the gene for silkie type feathers, and could produce chicks with silkie feathers if the chicks have a silkie mother. But I think those males probably do NOT have the gene for Silkie feathers.)

From any frizzled hen, a chick has a 50% chance of being frizzled.

Chicks from the Jersey Giant hens will probably be black. They may show a bit of leakage (other color feathers) as they grow up.

From most of the other hens and pullets, the chicks will probably be colored similarly to the males (fathers of the chicks.) They may have more black or less, or have it arranged a bit differently.

I think I see a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte in one photo. A chick from her is likely to have a rose comb, will probably look a fair bit like the males do, but has a 50% chance of showing some blue in the feathers (other 50% will show black, like the current males do.)

Thank you so much! This was exactly what I was wondering!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

So one of the chicks hatched and we named her Enola she is one week old. Here is a picture of her wings. She has feathered feet and is super sweet and cute. Any idea who laid the egg?

 

[NatJ]

View attachment 3731070
So one of the chicks hatched and we named her Enola she is one week old. Here is a picture of her wings. She has feathered feet and is super sweet and cute. Any idea who laid the egg?

Looking back at the list in the beginning of the thread, I am confident that the egg did not come from a Black Jersey Giant

I can't be sure about any of the others. It may become more clear as the chick grows and gets more feathers, or it may always be a bit of a mystery.

I can't see the comb clearly in that picture. If Enola has a single comb, any of the hens could still be the mother. If Enola has any other kind of comb (not single), that rule out certain hens and leave fewer options for which one could be the mother.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Looking back at the list in the beginning of the thread, I am confident that the egg did not come from a Black Jersey Giant

I can't be sure about any of the others. It may become more clear as the chick grows and gets more feathers, or it may always be a bit of a mystery.

I can't see the comb clearly in that picture. If Enola has a single comb, any of the hens could still be the mother. If Enola has any other kind of comb (not single), that rule out certain hens and leave fewer options for which one could be the mother.

I am pretty sure she has a single comb. Does she look like she could be Amelia’s baby?

 

[NatJ]

I am pretty sure she has a single comb. Does she look like she could be Amelia’s baby?

Single comb could come from just about any mother, so that doesn't really narrow down the options.

There is a chance that she could be Amelia's baby (by genetics, not just by being hatched & raised), but I think most of the other hens are still just as likely possibilities.

Amelia has a crest, right? If the chick grows a crest, that would mean she has a crested parent. I don't know how many crested hens you have, but that may be another way to narrow it down.

How many toes does the chick have? And the roosters? The normal number (4 per foot) could come from any hen, but extra toes (5 per foot) would need a parent with 5 toes (rooster or hen could be the 5-toed parent in that case).

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Single comb could come from just about any mother, so that doesn't really narrow down the options.

There is a chance that she could be Amelia's baby (by genetics, not just by being hatched & raised), but I think most of the other hens are still just as likely possibilities.

Amelia has a crest, right? If the chick grows a crest, that would mean she has a crested parent. I don't know how many crested hens you have, but that may be another way to narrow it down.

How many toes does the chick have? And the roosters? The normal number (4 per foot) could come from any hen, but extra toes (5 per foot) would need a parent with 5 toes (rooster or hen could be the 5-toed parent in that case).

My two silkies have five toes. The roosters and Amelia and the other hens do not. I have Amelia and the two silkies none of the other hens are crested.

 

[NatJ]

My two silkies have five toes. The roosters and Amelia and the other hens do not. I have Amelia and the two silkies none of the other hens are crested.

So counting toes on the chick, and watching for a possible crest, may help (although a 5-toed chicken can still produce a normal 4-toed chick, and a crested chicken can produce a non-crested chick.)

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Here are some pictures of Enola she is 2 weeks old now. Any guesses on who laid her egg?

Does anyone have guesses on gender?