What's wrong with their feathers?

[heritagehabitatfarms]

don't have allot of time but ill give u the short answer and maybe someone will come and give you the longer later... ermine in every breed that i have ever seen is just a fancy name for white Colombian... so far by what i have read on here no one has had that in these birds so i doubt it is in yours (of course i could be wrong lol)... blue/black/splash is a lovely color and one of my favorite's to work with... black is the base color and it tends to cover up other colors (like red) blue/splash is a diluting gene of black... so u have a black bird with one dilute gene and he will be visually blue... if u have a black bird with 2 dilute genes then he will be visually splash... the black will cover the red but it will show threw the blue and even more threw the splash... so if your splash birds show red then your black birds are carrying it... splash will sometimes lighten the leg color as well...

would love to see pic's of your birds... thanks Elias

Hello,

I was just thinking about some of the things I have been reading about genetics, and now I cant find any of them(of course), but I was reading about erminette(?) and ermine. I am wondering if anyone out there knows anything about erminette? From something I was reading it sounds sort of like splash, in that it is black on white, but the difference seems to be how it expresses across the animal's body. In chickens it sounded like the difference was how the black came out across the feathers(whole feather vs part of a feather, or something like that). Somewhere I thought I read that erminette is very different than ermine. That erminette is dominant and that it can be what causes lighter leg colors to have black/dark gray spots on them. I really need someone to help clarify this...help?

LOL, part of the reason I am putting this here(I will probably put it elsewhere also) is that I have had 4 cockerels, that Silkied Ameraucana splits, since they were chicks. I now have 2 pullets, that are their hatch-mates, also. I also have 2 splits(1 a pullet and 1 a cockerel) and 2 Silkied cockerels that came to me independent of the eggs we hatched. Of these 10 birds I have:
1 Split black cockerel with dark slate legs,
1 Split blue cockerel with a lite lacing and slate legs(he may be more of a blue splash, but I am not really sure)
1 Split blue pullet with lacing and slate legs
1 Split cockerel that appears to be splash to me(but might be erminette or ?), bright white with black markings and a few feathers on each wing that have red/maybe gold on parts of them and lite gray legs with dark spots on them.
2 Split cockerels that also appear sort of splash like(but might be something else), a softer white with dark gray/black and mostly gray markings, they both have lite gray legs with the spots also. Of these two cockerels the one that we hatched from hatching eggs has a rather large patch of red and gold on each wing and red across some of the the muted white feathers on his neck/breast. The other cockerel is from the second group and he is also the muted white, etc. but has a few feathers on each wing that have red/maybe gold on parts of them(like the bright white cockerel mentioned above).
1 Split pullet that appears sort of splash(?), a softer white with dark gray/black and mostly lite gray markings, and lite gray legs(there may or may not be dark spots-I dont remember at the moment).
1 Silkied blue cockerel with dark slate legs(I think)
1 Silkied cockerel that appears splash, again with the diluted/muted/softer white and dark gray/black and mostly gray markings and lite gray legs(with or without dark spots).

So I am wondering why I am seeing the red/gold (but only on the splash birds)? I keep thinking red leakage but this seems like something more. Since I dont know much about all this genetic stuff it seems like what I have is awfully "deliberate" for leakage. (Though when I think about it the black cockerel does seem to have a lot of purple sheen to him, maybe a sign of the red too?)
I think the softer white birds have a dilution factoring in there somewhere, maybe?
Or is it something else?
Erminette?
The spots on the legs are what made me think about erminette, but now I cant find the reference that says that is a part of that expression. I have heard that people working on this project have had a lot of genetic anomolies pop up in the colors of these birds/offspring.....
At this point I think if the Silkied cockerels stay alive long enough I am going to put all the split girls in with them and go from there. Its just when I consider things further on down the line (like after the Silkied birds are sustainable) that I would really like to have more of an idea of what is going on with the color genetics of these birds.

Hope to hear from some of you folks that are more knowledgeable and experienced! Thanks!
May try to get some pictures if I can, I know that might help.

 

[Jubaby]

I just wanted to pop back in and let everyone know that I am out of the breeding program. My silkied rooster died earlier in the summer, and I was only able to hatch 10 F1-F2 chicks all summer. I still have 3 fluffy hens, but they are not laying now. I really haven't been able to get anywhere with this breed, and I am glad that there are still some out there trying, but I am just not having any luck. Good luck to the rest of you!

 

[welasharon]

I just wanted to pop back in and let everyone know that I am out of the breeding program.  My silkied rooster died earlier in the summer, and I was only able to hatch 10 F1-F2 chicks all summer.  I still have 3 fluffy hens, but they are not laying now.  I really haven't been able to get anywhere with this breed, and I am glad that there are still some out there trying, but I am just not having any luck.  Good luck to the rest of you!

Oh I hate for you to quit....these are your birds! Surely someone will restart you...

 

[wolftracks]

I just wanted to pop back in and let everyone know that I am out of the breeding program. My silkied rooster died earlier in the summer, and I was only able to hatch 10 F1-F2 chicks all summer. I still have 3 fluffy hens, but they are not laying now. I really haven't been able to get anywhere with this breed, and I am glad that there are still some out there trying, but I am just not having any luck. Good luck to the rest of you!

No no no no no!!!

I'm having horrible luck, but you need to keep going. These are your babies! You helped so many get started, I'm sure someone will come through for you. If I had something to offer I would, but I only have the one that I think is a roo and he is split and not silkied, so gonna take time, but if I ever get this going, I'd send you some.

 

[ChooksChick]

I just wanted to pop back in and let everyone know that I am out of the breeding program. My silkied rooster died earlier in the summer, and I was only able to hatch 10 F1-F2 chicks all summer. I still have 3 fluffy hens, but they are not laying now. I really haven't been able to get anywhere with this breed, and I am glad that there are still some out there trying, but I am just not having any luck. Good luck to the rest of you!

Julie, I'll send you a 3rd gen improved split rooster! This boy taken to your girls will give you a much healthier flock. Heck....I've got them coming out my ears- I could send you 5!!

All roos, all the time!!

 

[fwinn]

I had a hen from range chickens around Lubbock, that had 5 toes,feathered feet,feathers sticking out fom head and up on top of head. Hatched one chick. Thought it was female, but today believe it to be male, very sad. I wanted more. She died leaving only this egg that was heating pad hatched She-It was hatched with a heating pad in the house. Can you help me in any way.Bought a new bator with turner, humidity metor (the works) After 24 days I had hatched exactly zero from 42 eggs. 5 eggs 3 hatches from heating pad. go figure

 

[fwinn]

I had a hen from range chickens around Lubbock, that had 5 toes,feathered feet,feathers sticking out fom head and up on top of head. Hatched one chick. Thought it was female, but today believe it to be male, very sad. I wanted more. She died leaving only this egg that was heating pad hatched She-It was hatched with a heating pad in the house. Can you help me in any way.Bought a new bator with turner, humidity metor (the works) After 24 days I had hatched exactly zero from 42 eggs. 5 eggs 3 hatches from heating pad. go figure

 

[cowchick11]

That sounds like a Silkie or a silkie cross. Probably not one of these silkied Ameracanas.

 

[elsfieldchickens]

there awsome!

 

[ligermama77]

Does anyone else have any of the Silkie Ameraucanas? My daughter is in 4-H and we are doing some work with Ameraucanas. I found this thread and thought this would be a great project for her. Thank you!