white and black silkies what do you get?

[sutillman]

I have a black silkie roo and a white silkie roo. All my hens are white silkies. All the chicks are black. Is it possible the white is not fertilizing eggs, or is it a genetics thing. Totally new to this. I would like to have some white chicks. Any advice?

 

[willowcol]

Place a few white hens in a pen with the white roo for a few weeks. Maybe the black roo is the head roo and not letting the white roo breed them.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

If all the chicks are black then yes, the black roosters is the only one mating.

White Silkies have 1 of 2 white genes in chickens: recessive. When crossed with most colors, it will be hidden.

 

[sutillman]

I'll try that. My white roo (Elvis) rules the roost over his hens. Poor Buckwheat (my black roo) has to run in there and run out before Elvis sees him. Quite a show sometimes. They are so funny to watch.

 

[LilPeeps]

Chances are that the black is the only one fertilizing the eggs. You should seperate them by color if you plan on keeping pure varieties. If this is the case, cull all the black chicks, as you won't want them in any color breeding pen.

 

[treeclimber233]

I was just at a show and people there were telling me that the easiest way to get the best white chickens was to have some black mixed in the background. Hmm... I'm confused.

 

[call ducks]

\\
don't DON't There may be some BLUES in there DO NOT CULL untill later

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Whites are the original colour for silkies, so why would breeding to blacks produce better birds? makes no sense. Sometimes the other way round, but blacks have been around long enough that many have excellent type.

White X black will not improve white--it will just bring out their hidden genes. Breeding a lower quality bird to a higher quality bird will improve the chicks as compared with the lower quality parent.

Well, there could be blues, but I see no reason to expect them.

Cull means remove from breeding stock and nothing more. People use different methods--personally I only sell or give away birds that do not fit my needs.