White X Splash Silkies?

[chickenlove<3]

Hi, I just got two new silkies today, a white female and a splash male. What color will their offspring come out, or the percentages of colors? Thanks!

 

[AquaEyes]

It could be almost anything, because the white bird's white gene will mask any colors that would otherwise show. White is an eraser, but whatever it erased will be passed on to offspring that won't inherit another copy of the eraser from the splash parent.

 

[ChobeeChickenMommy]

I would love to know this too. I have a white silkie roo & a blue pullet, & I have 2 white silke hens & I'll be getting a blue roo this friday as well...

 

[AquaEyes]

But...that was the answer...there is no one answer.

"White" is not really a color. It is a deletion of color, and a bird that is white could be anything else if you "removed" the white genes.

Here's an example -- take the splash roo. Imagine you could add the white genes without removing the genes for black and the two genes for Andalusian blue (splash birds are genetically black with the addition of two blue genes). Even though you started with a splash, now you have a white.

The same thing would apply to ANY other color. Have a buff? Add white genes and...voila! You have white (even though you still have the genes for buff). White deletes color. When you see a white silkie, you don't know what other color genes are there. It could be a buff, it could be a partridge, it could be black, etc. So depending on what other color genes are in there, you could get almost anything when crossing white to splash. First you'd need to know what is going on under the white. And aside from doing a genome analysis, you'd find out only by test-breeding and seeing what comes out, which is basically what this White X Splash breeding will be.

 

[ChobeeChickenMommy]

Oh ok. Thank you. I didn't realize that. Thanks for explaining it!! I appreciate it!!

So no matter what I breed w/ my whites, I'm going to get white, right? I am really trying to make sure I understand this correctly, because we want to start breeding for my son to get ready for 4H next year...

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
white is like a table cloth it cover up the table but table still there,so under neath that white is a colored bird that no one knows the color of i do know people that breed black to white got blacks and white
if u breed splash to white u get blues of some sort not exactly what because be diffrent with every white

 

[silkielover5]

Quote:
no cause if you breed white and black you get paint which is white with black spots and i have blue white cross chicks right now and they are blue with random white feathers

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
no cause if you breed white and black you get paint which is white with black spots and i have blue white cross chicks right now and they are blue with random white feathers

it take more then on generation of white to black breedings to get paints

 

[silkielover5]

Quote:
no cause if you breed white and black you get paint which is white with black spots and i have blue white cross chicks right now and they are blue with random white feathers

it take more then on generation of white to black breedings to get paints

i know but out of generation 1 i got white with a few black feathers on tail and feet feathers

 

[ChobeeChickenMommy]

Quote:
no cause if you breed white and black you get paint which is white with black spots and i have blue white cross chicks right now and they are blue with random white feathers

it take more then on generation of white to black breedings to get paints

Oh wow! Amazing! I am showing my hubby this & I think he is up for buying a few blacks, a few more whites, & a few more blues! Yay!! Please keep the info coming, I truly appreciate it! I will be writing all of your great info into our new "breeding journal" that I am making for our silkies, if that's ok. I just want to keep track of those helping us & their hints/experience.