Yellow beak on black skinned Silkie Chick?

[LateBirdFarms]

Can someone please explain what's going on here? I saw the parents myself, all black skinned, black/slate beaks, but I've got this wee thing with a yellow beak!

Also, would this chick be cuckoo? I know mom was cuckoo, dad was black with silver leakage... (I think, didn't see any barring on him in person, but the pic owner had is iffy) Would that pairing result in sexlinked chicks?

Also.. last one, I swear, is there a difference between a Cuckoo and a barred?
Thank you!°

ETA: Ha, just noticed the pics don't show the headshot at all.... it's a very indistinct spot, kind of not very dot like really, but still a spot

 

[Smileybans]

I believe the yellow beak means that somewhere in the parent’s lineage it was breed to a non silkie. Then the offspring of that pairing was breed back to silkies to get the pure look again. But the chicks of the pure pairing will still have a chance of having the yellow beak of the non silkie from the grandparents, or whoever it was in the linage. I hope that makes sense. Still a cute chick. Just more pet quality than show quality. I’m not too sure about your other questions however.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

@LadiesAndJane or @LynnaePB might be able to shed some light? Or other people who know about genetics?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Can someone please explain what's going on here? I saw the parents myself, all black skinned, black/slate beaks, but I've got this wee thing with a yellow beak!

Also, would this chick be cuckoo? I know mom was cuckoo, dad was black with silver leakage... (I think, didn't see any barring on him in person, but the pic owner had is iffy) Would that pairing result in sexlinked chicks?

Also.. last one, I swear, is there a difference between a Cuckoo and a barred?
Thank you!°

ETA: Ha, just noticed the pics don't show the headshot at all.... it's a very indistinct spot, kind of not very dot like really, but still a spot

I often see yellow or pink beaks on cuckoo silkies This is also what gives them pink or red combs instead of mulberry. I see this chick also has yellow feet. I honestly don’t know much about the cuckoo genetics in Silkies but it may be when the color was brought in from other breeds. Cuckoo is the same thing as barred. Hard to tell if this bird is barred. I believe it can show up later as the bird's feathering comes in. This bird would be sex linked if the mother was barred and the father was non-barred.
I believe @Matilda Belle has cuckoo silkies. Perhaps they can help with more info.

 

[LynnaePB]

Can someone please explain what's going on here? I saw the parents myself, all black skinned, black/slate beaks, but I've got this wee thing with a yellow beak!

Also, would this chick be cuckoo? I know mom was cuckoo, dad was black with silver leakage... (I think, didn't see any barring on him in person, but the pic owner had is iffy) Would that pairing result in sexlinked chicks?

Also.. last one, I swear, is there a difference between a Cuckoo and a barred?
Thank you!°

ETA: Ha, just noticed the pics don't show the headshot at all.... it's a very indistinct spot, kind of not very dot like really, but still a spot

This little cutie does look like it is probably barred to me anyway.

It is my understanding that with a non barred male over a barred female you should get barred male offspring and non barred female offspring.

Although I don't have personal experience I've heard the genetics involved in barring lightens skin pigment so it is quit common for them to have red combs and light beaks. I do believe it takes quite a bit of work to get the skin nice and dark in this color variety.

Barred and cuckoo both have the same barring gene from what I've read. From what I looked into it was the feather growth (slow vs fast) that dictated if they were called cuckoo or barred. Birds with a slow feathering gene tend to have cleaner/crisper barring and are called barred vs fast feathering breeds where the barring is less distinct and called cuckoo. I'm not sure where silkies fall in this regard or if there is more to it than that.

 

[Matilda Belle]

Contrary to what many people believe, not all silkies have black skin. Yes, it is proper to have black skin but pink skin is common especially in cuckoo (which this one is), crele and paints. Yes, cuckoos are sexlinked but it’s too young to tell yet.

 

[Matilda Belle]

Actually now that I think about it, you could probably tell the gender now.
I used to know how to do it but it’s been awhile since I’ve had any cuckoos in my flock. You could probably google it or search the forum for your answer. I can’t remember exactly how the sexlinking works but it is based on what the parents are.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

I often see yellow or pink beaks on cuckoo silkies This is also what gives them pink or red combs instead of mulberry. I see this chick also has yellow feet. I honestly don’t know much about the cuckoo genetics in Silkies but it may be when the color was brought in from other breeds. Cuckoo is the same thing as barred. Hard to tell if this bird is barred. I believe it can show up later as the bird's feathering comes in. This bird would be sex linked if the mother was barred and the father was non-barred.
I believe @Matilda Belle has cuckoo silkies. Perhaps they can help with more info.

Darn, I already have a male cuckoo, so I was really hoping that the sexlink didn't work with this way around. But that's okay, I'll get to enjoy him for a long while yet before I have to decide on which to keep. It still amazes me how much a day can make a difference with feather colour, the pattern in the wings is a little more clear today. He actually has dark feet, not quite as black as the others, more like a dark slate and grey on the bottoms as well. The feathers are oddly light on his feet compared with the rest of him, but I've got some god awful yellow bulbs in some equally awful beige lamps that's affecting the colours in the pic. My grown cuckoo rooster has the matching yellow feet though!

 

[LateBirdFarms]

This little cutie does look like it is probably barred to me anyway.

It is my understanding that with a non barred male over a barred female you should get barred male offspring and non barred female offspring.

Although I don't have personal experience I've heard the genetics involved in barring lightens skin pigment so it is quit common for them to have red combs and light beaks. I do believe it takes quite a bit of work to get the skin nice and dark in this color variety.

Barred and cuckoo both have the same barring gene from what I've read. From what I looked into it was the feather growth (slow vs fast) that dictated if they were called cuckoo or barred. Birds with a slow feathering gene tend to have cleaner/crisper barring and are called barred vs fast feathering breeds where the barring is less distinct and called cuckoo. I'm not sure where silkies fall in this regard or if there is more to it than that.

Thank you so much for the explanation! I'm still working my way around the terms when it comes to anything that's not the classic production red red! I do have a cuckoo rooster that has very light skin, so clarification is greatly appreciated!

Actually now that I think about it, you could probably tell the gender now.
I used to know how to do it but it’s been awhile since I’ve had any cuckoos in my flock. You could probably google it or search the forum for your answer. I can’t remember exactly how the sexlinking works but it is based on what the parents are.

His barring is getting pretty clear after the last day, so if male solid over female barred is sexlinked I'm pretty confident I've got another cockerel on my hands! I had my fingers crossed for a female in this particular case, but that's the luck of the draw I suppose!

I often google instead of ask, but one of my favorite parts about this forum is being able to collect all the knowledge on a particular chicken topic in one fell swoop by asking! It absolutely beats reading through a dozen pages when we have so many experienced owners ready to happily share their wealth of knowledge!

 

[Matilda Belle]

J

Thank you so much for the explanation! I'm still working my way around the terms when it comes to anything that's not the classic production red red! I do have a cuckoo rooster that has very light skin, so clarification is greatly appreciated!

His barring is getting pretty clear after the last day, so if male solid over female barred is sexlinked I'm pretty confident I've got another cockerel on my hands! I had my fingers crossed for a female in this particular case, but that's the luck of the draw I suppose!

I often google instead of ask, but one of my favorite parts about this forum is being able to collect all the knowledge on a particular chicken topic in one fell swoop by asking! It absolutely beats reading through a dozen pages when we have so many experienced owners ready to happily share their wealth of knowledge!

I’m the same way!