Ok! I ordered st run blue silkies which were born 3/30/08. When they arrived, three were dark and three were lighter as they are today. The darker silkies have been crowing for about 2ish weeks now. This morning I saw a lighter one crow and then he/she mounted a BO! What's up w/ that!! I googled sexing silkies and one site stated that some hen silkies actually crow. Are they pulling my leg or..?
Sue :)
That is an interesting question. We have 6 Blue Silkies that hatched 3/8/08. So far none have crowed or mounted anything and we have some darker and some lighter though they all look more like the darker one in your picture. We are thinking we got all hens. Or they are slow at crowing.
This message was edited Aug 15, 2008 8:53 AM
I dont know how many but I also have the same silkies. I will try to get out there today and get some pics.
smedgekles, great pic! love your duck(nice pics on the other thread too!).
Here's an upclose pic of one of the lighter silkies:
The other lighter one has a slightly smoother comb(maybe not as mature?)
I couldn't get a good upclose pic of the darker ones! They act like they've drank a starbucks coffee w/ an extra shot of expresso! But their combs are bumpier(correct term?) than the previous pic. Not sure if this is a way to id the roos from the hens.
the first pic the blue on left is a roo, the last 3 pictured r roos too. the blue colors of silkies vary. there is blue, Andalusian blue, lavander, splash and blue splash. first 2 pictured look blue left and splash right.
hope that helps,
silkie
( They act like they've drank a starbucks coffee w/ an extra shot of expresso!)
Too funny Sue! Maybe the expresso turned them dark, ha ha
Yep, they look like roos. None of ours do. Ours have small almost nonexistant combs. And, they cackle like hens do. We wanted at least one roo, but got 6 hens.
You have some beauties there. And by the way, your buffs are beauties too. We have 5 buffs. 1 roo and 4 hens. I love their beautiful golden color against green grass.
This message was edited Aug 15, 2008 4:55 PM
Thanks silkie and smedgekles. I guess when you order a straight run it's not going to be 50/50! Really wanted silky hens to hatch out eggs for us, don't think I could talk these guys into it!
I love the buffs too. Especially when the sun hits their feathers! Beautiful!
Sue :)
Ok, I let DH know that they are all roos. He wants to just keep one! Any advice on how to pick?!
Let them pick! First one to come up and or peck at him gets the prize -Him!
lol! It'd have to be him because they all know when I'm coming, there's a treat to be had. So I get mobbed!
I was checking out the american silkie bantam club for breed standards but I won't remember everything! Whoever eats out of my hand today gets to stay!lol! One of the splashes likes to hang around by my feet when I sit w/ them. We'll see! I'll post a pic of the lucky guy.
Sue :)
Ok! DH called while I was sitting w/ my chicky-poos! He's already found a good home for them(they will be pampered beyond belief!). I've got it narrowed down-one of the splash who loves to hang w/ me. I pet his back while he pecks around my feet. And one of the darker ones-his feathers are beautiful! He has some tail feathers that are an irridescent bluish-green and on his neck his is almost coppery colored. I'm meeting DH for lunch-going to try and talk him into keeping 2! Chicken toes crossed!!
Was going to take pics but batteries are dead in my camara. They're recharging now.
Sue :)
yes, crossing mine for TWO as well!
Thanks,TF! We kept the two! DH's friend was very excited about the two he brought home-he has some ladies waiting for them so everyone is happy!
Sue, all the individual pics you posed are cockerels. I can't tell in your first pic with both the light and dark birds.
Silkie hens crow no more or less than hens of other breeds, but yes, the occasional hen does crow.
Blue is not separate from andalusian blue--andalusian blue is a term used to distinguish a blue bird from a self-blue, which is from the lavender gene, not the blue gene. Several years ago people used the term self-blue more frequently with silkies; right now people are using the term lavender more frequently, but it is the same thing. Or you could say that self-blue is the name of the colour and lavender is the name of the gene that causes it. Andalusian blue birds can vary in colour from almost black to almost as light a colour as a self-blue. A bird can be a composite, carrying the genes for both.
Likewise, there is only one splash (unless you want to count the mythical red splash). The ground colour can vary from white to a medium blue, the number and sizes of splashes can also vary widely.
Andalusian blue is caused by a bird having one copy of the blue gene. Two copies results in a splash bird.
The standard is listed on both browneggblueegg.com and americansilkiebantamclub.org
Suze
Sonoran Silkies
Thanks Suze!
