Paint Silkies & My Attempt to Breed More

 In November of 2013 I bought 2 Paint Silkies at a poultry show in Chehalis, WA. I had never before seen any chickens with big spots or splotches and I fell in love with this variety of Silkies.. I am sure my paint Silkie roosters are not show quality as they were being sold by someone who was showing their Silkies at this poultry show ( and show people don't sell show quality stock at the price I paid for my rooster ), but I did not care. I wanted spotted Silkies even if they were not show quality. ( I have spotted black & white sheep too .) Above is the rooster who has started my breeding program in search of Paint Silkies . I have 6 white Silkie hens from 2 different mail order hatcheries I bred him to.

 This is a group of 5 chicks from my Paint Silkie and 4 Silkie hens. Of the many eggs my Silkie hens faithfully tended only 5 chicks hatched. 2 are gray, the other 3 are white, and only one chick has spots.

 I am not sure if the gray chicks are splash, or if they are blue, or what ...? I have so much to learn about the colors and genetics of silkies and have been poring over on-line info regarding them.

 The 2 gray - blue chicks.

 One of my white chicks studies me as I study him. ( her ? )

 I opened the wings of one of the gray chicks to show the color and the wing development.

 The only paint chick is on the far right. It has a few spots here and there, and they are definitely spots, not splash or barring.

 These two silkie chicks were incubated and tended by a pair of Porcelain d'Uccles . ( Shh, they don't know they're another breed of chicken so don't mention it to them . ) These chicks are also from my Paint Silkie and white Silkie hens. From the chicks' budding combs I believe the chick on the left is a male and the other a female.

 These chicks look like baby dinosaurs, don't they ?

 

 They have very dark blue skin. Look at their feet.

 I turned the chicks upside down to photograph the skin color underneath their wings too. The chicks were not happy with me and very happy to be re-united with their parents and siblings ,

 a family of Porcelain & Self-Blue d'Uccles * ( click on asterisk to see previous post about the d'Uccles ). Again I'd like to stress to you that these chicks are unaware they are not related through breeding to the d'Uccles , so don't mention it to them ! Their mama is very attentive to them and their siblings and their papa is very protective.

From my Paint Silkie rooster and 6 Silkie hens I have had 9 chicks successfully hatch and only one chick is a Paint. I have a few bantam hens sitting on newly laid eggs from my Paint Silkie rooster pairings, so am hopeful for even more paints. I will be breeding these chicks back to their father and / or each other and will keep good records of them. I am going to be banding all the chicks according to generation of breeding and eventually be even more specific and particular in the pairings. But for now I am hoping for more Paint Silkies.

If you have any suggestions or info that would help please comment ! Thank-you ~ by Granny Baa

 

I posted my question about the color, breeding, etc. of Paint Silkies on a Facebook page and received some very interesting info, comment, and advice. I am going to paste the responses here as an update. I am very thankful to all the people willing to share their knowledge with me and I hope sharing this with you helps all of us raising poultry ! ~ " question!! I have various shades of grey, platinum? and blues trying the same thing lol

20 hrs · Like

Donna Rippy I just looked really quickly but are you crossing the paint cockerel with WHITE? That will NEVER work. Paints are really white chickens with one copy of Dominate white and the spots are leakage. Paints should be breed to BLACKS and other Paints. The other colors you are seeing are probably from you whites. White can hide lots of colors and my guess is she is either blue are splash under that white.

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Donna Rippy BTW Most White Silkies are recessive white.... that is why the pattern will not work with whites.

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Dian Gardner Donna is correct, breed Paints with Black or other Paints only. Otherwise you will end up with all sorts of odd colors, and a genetic mess. Don't breed to the grey (lavender) or the blues either - unless you are trying to produce blue paints. You wi...See More

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Andrew Ari Darmawi is paint actually dom white? I thought it was another gene...

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Jennifer Shaughnessy Misty Svedberg do you know?

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Dian Gardner Paint is an alilee of dominant white and it behaves like it. However.. there is possibly evidence that a bird that doesn't look like Paint may actually produce Paint babies.. as not all Paints look white/black.

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JimandKathy Burnson Thank-you Donna Rippy , Dian Gardner. Since my Silkie hens are from mail order hatcheries i don't know their parentage and had no idea about all you told me here. I do know when I bred my Paint Silkie rooster to a white frizzled cochin ( bantam ) i go...See More

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Marans Cross Chicks~ And What's in A Name ?

 Dark chocolate colored eggs amidst light brown and mint green chicken eggs. Love my Marans !

 

This little chick is the result of a breeding between my Black Copper Marans rooster and an Americana hen. 

 Both of these chicks are my Marans & Americana cross eggs hatched out in an incubator by my grandchildren. These chicks are definitely hardy, thrifty, and survivors .

 The  granddaughter in charge of incubator monitoring and follow-up care of the chicks named them Albert Cheepers McNugget featherweight Esquire the First & Prudence. 

 With names like that I dare not slack on caring for them !

 Albert & Prudence. ( Hope one really is a rooster and the other a hen. )

What's in a name ? Well, when your grandchildren hatch out eggs from your own chickens, then name the successfully hatched chicks, the pressure is on to make sure the chicks survive and thrive. So, Albert and Prudence , let's do well !