Color and genetic questions surrounding this little Silkie chick

[allaboutdemchicks]

When you look at this picture of this chick, what color Silkie do you consider this? (yes, that's buff on the crest and wing)

I hatched this little 4 month old from my own eggs. I do not cross any colors in my Silkies except blue, black, and splash but I also have buff and white pens. (At the time I was not hatching Grays) I now am questioning even what colored pen it came from.

And lastly, what color to breed it back to??




Claudia

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I would say that it's lavender. You probably have some recessive lavender in your b/b/s pen. And the buff isn't really buff, it's gold bleeding through...I wouldn't breed her, as the gold is undesireable, and hard to get rid of. She'd make some little 4H-er very happy though!! Super cutie!

 

[allaboutdemchicks]

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Normally, I would agree. The gold that you are discribing would be a result of not enough melanizers in the feather folicles (found especially in hackle feathers) which is indeed difficult to breed outand thus a undesirable trait. However, this buff shade is located in the feathering of it's head and wings and combined with the lavender coloration so I believe it to be considered a porcelain color.

When it was hatched, I thought it to be a double silver gene chick, which is not unusual for me to hatch. But, looking even more closely the shade of it's base color is different, deeper, darker and not having the white coloration except for it's little tummy.

 

[onthespot]

Look at the shafts of the feathers on her wings. If she is lavender they will be light on the outside and dark on the inside, next to her body.

 

[allaboutdemchicks]

Oh, thank you onthespot for this advise! I've never heard of that before.