Question about paint/white/black silkie genetics

[Elliemae1984]

I’d love some opinions on how I ended up with so many white silkie chicks! (Not complaining, just confused!)

I have a black hen, white hen, paint roo and black (with silver leakage) roo in one coop. This was my first hatch with this coop - I set 13 eggs, 6 from one hen and 7 from the other (not sure which was which, but I collected the 13 eggs over 7 days so I know the split was almost even).

One egg quit early, 12 chicks hatched. They were:
- 1 black
- 2 paint
- 1 blue
- 1 partridge mix
- 1 splash (maybe, this one passed still with its chick down, was very light grey so I assume splash)
- 6 white

I’m assuming my white is recessive, so she’d be responsible for the blue, partridge and (maybe) splash. The black would have laid the black and 2 paints. Chicks are 3-4 weeks old now and none of the 6 white chicks are feathering out with any paint spots.

So that would mean my black also laid 3-4 white? Is that possible? I thought black and paint parents would hatch 50/50 black and paint chicks. How (genetically speaking) would my black hen lay 50% white chicks? Or are some of the whites actually paints in disguise lol?

 

[Kiki]

@The Moonshiner Can you help?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I’d love some opinions on how I ended up with so many white silkie chicks! (Not complaining, just confused!)

I have a black hen, white hen, paint roo and black (with silver leakage) roo in one coop. This was my first hatch with this coop - I set 13 eggs, 6 from one hen and 7 from the other (not sure which was which, but I collected the 13 eggs over 7 days so I know the split was almost even).

One egg quit early, 12 chicks hatched. They were:
- 1 black
- 2 paint
- 1 blue
- 1 partridge mix
- 1 splash (maybe, this one passed still with its chick down, was very light grey so I assume splash)
- 6 white

I’m assuming my white is recessive, so she’d be responsible for the blue, partridge and (maybe) splash. The black would have laid the black and 2 paints. Chicks are 3-4 weeks old now and none of the 6 white chicks are feathering out with any paint spots.

So that would mean my black also laid 3-4 white? Is that possible? I thought black and paint parents would hatch 50/50 black and paint chicks. How (genetically speaking) would my black hen lay 50% white chicks? Or are some of the whites actually paints in disguise lol?

Sounds like you understand paints and how those genetics work.
I see a few ways to explain the whites.
Paints can be completely white. Seems unlikely that many would be though.
If you have a blue chick and may have had a splash chick the whites may be blue or splash paints so you're not noticing the splotches. Blue can be fairly light blue.
All your adults could easily be carrying recessive white. One copy hides completely. If your one hen is white and recessive white and your rooster carries recessive white. Then on average 50% of those chicks would be completely white. If your black hen carries it and your rooster does 25% would be white.
Your white hen could be recessive white but also carry dominate white. One or two copies. If so with a paint rooster you could easily get a lot of double gene dominate white chicks.
Or your white hen I guess could be dominate white and not recessive white at all.

 

[Elliemae1984]

Sounds like you understand paints and how those genetics work.
I see a few ways to explain the whites.
Paints can be completely white. Seems unlikely that many would be though.
If you have a blue chick and may have had a splash chick the whites may be blue or splash paints so you're not noticing the splotches. Blue can be fairly light blue.
All your adults could easily be carrying recessive white. One copy hides completely. If your one hen is white and recessive white and your rooster carries recessive white. Then on average 50% of those chicks would be completely white. If your black hen carries it and your rooster does 25% would be white.
Your white hen could be recessive white but also carry dominate white. One or two copies. If so with a paint rooster you could easily get a lot of double gene dominate white chicks.
Or your white hen I guess could be dominate white and not recessive white at all.

Thank you for this explanation!

I had no idea that black can carry a recessive white gene!!