Black silkie parents ~ 4 baby chicks hatched ~3 black, 1 white

[Irishluck628]

I'm hoping the pictures come out okay, but if they don't I can just explain....
I had 4 black silkies hatch over the past 2 weeks (they are hatching out 1 every 3-4 days) Their parents are both black so are the grandparents. The 1st three that hatched were the usual black and gray chicks. The last one is almost pure white with a little light gray on it's wings and head. Is this maybe an albino? (but it has black eyes)
Or is it a genetic abnormality? Maybe a white silkie in it's past? My kids show these chickens for 4-H, when this one grows up do we label it's breed as a black silkie or just call it whatever it looks like...Splash, white, gray, etc.

 

[Teresaann24]

Looks blue to me.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

It's likely that your blacks have some hidden genes under that black coat and are coming together to produce a "not black" chick. Either that or one of your blacks is really a dark blue instead. The chick looks like it could be either VERY light blue....or even a splash.

 

[Teresaann24]

Quote:
I am gonna go with it being blue I had one hatched out right now under my broody the same color dad is blk mom is a dark blue almost looks black.

 

[Irishluck628]

Thanks all of you!

I never would have thought maybe one of my blacks might really be dark blue.
I can't wait to see what this chick looks like when it gets older!
Again, thanks!

 

[chickendales]

could it be a lavender chick

 

[Teresaann24]

best way to tell is post pics in about 4 weeks.

 

[destiny_56085]

None of those chicks look black to me. 3 are dark blue and the 4th will be either light blue or splash. The parents may look black, but are actually probably dark blue instead.

See how the 2 in the middle here are blacks...no lighter areas on them. The 2 on the outside are darker blues.

Even over on older birds, these are dark blues:

This is black:

Sometimes they are pretty hard to tell apart even when you get them out in the sunlight. Easiest way is to mark them as chicks for down color. On older birds you can also do test breedings. Cross those 'blacks' onto a splash and you should get 100% blues. If you get any splash out of that crossing, you know you have a dark blue instead.

 

[flnatv]

Quote:
Interesting... I am new to chickens and silkies... I love all the genetics.

 

[Irishluck628]

Thank you destiny_56085 for posting pics to explain the different colors. I think your right, and I probably have dark blue silkies not blacks. All of our silkie chicks that hatch look black with some silver/gray on their face and tummy. I have never had a newborn that was completely black. When they get older they lose their gray coloring and look more one-toned color. I have only been raising silkies for about 4 years. I got started when my neighbor brought over 4 chicks and I loved them ever since. I didn't even know they had blue or lavender. I posted some pics of my silkies. The pictures aren't the greatest but maybe someone could make a positive black or dark blue.
Again Thanks so much! You learn something new everyday.

The first four pics are our roosters

The next 2 are our hens

The last 3 pics are 2 of the older silkie chicks. They are 1 month old and losing their newborn fluff.
Their face and tummy are no longer gray, but their undercoat is light.