Silkie color help- grey with black and white striped wings & white with black splotches on wings? (not partridge!)

[compostgirl]

Hi everyone,

I have 4 sweet silkie babies hatched 1 month ago to the day. I purchased these eggs online from a breeder who claims they are 100% purebred silkies and that any color is possible. This is my first time hatching silkies and 3 of their colorings have confused me since they came out of their eggs! I have done lots of searching and have been unable to find posts with others who look like these do. All have black skin and beaks, 5 toes, etc. Any insight would be awesome! TIA!

Them today (1 month old):

https://imgur.com/a/C4qYrWN

All 4 of them at just under 1 week:


Baby #1 is obviously partridge, came out of the egg looking like a little chipmunk. Has turned a lot more silvery grey than yellow as it has grown up.

Baby #1 my little runt:


Baby #2 was hatched looking all light grey and slightly darker than #3. I assumed both babies were a light blue initially until these striped wings came in! Now im just confused lol! It has lightened as it has grown up specifically around the chest area. The feathers on the top of this babies head also look interesting to me, almost like white with grey underneath?

Baby #2 at 1 week or so:


Baby #2 at 1 month:


Baby #3 was hatched looking a lot like baby #2, except for having a lighter head. Both babies were born with a slightly darker back than the rest of their body

Baby #3 at 1 month old:



Babies 2 and 3 around 1.5 weeks old:




Baby #4 has been the most confusing one for me to identify. Was hatched visibly lighter/more yellow than the rest, but still with some light grey and a buff spot on the top of the head. Has lightened considerably as its grown, would think it was white other than its black splotched wing feathers!

Baby #4 at 1 month:



Babies 3 and 4 just under 1 week old:

 

[Debbie292d]

My guess is the ones with barring are cuckoo.

Here's a couple of mine for example. This first one is a frizzle, the 2nd one is more typical cuckoo.




But yours might be a lighter or different colored cuckoo. As they grow in "feathers" they should be solidly barred.

 

[compostgirl]

My guess is the ones with barring are cuckoo.

Here's a couple of mine for example. This first one is a frizzle, the 2nd one is more typical cuckoo.

View attachment 4051818
View attachment 4051819

But yours might be a lighter or different colored cuckoo. As they grow in "feathers" they should be solidly barred.

oh cool!! thank you for responding to my post! I always forget cuckoo is even an option for silkies! So awesome! I will definitely update this thread as they get older!! your babies are so beautiful, thank you so much

 

[CrazyChickenLady123]

My guess is the ones with barring are cuckoo.

Here's a couple of mine for example. This first one is a frizzle, the 2nd one is more typical cuckoo.

View attachment 4051818
View attachment 4051819

But yours might be a lighter or different colored cuckoo. As they grow in "feathers" they should be solidly barred.

Your silkies are adorable! I breed silkies and Bantams as well

 

[Debbie292d]

oh cool!! thank you for responding to my post! I always forget cuckoo is even an option for silkies! So awesome! I will definitely update this thread as they get older!! your babies are so beautiful, thank you so much

You're very welcome, and thank you! I forgot to mention yours are adorable too and it will be exciting to see them grown up, what they become! Should be gorgeous!

 

[Amer]

2 and 3 might be blacks with silver partridge leakage.
And 4 might be blue with silver partridge leakage. I guess I would expect cuckoo to have barring on both sides of the wing feathers, plus these bird have very dark skin which is uncommon for cuckoos.

 

[compostgirl]

2 and 3 might be blacks with silver partridge leakage.
And 4 might be blue with silver partridge leakage. I guess I would expect cuckoo to have barring on both sides of the wing feathers, plus these bird have very dark skin which is uncommon for cuckoos.

oh interesting! thanks so much for the insight! I was wondering the same thing about the dark skin, I guess only time will tell! Thanks so much for your response!

 

[Cloverr39]

I don't think thing any of your chicks are cuckoo. Cuckoos would have barring all over their body, not just the wings, and they rarely have dark skin.
2 and 3 look like they have partridge leakage, like Amer said. That kind of striping on the wing feathers is common for partridges. I'm not sure what 4 is, other than probably some mixed color. I've had white chicks with grey wings like that pop up in my silkies one year, but I'm not sure why or what they ended up growing up to look like, because I rehomed them at 3 or 4 weeks old.