White silkie throwing spotted babies

[Katieskerlong]

I’m new to silkie breeding and am trying to build up a program. My silkies are of various breeder to show quality except for my white rooster. He’s still very nice tho but I bred him with my white hen and the offspring came in various shades of white and some with black spots. What does this mean? I’ll attach photos. Also to add my hen does have a lighter beak and so does one of the chicks that hatched. Still 5 toes and black skin but yeah.

 

[nuthatched]

Looks like splash or paint. What do the parents look like?

 

[Katieskerlong]

Looks like splash or paint. What do the parents look like?

I think so too I just don’t know how we got there I guess one isn’t a dominant white maybe? Or is idek

 

[Cloverr39]

Your chicks are paint. I'm guessing one of the parents is recessive white while the other is dominant white. So the chicks only recieved one copy of dominant white from one parent, making them paint, and a copy of recessive white from the other parent, which they carry but do not express.

 

[Katieskerlong]

Your chicks are paint. I'm guessing one of the parents is recessive white while the other is dominant white. So the chicks only recieved one copy of dominant white from one parent, making them paint, and a copy of recessive white from the other parent, which they carry but do not express.

Okay thank you that’s what I was thinking. I’m pretty certain the recessive white is the roo. So if I breed these babies to a dominant white they’ll only produce white chicks? Same with if I used a recessive white? Trying to wrap my mind around genetics

 

[Cloverr39]

So if I breed these babies to a dominant white they’ll only produce white chicks?

White or paint. Since your paint chicks only have one copy of dominant white I/i+, if they're bred to a bird with two I/I, 50% of their babies will be I/I (homozygous dominant white), and the other 50% will be I/i+ (heterozygous dominant white, usually looking paint.)
I'm saying usually paint, because I/i+ birds can sometimes look completely white without the spots. I have a hen that I know only has only one copy, but she looks completely white, while her sister is paint.

Same with if I used a recessive white?

This one's a little trickier. To put it simply, 75% of chicks would be white (due to either recessive or dominant white) and 25% would be colored and carrying recessive white.
The more complicated version is that from those 75% of white chicks, 25% would be plain recessive white (i+/i+ c/c), 25% would be paint carrying recessive white like your current babies (I/i+ c/c+), and 25% would be both dominant and recessive white (I/i+ c/c).

I hope I didn't make it sound too complicated

 

[Katieskerlong]

White or paint. Since your paint chicks only have one copy of dominant white I/i+, if they're bred to a bird with two I/I, 50% of their babies will be I/I (homozygous dominant white), and the other 50% will be I/i+ (heterozygous dominant white, usually looking paint.)
I'm saying usually paint, because I/i+ birds can sometimes look completely white without the spots. I have a hen that I know only has only one copy, but she looks completely white, while her sister is paint.

This one's a little trickier. To put it simply, 75% of chicks would be white (due to either recessive or dominant white) and 25% would be colored and carrying recessive white.
The more complicated version is that from those 75% of white chicks, 25% would be plain recessive white (i+/i+ c/c), 25% would be paint carrying recessive white like your current babies (I/i+ c/c+), and 25% would be both dominant and recessive white (I/i+ c/c).

I hope I didn't make it sound too complicated

Everything about chicken genetics is so complicated but I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me! I’m gonna save this and keep researching and experimenting with my silkies to figure this out. I’d like to have true whites so I’m not sure what my next move toward that is quite yet. If I bred the two paint babies together would they have paint offspring or a mix of whites?

 

[Cloverr39]

To clarify, by "true whites" you mean either just dominant white or just recessive white?

If I bred the two paint babies together would they have paint offspring or a mix of whites?

They could have white, paint or colored offspring. The paint and colored chicks may or may not carry recessive white. The whites could be plain dominant white, plain recessive white, recessive white with a copy of dominant white or genetically paint but appearing fully white (and possibly carrying recessive white.)

 

[Katieskerlong]

To clarify, by "true whites" you mean either just dominant white or just recessive white?

They could have white, paint or colored offspring. The paint and colored chicks may or may not carry recessive white. The whites could be plain dominant white, plain recessive white, recessive white with a copy of dominant white or genetically paint but appearing fully white (and possibly carrying recessive white.)

Yes? I’m not sure. I guess dominant white? So could I create a paint breeding pen then? Would these still be breeder quality or pet? Sorry I have so many questions