Fluffy the grandkid of a Silkie

greenaus · **Posted:** Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:16 am

While seven are feathered, one of the eight four week olds (4 from the incubator, 4 from under a broody Silkie) is fluffy.

Do you reckon this is because of her (I reckon it's a girl) grandfather being a Silkie? (Her mum is some kind of bantam X, looks like a Dorking; dad is basically a RIR/Silkie X)

County Lodge · **Posted:** Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:49 pm

Fluffy looks like she has the silkie feathers which is recessive. So dad we already know is RIR/silkiex so must be carring the recessive feather gene and who ever mum was is also silkie x and carrying the recessive feater gene otherwise you would not get the silkie feathering. Both parnets must be carrying the recessive feather gene and each parent passed one each on to her. Good work Greenaus.

greenaus · **Posted:** Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:28 pm

County Lodge wrote:

Fluffy looks like she has the silkie feathers which is recessive. So dad we already know is RIR/silkiex so must be carring the recessive feather gene and who ever mum was is also silkie x and carrying the recessive feater gene otherwise you would not get the silkie feathering. Both parents must be carrying the recessive feather gene and each parent passed one each on to her. Good work Greenaus.

That's very intriguing.

If it is absolutely necessary that the mother carry the gene as well, it could belong to the bantam mother hen with five toes. A few weeks ago, I decided she could be a dorking or dorking X based on that being one of the five breeds with five toes.

I guess it is possible she has Silkie in her. A X of a X of a X or something.

Is it possible that the mother (whoever it may be) could be carrying that gene due to an ancestry including some other fluffy feathered breed?

And, regardless of who their mothers are, will all of the dad kids and grandkids, etc carry that gene?

And, does one fluffy chick mean that only one chick came from that mother out of all the chicks hatched so far?

pjh · **Posted:** Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:52 pm

she is probably silkie cross, it can be generations ago and she is just carrying the ressesive gene

there are no other "fluffy" breeds with silkie feathering, there is silkie feathering it is a recessive gene and has been introduced to other breeds to make silky feathered varieties

is the rooster silkie feathered or smooth feathered? if he is silkie feathered all his chicks will carry the gene if he is smooth feathered it will be 50/50

and no mum is obviously carrying the gene so half her chicks will be---so with a silkie feathered roo the chicks will be 50/50 split silky /smooth------but wth a smooth feathered roo carrying the gene it will be 25% silkie feathered ,50% smooth feathered but carrying the gene and 25% smooth feathered not carrying the silkie feathering gene so some of the other chicks could be hers too

cheers pam

Christine Ramsay · **Posted:** Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:24 pm

yes would agree with pjh culd be back 3 or 4 Generations.

Christine

greenaus · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:43 am

pjh wrote:

is the rooster silkie feathered or smooth feathered? if he is silkie feathered all his chicks will carry the gene if he is smooth feathered it will be 50/50

and no mum is obviously carrying the gene so half her chicks will be---so with a silkie feathered roo the chicks will be 50/50 split silky /smooth------but wth a smooth feathered roo carrying the gene it will be 25% silkie feathered ,50% smooth feathered but carrying the gene and 25% smooth feathered not carrying the silkie feathering gene so some of the other chicks could be hers too

The roo and all possible mothers are smooth feathered.

I was telling my wife about all this and why I want to keep the Australorp girls with the Australorp roo. So I can be sure of what breed the babies will be. ;-)

pjh · **Posted:** Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:07 am

greenaus wrote:

I was telling my wife about all this and why I want to keep the Australorp girls with the Australorp roo. So I can be sure of what breed the babies will be. ;-)

breeding with x breeds is always interesting as you have no idea what they will look like, what the parents are carrying :-D

but it costs as much to feed a x breed as a good chook----so in my yard I have only my chosen breed, -cheers pam

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