ellasflock Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Hi Everyone, so I want to hatch some chicks from a black Silkie Rooster and a white Silkie hen, and I was just wondering what colours I would get? If anyone knows that would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Grey? Seriously, probably pretty unpredictable but fun to see what colours you do end up with as nature has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 7 minutes ago, soapdragon said: Grey? I was going to say that too. I have no idea idea but look forward to seeing what you might when you hatch 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted December 16, 2020 Author Share Posted December 16, 2020 Thanks Everyone ☺️ I thought so too, but apparently I have heard some people say they have gotten a bunch of other colours! Also, does anyone know what the likely hood of hatching a rooster to hen would be? Because i am slightly worried I might hatch another rooster! As you can tell, this is my first time hatching chicks and I am not an expert yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 You will almost definitely hatch males. I don’t know if the ratio is exactly 1:1 but it’s roughly that on average. For me it’s been a lot worse - I’ve incubated 17 eggs over 3 attempts - out of them I’ve hatched 2 females and 6 males (except for one which was eaten by the hen (!) the others didn’t hatch - I think my poor hatch rate was partly down to me not getting incubator and partly down to the eggs having been through the post) So, BEFORE you set any eggs, you MUST either have homes for any males you hatch, or be willing to kill them if you can’t keep them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 And you most likely end up with all black chicks according to the colour calculator I tried. White is recessive in combination with a black gene. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 50- 55% will be male and in my experience, over a large number that's about right. But if you haven't got the incubation conditions perfect it will be the stronger males that hatch. Also there is an element of luck and in our first hatch we had 9 males and one female; the second hatch produced 12 females and two males and so it went on until the average was 55% male. Genetics is too complicated for me, but based on my experience I think the females will be black and the males a variety of colours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
