Blue Silkies

Some of my Blue hens, above. My current Blue male is Blue Boy, shown below, with some of his Splash hens.

To the inexperienced eye, some Blues may look like they're black. One way to differentiate between the two colors is to check the lower half of a male bird. A Blue will have a lighter bluish shade in the area around the vent and on his breast. It's a bit easier on males because their hackles and saddle feathering will be quite dark, contrasting with the lighter areas below. Blue hens should have an even bluish color throughout, although some do have a slightly darker shading on the upper portions of their bodies. Black Silkies should be an even shade of a definite black color throughout their bodies.

Pictured below are some young pullets and a pair of mature hens from one of my Blue/Splash breeding pens. The one hen shown is a Splash, which is related to Blue. A brief genetics lesson here... The blue gene dilutes the color black. So a blue chicken is technically a black bird who carries one blue gene, making it appear blue. A splash, however, carries two blue genes, and appears even lighter in color with some dark "splashes" of blue. If one is breeding for Splashes, Blues, and Blacks (who carry no blue genes), they can all be housed together in the same pen and they'll perpetuate those same colors.

The way the Blue gene works in a breeding can be broken down as follows:

1) Blue x Blue:	This will produce 25% black, 50% blue, 25% splash.
2) Black x Blue:	Produces 50% black and 50% blue.
3) Black x Splash:	You'll get 100% blue.
4) Blue x Splash:	Produces 50% blue and 50% splash.
5) Splash x Splash:	This will give you 100% Splash.

Please inquire by email if you're interested in adding Blues to your flock. My email link is below.