TRUE Blue Silkies

[silkielovr]

Will someone [or lots of you] please post some pics of what a Blue Silkie should look like, doesn't have to be show quality all over but would like to know what the color should look like to be considered really good Blue.
I have 10 Blues and they are all not the same color, but definitely Blue.
Describing it to me won't be as valuable as showing me.
Thanks!

 

[babymakes6]

This is my favorite blue pullet:

I also have 2 blue roos, each a shade darker than the last. The one almost looks black.

 

[jimnjay]

This little girl was developing so nicely and was the last of my original flock but she had a seizure and passed away.

I considered show her and feel that she is as dark a blue as I would use in the show ring.

 

[iluvmychicks]

This is one of my favorite hens, she is a pullet in this picture. Also, here is the standard for the blue variety.

Plumage Male and Female
Blue:
Head: Glossy Black
Neck: Hackle- an even shade of clear bluish slate, distinctly laced with glossy black. Front of Neck -- same as breast
Back: Back and Saddle- an even shade of clear bluish state, each feather distinctly laced with glossy black.
Tail: an even shade of bluish slate, each feather distinctly laced with glossy black.
Wings: Bluish slate.
Breast: An even shade of clear bluish slate, each feather having a sharply defined lacing of black.
Body and Fluff: Clear bluish slate.
Legs: An even shade of clear bluish slate, each feather having a sharply defined lacing of black.
Undercolor of All Sections: Bluish Slate.


Shari

 

[magikchick]

This is my blue baby Deborah.

I have my first batch of eggs from her in the incubator now.

 

[silkielovr]

Thank you all very much. They are all such beautiful birds!
None look just the same either.
I don't understand the standard description. Black in the feathers? And the head? Lacing? Mine have no lacing...
I'm more confused now than before, but the pictures show me what I am looking for.
thanks everyone

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The combination of genes that makes a laced feather forces the pigment to the edges of the feather, so it is concentrated there. Lacing doesn't really show well on silkie feathers. IMO, the darkest blues are probably heavily laced, causing most of the feather to be fairly dark, posssibly nearly indistinguishable from black.

Blue is diluted black. The standard does not say how deep or pale the colour should be, and different people have different preferences. Some also prefer a sharper colour difference between the head/hackle and the body colour; others prefer it to be more even. Each of the photos show appear to have a different amount of variation, with iluvmychicks' bird showing the most noticeable difference. I have seen some that are far more noticeable--with heads/hackles very dark and the rest much lighter. Note that on males the saddle and tail match the head and hackles.

 

[silkielovr]

Thank You Sonoran Silkies, I guess I feel a lot better now about it.
I should just raise what I want then and be happy when I achieve it.
I prefer a medium Blue not real dark and not real light. I think they all are beautiful!
I NEVER knew that about lacing and still can't "see" it I'm afraid. Mine look clear and so do the birds pictured here.........I can see diference in colors but not a lacing, but as you explained it is a wide spread lace possibly?
Thanks for the help.

 

[Chickie714]

Thank you all very much. They are all such beautiful birds!
None look just the same either.
I don't understand the standard description. Black in the feathers? And the head? Lacing? Mine have no lacing...
I'm more confused now than before, but the pictures show me what I am looking for.
thanks everyone

I just ordered 3 blues, and I was wondering if I for sure be able to tell them apart..