sizzle, frizzle, and frazzle??? - Page 3

I was just wondering how the progress on the sizzles was going

If you breed a F1 sizzle to another will all chicks be sizzle or some frizzled silkie?

I bred a silkie into my smooth & frizzled cochins on the advice of an old-time show poultry man. I love the look of the sizzles and several I sold chicks to came back looking for more loving them also. I don't show, just have them all running around the yard. I sell chicks to help pay for feed and the smooth cochins never sell very good for me, so I would love to be able to produce majority frizzles or sizzles. I don't really care for the looks of the frizzled silkies as they just look like a poor silkie to me.

if you breed a frizzle to a frizzle you have issues with the feathers being very brittle. so i would assume that breeding a Sizzle with another Sizzle that both have the curled feathers you would have the same affect-poor brittle feathers. if you breed a Sizzle to a sizzle (one with no curled feathers but shows all silkie characteristics-5 toes, tuft on head and black skin, but the cochin's regular smooth feathers) you might have good odds of getting some nice curly feathered Sizzles. i am just not sure on the percentages how many would show the curls.

Hey, welcome to the wonderful world of Sizzles. Be prepared for an exciting, frustrating, crazy ride.

Now..here are some facts to start with. F1 does not a Sizzle make. What you have are proto Sizzles. Any new breed of anything is not really a breed until 6th -7th generation at least..and/or until it starts breeding true. At F1 you MAY get 3 - 10% going in the right direction and they may not breed true...but hopefully, some of them will & if you keep working on your lines you will eventually get a larger % from your breeding. When people ask me about buying Sizzles I always recommend they find out what generation they are getting. If they just want a pet & it looks like what they want, all is well. If they are interested in breeding that is another whole barrel of pickles. It is only right & fair to let them know that their percent of "proper" Sizzles is going to be low for several generation. This is not a bad thing..it's a project thing! An interesting, fun, challenging project.

I am starting my F7 gen this year. Out of 300+ chicks I hatched last year I have 30 hens & 12 roos that I kept for breeding. This is my best generation to date. I have some gorgeous birds this year. Very much the direction I was looking for. I also have a new color that has popped up from my fight to get the red out of my blue lines. Instead of fighting it this year, I'm going to set up separate pens & see what develops.

As was mentioned, breeding frizzled feather to frizzled feather creates some problems which is why we (the unofficial Sizzle group) have decided to recognize a smooth variety of Sizzle. Word is finally getting around that we are working with the Silkie standard with the two feather changes as our place to start ...so, you are going for 5 toes, crest, rose or walnut comb, blue skin, turquoise ear patch, hard smooth or frizzled feather, feathered feet, cobby body..etc. Same faults apply, except for the difference in feathers. Silkie feathers, whether reg or frizzled, are not acceptable & I have not found it to be very productive to breed back to them ..unless your after frizzled Silkies. If you are trying to strengthen your Silkie body traits after a couple of generations, breed back to the best Silkie you can find . You will get a larger % of Silkie feathered birds that you'll have to cull but, you will get better body traits in the rest.

Please understand, I am absolutely NOT criticizing or trying to discourage you. If Sizzles interest you..go for it. I agree..they are adorable! I call them my "muppet" birds & everyone who sees them is charmed by their appearance. I applaud your interest & your effort to educate yourself about this newly developing breed. I hope your interest takes you into the work of stabilizing the breed to breed true & I wish you the best of luck with that. I am always willing to answer any question and there are several others on this list who are several generations along in this project also who will also chime in with help. Best of Luck!

SarahsSizzles

well... not entirely true... depends which part of the world you're at....

over here, frizzle is a heavy breed... about the same size as a plymouth rock...

Thank you for making us aware of what's happening in other parts of the world! Life has taught me that there are always exceptions to every rule. I suspect that, true to the facts, these birds started out with the genetic feather mutation called Frizzled & someone who liked them developed them into this breed...which they named Frizzle. This genetic feather mutation crops up in many different chicken breeds, both standard & bantam & I'm guessing some form of it is responsible for the ducks & geese  we are seeing with the different feathering.

I am curious if there are other birds who carry the genetic mutation. I don't  think we will see it in wild birds because, from my experience, it isn't as protective against cold wet weather, therefore the birds probably wouldn't  survive to continue the strain. It's a whole nother fascinating study watching the different genetic mutations pop up , some surviving & some not. Humans have made it possible for many to survive that never would have made it if left in nature. Look at the varieties we have of dogs, many of which would never have survived naturally.

Of course..the whole idea of "wild chickens" is kind of an mind bender for me. My girls are about as "wild" as pet poodles!

Thanks again for the information. Always good to learn!

SarahsSizzles

I am curious if there are other birds who carry the genetic mutation. I don't  think we will see it in wild birds because, from my experience, it isn't as protective against cold wet weather, therefore the birds probably wouldn't  survive to continue the strain. It's a whole nother fascinating study watching the different genetic mutations pop up , some surviving & some not. Humans have made it possible for many to survive that never would have made it if left in nature. Look at the varieties we have of dogs, many of which would never have survived naturally.

That is somewhat true. Think about the different and variable climats all over this planet. Some are cold and dreary, some are warm and mild, others and just plain hot and humid. If a wild bird in a cold or hot climate were to develop this mutation naturally it would probably die off because it could not withstand the variables the climate itself. But if it were in a warm and mild climate it could easily survive and manage to flourish within a colony or flock of birds. In fact,(this is one theory) frizzles were first discovered in southeast Asia. Some places there are very warm and mild and wouldnt require the bird to have a distinct feather type to survive. Im not saying your not right, just giving another aspect to look at about the matter.


~Casey

Has anyone seen a Polish frizzle roo crossed with a silkie hen? Does anyone have photos to share? I have never seen a polish/silkie cross. Should I expect half that look like polish and half that look like silkie?

Hey, Everyone. I realize this is an older thread but glad I came across it. I too am working on the Sizzles but only into my 2nd generation. I started the project a couple years ago and it got put on hold due to health issues.

I have a dozen or so Sizzle eggs in the 'bator that should hatch next weekend. I am so excited to see what develops. I also have several broody hens on Sizzle eggs.    The problem for me is, I haven't got my breeder pens set up so my whole flock of Sizzles is still running together.  I have some sorting to do. I should have been more prepared but did not realize until later on this spring that I wanted to resume my Sizzle project.

Hoping to hear from you guys and about your breeding programs.

Any good Sizzle sites to visit?

Take care and Happy Sizzling.

Elizabeth~

Here's Bowie (Silver laced Polish Roo) I will breed with the Black Gaillina (Black laced 8th Generation Sizzle).  I could use some tips on getting her to lay eggs.  I've got a Leghorn who lays everyday and two Ameraucanas that lay 3 times a week.  The two Sizzles that I have never laid a single egg!!  I'm thinking I'm gonna have to just get them two with my Polish Roo and separate the rest on the other side of the fence so they've got some quality time to mate.  Anyone think I can get success during the Nov-Dec time frame in Northern California?