The Sizzle Thread! - Page 5

Is the one in the last pic with the naked neck a showgirl?  Or just missing feathers for other reasons?
 

4hchickmama - I haven't had time to check pms yet but you're more than welcome to come over & check out the Polish.  I also have some really nice bantam Cochins that would make good companions for pipsqueak or could possibly join your Silkie girls on the show circuit. Give me a call if you want to come & take a look.

sager - ladyfaeden gave you some good advice.  Buy some eggs or chicks from a Sizzle breeder that is already several generations along in their project. It will cost you far less in time & money than starting from scratch.  You can still study & play with the genetics as you continue with future generations of Sizzles & have the fun of the surprise hatches with 4 Silkie varieties possible in every hatch, but you'll skip a lot of the headaches. Not all of the headaches however.  You're still going to get DQ's show up in every generation - at least up to the 11th, which is where I am now.  I'm not sure how long it takes to breed them out completely, or if you even can.  You've got all those recessives for 4 toes, pink skin, single combs, red combs, etc, etc, & as soon as you start breeding the Sizzles & smooths together, you're bringing all those faults out in the open & right to the top of the gene pool. If you continually outcross to Silkies, then you start losing the curl, and around & around you go.  The good news is, even with DQ faults the Sizzles are adorable, & enough of the perfect ones pop up to make it all worth while.  Either that or I'm just a doofus that enjoys continually hitting my head against a wall because it feels so good when I stop!  lol

ladyfaeden - I told you so, I told you so!  lol  I KNEW you would get some nice curled Sizzles from my eggs & I'm happy that you're happy. I'm also happy that you got the thread moved & that you started it in the first place. I don't have much time to participate in any threads but I'm going to try my best to keep up with this one.

aoxa - I could be wrong, but I still think your chick might be a frizzled Silkie, and a nice one at that!  The reason I say frizzled Silkie rather than Sizzle is that the feathers look more shredded & Silkie-like than they would be on a Sizzle.  On a related note - in the next to last picture, are there 3 chicks in the picture?  It's hard to tell but it looks like the 2 chicks on the far side of the picture BOTH have curly wings & the 3rd chick has smooth wings. You said that your curly hatched with other Silkies but I guess you must have put them in with others or else my eyes have gone bad. lol  Anyway, your chick is quite nice no matter which of us is right about the variety, & if you WANT Sizzle, then I'll keep my fingers crossed that's what it is.
 

Yes, definitely Frizzled Silkie (Frilkie for short) & it will look very different from a regular Silkie, just not quite as different as a Sizzle. Go to posts #11 & #12 of this thread for an idea of how different.  Personally, I like the Frilkies almost as much as the Sizzles & I think you could still use it in your Sizzle breeding program but I'm not sure quite how to go about it.  If it's a hen you could breed back to George but you would take a chance on getting some frazzled double curly chicks.  However, some of the breeders are deliberately doubling up like that because the double curlies produce a higher % of Sizzles & Frilkies than a regular Sizzle. I've read about it & considered it but I'd want to get a lot more info first. For instance, would doubling the frizzle gene also bring a lot of DQ's to the surface again? I like to show my birds so to me it wouldn't be worth taking a chance to 100% Sizzles if they all have red single combs, pink skin, & 4 toes.

For what it's worth, here's what I would do.  Buy some Sizzles (eggs or chicks) from a breeder that is several generations along. Whichever you buy, keep & raise both varieties - smooth & rough. You can breed any smooth hens back to George & then keep a smooth to pair with your frilkie baby. That way, you can keep 2 lines going if you want - Sizzles & Frilkies.  If you don't like the Frilkies, you can sell those & just keep the Sizzle line going or you could probably combine the 2.  I think your Frilkie line will also give you some rough/smooth Sizzles you can breed back to George and/or his progeny. But maybe not, as I think both frizzled & silkie feathers are dominant so you may not get Sizzles from that line. Oh heck, I don't know. Sonoran, jimnjay, or one of the other BYC'rs with a Sizzle project could answer specific questions much better than I can.  I do remember Sarah, one of the first Sizzle project breeders, saying that breeders should get rid of any Frilkies because they would be of no use in the Sizzle program. She didn't say why, but I suspect that they would possibly produce only more Frilkies or a higher percent of Frilkies than Sizzles. I think I'm confusing myself so I'd better quit with the genetic info.

Anyway, from what I can see of your little Frilkie, it looks to be very nice with some good qualities to contribute to the gene pool. Dark mulberry comb that looks like it is the correct shape, nice foot feathering, dark skin.  Does it have 5 toes on each foot?  If so, you may end up with a Frilkie that you can show if you decide to go in that direction.

Sheri

well here are a few of mine

I just love them and they make me smile.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/5905269/id/4926250/sort/display_order#order=6&albumId=5905269&nextId=4926263&prevId=4916991&imageId=4926250&imageESOId=6279480&fullUrl=%2Fgallery%2Fimage%2Fview%2Fid%2F4926250%2Falbum%2F5905269&fullSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.backyardchickens.com%2Fe%2Fe6%2F900x900px-LL-e629a183_Picture050.jpeg&thumbSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.backyardchickens.com%2Fe%2Fe6%2F50x50px-ZC-e629a183_Picture050.jpeg&description=Picture+050.jpg&originalUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.backyardchickens.com%2Fe%2Fe6%2Fe629a183_Picture050.jpeg

these are a few of mine. hoping to get some paint sizzles in this last hatch.

I;ve never seen a naked neck turken as a chick. :)  Cute.