Breeding silkied Cochin bantams to the Standard

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Just a few random pictures from this morning. Here is Nora, the red band pullet that had the head injury:

An unnamed pullet looking rather intently at the camera lens

I believe these are two unnamed pullets, one of the Gus x Blue girls pullets on the left and I'm not sure which coop the pullet on the right came from

Keeper Splash pullet from post 599, now named Judy

And two more yet unnamed pullets from the blue coop. The one on the right here is 'Blue pullet 2' from post 599; from this angle you can better see her pinched cushion.

 

[Turtle1626]

Just a few random pictures from this morning. Here is Nora, the red band pullet that had the head injury:

An unnamed pullet looking rather intently at the camera lens

I believe these are two unnamed pullets, one of the Gus x Blue girls pullets on the left and I'm not sure which coop the pullet on the right came from

Keeper Splash pullet from post 599, now named Judy

And two more yet unnamed pullets from the blue coop. The one on the right here is 'Blue pullet 2' from post 599; from this angle you can better see her pinched cushion.

You have gorgeous birds!!

I did have a question about BBS

I have silked Cochins chicks black,blue and splash. I was wondering if I hatched out a black, would it be a true black cochin?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You have gorgeous birds!!

I did have a question about BBS

I have silked Cochins chicks black,blue and splash. I was wondering if I hatched out a black, would it be a true black cochin?

Yes, so long as it isn't a blue that's so dark it looks black

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Just a few random pictures from this morning. Here is Nora, the red band pullet that had the head injury:

An unnamed pullet looking rather intently at the camera lens

I believe these are two unnamed pullets, one of the Gus x Blue girls pullets on the left and I'm not sure which coop the pullet on the right came from

Keeper Splash pullet from post 599, now named Judy

And two more yet unnamed pullets from the blue coop. The one on the right here is 'Blue pullet 2' from post 599; from this angle you can better see her pinched cushion.

I just LOVE them!!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I am late to this thread, but your Silkied Cochin Bantams are absolutely adorable! Do they have the same weaknesses as Silkies due to their plumage, or are they more resilient?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

You have gorgeous birds!!

I did have a question about BBS

I have silked Cochins chicks black,blue and splash. I was wondering if I hatched out a black, would it be a true black cochin?

Yes, as Jacin said, as long as they're actually Black and not a very dark Blue. In my experience, if the chick down looks black, then they are Black. Dark Blues hatch looking bluish, they just feather in dark.

Blue is simply a dilution of black. It's a partially dominant gene, so a bird that inherits one copy of the blue gene has the black pigment in their feathering diluted to blue-gray, and a bird that inherits two copies of the gene has that black pigment diluted even further to grayish white with blue-gray flecks. So a Black bird out of Blues is truly Black because they did not inherit any blue genes.

I am late to this thread, but your Silkied Cochin Bantams are absolutely adorable! Do they have the same weaknesses as Silkies due to their plumage, or are they more resilient?

I've heard a lot about Silkies having several weaknesses comparatively to other breeds or being more fragile in general, but that hasn't been my experience at all with the breed. My silkied Cochins are quite hardy as well. Silkied feathering does not repel water like smooth feathering does, so they do get soaked a lot easier in wet weather, but that's the only real 'weakness' I've noticed in any of them. If you have any more specific things you're wondering about, feel free to ask!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Yes, as Jacin said, as long as they're actually Black and not a very dark Blue. In my experience, if the chick down looks black, then they are Black. Dark Blues hatch looking bluish, they just feather in dark.

Blue is simply a dilution of black. It's a partially dominant gene, so a bird that inherits one copy of the blue gene has the black pigment in their feathering diluted to blue-gray, and a bird that inherits two copies of the gene has that black pigment diluted even further to grayish white with blue-gray flecks. So a Black bird out of Blues is truly Black because they did not inherit any blue genes.




I've heard a lot about Silkies having several weaknesses comparatively to other breeds or being more fragile in general, but that hasn't been my experience at all with the breed. My silkied Cochins are quite hardy as well. Silkied feathering does not repel water like smooth feathering does, so they do get soaked a lot easier in wet weather, but that's the only real 'weakness' I've noticed in any of them. If you have any more specific things you're wondering about, feel free to ask!

Silkies in general are known to be a weak breed with common health problems, which has been my experience as well. But that does not mean I am saying all chickens with silkied feathering are like that. I know Silkies cannot fly well because of their feathers, how about the silkied Cochins?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

My Silkies have been hardy birds without any such issues, but I think it really depends on the line you get them from.

No, they can't fly at all. Cochins in general don't get much lift in my experience with them, but the silkied feathering cuts that little amount of lift to pretty much nothing. Mine get up to roost just fine, but they don't have to jump any higher than like 18-ish inches to get there in any of my coops.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My Silkies have been hardy birds without any such issues, but I think it really depends on the line you get them from.

No, they can't fly at all. Cochins in general don't get much lift in my experience with them, but the silkied feathering cuts that little amount of lift to pretty much nothing. Mine get up to roost just fine, but they don't have to jump any higher than like 18-ish inches to get there in any of my coops.

Same. I have had a few problems with individuals genetics wise, but other than that, mine are probably some of the most stable birds I have currently

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

First fertility check eggs for the year are set, due date Easter Sunday (well, at least in the U.S.)!

I don't know if I should say my exact egg count because of the Easter hatchalong, but I set 4 eggs that are from Wyatt's group after I split out the maybes and probably-not-keeps from the group so I knew whose eggs to collect. I believe all 4 are from Judy, as no one else in that group seems to be laying. I'm hoping she lays one more either today or early tomorrow that I can add in as well.

I also set a few more that are from those maybes and probably-nots just so that if I had spotty fertility I'd have lower odds at least of having a lonely only hatch. I'll split them at lock down so that I can mark those chicks as probably-nots as well. Hoping for decent fertility thanks to the warmer weather we've had this year compared to this time last year