Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I'll take photos of my setup later, but I have a wood frame covered with 1/2 X 1 cage wire up on cinder blocks, and wire sides. This keeps birds above water. I've got a similar setup with a wooden bottom on which I put shavings. And others where the cinder blocks build up an area that is filled in with dirt and sand topped with shavings.

 

[Frizzle13]

Anyone ever heard of a six toed silkie. I crossed my silkie roo with 5 toes with my ex bat hens 4 toes and the offspring has bright green legs and most freaky six toes

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The polydactyly gene is variable in expression. Six toed birds are reasonably common.

 

[Frizzle13]

Ah never seen one before

 

[chisNchickens]

Getting ready for show. They didn't like the bath too much, but they all loved the blow dry!!!

Didn't get a dry picture of this partridge girl. I took two but they were blurry because of her flapping and flopping around. (this should have been my first clue)

Show Time (our row)!


I took four of my girls.





My partridge girl sulked most of the day. I could not get a decent picture of her. She was definitely my problem child. She didn't want to eat or drink because she didn't like the plastic cups - just an all around DIVA!


This one decided she needed to lay an egg!


The other three girls were angels compared to Miss Diva. (here's another shot of the light gray)

At one point it was 107 degrees in the poultry barn so they released us two hours early. We were all panting! All in all we had a good day - stressful and tiring, but fun!

The girls got Best of Variety (3) and Reserve of Variety (1).

Awesome! That is what this thread is about folks. Showing and breeding to the standard.
Too bad they plan shows in the heat of the summer, we had one over the weekend too and it was just too hot.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I can't even imagine showing in August! Too hot! And the birds are usually in terrible condition...starting to molt.

 

[thedragonlady]

I've also lost like 8 chicks. We have gotten so much rain this summer at one time and it's been getting them sick and they have been dying. We have been trying our best to shorten the rain in the pen, but it just keeps getting in there.

I hope you have those chicks and also your adults now, on Medicated starter. Coccidia grows and multiplies in damp pens. Try some pallets, or something like them, on the floors until your pens dry out. Silkies really don't do well wet.

 

[Jharper]

I hope you have those chicks and also your adults now, on Medicated starter. Coccidia grows and multiplies in damp pens. Try some pallets, or something like them, on the floors until your pens dry out. Silkies really don't do well wet.

It's dried out now. The chicks have been long gone. I have my incubator hatched chicks inside.

 

[thedragonlady]

It's dried out now. The chicks have been long gone. I have my incubator hatched chicks inside.

I hope they are on Medicated Starter !

 

[Fur N Feathers]

I can't even imagine showing in August! Too hot! And the birds are usually in terrible condition...starting to molt.

Awesome! That is what this thread is about folks. Showing and breeding to the standard.
Too bad they plan shows in the heat of the summer, we had one over the weekend too and it was just too hot.

It is too bad. There are not that many shows in my area (without driving for hours) so I have to make the ones I can.

I did have one that is molting and broody and another that is broody that I planned on taking. That's why I ended up taking the younger girls. They tried making it cooler - they had those huge industrial evaporative cooler fans positioned on the ends and in the middle of the barn.