Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Fur N Feathers]

Just a quick question--
What does a chicken show actually consist of?

Short answer - It is a beauty pageant for chickens. You take your best chickens to compete with others that have brought their best chickens and the judge chooses the winners.

If you are familiar with other animal shows, it is a similar concept. Lots of work goes into the conditioning and preparation. You can't just pluck one out of the barn and take it to the show the next day. There are tons of very good information at this website and this thread. Just read, read, read if you are interested in showing.

 

[CheshieChick]

I would like opinions on my porcelain silkie chick so far.
This baby is 4 weeks old today.
He/she usually doesn't hold its neck straight like in the pics. Usually holds in an "s" shape.
Feet need to be washed, sorry

 

[Jharper]

Why aren't my buff hens laying?!? I've had them for 5 months and one was already 4 months and the other was already well over 9 when we got them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Why aren't my buff hens laying?!? I've had them for 5 months and one was already 4 months and the other was already well over 9 when we got them.

Hard to say. I've had silkies that were well over a year before they laid. IMO, 9 months is about the earliest I ever expect them to lay, although some start a bit earlier. In general, better quality birds tend to start laying later. But, hens lay and go broody on their own cycles. My moderns were not laying much until I got them home from county fair, and now their coop is FULL of eggs daily.

 

[kabhyper1]

This is Grayson. He is 6 months old. I'm currently deciding who to keep for my breeding flock. I have a lady who wants him pretty badly, but I can't decide on my own. Could you all help me decide? The brown on his head in the last picture is lighting, it's not brown in person.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

This is Grayson. He is 6 months old. I'm currently deciding who to keep for my breeding flock. I have a lady who wants him pretty badly, but I can't decide on my own. Could you all help me decide? The brown on his head in the last picture is lighting, it's not brown in person.

What are your alternatives? How many blue, black or splash girls do you have, and what other colours, also? He is nice and broad, but has some hard tail feathers

 

[kabhyper1]

What are your alternatives? How many blue, black or splash girls do you have, and what other colours, also? He is nice and broad, but has some hard tail feathers

The hard feathering is one of my deciding factors. I have a white flock, a partridge, a blue and a black hen (she is gorgeous, but has a little brown hackle leakage). A black roo with silver leakage, I may use him for paints, a blue cockerel that is the brother to Grayson, who has very little hard feathering and no hackle leakage, but is kinda tall, and a blue roo that has silver hackle leakage. Here are a few pics. I want to make sure I don't make myself rooster heavy, but I do want to keep the better boys. I love them all and they all have names,, so it's not an easy decision for me.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Can you keep your lesser quality birds in a separate area? Allow them to do "pest control" as they eat various bugs, etc.? And keep your breeding flocks penned where your Yard Patrol Squad cannot get to them?

 

[kabhyper1]

Can you keep your lesser quality birds in a separate area? Allow them to do "pest control" as they eat various bugs, etc.? And keep your breeding flocks penned where your Yard Patrol Squad cannot get to them?

I have a LF flock of 20, and a mixed bantam flock of 6, all pullets I could put my blue roo I don't want to breed silkies with. I have decided Grayson will do to a new home. I have blues so I can always get more splash. My black boy with leakage I will use with my partridge and possibly paints. That leaves my nice white boy and my nice blue boy for breeding my whites and blues and blacks eventually. I'm a beginner, so It's a learning experience.

 

[MrOrpington16]

I just got a brinsea mini Eco and would love to hatch some show quality/ or show girl eggs. Can only take in 6-8 eggs in my incubator so I do not want a dozen. I would feel bad wasting them. No preference on color, but I wold love multiple colors if possible. Thank you so much. My silkie is an egg eater so I get no fertile eggs from her