Silkie thread!

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I think I would have to respectfully disagree that Sizzles should be considered mutts. Certainly they are not an accepted breed and won't be for a while yet and certainly there are many tweaks to work out within their purity, but I would have to argue that after they reach 15+ generations and the stock is producing consistent quality offspring, of which some are show quality and meet the Silkie standard in all ways except their feather type, they ought to be considered purebred. I've seen my local breeder's stock (18th-19th gen) and she has some truly remarkable birds, better quality than many of the Silkies I've seen.

I'm certainly am not saying they SHOULD be considered mixed breeds or mutts, just that they typically are. If I didn't have a passion for them, I definitely wouldn't have invested as much time into them as I have...

 

[dowgirl71]

Momma hen may have been a Sizzle not a Silkie. Or maybe a Silkie cross. I have some chicks that are 3/4 Silkie 1/4 Cochin (mom was Silkie/Banty Cochin mix) and they look like pure Silkies, just some have flat feathers.

Thank you Queen Misha & howfunkyisurchicken for the replies.

 

[QueenMisha]

I'm certainly am not saying they SHOULD be considered mixed breeds or mutts, just that they typically are. If I didn't have a passion for them, I definitely wouldn't have invested as much time into them as I have...

Right, OK, I misunderstood. It would be correct to say that a lot of "Sizzle" populations are still in the project stage, and thus still a mutt. Perhaps I am biased because I am lucky enough to have a local breeder with a population of pure, quality Sizzles which are the product of many years of hard work.

 

[spazy67]

I am in love with the full feathers on the silkies abouve can you please tell me will this little guy or girl ? look like those when grown up and if so how do they see? So silly when it gets scared he she will stomp it's little feet like a two year old sad but funny.

I also see mine seems to have longer tail feathers

 

[TStuart1983]

I purchased a new silkie saturday and was told its a hen but was not given an age. Can someoine help? We are new to the silkie world! I am suspecting its a roo.

Here is my actual crowing roo named frank:

 

[Fancychooklady]

Can someone help me out here. I have this silkie chick. The breeder told me lavender silkie. Its feathers have started coming in and look like this. This is my first time owning silkies so im not sure how they look during this stage? Maybe its normal? I thought it looks like it might be more of a cross though. Any help would be much appreciated.

Looks to be a frizzle .

 

[Fancychooklady]

I purchased a new silkie saturday and was told its a hen but was not given an age. Can someoine help? We are new to the silkie world! I am suspecting its a roo.

Here is my actual crowing roo named frank:

I see 2x Roos. Frank is gorgeous .

 

[Duck Drover]

Right, OK, I misunderstood. It would be correct to say that a lot of "Sizzle" populations are still in the project stage, and thus still a mutt. Perhaps I am biased because I am lucky enough to have a local breeder with a population of pure, quality Sizzles which are the product of many years of hard work.

So when breeding these Sizzles together do all the chicks look like the parents or are there still offspring with silkied feathers in the mix? Are there frizzled Sizzles and smooth Sizzles (by breeding frizzle to smooth) or are they all smooth?

I sold off all my Sizzles after the first genetation because it is too hard to breed for specific traits when there is so much going on in the mix. It seems like every hatch would have a mix of traits and that is why they are considered a crossbreed and not an actual breed of their own. With established breeds that breed true it is easier to work on improving specific traits because the genetics are not such a grab bag of surprise offspring.

I had to sell all my second generation Sizzle to Sizzle breeding at a discount because they were all pet quality so I did not take it any further. I decided to make more Silkies instead of using Silkies to make Sizzles. My Cochins were all frizzled so I could not breed them together, in fact one of my hens was already frazzled. I did not like the temperament of the Cochins as much so that also contributed to my decision to downsize.

 

[QueenMisha]

So when breeding these Sizzles together do all the chicks look like the parents or are there still offspring with silkied feathers in the mix? Are there frizzled Sizzles and smooth Sizzles (by breeding frizzle to smooth) or are they all smooth?

I sold off all my Sizzles after the first genetation because it is too hard to breed for specific traits when there is so much going on in the mix. It seems like every hatch would have a mix of traits and that is why they are considered a crossbreed and not an actual breed of their own. With established breeds that breed true it is easier to work on improving specific traits because the genetics are not such a grab bag of surprise offspring.

I had to sell all my second generation Sizzle to Sizzle breeding at a discount because they were all pet quality so I did not take it any further. I decided to make more Silkies instead of using Silkies to make Sizzles. My Cochins were all frizzled so I could not breed them together, in fact one of my hens was already frazzled. I did not like the temperament of the Cochins as much so that also contributed to my decision to downsize.

Many Sizzles will produce Silkies as well because a lot of them carry the gene. There are both Frizzled and Smooth Sizzles.

It's definitely not a small project to undertake, I can understand why you quit it.

 

[Duck Drover]

If you get 18 generations out and still end up with non-Sizzle offspring, I think it will be hard to get breed recognition. I was thinking new breeds need to breed true in 4 generations but that could be cats and not chickens. As long as two Sizzles bred together produce non-Sizzles it is hard to consider it a true breed and not a crossbreed.