Silver laced Cochin Bantams

[serendipityfarm]

I actually have recently hatched (2 weeks old) chicks from Lucky Pickens eggs. I asked if I could have mostly SL & a few Columbian, and received 9 & 5 respectively
As my luck tends to run, I hatched TWO SL and five Columbian! I am hoping for a SL pair, but am happy to hear all is not lost if not. I guess I just have to decide at that point if it's worthwhile to breed them to Columbian or not. (and start more of a project than expected) Any input as to whether the sex matters? For instance SL too to Col hen or vice versa? And does anyone have Columbians from Lucky Pickens?

 

[ShysCreations]

Serendipity--glad to have u onboard. the silver laced probably wont be a a quick project with immediate results. i choose it knowing it will be several years before a show worthy bird arrives. And that bird wont be winning against the long established colors. I have the goal in mind of improving type and pattern--I love the color!. but i want to help others along the way too. Thats why I am a member of BYC but also Cochins International and Amer Bantam Assoc. Those last 2 clubs are dedicated to show quality birds. A breeder helped me when i started mille fleur cochins and more recently the silver laced. SLs tend to have poor body type as not many are bred and many are hatchery birds. U have to start somewhere with the stock available and gradually breed up quality.

 

[serendipityfarm]

Shy,
Did you say you are using Columbians to get better type? I was reading an article last night by a breeder I think in Holland. It looks very complicated when you start mapping out the genetics. He was using Cuckoo birds, which I am 100% unfamiliar with.
My understanding is that a cross to Columbian would give incomplete lacing and then crossing those together should bring back better lacing in the next generation? This just happens to be what I have. Maybe I would be better off acquiring some really nice typey birds of another color to cross in once I know what I have for SL. They are just two weeks old, so I have no idea if they will even be worth using at this point.
My biggest obstacle to making any significant progress is likely to be my inability to produce large numbers. I'm just a little backyarder here, and not really set up for any sort of large scale breeding project. I just love the color but am not overly fond of the SLW personality.
I guess slow progress is better than NO progress, right?

~Terry

 

[serendipityfarm]

Quote:
Any other suggestions for useful reading? The closest version of this book I can find in a library (Amazon doesn't have it) is Univ. of Maine or Iowa!

 

[AndyCap]

Shy,
Did you say you are using Columbians to get better type? I was reading an article last night by a breeder I think in Holland. It looks very complicated when you start mapping out the genetics. He was using Cuckoo birds, which I am 100% unfamiliar with.
My understanding is that a cross to Columbian would give incomplete lacing and then crossing those together should bring back better lacing in the next generation? This just happens to be what I have. Maybe I would be better off acquiring some really nice typey birds of another color to cross in once I know what I have for SL. They are just two weeks old, so I have no idea if they will even be worth using at this point.
My biggest obstacle to making any significant progress is likely to be my inability to produce large numbers. I'm just a little backyarder here, and not really set up for any sort of large scale breeding project. I just love the color but am not overly fond of the SLW personality.
I guess slow progress is better than NO progress, right?

~Terry

A lot of people recommend using partridge or Columbian because those two at least carry one gene responsible for creating lacing.(Co for Columbian and Pg for partridge or pencilled)

The article you are referring to is probably by Sigi, she was using cuckoo, and was there was a big debate by a number of breeders about why.

Your thoughts are correct, crossing to Columbian would give incomplete lacing, the birds would only be pure for Co, and you would need to breed the f1 together to try and get the Pg ML genes pure again.

 

[serendipityfarm]

Let's see if this works:

http://www.chickencolours.com/SL CochinB Eng.pdf

This is the article I was reading. I LOVE pictures. I guess I'm a much more visual learner.
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting read and made me realize that this is a BIG project! And then I realized that the Columbians themselves are not an easy variety to breed to standard. So of my three favorites (Calico/MF, Silver Laced, and Columbian), I have NOTHING that will be simple. Pretty much typical of my luck.

I have found that I prefer the Calico to the MF, and mostly I have those just because I love the look of them running around the yard, so I really don't plan on doing much "work" there.
I once tried to get some silver pencilled from one of the hatcheries, and all died in transport or shortly after except 2

I would think that would be preferable to Partridge in the SL cross so as to stick with the silver color, or would it not matter? The partridge would obviously have the advantage in type and availability.

 

[AndyCap]

Agreed silver pencilled would be better if you are just making silver laced. Sorry about the confusion, here silver pencilled are called silver partridge.

That article was sigi's. She has some nice birds

 

[serendipityfarm]

I was confused, because the author was listed as Hans Ringnalda, but looking closer, I also saw Sigrid Van Dort (Sigi?).
There are some beautiful birds used in the article!

 

[ShysCreations]

I picked columbian to use improving the silver laced as columbian carries the silver gene (as do silver pencilled) but the columbian are usually better type and were attainable. Seems like very few are breeding silver pencilled. Serendipity--columbian is further along than the other 2 colors in show terms so would be the least work. Mille fleur isnt a standard show color in cochins. If interested i have a little cockerel from a silver laced roo paired to a black hen. So he'll have good type but not color pattern.

 

[ShysCreations]

Here he is. I've posted his dad on the thread and his mom is in my cochin pics