Anyone ever crossed EE's with Silkies?

[MichiganWoods]

Maybe I'll start my own breeding project, as I have always had a strong fondness for genetics. I need to see what hatches out of my eggs (and what survives until breeding age), but I was thinking about crossing my EE's with my RIW's to try and get a prolific blue egg layer that will lay all year round. I realize the first generation would most likely produce the olive to brown toned green eggs, but perhaps I can/will find a few blues in there. Or at least a few that seem blue with a brown undertone rather than the typical green. I would single those out to hatch and breed that batch together and see how the eggs turned out, then repeat the process until I ended up with a nice shade of blue. Then after that group has been established for a while, I'd look into crossing with silkies to get a fluffier EE that would produce a lot of blue eggs.

Anyone done anything similar?

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Looks like you have two very different goals. Crossing with the RIR may increase egg production, but crossing with the Silkie will cancel it out. I'm not a genetic guru so I can't give you the techno terms, but it seems like you need to decide what you want, either eggs or feathers.... otherwise you're just creating a bunch of mixes without any particular purpose.

 

[MichiganWoods]

Hmm. Perhaps the EE/RIW mix will just become a better laying EE.

Don't Silkies lay well?

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

well they are better known for being broody's than their egg production. Not to mention that you'd be decreasing egg size by crossing an EE with a bantam like the Silkie....

 

[MichiganWoods]

Doesn't it take a few years to establish a new breed? All I can do is try and see what happens. Maybe nothing, but I'm curious.

 

[MagsC]

I got some EE/Silkie cross eggs in the incubator from a BYCer.(KellyHM) Maybe she can give an idea how hers turned out?

 

[KellyHM]

Mine are due to hatch on Monday, so I'll let you know! So far 100% are developing! Also, my Silkie lays daily, just as well as my EEs!

 

[Bex]

That cross seems like a neat idea!

Good luck.

 

[bkbuz1987]

I asked a breeder the same question, if she had crossed her Ameraucanas and her Silkies, I'd love to see what you get.

 

[lurky]

If you click on my website/myspace link, you will see the top pic is an EE bantam hen, the second pic is a splash silkie rooster, and the 3rd pic is the 3 offspring. They are only about 3 mos old in that pic.