Linda-
Enjoy your birds and your hobby. That is the main point of all this, especially with something like Calls that aren't generally kept any longer for their utility. It is all about personal enjoyment and a love for the hobby. It sounds like you have some wonderful projects underway and will have an awesome set up for your birds. That and your happiness with your birds is all that matters.
Everyone is correct in that the Holderread's are not known for Calls. I have seen some good Calls from them and I have seen some not so good Calls from them. Everything is relative though. Most (in fact all) of the lower quality Calls I have seen come from them have had that reflected in the price. I have seen better quality Calls for hundreds of dollars. It just, "is what it is". Price reflects quality and to an extent, it also reflects reputation. The Holderread's have an incredible reputation. Yes, they are not known for top show quality Calls in particular, but they are a good bet for strong quality, healthy birds, that meet and exceed the breed standards. As I'm sure you know, they also have several different price ranges depending on the quality you wish to purchase. Some of what you pay for though is their reputation and expertise (in the adult birds especially). Any breeder, even with the best stock, is going to produce a small number of excellent birds, a small number of crappy birds, and a lot in the middle. The Holderread's are no exception.
At any rate, I have known them and dealt with them for many years and for the most part, my experiences with them have been wonderful. As you are around longer, you will get more of a feel for which lines are known for what and you will develop your own likes and dislikes. One example that I have used before is the Holderread Runners, which I have worked with extensively. Their line is known for being larger and stouter than what typically wins these days in shows, but I much prefer that look, hence I have a lot of their Runners. I seem to remember from one of your other threads that several of the birds you purchased from them are their other varieties of bantam ducks. In bantam ducks, again, they can't be beat. They are the only ones even breeding some of the varieties they have. That in itself certainly warrants working with them.
Don't sell your birds short. I would continue working with what you have if you yourself are happy with them. Don't go by anyone else's (including mine) arbitrary idea of what your birds should look like. Again, go with what makes you happy.
As far as specific questions about breeding- I am not currently breeding the Silkies, but know they were developed in part (if not almost entirely) from Calls, and that the Holderread's do use some smooth birds in their breeding. Again, go with what it is you want to do. If your goal is to breed some Silkies, then I'm sure you could get a Silky drake and outcross your hens to him (very common practice, especially with something there is not a large number of). If your goal is to breed Calls though, I would go the route of locating a Call drake. High quality White Calls are not that difficult to come by. As far as the Blue East Indies, the Blues are basically the same as Blue in any other duck breed. It is the result of one Blue dilution gene, in this case combined with the extended Black of the Black East Indie. It is the identical color of the Blue Runner, Blue Cayuga, or Blue Swedish (other than the Swedish being bibbed obviously). If you breed a Blue and a Black together (Holderread's used to only sell Black X Blue pairs I believe), then you will get 50% Black offspring and 50% Blue. If you do get a pair of Blues, like with any other Blue, you would get 25% Black, 50% Blue, and 25% Silver/Splash.
