Breeding for different silkie type questions

[ninny]

What would be the best way to start one of these breeding projects? Would it be best to buy lots of the best roosters you could afford to start with? Say if i wanted to just work with the color white in both bearded and non bearded. Get hens of the kind you'd need for that type. Just keep breeding the chicks back to you roos till you have hens of good type? Id have a couple of silkie hens as well.

Showgirls
Frizzled silkies
Sizzle
smooth sizzle

 

[onthespot]

I think you would be way ahead to spring for a couple of excellent quality hens and a roo, than several roos and average hens. The time and money you would save by starting out with a much smaller, higher quality flock would be enormous over time, over the few years it would take you to "breed up" from average hens. I would say sell your hens, or sell eggs like crazy from your hens so you could save $ enough to buy at least ONE excellent pullet, or eggs from a top breeder and go from there. That's what I think. Good luck in your efforts, and do post pics!

 

[Elite Silkies]

I'm not sure what you are trying to breed, but Silkies and Showgirls can be bred together. It's best to breed a Silkie to a Showgirl rather than a Showgirl to a Showgirl.

A very good Roo can pull some bad qualities out of an average hen, but why not just buy a really nice hen also and breed them and build up your flock, rather than spending all that time to produce a nice flock.

I have found that it's much better to spend the money for quality rather than build quality.