breeding silkies

[1Chick Magnet]

i am a beginner. can you breed 2 different colors of silkies together and get solid color chicks? mine are all babies now. not even sure what sexes i have. i have 1 white, 1 splash, 2 blue, 1 black, 2 partridge, and 3 blue partridge showgirls. would like to breed next spring. do any of these colors blend better than others? the black had a red dad. would i get any red chicks. can anyone suggest a good book on this subject?

 

[jimnjay]

Check out this website. Tom at KentuckySilkies raises beautiful mixed color birds. His flock is mixed and he gets all sorts beautiful color combinations.

Your Splash, Blue and Black are inter related colors. If you breed any one to another you will get a birds of the same colors

Here is an explanation of how the blue gene works:
-1- Blue X Blue. This will give you 25% black (without the gene) 50% blue (with 1 gene) and 25% splash ( with 2 genes).- 2 - Black X Blue. This will give you 50% black and 50% blue. - 3 - Black X Splash. This will give you 100% blue.- 4 - Blue X Splash. This will give you 50% blue and 50% splash.

I am not sure how all the other colors interrelate.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Crossing Silkie colors *may* yield solid colored chicks, however if you are intending to show or sell your offspring it is not recommended. Crossing colors creates genetic "soups" and the resulting offspring will never breed true again. A solid colored chick from a mixed breeding may NEVER reproduce in that same color again.

 

[1Chick Magnet]

jimnjay, i really like your sizzles. thanks for the info.