Breeding with silkies: white rooster and buff hens

[daisyd]

Hi.
We are starting breeding with our silkies soon. Maybe someone can advise us with regards to the following: if we use a white rooster and buff hens for the breeding, will the little chicks be white, buff, or a mix of white and buff?

 

[jimnjay]

They will be a mix, if you are going to ever offer eggs for sale, make sure you advise people they have mixed color breeding. It is so frustrating to get eggs you think are from white chickens and find little off colored birds popping up. Nothing wrong with mixed colors, in fact some of the most beutiful are from such breeding but for people wanting to breed pure birds, those can be a nightmare.

I have had a White with Buff Splashes before and it was just beautiful.

 

[Krys109uk]

It is not possible to predict the outcome of crossing recessive white birds, such as white silkies, with other colours of bird, unless one knows the other genes involved in that particular white bird. Recessive white turns off all pigment rrespective of what other colour genes the bird may have.

 

[daisyd]

Thanks For The Feedback!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yes, as Krys said, you cannot predict the offspring of a recessive white bred with any coloured bird. If you want white, breed with white. If you want buff, you need a buff cock.

 

[silkielovr]

Hi, I was just reading through a bunch of posts and found this one, it interests me a lot, I'm trying to learn about the genetics of color, especially in Silkies.

Is it the same for all poultry or do I need to just study on Silkies?

Do you know of any real good book or study I can go to to learn more? {one that is understandable for dummies]

Thanks Sonora, I have been reading lots of very informative things here on the forum and about 90% has come from you!

Wish I could sit down with you and pick your brain!

Snort

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The genetics for all chickens work the same, as they are the same species. Occasionally you will hear people say that the genetics don't work the same on silkies, but that simply is not true. For one thing, much of the research on chicken genetics has included silkies in the studies, so even the extremely miniscule chance that the gene for silkieness (h/h) affects the way all other genes are expressed is contradicted.

However, due to the nature of the silkie feathers, patterns on individual feathers are not easily distinguished--you can see the colour differences, but you cannot properly distinguish whether, for example, a partridge hen is correctly penciled, or if comparing two, which one has better penciling.

Genetics of Chicken Colours is available through www.chickencolours.com. It is well worth the price.

http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi...rm=frameset;view=image;seq=2;page=root;size=s is a classic.

http://web.archive.org/web/20051207035940/marsa_sellers.tripod.com/geneticspages/page0.html is a good starting point. http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/ has far more depth, but needs a bit better understanding of genetics, which is why I list it 2nd.

http://kippenjungle.nl/basisEN.htm gives a very good start on terminology & the basics of how genetics works.

 

[silkielovr]

I thank you so very much!
I will get into these places you mention right away.
You are most helpful and generous to share your knowledge.

 

[Freckle Face Farm]

Quote:
Thanks I am going to love reading all this info I have been looking for some good books on silkies and genetics...

 

[silkielovr]

Hello again,
I know I need to do MY OWN homework but I have missed locating any thing on ear lobes.

I have a pretty nice little black Silkie rooster and he has deep mulberry ear lobes, near black....is this a serious fault?

Should I not use him?

He is nothing great but he is as good as I have right now.

thanks for the help!