Can you cross.....?

[riftnreef]

Wondering first if its possible to breed a Silkie hen with a Serama roo? If so, what kind of bird would result...a large silkie-ish serama maybe? I've seen silkie feathered seramas for sale here and there, so I would think that cross had to come in at some point.

 

[Henk69]

Silkyfied japanese and serama have existed for a long time, so maybe it is the other way around...

 

[muddyhorse]

I think regular feathers are dominamt, but they would have five toes, blue skin, and probably a top knot. I may not be right.

 

[riftnreef]

The reason I ask is that I have a 5 month old silkie hen, and a month old pullet. I tried to put the hen in with my standards and they are having NO part of her being with them, so my plan is to put them in the Serama's that are in the incubator right now...eventually. Any way, I didn't know if a Serama roo could...well, reach the silkie? I would rather not have silkierama muts running around, but I may not have a choice in the matter...

 

[RAREROO]

If I remember correctly, silkies where used way back during the creation of the breed and the silkie traits still come throught today. From the 8 silkies I hatched from bought eggs, one of the pullets was silkie feathered, but she was killed by a cat.

As for the cross, I know my young serama roo was chasing the silkie hens yesterday, but he didn't catch any that I saw, the silkie hens are young POL pullets too, so they weren't willing to let him. But I would imagine it would be very possible for fertilization to occurr if the roo is successful in mounting the hen and she cooperates. I believe the cross should produce smooth feathered (maybe some silke feathered) birds with feathered feet and little crests.

 

[Old_English_Lover]

There are such thing as a Silked Serama... They look just like the Serama's but they have the "fur" like feathers.

 

[RAREROO]

Yep, I believe Poultry Haven raises the silkie feathered Seramas.

 

[Old_English_Lover]

They normally run at a high cost because they are so rare. I had a trio of them once that I got in mass. they were over $100. Many people here in New England are trying to get the breed going. They are not in the standard yet.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Not sure how old the serama breed is, but I thnk it is pretty old, originally from Malasia. Silkies, on the other hand originated in China hundreds of years ago.

The first time I saw seramas was at a show. They were selling for $1700 per pair, and you had to be put on a waiting list.

 

[RAREROO]

Here's an update to what I said earlier, Yes my Serama roo did get the Silkie hen today.

Here is a pic of a Silkie X somthing bantam hen to show you what a silkieX looks like.