Colorado

[suncatcher]

Shylee, are you going to the National Western show next month?  I might be interested in the Porcelain male if someone else buys the Partridge pullet with a Splash.  Or the pair.  Hmm. 
How do you already know the genders?  We've been trying to guess on Ashdoes' youngsters, they're a bit older than yours.

I am showing at the NWSS in January, hope to see u there! Silkies are tough to sex but there are tell tale characteristics to watch for. Comb development--males have more as along as comparing fairly close in age. Shape of crest--males grow more of a swept back crest while pullets are rounder. Pullets feather in on the body earlier than males. Males tend to have bare back areas while a female has a uniform growth to her body feathers. Noise--not just the obvious crowing but before that males have a deeper voice. Behavior--males play fight and neckflare soooo much more and females quickly show lesser dominance. I look at all these clues to determine gender. The porcelain is about as young as i can be sure of gender. I tried guessing Ashdoes silkies and #4 is female but most others looked male. Tough to tell by pics alone.
Porcelain (or self blue cream as the Silkie club is terming it) is a light straw creamy color with self blue shading. Its not a standard color nor like the porcelain in D'uccles. Theres buff and self blue in the breeding of self blue creams but the color is varied not standardized.

Took me a minute to figure out the NWSS, National Western Stock Show, I think???

How did your Hortsman chicks turn out? Are you breeding any of them this coming spring? And will you ever sell hathching eggs? lol

 

[trsturself]

I love porcelain silkies. That and splash are our favorite colors. We had a porcelain but it turned out to be a roo. Then we had a frizzled splash but it got killed by the big hail storm we had a few months ago.

 

[suncatcher]

Would have loved to seen pictures of your frizzled splash! Bet she was cool looking.

 

[trsturself]

She was just a little thing when she got killed. Here's the most recent pics I have of her before she died.

 

[ShysCreations]

I

I have read that Muscovy ducks can fly, does anyone know if that is true?

I heard the same and a friend's would roost in trees. Muscovies are a species of tree duck....

 

[ShysCreations]

Took me a minute to figure out the NWSS, National Western Stock Show, I think???

How did your Hortsman chicks turn out? Are you breeding any of them this coming spring? And will you ever sell hathching eggs? lol

You got the NWSS right! I kept a trio of the Horstman columbian cochins. I was going to breed the cockerel to help my silver laced project but will sell him. Will breed the pullets before i let them go in spring. If i can produce a good number of chicks then i sometimes have hatching eggs available.

 

[suncatcher]

She was just a little thing when she got killed. Here's the most recent pics I have of her before she died.

She was a pretty little thing! Seems always the favorites are the ones to go first..

 

[Pozees]

Picture bomb

Some pics Bob took this afternoon of chicks growing up here. Silkies are all from the Shylee/Catdance pen, then there are a few Egyptian Fayoumi, and the Colorado Mayahn we hatched 3 weeks ago, Bob named it Opus

 

[suncatcher]

So beautiful, something about the Silkie eyes, they look so soft and dreamy! Opus looks to be a very sturdy boy!! What breed is he again?

 

[lovincolorado]

The three cockerels that survived the final cull. #s 17 and 1 will be the primary breeders for our flock next year.

I especially like the turkey photo bomb!