examples of a breed standard silkie?

[Diveks]

Hello, ive wanted to add silkies to my flock for awhile now. Pure silkies are pretty rare/expensive here and i wanted to breed them so that i can also get them more available here. I want to breed those that are up to standard.

The problem is that we have what we call ‘American silkies’ and also the Chinese silkies. I want to breed the american silkies, and want to know the breed standard of silkies as some people here breed them together and say that they are ‘American silkies’. Pictures will help lots!!

I do have 2 local breeders, that come to mind. Breeder 1 can give me some in a discounted price as i get my birds there sometimes. While ive never gotten birds from breeder 2. So if breeder 1s are up to standard, the discounted price is a plus.

Breeder 1 (sent some videos):
Some but not all of the parents:

Chicks (5 months):

Breeder 2 (took some screen shots from their videos):

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Breeder 2 looks more accurate. They need to have 5 toes (3 in front and 2 in back), but everything else looks right

 

[Diveks]

Here are the pics of the chicks. Sadly they are really stressed right now from the change of environment. Hoping they’ll come around sooner or later.

The parents were actually fluffier than the pics and showed me what they previously looked like. He trimmed their poof because they were having trouble mating.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Wow goodluck! Never thought of a silkie being so large.

Thanks. Here's my F2 Giant Silkie cockerel.

I figured out after many years of raising, & breeding silkies, is that they can be quite Gamey. Had to separate a couple cockerels, since they tried to kill each other.

 

[Diveks]

not sure if they are shocked or what but they seem to thrill (purr) when i pet them. I am staying close to them most of the time to get them used to me. Seem to be getting used to the brinsea heater. Unfortunately one brahma is being real loud tonight (someone elses bird im brooding together)

 

[black_cat]

I'm not an expert in silkies or in breeding, but I'd also say that breeder #2 has birds much closer to what is usually cited as a silkie that is being bred to standard.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Breeder 2 has what looks like are typey Silkies. The bird shown from breeder 3 looks pretty good, too. Nice crest and great fluffy tail. Looks a little leggy.
You can work with this though.
Important traits to look for are correct walnut comb, preferrably not huge.
Ideally should have a short back and be low to the ground. Adult males should not weigh more than 3lbs, adult females not more than 2lbs. Can be hard to determine this in chicks and juveniles.
Really tough to know for sure how a chick will mature. Ones that look so-so at 3 months can all of a sudden look great at 5 months.
So the parent stock are really the only thing you can go by for this.
Other traits are 5 toes, with good toe spacing between the 4th and 5th toes, as well as second toe feathering. This is already evident in chicks.
Black skin (exceptions are paints and cuckoo color varieties which can be have pigment "holes")
You should be able to find the SOP for Silkies on line for more details. Here is a link that may help.
Good luck in your search!
https://silkie.org/silkie-breed-standard.html
.

 

[Diveks]

Breeder 2 has what looks like are typey Silkies. The bird shown from breeder 3 looks pretty good, too. Nice crest and great fluffy tail. Looks a little leggy.
You can work with this though.
Important traits to look for are correct walnut comb, preferrably not huge.
Ideally should have a short back and be low to the ground. Adult males should not weigh more than 3lbs, adult females not more than 2lbs. Can be hard to determine this in chicks and juveniles.
Really tough to know for sure how a chick will mature. Ones that look so-so at 3 months can all of a sudden look great at 5 months.
So the parent stock are really the only thing you can go by for this.
Other traits are 5 toes, with good toe spacing between the 4th and 5th toes, as well as second toe feathering. This is already evident in chicks.
Black skin (exceptions are paints and cuckoo color varieties which can be have pigment "holes")
You should be able to find the SOP for Silkies on line for more details. Here is a link that may help.
Good luck in your search!
https://silkie.org/silkie-breed-standard.html
.

Thank you so much for the info will be looking at the link!

Good news! I have found available silkie chicks locally, but from a hobbyist so I can’t exactly pick out which birds I want since they only have a limited amount of chicks. So i will have to pick off of the looks of the adults.

If some of you could give a suggestion for which of these two hobbyist i should get them from, much help is appreciated as I am not too familiar with this breed.

Seller 1: chicks and adults

Seller 2: chicks and adults

 

[MysteryChicken]

Here's a Chinese Silkie chick I hatched last year. She was huge, but was a slow grower. So huge, she hatched from the pointy end of the egg.
Same size as an Orpington chick.

her at 6-7 weeks

3.5 months(I think)

 

[MysteryChicken]

Honestly I like the Chinese Silkie better the APA standard type. Reasons: (1)They're more intelligent, & have more personality.

(2) Larger body size.

(3) Uniqueness in body type, & different variations of comb types, & amount of toes.

(4) More inclined to free range/forage.



(5) Crest variations, & less of a chance of getting Vaulted skulls. Chinese Silkies are less likely to have Polish, or other breeds in their bloodlines.

(6) Chinese silkies vary in size(Except Bantam), range from large, & small.