Genetics for silkie skulls and combs anyone? Thanks :)

[tiki244]

I have three silkies from last year. A white pair and one black male. The white pullet has a small comb that is somewhat singleishwalnutty.? The white roo has a comb that was walnut till 6 months and has sprouted a single ridge on top. The black roo has a single comb. None of them have round heads. They are all flat headed ones. I put 3 eggs under a hen and during the last days she abandoned them when the first one hatched. The chick and other 2 eggs were cold.

What I salvaged was two white chicks hatched and well. And a black chick that didnt make it out of the egg, probably due to the hens shenanigans.

My question is that 1 white chick and the black chick that didnt make it both have very domed skulls. How could this happen with the parents?

ETA:Also, I didnt know the black roo was in their pen. And I actually thought two of the eggs were from my cochins. But they are silkies.

 

[tiki244]

Anybody have this occur? Or know anything about it? Thanks

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Vaulted skulls sometimes pop up because of "ancestral genetics" if you will. Just like single combs, red combs, pink toes, foreign colors etc. If you're silkies "bloodlines" are a menagerie of genetics, then stuff can and will pop up every now and then. These things tend to happen less with Silkies from professional breeders who work tirelessly over years of breeding to prevent these genes from coming around. Genetics are never a certainty, and vaulted skulls aren't a detriment by any means. Most breeders prefer it, although a lot of people are trying to move away from it. You may never get another vaulted chick again, then again, you may get all vaulted. Just depends on what kinds of genetics the parents are carrying.

 

[KattyKillFish]

Quote:
cool! good info u have here!

 

[tiki244]

The chicks that had vaulted skulls from this batch last year came down with crookneck I think. Well they died and I didnt know about the treatment for it at that time. It was very heartbreaking. Sam, the white roo was aggressive and I think he was pecking them on the head. I didnt realise any of this till it was too late, because it was my first experience with silkies. Thanks