Thank you, Mary Ruth! I enjoy them anyway, although none of them are particularly exceptional. The cuckoo marans is HUGE, I'll give him that, with nice shape and carriage and a lovely hint of gold in his hackle and back. He's clean-legged, though, and a bit of a butt-head. Oddly enough, his four sons were sweeties -- of course, the teenage hormones hadn't kicked in yet
And boy did they grow fast! Good utility birds, but definitely not something to build a breeding line around.
Hey, the new silkie owner (me) has a couple of questions:
Three of my babies have distinct and very well-defined topknots. The fourth doesn't, at all. Is this a gender distinction, the result of two different varieties, or a "fault" in breeding?
Also, does someone have a picture/diagram of what the "proper" five-toe conformation looks like? They've all got five toes, but there's some, uh, interesting variations in placement!
Gonna go browse the silkie threads (I know there have to be some!) but I figured I'd ask here first!

Hey, the new silkie owner (me) has a couple of questions:
Three of my babies have distinct and very well-defined topknots. The fourth doesn't, at all. Is this a gender distinction, the result of two different varieties, or a "fault" in breeding?
Also, does someone have a picture/diagram of what the "proper" five-toe conformation looks like? They've all got five toes, but there's some, uh, interesting variations in placement!
Gonna go browse the silkie threads (I know there have to be some!) but I figured I'd ask here first!