Help me to pair birds for breeding!

[RememberTheWay]

Her parents are my paint NN silkie hen and a lavender bantam ameraucana roo. It is possible that she may be “blue paint” though my silkie girl is a black paint, so if that is true, then the lavender father would have to be carrying blue.

I have some eggs in the incubator, but kind of random mixes. The first one hatched this evening and it is a cross between hen 9 and the silkied paint cockerel, the baby looks to be white - would likely be dominant white with two paint parents.

Do you have any all black roosters? I think I would try to test breed her to see if she is actually splash before I used her in my lavender lines

 

[Slothinc]

Thanks! I am going to have to have to rework some stuff anyways, as I rehomed the paint boy and the lavender boy that I had. I only have 2 lavender silkie immature cockerels right now. I did throw some eggs in the incubator before giving away the other boys though. That may give more genetic clues depending on what hatches.

 

[JenniMcChick]

Okay who would like to play a pairing game?? This is totally for fun! I have a good idea of who I would like to pair, but would love to hear your thoughts. Here are my 11 current laying girls. Who would you pair each one with?

My goal is to be breeding a “silkied Easter egger” which means I am breeding towards birds that resemble a silkie with fibro skin, small combs (walnut preferred), dark eyes, feathered legs, upright tail, who lay a fun colored egg. For the color of the birds, lavender is preferred, but I also love paint, mottled and a few others. Feather types can be any - silkie, satin, frizzle satin/silkie. Naked necks are welcome.

I will post the hens on this thread and the possible boys on the next.

Hen #1 lavender ameraucana bantam - carries 2 blue egg genes, and 2 lavender genes. The smallest bird I have. She lays a very light blue egg.
View attachment 4076876
View attachment 4076724

Hen #2 Lemon Cuckoo silkie. My most typey silkie. Large crest but not vaulted. 95% sure she is cuckoo though it is hard to tell because of her coloring. Has light skin, eyes, comb due to cuckoo genes. Should have sex linked babies. Could possibly be useful for getting lavender based blue cream??
View attachment 4076877
View attachment 4076725

Hen #3 Olive Egger. Cross between blue marans and recessive white silkied EE. Carries recessive white, and non fibro gene. Carries one blue egg gene. Her eggs are light olive. Close to large fowl size.
View attachment 4076879
View attachment 4076726

Hen #4 Frizzled silkie showgirl. I thought was black but now I think blue. She doesn’t have any green/purple sheen. More of an underlying dull brown. Kind of a bummer because I need black birds. She’s a pure silkie and lays a light cream egg. Because she is frizzled and NN she could have some fun babies.
View attachment 4076883
View attachment 4076727

Hen #5 Black 1st gen cross of silkie and lav bantam ameraucana. She lays a pretty little blue egg (has one blue egg gene), and carries a lavender gene and the silkie gene as well.
View attachment 4076885
View attachment 4076728

Hen #6 Frizzled satin laced project silkie hen with black tail. She lays a blue/green egg! Carries 1 blue egg gene. Non vaulted. Her comb and wattles are kind of red.
View attachment 4076882
View attachment 4076729

Hen #7 Sister to hen 6. This one has a gray tail. She has a vaulted head and darker pigment. But she lays a very light cream egg, no blue egg gene.
View attachment 4076881
View attachment 4076730

Hen #8 Paint showgirl silkie. She’s 5 years old and has cute babies. However she does carry the non fibro skin gene and recessive white She’s a pure silkie and lays a tan egg.
View attachment 4076884
View attachment 4076731

Hen #9 1st generation cross of silkie and lavender ameraucana bantam. The daughter of hen 8. She lays a lovely little green egg and carries one blue egg gene. She is a lightly spotted paint but has autosomal red which makes her look dirty. I *think* the autosomal red may be coming from the lavender bantam ameraucanas because many of the paint offspring I am getting have that. Her comb and eyes are light. She carries lavender and silkie feather genes.
View attachment 4076886
View attachment 4076732

Hen #10 Gold birchen silkie hen. She’s five years old. She was fully black when she hatched but developed the birchen when she feathered out. She has a nice beard and feathering. But she must be blue based as she has had some blue offspring. She’s a pure silkie and lays an almost white egg.
View attachment 4076887
View attachment 4076733

Hen#11 Jubilee English Orpington. My largest girl. She lays pretty eggs that look orangey pink because of their bloom. They sometimes have speckles. She carries for lavender. I don’t know if the bantam boys will be able to mate her. But if they can, I’d love to hatch some of her babies.
View attachment 4076888
View attachment 4076734

Never thought I had any desire for bantam chickens, but #6! I think I'm in love!!

 

[Slothinc]

Never thought I had any desire for bantam chickens, but #6! I think I'm in love!!

She really is a gorgeous girl! I love her so much! And she was broody and raising chicks with her sister for awhile, but she has finally resumed laying! I will have to try and hatch some of her eggs in my next incubation - they will be fertilized by a lavender silkie boy (which is basically the same as breeding her to black) So I am not sure if the lacing might come through at all in the babies or not. It will be a fun experiment anyways!

 

[RememberTheWay]

As an update: as of June 2025 my flock has had some changes and I only have two lavender silkie boys right now. So this thread isnt very relevant anymore, however I do plan on hatching eggs from some of these girls when their eggs are fertilized by the lavender boys.

*******

Okay who would like to play a pairing game?? This is totally for fun! I have a good idea of who I would like to pair, but would love to hear your thoughts. Here are my 11 current laying girls. Who would you pair each one with?

My goal is to be breeding a “silkied Easter egger” which means I am breeding towards birds that resemble a silkie with fibro skin, small combs (walnut preferred), dark eyes, feathered legs, upright tail, who lay a fun colored egg. For the color of the birds, lavender is preferred, but I also love paint, mottled and a few others. Feather types can be any - silkie, satin, frizzle satin/silkie. Naked necks are welcome.

I will post the hens on this thread and the possible boys on the next.

Hen #1 lavender ameraucana bantam - carries 2 blue egg genes, and 2 lavender genes. The smallest bird I have. She lays a very light blue egg.
View attachment 4076876
View attachment 4076724

Hen #2 Lemon Cuckoo silkie. My most typey silkie. Large crest but not vaulted. 95% sure she is cuckoo though it is hard to tell because of her coloring. Has light skin, eyes, comb due to cuckoo genes. Should have sex linked babies. Could possibly be useful for getting lavender based blue cream??
View attachment 4076877
View attachment 4076725

Hen #3 Olive Egger. Cross between blue marans and recessive white silkied EE. Carries recessive white, and non fibro gene. Carries one blue egg gene. Her eggs are light olive. Close to large fowl size.
View attachment 4076879
View attachment 4076726

Hen #4 Frizzled silkie showgirl. I thought was black but now I think blue. She doesn’t have any green/purple sheen. More of an underlying dull brown. Kind of a bummer because I need black birds. She’s a pure silkie and lays a light cream egg. Because she is frizzled and NN she could have some fun babies.
View attachment 4076883
View attachment 4076727

Hen #5 Black 1st gen cross of silkie and lav bantam ameraucana. She lays a pretty little blue egg (has one blue egg gene), and carries a lavender gene and the silkie gene as well.
View attachment 4076885
View attachment 4076728

Hen #6 Frizzled satin laced project silkie hen with black tail. She lays a blue/green egg! Carries 1 blue egg gene. Non vaulted. Her comb and wattles are kind of red.
View attachment 4076882
View attachment 4076729

Hen #7 Sister to hen 6. This one has a gray tail. She has a vaulted head and darker pigment. But she lays a very light cream egg, no blue egg gene.
View attachment 4076881
View attachment 4076730

Hen #8 Paint showgirl silkie. She’s 5 years old and has cute babies. However she does carry the non fibro skin gene and recessive white She’s a pure silkie and lays a tan egg.
View attachment 4076884
View attachment 4076731

Hen #9 1st generation cross of silkie and lavender ameraucana bantam. The daughter of hen 8. She lays a lovely little green egg and carries one blue egg gene. She is a lightly spotted paint but has autosomal red which makes her look dirty. I *think* the autosomal red may be coming from the lavender bantam ameraucanas because many of the paint offspring I am getting have that. Her comb and eyes are light. She carries lavender and silkie feather genes.
View attachment 4076886
View attachment 4076732

Hen #10 Gold birchen silkie hen. She’s five years old. She was fully black when she hatched but developed the birchen when she feathered out. She has a nice beard and feathering. But she must be blue based as she has had some blue offspring. She’s a pure silkie and lays an almost white egg.
View attachment 4076887
View attachment 4076733

Hen#11 Jubilee English Orpington. My largest girl. She lays pretty eggs that look orangey pink because of their bloom. They sometimes have speckles. She carries for lavender. I don’t know if the bantam boys will be able to mate her. But if they can, I’d love to hatch some of her babies.
View attachment 4076888
View attachment 4076734

?
Hen number 10- who did you breed her to that you got blue offspring with?

 

[Slothinc]

?
Hen number 10- who did you breed her to that you got blue offspring with?

Black silkie. I suppose that the black boy could have been blue… however the black boy had green sheen feathers which makes me think he was actually black, and she has dull brownish looking feathers which makes me think she is blue. I don’t know for sure though. I think hen #4 might be her daughter because she is the same dullish brown color. I should take them out of my breeding program but they have a lot of good qualities so I am keeping them for now.

 

[RememberTheWay]

Black silkie. I suppose that the black boy could have been blue… however the black boy had green sheen feathers which makes me think he was actually black, and she has dull brownish looking feathers which makes me think she is blue. I don’t know for sure though. I think hen #4 might be her daughter because she is the same dullish brown color. I should take them out of my breeding program but they have a lot of good qualities so I am keeping them for now.

That is what I was thinking and where I was going with the question. Breeding is an art and requires careful attention to details and big picture thinking. Both of which you seem to have down pat!

I always seem to be the one that asks the questions that no one else thinks of though.

What are your overall goals for breeding with your flock? Like are you just doing it for fun? Show? Production? Standards? Knowing your objectives and priorities will help people be able to help you make selection choices a lot easier.

For me- My priorities are the following but in no particular order- conformation and type, standards (if they have one and if they don't I will default to sound structures in similar type breeds that do have them), production traits both in eggs and meat for some of my breeds, disease resistance and hardiness without medication or interventions, temperaments and personality, some of my breeds I want broodiness kept and others I don't, flock dynamics between members, and resourcefulness and survival instincts are a plus. I also pay attention to fleshing and growth rates as well as age of maturity for males and females. I make sure to only select males in my programs that have nice wide pelvic bones so they will sire daughters that are excellent layers. And if course some of breeding projects I have going are driven by specific traits and or color shopping at this point so those things have weight. Working on lavender fibro Easter eggers and porcelain satin silkies so choosing birds with the correct genes as well as the above traits are priority.

 

[RememberTheWay]

Btw- didn't you recently win first place in the photo contest?