Help! My purebred Silkies aren't producing silkies

[CrazyChickenLady123]

Hello! I have a very weird question: why are the chicks that are hatching from my purebred silkie roo and hen not looking like silkies?

I know you're probably thinking I'm crazy, but I'm genuinely confused. I bought eggs from Peony Puff Silkies (you should subscribe to her on YouTube!). I sold all but two roosters, and have been using them for breeding. The hen that I was breeding them with died, and she wasn't %100 purebred. The chick's came out looking great! All had extra toes, fluffy heads, beards. So when she died I bought a mauve colored silkie hen. She looked promising, and I bought her from one of my well trusted breeders. Some of the chicks came out with no extra toes and no fluffy heads. They all had beards, but no fluffy heads. The parents both have very fluffy heads, extra toes on each side, and beards. The hen also got a ribbon from a show before I had bought her.

 

[CrazyChickenLady123]

Hello again! I'm back with another silkie saga ! It's officially time for the chicks to start hatching! And the first one to come out was a silkie. But of course the silkies strike again! The last couple batches of silkies that I have hatched out have had no fluffy heads and no extra toes. Remind you, the parents who I got from well-trusted breeders have super fluffy heads, Beards, and extra toes. The first hen that I was breeding with my high quality roosters died from an unknown cause. She didn't seem to be 100% purebred but still carried the extra toes, fluffy head, and silky feathers. Her babies came out amazing! But since she's died, I have bought a mauve colored silkie hen. Every single time that I use her for breeding some of the chicks do not have any extra toes or fluffy heads like they should. I have tried switching out my roosters, but it has yet again failed. I'm starting to wonder if it's just that hen or if I can't breed two purebred silkies. Any help is appreciated

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would assume they mixed another breed in along the way to get that color, and you are getting those genes from the other breed coming through.

 

[CrazyChickenLady123]

I would assume they mixed another breed in along the way to get that color, and you are getting those genes from the other breed coming through.

Should I rehome my hen and rooster to start fresh? Or should I just rehome the roo due to his coloration? I thought he was that color from breeding several different colored Silkies

 

[CrazyChickenLady123]

I would assume they mixed another breed in along the way to get that color, and you are getting those genes from the other breed coming through.

I just hatched out some purebreds from a breeder on eBay. Should I just breed them next year to start fresh?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I just hatched out some purebreds from a breeder on eBay. Should I just breed them next year to start fresh?

I personally would be wary of any sold online.

@Debbie292d breeds silkies, perhaps she would have a better idea. I have crossed birds and the 2nd or third generation look purebred, but they aren't.

 

[Debbie292d]

I am actually going through issues in a couple of my breeding pens. I have purchased hatching eggs several times this year from reputable exhibition and show breeders, yet some of those were no better than what I had.

Even though a breeder is trusted and won ribbons with their stock, that doesn't mean that every chick hatched from her/him is going to be perfect. I paid dearly for hatching eggs to wind up selling most of what I got. I’d usually keep one or two from every hatch though, hoping to improve mine. I recently sold four hens and a rooster that I suspected were causing some of the problems with low or no vaults. Those were ones I'd saved as "good" from hatching eggs I'd purchased.

Your new hen won a ribbon, but like @oldhenlikesdogs said, you don't always know the lineage, plus, even the national winners will tell you that a fluke will happen. I wouldn’t give up on her until you’ve test hatched with a couple of roosters, giving two weeks or more between roosters to be sure she’s got the sperm of the next rooster. And the same goes for him. They are both beautiful!

He looks like he could be a red pyle. I’d breed him with a couple different hens to see. I have one and bred to a partridge makes cute buffish colored chicks.