Is he Breeding Quality?

[kezabel]

This is my Partridge silkie Spike, he is 5 months old (nearly) and I was wondering if he is worth keeping for breeding? He has good toe spacing, the proper color comb(I think, cause I don't know what the standard is) and Black skin.

 

[underground chickenman]

I don't know if he's worth keeping for breeding, but I bet he would think so.

UGCM

 

[Illia]

My first question would be, where did you get him from? Honestly he's either young or a little on the poor quality side in my opinion. I'm no Silkie expert though.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
Boy, you've got all the answers tonight!

He does have the right color skin/comb - is it a walnut comb (looks to be, but his poof is pretty big and is covering his comb a bit). I think he is a very handsome man & would be a good breeder, but other than the skin color and comb type, I don't know silkies enough to really say yeah or neigh on breeding...

 

[kezabel]

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I got the eggs from a local lady who breeds partridge silkies he is still only young only 5 months old, he hatched on December 6th 2009.

 

[kezabel]

Quote:
I bet he would too lol he's still to young yet ....I think

 

[Elite Silkies]

He has a nice crest starting and what appears to be a good comb. His tail could be a bit more fluffier and fuller, but he still has time to mature. He has nice blue earlobes and appears to have alright toe spacing, they look kind of webbed, but could just be the picture. He could have better foot feathering, he has no feathering on his middle toes. He has nice tight wings.

I would give him a couple of months to mature and then re-evaluate him then.

 

[lildinkem]

I would take him to a show. Granted I do not know anything about the Silkie breed. But, the judge at a show would. And then ask him what are the faults that you need to address. I just attended my first show. The thing to remember is that judges are like people, almost. They all have their breeds that they like and are more accurate in accessing what is the good and the bad traits. Then there are those judges who may not be as good an authority as the breeders who breed the Silkies. I prefer the opinion of the breeders of a given breed. I like Orpingtons, so I did not ask the judges at this past show what they thought. I asked the best Orpington breeder in the country, for his thoughts on my birds. Doug took me outside and had me put my bird on the ground to walk freely, and then told me what I wanted to know. I think this may be the best way to get a good valued opinion of this bird.

 

[NYREDS]

One immediate problem is he's not Partridge coloured. Do a Google search for Partridge Silkies to see pictures of properly coloured birds.
Beyond that his type leaves a lot to be desired. If you plan to breed Silkies [or anything else for that matter] you need to get a copy of the Standard & learn the breed before you start to breed. In the long run you'll save yourself time & money.
Your bird is a pretty typical hatchery/pet quality Silkie. If that's what you want to produce he'll do fine. If you want to breed Silkies to show you need to look elsewhere.