lets talk silkes....i have questions

[BBK]

lets talk mainly about their heads. Now I've seen pics of different kinds(?) of silkes. Some with naked necks, these are Show Girls? ok, I got that.

But what about those pics of the ones where you CAN'T see their faces?

And then there are the ones where you CAN see their faces...

I don't get it! Are they both SQ or is one of them a DQ?

And what happens if you breed the 2 together. 50/50 chance?

Which one is more desirable? And WHY?

And what are the correct names for both of these?


When I'm ready to buy eggs, I want to ask for the right ones, you know?
Thanks for all the help, which looks like i need a lot of!!! lol
Melinda

 

[Chickenmaven]

My bit of advice: If you are interested in nice silkies, go through a breeder. I have silkies from a hatchery and silkies from a breeder & they are two totally different critters. I don't know about SQ & DQs and all that. I think that the only folks who can speak to that are the people who go to the shows and win(!) In fact, I would be very reluctant to listen to such talk (as a sales pitch) from someone who does not have the wins to back that up.

We have 2 week olds that were hatched from eggs we acquired froma nationally recognized breeder. They are super cute! We won't know if that cuteness = SQ until fall, when DD takes them to show.

Oh, and about the seeing the face thing. It is my understanding that it is a differing standard b/t the States and other countries. I know that one magazine (Fancy Fowl???) did an article on European Silkies and they had no poofs.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

There are bearded and non-bearded silkies. The beards, combined with a very large topnot (feathers on top of their heads) cause them to have a difficult time seeing.

Most people will tell you that a bearded, heavily topnotted (word?

) silkie is what you are looking for. And if you are showing, that is probably true.

I have 2 non-bearded silkies with smaller topnot that run with my laying hens. They get along great...but I think part of that is that they can see well. I would NEVER put non-seeing silkies with others. I also have bearded, heavily topnotted silkies in a separate coop who have a small covered run during the day.

Another drawback of non-seeing silkies is that it's difficult to free range them. They cannot see a predator and are therefore often preyed upon.

Toes are HUGE in silkies. They must have 5 toes and the spacing of the toes should be even. Anything other than this is a DQ.

Now to vaulted skulls. Some breeders brag that their silkies have "large vaulted skulls". That usually makes their topnots appear much larger, however, I have seen plenty of non-vaulted silkies with lovely topnots. A vaulted skull means that the skull is actually opened at the top and the brain (although covered by a "dura" (membrane) ) is poking out the top. This can cause fatal injuries in silkies quite easily. So I'm not sure that a vaulted skull is necessarily a good thing.

So that's some information to get your wheels spinning....

 

[Chickie Mamma]

There is a huge difference between hatchery and breeder stock! I don't have any pics from the ones I got from Ideal, but they have smaller top knots (poofs) and not great feet feathering. This is one of 4 that I have from a good breeder. This one is only 8-9 weeks old and is "super poofy". Big difference!

 

[Sharisr32]

There are also huge differences in Breeder stock - Old breeders with line stock and new breeders with other peoples stock both have merits to use to start with

The faces being seen and unseen is - Bearded and Non- Bearded - Bearded is more popular - Kate M . has one of the most photographed and seen NB Hens and it is beautiful I am currently Showing a NB male and he is one of the better Roos I have seen --


I also show a NB Black and Buff Girl not either is to Kate's girl level but nice especially the black a long way though from Bearded Crest look.


I am showing Silkies ,Serama and Polish this week at Canfield in Ohio -- Keep your fingers crossed for me

 

[Little Ameraucana Mom]

Sharisr32 I see you are in Ohio. I got my silkies from Ohio, from Alan Stanford

 

[Chris09]

one other thing they must have black skin if your going to show them..
If you are going to show them the best thing I can tell you to do is spend the $50.00-$60.00 and get the
American Standard of Perfection and read and reread what they look for in the silkies and find a good breeder.
Oh Show Girls are a breed and there not a silkie..
Chris

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Showgirls are an unrecognised variety of silkie; not a breed.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Not true. Anything other than the correct number of toes is a DQ, duckfoot is supposed to be a DQ, non-feathered outer toe is a DQ. Poorly separated 5th toe, including if the nail points the same direction as the 4th are minor points. Shanks and toes combined are worth only 8 out of 100 points. Max points per issue is 2, and that is for missing spurs on cocks. After that for silkies, max is 1 point for a missing toenail, a crooked toe or a non-feathered middle toe; .5 point for extra spurs or for spurs on hens.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Slate skin, not black, although black would be super; about the only time you actually find black skin is on black feathered ones.