Low winter sun on the Pullets

[LeggyLeghorn]

My Polish Silkie cross Pullets are now 5 months old. I have two pullets with no fancy head gear, just a straight comb. Is this genetics from a few birds back in mating? in this clip, there is a good close up of one of the straight comb pullets.

 

[nchls school]

The lack of a crest, I believe, would indicate that the parent stock was not pure and had a straight comb ancestor.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I didn't watch the video but single combs are recessive. It takes a gene for it from each parent. If a bird only has one gene for it it can go for generations without showing up.
Polish nor silkies should have the genes for it although lots of silkies do.
If you have straight comb pullets from that cross then both parent birds carried it.
I find it very odd that a Polish would and even more odd that you got that result from that pairing.

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

I didn't watch the video but single combs are recessive. It takes a gene for it from each parent. If a bird only has one gene for it it can go for generations without showing up.
Polish nor silkies should have the genes for it although lots of silkies do.
If you have straight comb pullets from that cross then both parent birds carried it.
I find it very odd that a Polish would and even more odd that you got that result from that pairing.

Hi Moonshiner, I have not done enough research on poultry in general to understand cross breeding/breeding/genetics. When I took the two hens and cock, the breeders told me that they were Polish Silkie cross. I may get in touch with the breeders again as I find the single comb odd, even without knowing the recessive that you spoke about.

There is one pullet that has have silkie feathers and half ordinary/proper(?) feathers. very odd looking bird!

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

The lack of a crest, I believe, would indicate that the parent stock was not pure and had a straight comb ancestor.

Hi nchls school that is what I was assuming without knowing genetics. This is the cockerel.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I wasn't aware that you didn't breed these birds.
I would say this is a simple case of the breeder you received them from being mistaken, misinformed or misleading.
The cockerel does appear to be a silkie cross but I don't see it looking like a silkie/polish cross. IDK?
Nothing is really adding up to me.

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

not great images. I have a white cockerel with a straight comb and I have a black female with a straight comb. The multicolour bird is a cockerel I believe. he is the largest of the pullets. they are now five months old.

the two black female pullets are sweet and lovely. I have FOUR males now to find a home for. they are all doing well so far, but there has been plenty of squaring off, and then it stops.

these are the hens.

breeder hasn't gotten back to me. I wasn't looking for a specific breed. they had the cockerel posted up somewhere and he was cheap.

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

the hen was Polish and the cockerel was Silkie that produce my cockerel and two hens.

 

[nchls school]

The muli color is a cockerel. He has silkied feathering; in order for that to happen both parents had or carried the silkied trait. Polish cross-in order for this to occur these chicks would have to be second generation Polish/Silkie cross, or more generations.

At any rate they look great. The breeder was probably truthful in saying Polish/silkie cross. These just are second, or more, generation cross birds. Meaning the original cross chicks were bred together or back to silkies to produce the birds you have.

Below is a picture of a young cockerel that shows how this generation breeding works. He looks almost exactly like a golden phoenix cockerel (his tail is still growing out). His grandfather was a white crested black Polish. His father was 1/2 Polish. Both times the mother was pure golden Phoenix, so the cockerel is 3/4ths Phoenix. None of the Polish traits are now visible, but some of the Polish traits are still carried in his genetic makeup.

I have now paired him to another pure phoenix hen. When the eggs hatch the chicks will be 7/8ths Phoenix and 1/8th Polish.

 

[nchls school]

the hen was Polish and the cockerel was Silkie that produce my cockerel and two hens.

The Polish hen had to have carried the silkied feather trait. I'm not sure if there are silkied Polish chickens, but do know that many breeds come in a silkied form. Or the hen was a silkie/Polish cross that looked full Polish.