Mottled Silkies?...Calling out for Silkie Experts.

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I'm confused on how breeding a yellow legged bird to a yellow legged bird would get rid of the yellow legs?

If she ignores feathering and only goes for colour, she risks losing the silkie gene entirely, and then you're back to square one (well, maybe not QUITE that far, but pretty close).

 

[muddyhorse]

Every now and then I have an odd chick crop up in my cuckoo over black pen. Because my cuckoo roo has mottled skin I sometimes get black chicks with mottled skin.

I know other people that have gotten eggs from me have had these crop up too. I don't know if they will retain this coloring. I know it is not true mottling but it is different looking.

 

[onthespot]

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I'm confused on how breeding a yellow legged bird to a yellow legged bird would get rid of the yellow legs?

If she ignores feathering and only goes for colour, she risks losing the silkie gene entirely, and then you're back to square one (well, maybe not QUITE that far, but pretty close).

Other than F1 x F1, all other generatinons she should cross back to silkie, or silikied feathers, so that she knows for a fact that any bird in her program either is, or carries silkie. Same with mottled. Any solid birds should be crossed on a mottled. If she could find a silkied mottled cochin that would really kick start her project into high gear from the first cross I would think. Might be worth the time to hunt for one.

Using a yellow legged test cross bird to cross on all her black legged project birds (years from now in her project) will "out" any bird that carries the hidden yellow leg gene. Any black legged bird that carries one copy of the yellow legs gene will produce fifty fifty yellow/green legged offspring, the other half will look black but be split to yellow. All the offspring from the test outcrossing should be excluded from her breeding project if she is at the point she is trying to get rid of the yellow leg gene .Silkies with green legs and beaks are gross looking.

 

[Teresaann24]

have any of you started from scratch on your projects? or have you had a starter bird bought from a breeder?

If you started from scratch anyone have pictures of there progress? I would love to see them I plan on keeping a picture and note diary as I go.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I misunderstood what you meant--thought you meant breeding to a yellow legged bird would somehow remove yellow legs from the offspring. You mean it as a test to weed out those carrying a hidden copy.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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The barring gene can cause skin to appear mottled.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I've just been bad about getting an uploading photos. I have two mottled silkies that are getting near breeding age. Showed the older one at Shawnee. I started with two blacks crossed to mottled cochins (so that I would have two lines to work with). Started about five years ago.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Photos taken back in December:

Mottled Pullet:

Mottled Cockerel:

 

[Teresaann24]

Very nice! Question...If you used barred cochins (I know barred would not work on silkie feathering but would it be a cuckoo coloring instead? Also would the same rules appy for breeding in cuckoo as mottled?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

No, barring is an incompletely dominant gene, not a recessive one, so if it is present, you will see it (except in the case of a white bird). The difference between cuckoo and barring is the presence of the slow (barred) or fast (cuckoo) feather growth gene. IMO, you are unlikely to be able to tell the difference between these on a silkie feathered bird. The barring gene also lightens skin colour, so it is very difficult to get a dark skinned barred bird.