Partridge Silkies - Nothing else

[Sonoran Silkies]

Single comb or wrong number of toes are not nearly as bad as keeping a breeder that produces wry tails or crossed beaks. At this point I have sufficient birds without comb or toe faults that I will only keep it for breeding if I consider it really special in other areas.

For example, with my duns, of the two young adults I have, the boy has a single comb. Other than that he has all silkie features, and is far better in quality than the previous generation, some of whom had walnut combs--that were very oversized, gnarley and twisted. However, dun is a project, and anyone getting dun birds needs to be prepared to spend time improving the birds and removing faults.

Another example, I've mentioned my partridge pair with incorrect toes (one has 4 per foot, the other 6 per foot). Both have excellent type and colouring, so I currently have them as a breeding pair--depending on the chicks produced as to what I will do with them.

I definitely believe in full disclosure--I'll happily go through both the good and bad points of each individual bird.

 

[chickendales]

one best hen i have type wise has a single comb is the reason i was able to get her

 

[scbatz33]

What you plan to do with them makes the difference. I plan on showing first, breeding second. I don't want to work on breeding out a bunch of faults - small or otherwise. I have plenty of that to do with my lav orps.

The idea of working to improve color on the partridge is appealing, though. I'm looking at these birds that I have, thus far in this order - physical type then color type. Thus, I don't want to have incorrect toes, beaks, feathering, etc.

Maybe I'm thinking on it from the wrong direction, but it seems to me having the best foundation - ie build - is primary, especially since there seems to be some sway in the judging of coloration in partridge.

That's not to say I am hoping to skirt the color issues, but it just seems to me having a bird built properly is weighed more heavily and should be the primary focus.

I don't know if that makes sense - for me, in the orp project, the biggest struggle is getting the birds to type. I got color all day long and it's easy to get the color, but getting the body size and structure back to what the SOP calls for has proven more difficult - especially since there is so much substandard genetics out there being sold as "pure".

Again, if I'm not seeing it properly, please help me! LOL!

 

[chickendales]

i breed for show, and i know what quarks i can breed out

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

All very good points...and everyone's circumstances are different. Me~~I live in the mountains; most of my land is sloped; nearly every inch of flat land is already in use for the Silkies. So---I have to keep my flock small; most of my breeding pens consist of 1 cock and 2 or 3 hens---so it's fairly easy for me to determine "who" is producing a fault.
Thats also one of the main reasons I don't sell eggs....many buyers don't understand that an occasional fault will show up in a chick they may hatch. Yes, we can predict what the genetics of a breeding pair "should" produce, but without genetically testing every bird in your flock, it really is a roll of the dice...

 

[scbatz33]

If I understand the genetics, you can't "breed out" a single comb. If you are using a bird for breeding that shows a single comb, they carry two genes for that type of comb. Therefore, every one of it's offspring will be given one single comb gene. Thus when two of those matings are then bred to each other they will produce a certain percentage of single combed birds (25%), single comb carriers(50%) and proper combs (25%). That's not breeding it out, that's just hiding a recessive trait. Especially since it will take another generation of breeding and exact record keeping to know which birds are carrying and which aren't of the one not showing the comb flaw.

Likewise there are other traits, like 4 toes or too many toes that will be passed in the same manner if they are bred.

All I'm saying is, being a newbie to the breed and having the specific goal of showing birds, my desire is to start out with birds that have the least amount of flaws possible. Then, if and when they prove themselves to be good specimens based on their performance in the show setting, I will breed them.

That isn't to say that there will be 100% SQ birds all the time, I'm not that naive, but if you start with better quality birds, odds are, you will produce better quality birds.

 

[kelar]

To my knowledge you are right about the genetics - the offspring will carry the trait and it will pass down through the generations, but you will see less and less of it as you cull out the birds displaying the trait. That's why it doesn't make sense to me to purposely breed in a DQ bird unless you are working on a project, like sonoran mentioned, that requires a very small gene pool be used. It always makes sense to me at least to start with the very best birds you can acquire (or afford), but again, those very nice birds could very well be carrying recessive traits they will pass on to their offspring and/or may not produce anything as good as themselves. Happens all the time that you put 2 exceptional birds together and get pet quality or mediocre offspring. I think most breeders agree that physical type is the most important for silkies and probably all show poultry, but the partridge are a difficult color challenge. It does seem though that I'm seeing some really strange colored partridge lately - looks to me like buff has been bred in.

 

[kelar]

Just to throw something else out there - it's very possible for a breeder to not even know what recessives their birds are carrying. Since it only displays a percentage of the time, it's entirely possible that you will never see it out of your own hatches, but murphy's law being alive and well, it will show up in a cchick hatched from an egg you sold

 

[chickendales]

hatching eggs are a crap shoot if ur willing spend big $ on eggs that might not hatch it chance u take

 

[chickendales]

back to partridge i hatch my secound partridge baby yesterday ya