Partridge Silkies - Nothing else

[kelar]

flgardengirl wrote:
Hi I hatched out several silkies earlier this year from a few different breeders. Wouldn't you know, I hatched out 4 partridge females and no males (when does that ever happen lol!) Anyhow, my choices of a roo to put in with them right now is, A) a dark blue roo or B) a Splash roo. Which one should I use? I have a white roo as well but he is really pet quality because his comb is bright red so I don't wanna use him.

If I had to choose between the 3, I'd go with the blue. Who knows what you might get with the splash.

I have one of those poultry catching nets and my birds are absolutely terrified of it - I don't know why, but they've had that reaction to it ever since I first got it. Now I only bring it out in a dire emergency because I'm afraid one of them is going to have a heart attack when they see it

I work with them at dusk if I need to or use a small piece of board or wire to confine them in a corner. Since silkies (at least mine) can't run very fast and don't fly, it's usually pretty easy to catch them.

I've never had a horribly aggressive silkie roo and don't think I could live with it if it happens. I have a few that are quite protective and require me to observe the proper respect, but I like a little of that because these boys are also good breeders and flock caretakers. Beware the rooster that has no protective instincts, because he also may not breed

If it ever comes to flogging and leaping at me, he would be out of here. I think aggression can be hereditary, but not necessarily. A young roo that is full of himself and has the wrong interactions with people could probably become overly aggressive in a hurry, especially if they come to see humans as threats. I once bumped one of my roos with the wheelbarrow to move him out of my way and forever after, that wheelbarrow was the ENEMY - subject to immediate attack whenever it came into view. I use a water bottle for roos that challenge me - they really seem to respect a good squirt of water in the face

You may very well be able to find someone willing to take your aggressive rooster - as long as they know the score, they might be willing to put up with it for a good quality breeder. I remember a few years back, Connie from Premier was selling a black cock on eggbid - it sounded like he was the devil himself and she described his evil behavior in some detail to prospective bidders. She had used him for quite some time in her lav program & since he was a good producer, someone bought him. I guess I'd be less likely to keep one that was also mean to the hens.

 

[kelar]

Here's a pic of a cockerel that was hatched from a blue hen x partridge roo. The hen came from an egg I hatched from another breeder, so not sure of her background, but she was born looking partridge and eventually turned blue with just a bit of the red leaking through. I decided to put her in my partridge pen and this is the result. Not sure what color you would call him - he's looking for a new home if anyone is interested

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Quote:
Kelar, omg he is BEAUTIFUL

I love him.

I had a roo till recently that as a chick looked partridge but feathered out a deep dark blue, no leakage. He threw me some beautiful nice blue chicks and when bred to my off colored partridge girl - they threw me a few very nice partridges.

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Agree; the darker one has the more correct colour. Since both parents were white, I would say that this is one of those rare cases where you have a pretty good idea of what genes the white is carrying. Breeding back to partridge should get you more partridges--or possibly more whites, lol!

Sonoran I just went back to the post on page 14, referring to my babies pictured on pg 13 of the thread....I wanted to ask you about this bolded portion...none of the parent birds are white....all are partridge but the chick was white while its siblings were/are partridge I have not breeding aged whites. The two partridge pictured are from purchased eggs, the white is from my own partridge trio.

Now I got my partridge trio from Wegotchickens' breedings...so to the best of my knowledge they are partridge only. She is very good at telling me if it is a cross of colors. I was just curious how I got a white chick from partridge birds. And what the true colors of the first two chicks were...if both were partridge or if one was a blue partridge.

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
he's very pretty

 

[pennie1]

Yeah, I think he is gorgeous... It's a good thing you live so far away.

 

[flgardengirl]

Quote:
Ohh he's pretty! So if I used a blue roo over partridge hens, could I end up with blue partridge by keeping the blue F1s and crossing back to partridge?

 

[kelar]

Thanks all - I think he's pretty nice and sure hope he finds a new home that does not include a soup pot

Just wanted to correct my earlier post about the evil roo on eggbid - it was not a Premier bird, it was from Deb at Fawke's Feathers. I wish I had more room to experiment with the blue/blue partridge, blacks & partridge etc. I already have 27 pens and hours of work every day taking care of them all, so probably not in my near future.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Agree; the darker one has the more correct colour. Since both parents were white, I would say that this is one of those rare cases where you have a pretty good idea of what genes the white is carrying. Breeding back to partridge should get you more partridges--or possibly more whites, lol!

Sonoran I just went back to the post on page 14, referring to my babies pictured on pg 13 of the thread....I wanted to ask you about this bolded portion...none of the parent birds are white....all are partridge but the chick was white while its siblings were/are partridge I have not breeding aged whites. The two partridge pictured are from purchased eggs, the white is from my own partridge trio.

Now I got my partridge trio from Wegotchickens' breedings...so to the best of my knowledge they are partridge only. She is very good at telling me if it is a cross of colors. I was just curious how I got a white chick from partridge birds. And what the true colors of the first two chicks were...if both were partridge or if one was a blue partridge.

I should have said, "SINCE BOTH PARENTS ARE PARTRIDGE"

As to where the white came from? Recessive white is an OFF switch that prevents creation of pigment. Each parent carried a hidden copy of recessive white, and the white chick inherited a copy from both mama and papa, and thus is white.

 

[pennie1]

Doesn't it take lavender over partridge to get blue partridge? I could be pretty far off base, but I thought that's what I read.