Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

He's in a constant state of "my hair is blowing in the wind"

He does have a very 'romance novel stud' look, doesn't he?

I don't like the huge crests, I like a nice little round poof were they can still see, so obviously my likes don't align with what's winning at shows.

Yeah, I'm the same exact way! I like my chickens to be able to see, and I like to be able to see their cute faces, too I don't mind a little crest, just nothing like a Polish or show-winning Silkie for me.

Wait, silkied Ameraucanas!?!

Indeed! They popped up probably a decade or more ago out of someone's pure Splash Ameraucana flock. I'll see if I can find the thread for them! Then there was this big boom of popularity with them, where tons of people had them and tons more wanted them. And then over the years the popularity died down, and they dwindled. These days you can't even find anyone working with them anymore. My understanding is that people were breeding them poorly to try to make a quick buck off of their popularity at the time, as happens with all of those rare and unusual breeds that come onto the scene, and, possibly because the original pair were already so closely related to one another, it resulted in a lot of lines becoming pretty frail and hard to get to breeding age. I'd love to add them to my fuzzy feather menagerie and try to breed them back up to good health, but they've all but vanished into the void at this point.



Editing, this was the original thread that they appeared in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/whats-wrong-with-their-feathers.98335/

This was the project thread where people were working with them: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkied-ameraucana-project.827543/

 

[fluffycrow]

He does have a very 'romance novel stud' look, doesn't he?




Yeah, I'm the same exact way! I like my chickens to be able to see, and I like to be able to see their cute faces, too I don't mind a little crest, just nothing like a Polish or show-winning Silkie for me.




Indeed! They popped up probably a decade or more ago out of someone's pure Splash Ameraucana flock. I'll see if I can find the thread for them! Then there was this big boom of popularity with them, where tons of people had them and tons more wanted them. And then over the years the popularity died down, and they dwindled. These days you can't even find anyone working with them anymore. My understanding is that people were breeding them poorly to try to make a quick buck off of their popularity at the time, as happens with all of those rare and unusual breeds that come onto the scene, and, possibly because the original pair were already so closely related to one another, it resulted in a lot of lines becoming pretty frail and hard to get to breeding age. I'd love to add them to my fuzzy feather menagerie and try to breed them back up to good health, but they've all but vanished into the void at this point.



Editing, this was the original thread that they appeared in: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/whats-wrong-with-their-feathers.98335/

This was the project thread where people were working with them: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkied-ameraucana-project.827543/

It's so interesting to see this gene popping up in so many birds. The 'cauna tree (if you can call it that), is very interesting in general

 

[fluffycrow]

Omg I've gone down a mega rabbit hole, or silkied ameraucana rabbit hole

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It's so interesting to see this gene popping up in so many birds. The 'cauna tree (if you can call it that), is very interesting in general

The hookless feather mutation does seem to be a common one! It's been a long time since I was in genetics, so I'm not sure I can explain exactly why, though. Definitely agree on Ameraucana history being interesting as well. Not a lot of people are aware of how complicated those birds are!

Omg I've gone down a mega rabbit hole, or silkied ameraucana rabbit hole

Haha, it's very easy to do! Especially because a lot of their history was recorded right here on BYC!

 

[fluffycrow]

Haha, it's very easy to do! Especially because a lot of their history was recorded right here on BYC!

Exactly, how cool is that!

 

[fluffycrow]

Finished the thread from your first link . Very interesting towitness the whole process. Its unfortunate that the first specimens didn't seem to be very healthy, or long living; possibly playing a role in the burn out of their keepers, since from what I saw, the original two people got out of them

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Ah, yeah, it's been so many years since I read through it that I'd forgotten a lot of that. Clicking back over there, though, I did see the study linked toward the end that explains why it's such a common mutation. The link there was a dead end, but here is the article if you're interested in reading it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4148213/ In short, among the other sequencing and development type work done in the study, it's saying the reason this is such a common mutation (common being relative, of course!) is because it only takes a single base substitution in the DNA to cause it. Essentially, it's a relatively simple mutation because it's only one 'typo' off of the code for normal feathering, if that makes sense.

 

[fluffycrow]

Ah, yeah, it's been so many years since I read through it that I'd forgotten a lot of that. Clicking back over there, though, I did see the study linked toward the end that explains why it's such a common mutation. The link there was a dead end, but here is the article if you're interested in reading it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4148213/ In short, among the other sequencing and development type work done in the study, it's saying the reason this is such a common mutation (common being relative, of course!) is because it only takes a single base substitution in the DNA to cause it. Essentially, it's a relatively simple mutation because it's only one 'typo' off of the code for normal feathering, if that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense! It would be rather interesting to see this pop up in other breeds over the years

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Other than the Cochins, Seramas, and Ameraucanas, I know I've heard of it in Svart Hona, Chabo / Japanese bantams, Phoenixes, and Hedemora. I don't know how many if any of those four were a random mutation and how many were a result from outcrossing to silkie-feathered breeds, however.

I've heard of Ayam Cemanis being silkied as well, but pretty sure I'd read that those were outcrossed to a silkied breed to produce them. Then obviously there are Showgirls, which are directly the result of crossing naked necks to Silkies, and silky ducks, which are for sure not crossed to Silkies, of course. There's also a silky-like gene in pigeons, but it's different than the gene in chickens; the hooks are just weakened instead of not developing at all, so you get a partial effect that to me just looks like ratty feathering that can happen from poor conditions, kind of like shredder in some lavenders in chickens.

I'm more than a little bit obsesed with silkied varieties, if it wasn't obvious. See the title under my username. But I'd definitely be interested in seeing more breeds in silkied feathering as well!

 

[fluffycrow]

Other than the Cochins, Seramas, and Ameraucanas, I know I've heard of it in Svart Hona, Chabo / Japanese bantams, Phoenixes, and Hedemora. I don't know how many if any of those four were a random mutation and how many were a result from outcrossing to silkie-feathered breeds, however.

I've heard of Ayam Cemanis being silkied as well, but pretty sure I'd read that those were outcrossed to a silkied breed to produce them. Then obviously there are Showgirls, which are directly the result of crossing naked necks to Silkies, and silky ducks, which are for sure not crossed to Silkies, of course. There's also a silky-like gene in pigeons, but it's different than the gene in chickens; the hooks are just weakened instead of not developing at all, so you get a partial effect that to me just looks like ratty feathering that can happen from poor conditions, kind of like shredder in some lavenders in chickens.

I'm more than a little bit obsesed with silkied varieties, if it wasn't obvious. See the title under my username. But I'd definitely be interested in seeing more breeds in silkied feathering as well!

I didn't know it was a thing in any other breed other than the first three you mentioned! It's also very interesting to note that silkied ducks exist; wonder if the same thing applies when it comes to how many genes in the code need to be mutated for it to show up. I do like some fuzzies, mostly looking at them in other people's flocks. I find them a little bit high maintenance for my liking, and setup. I cannot deny their beauty, however