I've been looking into getting silkies and will hopefully have some soon. The breeder I buy from has a friend who sells them, so I already know where to get them. However, I need birds that will be able to pay for themselves one way or another. Thankfully silkies are crazy broody, so I know I'll be letting them raise chicks and ducklings, but I'd also like to raise them as well and sell their own chicks. Since silkies come in so many colors, I'd like to know the way colors are passed with them. Can a hen have any color baby so long as it's in her or the roosters genealogy? Or is the chick usually the color of the mother and father? Or, even better, does the gender of the chick effect which parents they inherit color from? Also, what colors are more popular? And is their a general preference between bearded and nonbearded?
Sorry for so many questions at once.