putting my winter silkie flock together- thoughts...

[AHappychick]

ok so I have slimmed down in some places and expanded a bit in others. I know with LF that 11 hens to 1 roo is an ok number but is the roo to hen ratio the same with silkies?

In an effort to make my life easier I would like to put the following birds together but wonder if it is too many hens for just 2 roos. here is the list it is 13 hens with 2 roos on paper it seems like alot to me but....

hens

3 gray sg
3 lav Silkies
2 b/b SG
1 spash silkie w/ lav gene
3 buff silkies
1 black silkie

Roos

Splash Silkie with lav gene
Lavender Silkie

 

[jimnjay]

In my experience Silkies do better with a smaller ratio roos to hens. In a book I have by Helga Fritzsche on raising bantams. She recommends 4 to 1. I now have 7 to 1 in my buff pen and there are some voids in the eggs I get. Sounds like you need a buff Roo. If you are going to work on Porcelain then the buff in with the Lavender roo should work.

If you want pure Grays, I don't see any roo that would help that bunch.

I would put the 3 Lav hens and the splash with the Lav gene together with the Lav Roo, and the rest all together in a different pen.

The pure Lavenders will garner a good price for eggs if you decide to sell any.

 

[LilPeeps]

You could just put them all together, but don't put the grey or buff in the pen with them. You'll basically have a bbs pen with the lav gene. Any of the offspring from either splash will be blue. If they (the splash het lav) bred with a lav, 50% will be het lav and 50% will be homozygous for lav. If they breed with a bird that's het lav, the offspring will be 50% non lav, 50% het lav, 25% homozygous lav. If they breed with a bird not carrying the gene, you'll get 50% non lav, 50% het lav.

As for the buff and grey, If you want to hatch pure offspring, you should get buff and grey males for them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Splash Silkie cock with lav gene X

gray sg = colour & pattern mess, 50% or 100% sg

lav Silkies = blue, 50% also lavender

2 b/b SG = ??? what do you mean by b/b ???

spash silkie w/ lav gene = splash, 25% also lavender (50% carrying a copy of lav, 25% without lav)

buff silkies = buffs w/ blue replacing black pigment, blues & mixes; half will carry a copy of lav

black silkie = blue, half carrying a copy of lav


Lavender Silkie cock X

gray sg = incomplete pattern for all offspring, may have mix of gold/silver gene sons, some daughters may be partridge and others grey, depends on the fathers S-alleles; 50% or 100% sg

lav Silkies = lavender

2 b/b SG = ??? what do you mean by b/b ???

spash silkie w/ lav gene = 50% lavender & blue, 50% blue carrying a copy of lav

buff silkies = buffs carrying a copy of lav

black silkie = black carrying a copy of lav

 

[AHappychick]

oh thanks guys, I do have a gray roo but thought I could re-home him since I know someone who likes him.

I realize that with out a buff roo I will hopefully get isabelle porceline with them, which is what I am hoping for, i like buff but cant do all of the different colors so this sort of gives me the best of both worlds.

the b/b sg ment blue and black show girl I was just being lazy.

I also realize that the grays will throw all sorts of colors but some may be carrying the lav gene as they are from Angie and I wanted to see if it would come out.

My biggest concern is fertility not so much the resulting colors I may get.

from what I am reading it looks like there might be too many hens for just 2 roos? with 13 hens and 2 roos

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Splash Silkie cock with lav gene X

black sg = blue, half carrying lav (you will not be able to tell which ones), 50% or 100% sg

blue sg = half blue, half splasj, half of each carrying lav (you will not be able to tell which ones), 50% or 100% sg


Lavender Silkie cock X

black sg = black carrying lav, 50% or 100% sg

blue sg = half blue, half black, all carrying lav, 50% or 100% sg


Since the buffs do not already carry lav, it will take two generations to get isabel/porcelain. Breed to the lavender; all the offspring will carry lav; breed back to the lavender and half will inherit two copies of lav.

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
cool, oh I am so excited

Sonoran do you think it will be too many hens per roo?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

7 hens per cock is probably the upper limit.