Question to Silkie owners

[jen5680]

I was wondering what your thoughts are with the silkies when they are younger
as far as how fluffy they are. I have some that are just not near as fluffy as some
of my other ones and do you find that they kinda stay that or when they grow up
they get fluffier???
I am trying to figure out who to keep and who to sell but i don't want to get rid of
them now if they are going to fluff up better.
Thanks.

 

[Tanichca]

I have 1 silkie who is not fluffy at all, and another who is a cotton ball with a beak. Someone told me it was all in the genes. both birds are the same age.

 

[Southernbelle]

Silkies take a long, long time to fully mature so culling too early you might end up giving away a really nice bird! I think it takes about 6 months, but I'm not a Silkie expert.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

There was a thread a long while back about "hard" feathered silkies and "soft" feathered silkies. Both birds had the silkie feathering, but some birds were not has "fluffy" as others. So, IMO, yes it is a genetic issue.

 

[Brody's Broodello]

It depends on the lines. I have some that are quick to "fluff" and some that take longer. Some of the early birds get what looks great on a 3 month old, but does not get larger as they mature. I have others that take longer and end up as softballs. I would cull for DQ first, then other less desirable traits next. Then let the rest develope, then take notes to see how they turn out. You might notice that all the chicks from pair "A" develope faster than pair "B". Or this pair throughs less foot feathering than another, or all the blacks from that pair developed off color hackles, etc. Hope this helps.

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Don't get caught up in the fluffier the better thinking. The standard calls for a Medium Crest, not a basket ball ! Which doesn't help a bird who starves to death because it could not see it's food & water.

 

[SilkieTime]

One thing for sure, we all love are babies. On that note , can we see yours?

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Here's a picture of 2 that are waiting for the weather to allow then to go to their new home in CT.

 

[SilkieTime]

Those look real nice to me, how cute is that?

 

[nzpouter]

introduce frizzle gene into them.... guaranteed fluffy..