Reducing the Size of Silkies

[blueoval1]

Thanks everyone for the input. I am glad to hear people agreeing with me.

 

[silkieowner]

Quote:
What color is this Roo? Also he has no foot feathers- not one. He would be DQ'd at a show for sure. Interesting color though, what is it called?

Hi i'm not sure what his colour actually is he is a mixture of colours ranging from white/blue and red. I know my rooster is diffenetly fertile as my broodie silkie is sitting on 6 fertile eggs. I don't know why he hasn't got any feathers on his feet or legs i brought him that way. His diffenetly a purebred silkie. He has black skin,5 toes on each foot,his feathers are very silkie. Even if he was crossbred i still love him just the same,but he looks just like a silkie so that is what i classify him as.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

My younger bunch from a local breeder are on the small side for their age and they get the optimal nutrition great feed, lots of fresh scraps, and all the bugs, grass, and grit they want (they free range all day every day) - but they are quite small guess its genetics though the previous silkies I'd gotten from same breeder were almost too large for my taste in silkies.

so maybe she just changed out breeding stock or added new birds to the line which made chicks smaller from previous year's chickens. *shrugs* I don't mind either way - I like large silkies that some call standard silkies and the tiny petite bantam sized silkies. - silkies are lovely either way IMO.

I do prefer a rooster with more of a 'shorter' comb over a bulging out comb - and waddles I've seen good breeder roos with that much waddle or less - it all depends. My 5 month old Roo has a very small comb but big waddles - and every silkie roo that is beardless I've seen has very developed waddles. - maybe just my area?

 

[Smoky73]

I was fortunate to find 2 VERY nice male Buff cockerels who do not have an ounce of red in their combs. They are blacker than black. One bird is VERY large to my standards, has a nice round comb with nice crease, just large-and I can tell which is his male offspring by the size of the young. The other male is a nice dark red, but he is very tiny, about the size of a hen in fact and his comb is very oblong and bumpy protrusions all over, also very dark, no red. He produces much smaller males so far. All females hatche dseem to be about the same size, its just the males that carry on the size trait I have noticed. Too soon to tell sex on all, but I have been striving for no red combs and darker buff coloring.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
What color is this Roo? Also he has no foot feathers- not one. He would be DQ'd at a show for sure. Interesting color though, what is it called?

Hi i'm not sure what his colour actually is he is a mixture of colours ranging from white/blue and red. I know my rooster is diffenetly fertile as my broodie silkie is sitting on 6 fertile eggs. I don't know why he hasn't got any feathers on his feet or legs i brought him that way. His diffenetly a purebred silkie. He has black skin,5 toes on each foot,his feathers are very silkie. Even if he was crossbred i still love him just the same,but he looks just like a silkie so that is what i classify him as.

He is calico: splash plus red.

 

[Gordonhillfarm]

I'm a visual person , I know it's asking alot . But could someone post pics of what they feel is a proper size comb and wattles ? It's easier to see what is being said then to guess . Thank you Tammy .B

 

[silkieowner]

hehe people say they like small silkies is my Tacker small enough for you she is about 12 weeks old but is the size of a 8-9 week old chick. @ pictures one on her own and another beside a white silkie.

 

[Elite Silkies]

My largest Roo is my Lavender Boy, and he's all there. He is very heavy. I need to weigh him. But, he's very pretty, so he stays.

My White Roo is very petite and very light weight. I can def. see a difference between his offspring and the Lavender's offspring size wise.

 

[Gordonhillfarm]

I was talking with a couple of friends that breed silkies and shared about this thread . They said the reason silkies have gotten bigger in their opion is because of all of the new colors . it takes smooth feathered birds ( most of which are larger ) to create some of the blends we have today . examples parteridge -- cuckoo -- lavender -- ... --- They say cull large birds from breeding programs and only use the smaller ones in time there will be more smaller silkies . Makes since to me . I'm still really new at silkies , just thought I'd get the conversation flowing . Hopefully someone who understands why they have changed so much will come along and correct this . Tammy .B

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

There is probably a lot of truth to what you have said. Especially when speaking of lavenders. By breeding larger lavenders to the smallest and typiest blacks possible it should bring the size down a bit. It would take breeding the smaller split backs to each other instead of back to the larger lavenders.