Self Blue (Lavender) Silkie Thread

[Luvducks]

Quote:
It's best to breed Lavender to Lavender

or

Lavender to Black and then breed the offspring back to the Lavender Rooster. That will give you about 50% Lavender offspring and darken up the skin, comb and wattles.

It's not recommended to breed to Splash, but I am breeding my Lavender Roo to my Splash hen, just because she is an awesome hen. It will take me awhile for pure Lavenders, but I have time. I want offspring with her type and esp her crest. Although I do have a Lavender pullet that has the largest crest I have seen on a Lavender bird. She is going to have to sport a ponytail, so she can see. It just keeps getting bigger!

Glad to hear this. I am going to breed my Lav/split roosters to my splash hens because that will be my only option until I can get a Lav hen or black hen. Will they basically just come out Splash? Sorry, I am new to genetics and these are for my personal flock since I do not show.

 

[BetsyOK]

A person I know bred a lavender roo, from Bren, to his dilute splash hens (believing the dilute splashes are lavenders, I guess because they look self blue at hatching, as opposed to the nearly white splashes he was used to) and got almost all grays (which I understand are silver partridges)--no lavenders. In my own experience, most of my earlier lavender splits (not having blacks then) turned out to be grays also. Of course, those grays carry the lavender gene. He didn't take the next step and breed the pullets back to the lavender father.

I now have seven full lavenders, from Brenda and Deb, purchased this year, as well as half a dozen or so lav/black splits from two different roos from Brenda. Most are still young, but I hope to get lavenders, including showgirls, late this season. Several of the lav/black splits are now brooding eggs, and there could be some lavenders from them. I also plan to breed my gray (one of Bren's lav split "mutt") to my 4 gray hens, one of which is a showgirl, and hope to get lavs from them as well.

I'm also getting a lavender or two from my Isabels. The roo is at least half from Bren's lav line and one of the hens is almost certainly also from her lines, through my original lav. roo.

 

[BetsyOK]

The blacks from a lav/black split are VERY black, even though they carry the lav gene. This breeding improves BOTH colors.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I am very happy with the lav and isabel porcelain chicks that I hatched. All of them have black, black skin and the shades on them vary from fairly light to some darker fluff. I know the down will molt out as they grow.

Do any of you that hatch lav chicks have some with darker down on top? The underfluff is very lavender looking.

 

[bacres]

Just thought I'd throw this out there! Those babies are so cute!!!

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
really nice chicks, hope my hatch in a few days is 1/2 as good as yours is.

how is your lav coloring? My birds from Bren are very light almost washed out in my opinion, I have a lesser quality lav hen that has a much richer color that I prefer I think I have been able to pass on that coloring to some offspring as they dont seem as light but It will be hard to tell until they are adults. do you find some of the lavs to be lighter more whitish than others? I am not sure which is preffered the light lav or the darker one as far as standard and such but I am surely trying for the darker.

 

[trisha19]

Quote:
really nice chicks, hope my hatch in a few days is 1/2 as good as yours is.

how is your lav coloring? My birds from Bren are very light almost washed out in my opinion, I have a lesser quality lav hen that has a much richer color that I prefer I think I have been able to pass on that coloring to some offspring as they dont seem as light but It will be hard to tell until they are adults. do you find some of the lavs to be lighter more whitish than others? I am not sure which is preffered the light lav or the darker one as far as standard and such but I am surely trying for the darker.

I think people want the lighter coloring. I also like a little darker lav. color!!!!!

 

[Miizki]

Ok silly question, what does split mean?

 

[bacres]

When people say Black split Lavender or whatever split whatever it means that the bird is one color but it is carrying a ressive gene. So for a Black split Lavender it is a Black bird with a lavender gene.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I personally prefer the lighter Lavender Color. I think that is the standard that they are looking for in the shows. I think the Roos/Cockerel are darker than the hens/pullets, or mine are anyway.

Happychick, I think your Lav Boy is a little lighter than my Lav boys. Not much difference though, I don't think. I think my younger one is going to be a little darker. He came from a black breeding. So, if you breed your Lav Roo to a black hen, you should start getting darker offspring.

Here's my boys: My older Roo is just now getting back into condition after having a hard time in the breeding pen and fighting with another roo and losing a ton of his crest