Self Blue (Lavender) Silkie Thread

[Bat Cave Silkies]

Thank you Bren for posting this history.

I read EVERYTHING regarding Silkies that is posted on BYC, and, of course ASBC. I know I'm not the only one....

I don't mean to offend anyone....but I'm constantly amazed, that though these breeders are inundated with knowledge regarding the breeding of Lavenders, they INSIST on breeding them with everything but black--the recommended color.

I also know that not everyone shows their birds; many are just interested in enjoying their backyard flock.....and by all means, they should do so. But at the expense of diluting a new color that many have worked so hard on, for so many years???? Eventually, those mixed birds WILL make their way to someone else's flock, and the dilution just goes on and on....

I apologize in advance for offending some of my fellow BYC'ers, but I just couldn't bite my tongue any longer.

 

[brenTx]

I think the point of showing vs breeding just for the fun of it for your back yard flock, is a point well taken. What hits me hard is how misbreeding can really set you back and ruin your existing flock. This can be by your choice or being misled by some other breeder. And, I should bite my tongue too!

Another thing that hits me hard is the fact that Donnie has worked on this for 32 years and I have felt I have put in a long time with this???? NOT! Thank goodness for people like Donnie who go on and on and on....and then included some of us when the going gets easy.

 

[CheshieChick13]

I was always told the big no no was to mix lav with the blues and splashes. So this goes for every color but black? Is it that only the black lav splits can produce a lavender that when bred to another lavender will result in 100% lavender? I hope that made some sort of sense......
I am excluding lav/lav breeding in that question, I already know that's going to obviously create lavs.
Like with the gray/lav splits of mine, if I bred them to another gray/lav split or a lav there would be no predictable lav ratio? Or the "lavs" produced would not be lavs that when bred to another lav would produce a 100% lav hatch? Okay now my head hurts...

 

[friedeggs]

In order to get Porcelain/Isabel (I believe Sonoran says they are actually Isabel's) you would need to breed Buff to Pure Lav and then breed the offspring back to Pure Lav Bird. You would then get the Isabel color.

try to keep in mind there have been breeders have bred blue into buff stock, to lighten the smutt as well as some breeding lavender into them.​

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
try to keep in mind there have been breeders have bred blue into buff stock, to lighten the smutt as well as some breeding lavender into them.

Oh my....I had completely forgotten about that! aaaagggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!! This is getting more and more complicated...

 

[friedeggs]

well sure
nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

 

[BetsyOK]

My lavs are hatching in spite of me! I tried to do everything right with collecting, storing, turning (used an extra automatic egg turner), but then forgot to write down the date I put them in the 'bator! Had to guess and hope I was right. Then, because all my other hatches in my Genesis have started a day early, took the turner out and increased the humitidy a day early. Several other small "oops." Yesterday was a day later than I expected hatch to start, and I'd had the 'bator too humid part of the time, so when two pipped but made no progress at all in 12 hours, I chipped a bit away--too soon. Both hatched on their own, however. There are now five hatched, though one only partially, and helped by me. It pipped in almost the very tip of the small end, and I knew it couldn't make it on its own. So far so good. One has a VERY high vaulted skull. Don't know about toes yet.

At least three more have pipped, though one is a blue partridge. I got the gorgeous roo and his gorgeous mate two years ago at Shawnee from a highly reputable breeder, but until lately, there have been NO fertile eggs. Have had at least one other hen in with them. September 16, three babes hatched by Mom (I'd given up and no longer collected eggs but allowed them to brood), but only one made it--it has an extra toe on each foot but is developing into a very pretty blue partridge. My silver white SG slipped into their pen recently and started brooding the eggs there. Haven't candled them yet.

There is a total of 25 developing eggs in the batch that is hatching now. At least 21 are LxL, so I'm hoping for at least a few more. Then they have to survive!

Happy Day!

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
I'm going to try and answer this, but this is truly a question for Bren

You can breed any color to Lavender and if bred long enough you will end up with Lavender offspring. But, when to splash or blue, it's very easy to identify a bird as Lavender when in fact it is not. You can produce what Bren calls a muddy splash, that looks alot like Lavender but is not. If you breed this way, you have to keep very good records. The first time you breed to say a Splash, you will produce all offspring that is blue in color but carries the Lavender gene (as long as one bird is PURE Lav that is), then you take those offspring and breed back to Lavender, you would then get 50% Lav offspring (which could be difficult to determine which ones are lav). So, if I am correct you would have to breed at least 4-5 generations before you could be 100% sure that you have lav offspring. The only way to tell for sure is to breed that bird. So, it's just easier to use black and lav or lav and lav birds.

There have been some BYC members buy Lavender chicks, when they were in fact blue probably carrying the lav gene. Because the seller thought they were selling lav chicks, the buyers got the bad end of the deal.

Bren explains it soooo much better than I do! I understand it, but it's hard for me to word it right

So, breeding to black, there is no mistaking the colors. You either get black carrying the lav gene or you get Lavender.

 

[rilly10]

Awesome explanation! Thank you! I think a lot of people don't think out to the second generation.

Speaking of these "muddy splashes" that are sold as lavenders accidentally, can they be used in a BBS pen or will they mess with those colors as well? If not and I want to sell her what do I list her as? Pics of her area few pages back.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
She would be fine in a BBS pen. She is a very nice little pullet