Hello i am breeding my silkies for better quality and i wanted to know more about what to look for like toe spacing, vaulted skulls, and top knots. does anybody have any info i want to know or helpful tips thanks
Pictures would be great too I'm going to be showing one of our silkies and I wonder the same thing. I have a few birds with toes in odd places but they still have five toes so I'm wondering what is "normal" for toes too...thanks for asking this
Toe placement and spacing is not of much concern in comparison with the rest of the bird. Here's a quote from the standard regarding toe placement: Toes: five, the three front straight, well and evenly spread, the hind toe double, the normal toe in natural position and the extra toe placed above, starting from close to the other toe, but well formed, longer than the other toes and curving upwards and backwards; the outer and middle toe well feathered. You can find the rest of the standard here: http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.com/standard.asp I'd suggest picking up a copy of the standard. The APA sells a black and white version on their site for $14 shipped. Vaulted skulls are neither required nor a defect. Some breeders breed for them as it can give a better rise to the crest, especially in the males. Nikki of HatTrick has written a nice article on the subject here: http://www.hattricksilkies.net/articles_vaulted_skull.html
Thanks i really want to know more but cant find the info im looking for online does anybody have any tips for showing and breeding genetics
well i have splash blues and blacks but some are from hatcheries and today i picked up 8 from judy sharp i dont know what to look for to improve my flock when im breeding them and i have heard of people breeding cochins in to improve type or some thin and when i hatch silkies i dont know how to seperate the show quality from the pet or breeder and what makes them soo good how can i improve my flock too many questions
Hatchery silkies are unlikely to be anything more than pet quality. If you picked up from Judy, did you ask her to tell you about the birds and show you what to look for and to avoid? It's much easier to go over a bird or birds with someone who can show you traits and why they are good, bad or whatever. Silkies are well enough developed in all the recognised colours that crossing to another breed is not a good choice unless you are working on an unrecognised variety and need to bring in new genes. If you post photos we can try to tell you what you have,and the good and not so perfect points of each.
can i get a good bird starting from scratch or will i have to invest in better birds because my parents dont want me to spend $60 dollars on a chicken they dont think its worth it
The blue bar at the top of the page lists UPLOADS. Click on that, then click at the bottom right where it says My UpLoads. Find the photo you want and click in the Image: box. Press ctrl-C to copy the image, then go back to your post and press ctrl-V to paste it in.