silkie and showgirls roos, turned out DQ

[laughingllama75]

I thought I had a pretty nice blue silkie cockerel and partridge showgirl cockerel.......that is, until I really looked at them again last week. it had been a month or so, since I REALLY looked at them......feathering, feet, combs, etc. Now I wished I hadn't.

my blue roo has tan(red?) bleeding out in his neck feathers, he has what I consider too hard of a tail and I his wattles have turned bright red.

my showgirl roo, has uneven toe spacing, but I was willing to try to deal with that, only cuz I liked him so much. now, his color is off and I hate his comb too. He is all of a sudden getting red skin. he WAS nice and dark, until just recently. Phooey!!!!

I added some pics. What do you all think?

anyone in NH, and have partridge showgirls that are breeding quality? I "need" to find one before spring. My hen is looking. LOL.
Ok, here he was this fall

and now

and Einstien this fall

and now

 

[laughingllama75]

I knew the Blue's wattles were a little lighter than one would want, but they REALLY got red. Really red. and the showgirls earlobes turned white with blue outline, where they were dark blue before. this just goes to show, wait until the rooster matures before deciding if he is good or not. As a note....they are molting right now....big time.
Also, both of thier wings really point down. dont like that either. Well, RATS!

 

[onthespot]

I can't go for the silver hackles, but for showgirl, I would forgive the red wattles. I have seen a lot redder, and his skin on his neck is still very dark. If he is the best one you have, just go with it and breed to the best girls you can find.
Oh... didn't see the down pointing wings.... game over, Do You Want To Play Again? LOL (with you, not at you)

 

[laughingllama75]

yeah.......see........

These are nice, friendly guys. I hope maybe I can find a home for them where someone will want pets. I dont really need more PQ roosters hanging around. I guess I could keep the showgirl, but he would have to be penned by himself, so he doesn't breed anyone. As the risk of repeating myself........ RATS!!!!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

For the showgirl, I think you are rating him lower than he is. Yes, he has faults, but to my mind his crest is too small and his wattles too large are larger faults than his earlobes or skin or even his wings. He has a GOOD comb.

The hackles and wattle colour are the biggest problems with your blue.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
What about the rest of him? How'd you pick those two out of the entire bird?

 

[becky3086]

That is really amazing how much they changed.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
What about the rest of him? How'd you pick those two out of the entire bird?

They are DQs; the other faults are defects. Also, red comb is HARD to get rid of when skin colour is dark. Insufficient melanizers that allow gold or silver to show through in the hackles are also hard to breed out--as much because they are not well researched (and so the breeding solution remains a mystery) as because of numerous people's reported difficulty with breeding them out.

He looks to be reasonably typey and balanced; he has nice earlobe colouring, and with the exception of the golden hackles, his plumage colouring is nice; what I can see of his foot feathering looks fine. His tail is too hard, and should be fuller. In one photo is wings are way too low; in the others they are ok, not as high as most prefer, but ok. If I had my hands on him and could spread his wings and look at his feet and face in closeup, etc. I would undoubtably have more to add--probably some good points and others not.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Fair enough....

 

[laughingllama75]

his foot feather is ok...he does have feathers on the middle toe, but not as full as I would like.

his tail is/was fuller, he lost a ton of it during molt....I have all this blue fuzz and feathers blowing around his pen. LOL. Also, both of these birds crests are lacking right now, thye have a lot of pin feathers in them (though not as full as I would like. Some of my hens have BIG poufs).

I really appreciate everyone chiming in, I learn lots from you guys/gals.

so, I am assuming I should still look for other breeding stock?

the showgirls toes....on one foot, the 4th and 5th are spaced evenly, on the other foot, they are coming out like a V. Should I try him over my hen and "see what I get" while waiting to find a better rooster, or should I just wait? (my mind tells me to wait, I probably will not be happy with offspring I get.......right? LOL)

I know, I am asking for personal opinion and I will not get mad. I promise. thanks everone for thier help.