Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Me & Jack]

I have a question about black and blue and under fluff. Does a black ever have any lighter under fluff? I took this picture with a flash and this boy is really black but he does have lighter under fluff on feet and legs. Does that mean he is for sure blue? Actually hoping for blue. Also, how bad is it that he's showing some red in his waddles? Absolutely no red in his comb. (6 1/2 months)

I have never bred blacks, but I do believe that a true black bird should not have lighter underfluff. The feather should be black the whole length of the shaft. Unfortunately, if your bird is not truly black then he is too dark to be shown as blue, IMO.

 

[peepblessed]

I have never bred blacks, but I do believe that a true black bird should not have lighter underfluff. The feather should be black the whole length of the shaft. Unfortunately, if your bird is not truly black then he is too dark to be shown as blue, IMO.

I think you are right, but I don't plan to show him. I do plan to breed him so hopefully not all his babies will be such dark blue. Thanks for the input!

 

[Hawkeye95]

So exciting to be hatching your own!!
Looks girl to me. Yes, my Catdance BBS fluffed out very young also. Here are shots of two of my Catdance pullets that I took yesterday. 4 1/2 mths.
Kitten

and Coalie

Beautiful!!

I have a question about black and blue and under fluff. Does a black ever have any lighter under fluff? I took this picture with a flash and this boy is really black but he does have lighter under fluff on feet and legs. Does that mean he is for sure blue? Actually hoping for blue. Also, how bad is it that he's showing some red in his waddles? Absolutely no red in his comb. (6 1/2 months)

As Janine said, they aren't supposed to have a lighter under fluff, or they are considered blue. However... I do think there could be some exceptions to this. In the black thread a while back, one of the girls who is breeding black X black was getting some with lighter fluff, but it wasn't too much lighter and she knew exactly what the breeding behind the bird was. I don't remember who it was now. But it isn't ideal for a black bird, but I think it can happen. I would breed him and see what you get, he has incredible type and a great crest! If his comb is dark, don't worry too much about his wattles being on the redder side. I KNOW that isn't desirable, but with careful breeding, it can be worked out. I used a roo last year that had a bit of red to his little wattles and it didn't pass on. Gosh, even his wings look really, really good here.

I think you are right, but I don't plan to show him. I do plan to breed him so hopefully not all his babies will be such dark blue. Thanks for the input!

They may be... or they may not be. I ended up with some really dark blues, BUT their underfluff is so obvious and I think they are obviously blue (to me). I really like the darker blues. Mine look nearly black and I've had no troubles showing them. This Spring I had Art Reiber-- who is a very well known judge (and will be at Nationals) judge my dark blues and he knew right off they were blue. In fact, he told me I nearly won best of class and if her crest had been just a bit bigger, she would have done it. He kept going back to her cage over and over. Sigh. Here he is with my Blue that he really liked. I love this picture of him, he doesn't miss a thing.

He never said one word about her being too dark. And clearly-- she is a very, very dark Blue. She has thrown lots of Splash-- in fact, mostly splash babies. But her blue offspring is just as dark as she is.

 

[Adoravachick]

Beautiful birds Peep! Love that boy. From what I am told, there shouldn't be lighter underfluff on a black. They should be consistantly black.

Does anyone have a "correct" colored blue.....according to the SOP.....blue? I am interested to see what one looks like.

 

[aoxa]

Beautiful!!


As Janine said, they aren't supposed to have a lighter under fluff, or they are considered blue.  However... I do think there could be some exceptions to this.  In the black thread a while back, one of the girls who is breeding black X black was getting some with lighter fluff, but it wasn't too much lighter and she knew exactly what the breeding behind the bird was.  I don't remember who it was now.  But it isn't ideal for a black bird, but I think it can happen.  I would breed him and see what you get, he has incredible type and a great crest!  If his comb is dark, don't worry too much about his wattles being on the redder side.  I KNOW that isn't desirable, but with careful breeding, it can be worked out.  I used a roo last year that had a bit of red to his little wattles and it didn't pass on.  Gosh, even his wings look really, really good here.  


They may be... or they may not be.  I ended up with some really dark blues, BUT their underfluff is so obvious and I think they are obviously blue (to me).  I really like the darker blues.  Mine look nearly black and I've had no troubles showing them.  This Spring I had Art Reiber-- who is a very well known judge (and will be at Nationals)  judge my dark blues and he knew right off they were blue.  In fact, he told me I nearly won best of class and if her crest had been just a bit bigger, she would have done it.  He kept going back to her cage over and over.  Sigh.  Here he is with my Blue that he really liked.  I love this picture of him, he doesn't miss a thing.

He never said one word about her being too dark.  And clearly-- she is a very, very dark Blue.  She has thrown lots of Splash-- in fact, mostly splash babies.  But her blue offspring is just as dark as she is.  

That's such a cool picture.

 

[Adoravachick]

They may be... or they may not be. I ended up with some really dark blues, BUT their underfluff is so obvious and I think they are obviously blue (to me). I really like the darker blues. Mine look nearly black and I've had no troubles showing them. This Spring I had Art Reiber-- who is a very well known judge (and will be at Nationals) judge my dark blues and he knew right off they were blue. In fact, he told me I nearly won best of class and if her crest had been just a bit bigger, she would have done it. He kept going back to her cage over and over. Sigh. Here he is with my Blue that he really liked. I love this picture of him, he doesn't miss a thing.

He never said one word about her being too dark. And clearly-- she is a very, very dark Blue. She has thrown lots of Splash-- in fact, mostly splash babies. But her blue offspring is just as dark as she is.

I like this picture as well. Seems to be enjoying what he does.

 

[Me & Jack]

I think you are right, but I don't plan to show him. I do plan to breed him so hopefully not all his babies will be such dark blue. Thanks for the input!

I would think he might work out very well over a splash hen. Lighter blue babies are definitely possible and some darker colored splash chicks would be great.

 

[ChicksNherps]

Beautiful!!


As Janine said, they aren't supposed to have a lighter under fluff, or they are considered blue. However... I do think there could be some exceptions to this. In the black thread a while back, one of the girls who is breeding black X black was getting some with lighter fluff, but it wasn't too much lighter and she knew exactly what the breeding behind the bird was. I don't remember who it was now. But it isn't ideal for a black bird, but I think it can happen. I would breed him and see what you get, he has incredible type and a great crest! If his comb is dark, don't worry too much about his wattles being on the redder side. I KNOW that isn't desirable, but with careful breeding, it can be worked out. I used a roo last year that had a bit of red to his little wattles and it didn't pass on. Gosh, even his wings look really, really good here.


They may be... or they may not be. I ended up with some really dark blues, BUT their underfluff is so obvious and I think they are obviously blue (to me). I really like the darker blues. Mine look nearly black and I've had no troubles showing them. This Spring I had Art Reiber-- who is a very well known judge (and will be at Nationals) judge my dark blues and he knew right off they were blue. In fact, he told me I nearly won best of class and if her crest had been just a bit bigger, she would have done it. He kept going back to her cage over and over. Sigh. Here he is with my Blue that he really liked. I love this picture of him, he doesn't miss a thing.

He never said one word about her being too dark. And clearly-- she is a very, very dark Blue. She has thrown lots of Splash-- in fact, mostly splash babies. But her blue offspring is just as dark as she is.

Sweet now I know how to handle my birds so they don't freak out! hehe I was unsure of how to try to coop train them and pick them up. One will just sit there and the other is still unsure about it and flaps around.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Beautiful birds Peep! Love that boy. From what I am told, there shouldn't be lighter underfluff on a black. They should be consistantly black.

Does anyone have a "correct" colored blue.....according to the SOP.....blue? I am interested to see what one looks like.

I have a picture of a chick that is closer to the blue they are talking about. He's about 8 weeks here. It's not the best picture and I looked and for some reason, never took a full body picture of him.

That's such a cool picture.

Thanks!

I like this picture as well. Seems to be enjoying what he does.

Oh yes, this judge was just amazing, and he really enjoyed ALL the breeds. He took his time and really knew what he was doing. I've had similar experiences with the other judges I've had, too. But Art was special, because after the show, he talked to everyone that wanted to talk to him, and took the time to tell them what to do to improve their breeding programs.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Sweet now I know how to handle my birds so they don't freak out! hehe I was unsure of how to try to coop train them and pick them up. One will just sit there and the other is still unsure about it and flaps around.

The judges did seem to handle the birds in a way that they could see them the best. With the silkies, they held them in the palm of their hand, feet between their fingers and let their wings drop over either side of their hand. That is to see the natural wing spread out, without having to pull it. But they will pull it out, too if they don't see it clearly. Usually, they are pretty quick. And when I clerked on this last show, he told me that he can pretty much see the quality of the bird before he picks it up. So if he spends less time on a bird, it doesn't mean they aren't paying attention, it just means they can already see what they need to. They pull them out to check the color of their legs, look for breed specific points and then put them back. If they liked your bird, they may come back and tap the cage to see if the bird will show better or show it's type better. If not, they will move on to another that will. Another thing to think about is to TREAT your bird when they are caged. Have a sunflower seed, or mealworm or whatever ready to give to them thru the cage so they will come up to the front of the cage and act happy to see you when you approach them.