Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[sager:)silkies]

Quick question: I have a little chick that has an extra toe. Is it a big No-No if I want to breed her? Will it pass onto the chicks if I breed her?

it will pass on. as to use it or not every breeder has there own perspective if it is the best you got then use it if u have better then i wouldnt JMO tho

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Referencing Ameraucana and Marans breeders that have been frank with me - they don't want the "junk" breeding forward, period. Even if their name isn't attached. It's not good for any of us. Except maybe somebody's pocket book. So they cull and by cull, I don't mean sell.

 

[nicalandia]

Referencing Ameraucana and Marans breeders that have been frank with me - they don't want the "junk" breeding forward, period. Even if their name isn't attached. It's not good for any of us. Except maybe somebody's pocket book. So they cull and by cull, I don't mean sell.

I agree...

 

[LaPetiteFarmer]

Ok thank you guys. I won't use her/him.... hopefully it will be a rooster lol!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I know that Silkies hold a special place in many of our hearts - including mine - and as such, there is no "Standard", however, this Silkie thread is supposed to be about "breeding, genetics, and showing" so I'm assuming a higher bar and promoting the hard line here. I'm really not trying to upset folks or make enemies ...

(Everybody knows Silkies aren't really chickens ....

)

 

[chikincrazee]

No offense taken but silkies arent really chickens they are furry aliens...lol....we have Ameraucanas and Chanteclers and I eat them if they dont work out...but i couldnt bare to eat a silkie. As for breeding birds with defects and dqs you dont want to do it but sometimes if the bird is great in all other aspects or its all you have then you start with what you can get. You can upgrade by buying into good genetics if you know where to find it. I met a lady years ago and she had beautiful silkies she was so excited to get this kinda plain looking rooster from this famous line and showed him to me...he flew right at her as she opened the show pen door and latched onto her sweatshirt madly attacking her midsection....she just laughed and said that she didnt care as he had the genetics she wanted in her line. So i learned my first lesson in silkie breeding.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

No offense taken but silkies arent really chickens they are furry aliens...lol....we have Ameraucanas and Chanteclers and I eat them if they dont work out...but i couldnt bare to eat a silkie. As for breeding birds with defects and dqs you dont want to do it but sometimes if the bird is great in all other aspects or its all you have then you start with what you can get. You can upgrade by buying into good genetics if you know where to find it. I met a lady years ago and she had beautiful silkies she was so excited to get this kinda plain looking rooster from this famous line and showed him to me...he flew right at her as she opened the show pen door and latched onto her sweatshirt madly attacking her midsection....she just laughed and said that she didnt care as he had the genetics she wanted in her line. So i learned my first lesson in silkie breeding.

Chanteclers!?!!? The one and only truly Canadian breed!

Cold-hardy buggers! What colour are you working with?

(Furry aliens, indeed

That pretty much describes my Silkie flock! )

 

[littlecritters]

No offense taken but silkies arent really chickens they are furry aliens...lol....we have Ameraucanas and Chanteclers and I eat them if they dont work out...but i couldnt bare to eat a silkie. As for breeding birds with defects and dqs you dont want to do it but sometimes if the bird is great in all other aspects or its all you have then you start with what you can get. You can upgrade by buying into good genetics if you know where to find it. I met a lady years ago and she had beautiful silkies she was so excited to get this kinda plain looking rooster from this famous line and showed him to me...he flew right at her as she opened the show pen door and latched onto her sweatshirt madly attacking her midsection....she just laughed and said that she didnt care as he had the genetics she wanted in her line. So i learned my first lesson in silkie breeding.

Could you possibly elaborate a bit on how and when to use a bird that comes from good lines but is so-so? Could you share an example or scenario in which that rooster (from your post) would be used to improve a line of birds? Thanks in advance.

 

[Adoravachick]

I know that Silkies hold a special place in many of our hearts - including mine - and as such, there is no "Standard", however, this Silkie thread is supposed to be about "breeding, genetics, and showing" so I'm assuming a higher bar and promoting the hard line here. I'm really not trying to upset folks or make enemies ...

(Everybody knows Silkies aren't really chickens ....

)

As I approach breeding my own chicks, I often wonder what to do with chicks with dq's and juveniles that develop dqs and cannot be used in a breeding pen? Knowing how I am, I would like to breed top quality and I understand that not all silkies are SQ or BQ, but I also wouldn't feel comfortable with someone using my name as a selling point for an inferior bird. I am not sure if I have the heart to cull (you know what I mean), but I also don't want my name attached to a bird that is a lesser quality bird. I recently hatched 2 chicks from my own birds, a blue and a splash. The splash had 4 toes on one foot. I did sell her as a pet and CLEARLY let the lady know that there was a defect and she was unsuitable for breeding. She was happy that the bird had a little "character", I am ok with that because I know that she didn't have any intention of breeding, they were strictly pets for her children. So many people that I know, just breed anything and everything, I have gotten to the point where I won't buy birds from them because of the mess of a bird that I know they came from. It can be frustrating.

My white and blue roo got in a fight today, through the welded wire fence, blue roo pulled the front part of white's crest out(a good 1/2 inch). White was all bloody, he's fine, just got his comb pecked. So aggravating. Stupid boys, such hot heads.

 

[thedragonlady]

As I approach breeding my own chicks, I often wonder what to do with chicks with dq's and juveniles that develop dqs and cannot be used in a breeding pen? Knowing how I am, I would like to breed top quality and I understand that not all silkies are SQ or BQ, but I also wouldn't feel comfortable with someone using my name as a selling point for an inferior bird. I am not sure if I have the heart to cull (you know what I mean), but I also don't want my name attached to a bird that is a lesser quality bird. I recently hatched 2 chicks from my own birds, a blue and a splash. The splash had 4 toes on one foot. I did sell her as a pet and CLEARLY let the lady know that there was a defect and she was unsuitable for breeding. She was happy that the bird had a little "character", I am ok with that because I know that she didn't have any intention of breeding, they were strictly pets for her children. So many people that I know, just breed anything and everything, I have gotten to the point where I won't buy birds from them because of the mess of a bird that I know they came from. It can be frustrating.

My white and blue roo got in a fight today, through the welded wire fence, blue roo pulled the front part of white's crest out(a good 1/2 inch). White was all bloody, he's fine, just got his comb pecked. So aggravating. Stupid boys, such hot heads.

For years I had an oriental gentleman who would buy all my culls at $5 each, no matter what the age. The orientals make the equivalent of "Jewish Penicillan" out of black skinned birds. The birds were killed before they left my farm, and taken away in a sack. WHY? See below...

Do a check up of some of the PET QUALITY Silkies you sell after about 6 months. I think some of you may dismayed to see the conditions that your birds are living in, once the novelty wears off.THERE ARE WORSE THINGS THAN BEING DEAD !