Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I disagree. Polydactyly, like blue, has varying degrees of expression. Now if the bird has the extreme allele where virtually an entire extra foot is present, I would say not to use for breeding, but not with an extra toe. However, like everything, it really depends on the rest of your flock, and the bird's other traits. If you have plenty of other equally good options, sure, pass on the bird, but if that bird is otherwise the better choice, use it.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: There are plenty of people who want silkies to be broodies that hatch or raise chicks and even ducklings. Just about any chicken is good at pest patrol, and virtually all hens will lay eggs for breakfast and baking; even broody breeds such as silkies. And people who want a few backyard pets are happy to get birds that are not usable for exhibition. I have no problem with the idea of passing on a living creature to someone for whom the fit is right. I do not eat chicken, but I can understand those who cull to the stew pot. Personally I DO see a moral issue in killing and trashing a creature just because it does not meet what is at best an arbitrary standard created by humans for human aesthetics.

 

[aoxa]

There are plenty of people who want silkies to be broodies that hatch or raise chicks and even ducklings.  Just about any chicken is good at pest patrol, and virtually all hens will lay eggs for breakfast and baking; even broody breeds such as silkies.  And people who want a few backyard pets are happy to get birds that are not usable for exhibition.  I have no problem with the idea of passing on a living creature to someone for whom the fit is right.  I do not eat chicken, but I can understand those who cull to the stew pot.  Personally I DO see a moral issue in killing and trashing a creature just because it does not meet what is at best an arbitrary standard created by humans for human aesthetics.  

I agree wholeheartedly with you Sonoran.

So many people just want the pets. I'd say more want pets than show birds.

At least here.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hi we have partridge Chanteclers..LF and adore how docile they are...Im actually a Canadian living here in the midwest..lol...defected but still have a farm up there in Niagara Falls area..lol...an example of using a bird with good genetics..lets see...well lets deal with a black rooster with some red leakage in the hackles now when he is under i year it is a dq but when he becomes a mature rooster he can be shown with red in his hackles as many develop that after their first molt...many shy from using those birds but often that red will help make the black blacker as in give it a more green sheen....you would have to ask Suze on how it all works....if a bird is of the lines you want let say its George Mihalik who has bred some of the best silkies ever....you have the opportunity to get some of that blood via a bird who maybe is not perfect as in the crest might not be big enough or the rooster has a bigger comb than you like or the cushion is maybe not so large so the bird is an average breeder bird but whose good genes can often come through in your offspring....you can have two of the not so great looking silkies produce the best showbirds and you can have showbirds who never produce anything of quality...silkies are fluffy aliens and are their little gene pools are the washing machines of the chicken world......as for culling that is a delicate subject I love the birds so much but if any of them develop wry neck i put them down ...i do sell pets as i get people who just want a pet for their enjoyment who looks nice just has a dq for showing....and if i have too many roos who i cant find a place for or i think they just should not be bred I send them to an auction where no one knows where they came from and I am just a number. I drop them off and leave they send me a check. I feel sad when i do it but i cant feed them all and this way our name is attached to them.

Personally I prefer black birds that keep clear hackles their entire life. George and many other breeders (not just silkie breeders) have said that gold birds have better sheen, and the only way to know they are gold, not silver is to have cocks with some leakage. This is also stated in some older books on breeding. In a recent thread on The Coop, exactly what causes some birds to display green sheen when others do not was mentioned, and the lack of real knowledge of why. Green sheen results from feather structure, but much more is not known.

 

[littlecritters]

Garden and poultry dust with Permethrin.  They are mites, but that's not to say that there aren't a few lice...because of the feather base. 
I have 20 or so birds, so bathing them isn't completely out of the question.  I may just bathe them BEFORE they go back into the barn.  I am so disgusted. :/

Lice and mites can coexist on chickens and wreack havoc, as I learned this summer when I purchased birds that had an infestation (unbeknown to me and the breeder). The mites were almost microscopic, practically invisible to the eye until they crawled by the hundreds onto the vets hands during close examination to find out what was wrong....and then onto my hands during bathing. I discovered that lice are most easily seen visible around the vent, they like to congregate where the moisture is. Thus, you can sometimes see them around the eyes. Unfortunately, while mites are species specific and only live on chickens...they will definitely bite humans as I discovered. They won't live on your household pets or in your carpet, thank goodness.

A two prong approach is needed to combat these parasites... kill the bugs and then retreat in 7-10 days to kill the bugs that hatch out from the eggs. Once you get everything under control, a regular preventive program may be helpful.

I bought Mycodex from my vet, which is a flea and tick shampoo with pyrethrins and piperonyl. This contains the same ingredients as Rid shampoo for humans. I think Adams Flea and Tick shampoo is a similar product. Adams also has a dip and a spray. I believe that Hawkeye has had very good success with Sevin powder. The vet at Cornell U told me permethrin dust is good, but she did not suggest a particular brand. Note that all these products are very strong and definitely not organic, so wear gloves and even a mask if you are dusting. 

I tried using Poultry Protector, which is all natural, and it worked on many of the bugs. But the infestation was really too severe...the bugs were resistant even to subcutaneous ivermectin injections. After this very negative experience in which one bird died, I did quite a bit of research on lice and mites in poultry. Apparently, mites and cocci are considered the top two killers of chickens. Mites seem to be everywhere and pop up in flocks that even have the tightest Biosecurity  programs. In regard to toxic overload, in my case...our vet very carefully calculated the treatment dosages based on age and weight of the chickens. I would be very cautious about overloading the birds with a lot of toxic products..

 I would like offer to come help you bathe and dust, but we are having a gas shortage due to the hurricane. Gas deliveries are being rerouted to the NYC area and several of our local gas stations are closed. I can send you my cell phone via PM if that helps.
Tina G.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:

Well stated.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I don't keep up with ALL the people I sell pet quality or less than perfect birds to, but I do keep up with enough of them to know that the vast majority have a very good life. Some are pampered, spoiled pets, some are free-range birds who bring eggs and enrichment to the families who have them. I have yet to see anyone whose birds from me are kept in squalor. I cannot say that there are none, as I do not keep in touch with everyone to whom I sell, but I do keep in touch with enough that I can say I would be surprised. By the same token, I know breeders whose exhibition birds are kept in what I consider less than good conditions,

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I keep forgetting to post my question

how much can you show a chicken? And can you only do it to a certain age? Reading it sounds like people only show a bird from puller to hen and then done. But if you have a good bird can you keep showing the same bird spring and fall every year?

Yes. If you have an outstanding bird, you can show it for as long as it remains outstanding and you wish to keep showing it. This weekend I purchased Bantam Chickens by Jeffreys. Published in 1974. There is a lot of historical information, with tons of references. One passage that surprised me referenced a bird being shown at the age of 24 years! (yes, that was the age of the bird, not the exhibitor). That is pretty shocking to me; most birds do not live nearly that long.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:

 

[littlecritters]

It is supposed to drop into the 20's tonight, so be sure you silkies are thoroughly dried and warm before you put them outside. When I bathed with Mycodex, the vet cautioned me to only use a small amount. So, I put the shampoo in a picnic ketchup/mustard squeeze bottle to control the amount and placement on the birds. It worked really well....kind of like when applying hair coloring.