Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[blessedchick]

Last night when I got home around 9pm, I checked on the quarantined silkies and my heart dropped when I saw the splash boy. He didn't look well at all. Sadly..he passed during the night.
I am so sad and so upset...I'm even angry. This little guy was perfectly healthy when the breeder shipped him along with the others. The Post Office used a commercial airline instead of Fed Ex and that caused a huge problem. There was no tracking number and no way to find out where the heck our silkes were "lost".
One gorgeous pullet arrived dead, this little guy was passing blood and the other 4 were half dead. Out of 6 birds, I now have 4 with compromised immune systems, possibly favus? and God only knows what else. Who knows if they will even be fertile after almost dying? Dehydration and heat stroke has to have taken a toll on them. I felt like an animal rescue worker the last three weeks, tube feeding, providing care and comfort.
The Post Office needs to adopt an Arrive Alive policy for live animal shipments. This shouldn't be happening! It's just not fair for animals to be treated like inanimate objects. Anyone know if there is any recourse for me with the Post Office? These animals were shipped Express with supposed guaranteed delivery times.
Tina G.

Tina, I'm so so sorry about your splash boy!!! Please take some comfort in knowing that you did the very best for him despite such horrific circumstances. I wish I knew of a way to take action against the Post Office - changes definitely need to be made. Animals should never, ever be subjected to such cruelty when a letter can arrive overnight, unscathed. Atrocious...hugs to you

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
It's very hard to know how to recommend for you to move forward without knowing what you are working with. Isabel is a colour recognized in Europe, similar to Porcelain here, but not exactly the same. Porcelain (in Silkies) as I understand it, is usually a Buff/Lavender combination. Given that what you are getting seems to be rather an unknown hodge-podge, nothing whatsoever is stopping you from breeding whatever suits your fancy. Phenotypes (the way things appear) can be very deceiving. Without knowing what went into the "soup" it's VERY hard to make recommendations on what to add. You may just have to be a bit of an artist!
Some of the folks at The Coop are very good at figuring out at least partial genotype based upon phenotype. Con't figure it out exactly as there is usually more than one "recipe" to make a variety.

(For example, I was pondering in my head whether you could create a porcelain look-alike using multiple diluters (some for red, some for black) rather than lavender. And how close a phenotype you could get to the lav/lav porcelains.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: As many birds and other animals as are shipped, it is actually amazing that as many arrive in great condition as do. The PO tracking system is archaeic compared to those used by UPS and FedEx (when it's not doing PO shipments) and other shippers. A few years back we had an order of something coming in, and I don't recall why, but I needed to find out exactly where the shipment was. FedEx literally managed to get me in contact with the specific driver of the truck it was in, and it did not take all that long to accomplish.

 

[thedragonlady]

Last night when I got home around 9pm, I checked on the quarantined silkies and my heart dropped when I saw the splash boy. He didn't look well at all. Sadly..he passed during the night.
I am so sad and so upset...I'm even angry. This little guy was perfectly healthy when the breeder shipped him along with the others. The Post Office used a commercial airline instead of Fed Ex and that caused a huge problem. There was no tracking number and no way to find out where the heck our silkes were "lost".
One gorgeous pullet arrived dead, this little guy was passing blood and the other 4 were half dead. Out of 6 birds, I now have 4 with compromised immune systems, possibly favus? and God only knows what else. Who knows if they will even be fertile after almost dying? Dehydration and heat stroke has to have taken a toll on them. I felt like an animal rescue worker the last three weeks, tube feeding, providing care and comfort.
The Post Office needs to adopt an Arrive Alive policy for live animal shipments. This shouldn't be happening! It's just not fair for animals to be treated like inanimate objects. Anyone know if there is any recourse for me with the Post Office? These animals were shipped Express with supposed guaranteed delivery times.
Tina G.

It is heart breaking to loose birds due to a USPS screw up. BUT, remember one very important thing. ........ The USPS is the only act in this country to ship birds, or eggs, economically. If they get too many complaints, and decide to stop shipping eggs and birds, WHAT THEN!!! Careful everybody !!

 

[Adoravachick]

It's very hard to know how to recommend for you to move forward without knowing what you are working with. Isabel is a colour recognized in Europe, similar to Porcelain here, but not exactly the same. Porcelain (in Silkies) as I understand it, is usually a Buff/Lavender combination. Given that what you are getting seems to be rather an unknown hodge-podge, nothing whatsoever is stopping you from breeding whatever suits your fancy. Phenotypes (the way things appear) can be very deceiving. Without knowing what went into the "soup" it's VERY hard to make recommendations on what to add. You may just have to be a bit of an artist!

I will find out their backrounds and get back to you guys

. thanks

 

[littlecritters]

Thank you everyone for your kind words. It's so nice to have silkie friends that understand. Hugs, Tina

 

[LaPetiteFarmer]

I feel really bad and I am really sorry for what you and your family are going through. It is heartbreaking not only witnessing the conditions they arrived but also dealing with the issue every single day. Thank you for not giving up and staying strong

 

[stoopid]

Not that I am a fan of the USPS, but the breeder shipped out the birds on a Thursday.
As soon as I heard that, my heart sunk, knowing what goes on in shipping anything.

Hugs again.

 

[KMHunter]

Not that I am a fan of the USPS, but the breeder shipped out the birds on a Thursday.
As soon as I heard that, my heart sunk, knowing what goes on in shipping anything.

Hugs again.

In listening to some of my other friends who have shipped birds and/or had birds shipped to them, I made a decision to never have birds shipped nor ship birds any later than Wednesday morning. If USPS stops delivering on Saturdays in the future then I would probably ship no later than Tuesday, preferably a Monday.
I got silkies shipped to me in WA from FL. They were shipped on Wednesday morning. The estimatied delivery was for Friday, they got here on Thursday around noon, in great shape.
I do think we have to be aware of the limitations and mistakes that can happen when shipping live animals. And Dragonlady is right, they will stop shipping live animals and eggs if we go after them every time something bad happens. Most of the time, they do a good job and birds make it just fine. It's just sad and frustrating when something bad happens to your "babies".

I for one don't want to have to fly somewhere across the country or anywhere that is just too long of a drive, to pick up birds. I do wish they would upgrade their tracking system more to the level of UPS. Just my humble opinion.

 

[marquisella]

In listening to some of my other friends who have shipped birds and/or had birds shipped to them, I made a decision to never have birds shipped nor ship birds any later than Wednesday morning. If USPS stops delivering on Saturdays in the future then I would probably ship no later than Tuesday, preferably a Monday.
I got silkies shipped to me in WA from FL. They were shipped on Wednesday morning. The estimatied delivery was for Friday, they got here on Thursday around noon, in great shape.
I do think we have to be aware of the limitations and mistakes that can happen when shipping live animals. And Dragonlady is right, they will stop shipping live animals and eggs if we go after them every time something bad happens. Most of the time, they do a good job and birds make it just fine. It's just sad and frustrating when something bad happens to your "babies".

I for one don't want to have to fly somewhere across the country or anywhere that is just too long of a drive, to pick up birds. I do wish they would upgrade their tracking system more to the level of UPS. Just my humble opinion.

The post office will not guarantee animals anymore, even though they will say they are guaranteed by a certain date. The reason is, I am told, that the PO has no control over the shipper they use, Fed Exp. and when situations might change in the Fed Exp shipping, ie: flights cancelled due to weather, etc. They won't be responsible for the delays that could cause animals deaths, and are out of their control.

That said, I would go back on the person who sent the birds...Anyone who knows about shipping birds, doesn't ship that late in the week for that same reason, if there are delays, it will be even longer over the weekend. Iwould go back to the person you got them from and expect a refund from them for shipping too lating in the week for the birds safety.

How do you know the PO used a commercial airline? That sounds off to me. Everyone who ships animals, should know that there is always the risk of the animal dying. Make sure you are in agreement with the shipper as to when they are to be shipped to make sure there is enough time. Then, keep your fingers crossed....

Last night when I got home around 9pm, I checked on the quarantined silkies and my heart dropped when I saw the splash boy. He didn't look well at all. Sadly..he passed during the night.
I am so sad and so upset...I'm even angry. This little guy was perfectly healthy when the breeder shipped him along with the others. The Post Office used a commercial airline instead of Fed Ex and that caused a huge problem. There was no tracking number and no way to find out where the heck our silkes were "lost".
One gorgeous pullet arrived dead, this little guy was passing blood and the other 4 were half dead. Out of 6 birds, I now have 4 with compromised immune systems, possibly favus? and God only knows what else. Who knows if they will even be fertile after almost dying? Dehydration and heat stroke has to have taken a toll on them. I felt like an animal rescue worker the last three weeks, tube feeding, providing care and comfort.
The Post Office needs to adopt an Arrive Alive policy for live animal shipments. This shouldn't be happening! It's just not fair for animals to be treated like inanimate objects. Anyone know if there is any recourse for me with the Post Office? These animals were shipped Express with supposed guaranteed delivery times.
Tina G.