Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[dwegg]

can you enter paints in a show? what do you enter them under? I was going to enter my roo...is it called 'exhibition'...do they place among themselves and just not get ribbons ect?

 

[Me & Jack]

Still waiting on clarification from the APA on their definition of split wing -- have left several messages with several people and have heard back from none of them (???). Have heard from a multitude of breeders who have differing opinions on what constitutes split wing, although those who read the SOP definition as it is written agree that it says the permanent absence of the feather and follicle. Spoke to a judge who did not indicate he had read the definition but he seemed confident that split wing is any gap, regardless of cause, then he mentioned that judges will immediately look for the missing follicle if they see a wing with a gap. Not sure why they would look for it if it doesn't matter what the cause is, so that kind of makes me wonder. Several breeders have referred to "true split wing" as meaning the missing feather/follicle---which suggests that there is a definition of split wing used that is somehow not the "true" definition.

So, that's where we stand for now. Still working on this, though. There needs to be some consensus, and so far I haven't found any. Unfortunately, this means the question of what, exactly, constitutes split wing is still up in the air. I shall not rest...LOL

 

[aoxa]

Still waiting on clarification from the APA on their definition of split wing -- have left several messages with several people and have heard back from none of them (???). Have heard from a multitude of breeders who have differing opinions on what constitutes split wing, although those who read the SOP definition as it is written agree that it says the permanent absence of the feather and follicle. Spoke to a judge who did not indicate he had read the definition but he seemed confident that split wing is any gap, regardless of cause, then he mentioned that judges will immediately look for the missing follicle if they see a wing with a gap. Not sure why they would look for it if it doesn't matter what the cause is, so that kind of makes me wonder. Several breeders have referred to "true split wing" as meaning the missing feather/follicle---which suggests that there is a definition of split wing used that is somehow not the "true" definition.

So, that's where we stand for now. Still working on this, though. There needs to be some consensus, and so far I haven't found any. Unfortunately, this means the question of what, exactly, constitutes split wing is still up in the air. I shall not rest...LOL

 

 

[Hawkeye95]

oh just found this thread...can anyone critique this little splash 5 and a half month old

Beautiful; nice crest and cushion. But I can't see the wings or the feet. Doesn't matter how great the bird looks-- if the wings are bad, then it's an over all bad deal. Go get a picture of her standing up on something all by her self. I always turn them over so I can see the back side of their feet to easily see each toe and then check for middle toe feathering. The wings, I gently open a bit to see which direction the feathers are growing in and look for gaps. I'm getting rid of a few of my birds just for wing issues alone and they are unfortunately turning out to look like amazing birds, so I'm really disappointed.

can you enter paints in a show? what do you enter them under? I was going to enter my roo...is it called 'exhibition'...do they place among themselves and just not get ribbons ect?

You can enter them in AOV. (all other varieties) So they are basically project birds, but you can still show them. I have clerked for a judge on only ONE show. We didn't have any AOV's show up, so I don't know how they judge them. I know we judge each bird by itself to SOP, and then he marks the best birds on their cards, and then he goes back to look at the entire class and ONLY chooses from the birds he marked for SOP to place in that class. Once that is done, he will take the best bantam of each class and compare them all to place for best bantam. THEN, he goes around and takes best LF, waterfowl, bantam, etc.. and which ever bird conforms best to SOP in the barn wins overall. We had a DUCK take best out of the barn over all other birds. So your bird has many chances to shine-- BUT they obviously must be as close as possible to SOP to even compete at all.

Still waiting on clarification from the APA on their definition of split wing -- have left several messages with several people and have heard back from none of them (???). Have heard from a multitude of breeders who have differing opinions on what constitutes split wing, although those who read the SOP definition as it is written agree that it says the permanent absence of the feather and follicle. Spoke to a judge who did not indicate he had read the definition but he seemed confident that split wing is any gap, regardless of cause, then he mentioned that judges will immediately look for the missing follicle if they see a wing with a gap. Not sure why they would look for it if it doesn't matter what the cause is, so that kind of makes me wonder. Several breeders have referred to "true split wing" as meaning the missing feather/follicle---which suggests that there is a definition of split wing used that is somehow not the "true" definition.

So, that's where we stand for now. Still working on this, though. There needs to be some consensus, and so far I haven't found any. Unfortunately, this means the question of what, exactly, constitutes split wing is still up in the air. I shall not rest...LOL

Yeah, see what I mean??? This is very confusing! Maybe NO ONE knows what the exact deal is?? I bet that is why no one is answering you, because they don't know either! But I would love to know if a bird that has feathers growing in different directions is a split or called something else, or if they must be missing the feather entirely. I noticed 3 more growing out birds in my pen last night that have the same issue--- the secondaries are growing away from the primaries and are swept back and growing towards the body causing a split or gap in the wing. Bummer. This must be more common than I thought-- because I've noticed a lot of wing issues on the silkie thread when people just post pictures of their birds. They aren't even asking for critiques and I can spot wing issues. Are wings that difficult to breed out? It's an honest question! I'm worried!

 

[peepblessed]

Still waiting on clarification from the APA on their definition of split wing -- have left several messages with several people and have heard back from none of them (???). Have heard from a multitude of breeders who have differing opinions on what constitutes split wing, although those who read the SOP definition as it is written agree that it says the permanent absence of the feather and follicle. Spoke to a judge who did not indicate he had read the definition but he seemed confident that split wing is any gap, regardless of cause, then he mentioned that judges will immediately look for the missing follicle if they see a wing with a gap. Not sure why they would look for it if it doesn't matter what the cause is, so that kind of makes me wonder. Several breeders have referred to "true split wing" as meaning the missing feather/follicle---which suggests that there is a definition of split wing used that is somehow not the "true" definition.

So, that's where we stand for now. Still working on this, though. There needs to be some consensus, and so far I haven't found any. Unfortunately, this means the question of what, exactly, constitutes split wing is still up in the air. I shall not rest...LOL

I really appreciate you going to all this trouble and I'm sure everyone else does also.

 

[Abstrax]

Just picked up this black hen yesterday, she will be 2 in October. Would love a critique on her.

 

[peepblessed]

Just picked up this black hen yesterday, she will be 2 in October. Would love a critique on her.

I think she has very nice type. Hard to see well but looks like she carries her wings well. If she always carries her neck stretched, I don't think that is good but probably she's just reacting to a strange surrounding. I like a larger crest but the SOP calls for medium and this looks medium to me. You would be the one to check her wings and feet. She looks very black except that last shot. Does she have some light under fluff making her dark blue?

 

[dwegg]

Thanks for the info Hawkeye...I have seen and read where people have posted about the feet and wings and will try and check mine...thanks...

Why and how do people use 'pink spray' I think they call it or olive oil spray on their birds for a show....and people always talk about clipping nails and beaks...should they just be short or a certain shape?

 

[Hawkeye95]

Just picked up this black hen yesterday, she will be 2 in October. Would love a critique on her.

She looks like her back might be a bit long-- does she ever hold herself together, or is this how she looks? If she puts her head down and back, then I'm betting she would look a LOT better in type. I agree with Peep-- maybe she is looking long because she is unfamiliar with her surroundings? I have a bird that has this same size crest that I've shown twice now-- and at BOTH shows the judges told me her crest was too small. So just passing that on-- her crest is pretty decent but she won't win against someone with a bigger crest. But I bet she would make a great breeder! Over all, you got a very nice bird there, and I'd be happy with her. But yeah, you'll need to check wings and feet and check her undercoat to make sure she is really a black. Not all birds that appear black are actually black...
this is a BLUE of mine..

ETA-- just wanted to add that your new bird has a GREAT chest on her.

added to again--- the more I look at that First picture of her-- I don't really think her back is that long. It really looks pretty good and I'm thinking that she was a little freaked out during your photo session and her raised head is throwing the body off.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks for the info Hawkeye...I have seen and read where people have posted about the feet and wings and will try and check mine...thanks...
Why and how do people use 'pink spray' I think they call it or olive oil spray on their birds for a show....and people always talk about clipping nails and beaks...should they just be short or a certain shape?

I'll tell you what I do, and then I'm sure everyone does it differently! First I wash and then blow dry out. Then on show day, I have been using the Pink Oil. It is a light weight Hair spray and it's supposed to make them a bit shiny at the same time. I've used it for a couple of shows and then decided that maybe it's weighing the feathers down a bit. I wasn't sure or not if that was the case. I used it to fluff their tails and cushions and spray. It did seem to keep the hold, but after a while, I wasn't really pleased with it. I'm not sure if I'm using it wrong or not. So I'm not sold on the Pink Oil. But you do want to try to tease and fluff the tails up nice and big. But don't take a comb and reverse tease like in the 80's-- more of a finger tease and fluff is what I've been doing. There is probably a better way, so hopefully Janine or anyone else who has been showing longer will have a better tip on that one.

Don't know why this has loaded sideways, but this is what I've been using.

You can do a light file job on the end of the beak just to take it down a bit (if they need it) and shape it. Don't go over board on this! I file from under-- not a lot of the top. Then rub clear baby oil back on the beak when you're done. I also trim nails, but WOW, either I'm really bad at it, or they are just bleeders!!

Okay, I'm guessing I'm really bad at it, but I still trim them down. I just use a dog clipper for the nails-- the kind that comes down like a guillotine and I just take off the very tips... and even though I'm not taking much off, they still bleed... EVERY time. Bleah. So now I have a styptic pen on hand. It is a blood stop and you buy it at Walmart in the Razor aisle (men's section). There are a bunch of "pencils" below the razors that you can use to stop the flow of blood. If you are going to trim nails, go get that. If you have my luck, you'll need it. Anyway, on the nails, all I'm going for is to take off the spikey end. Don't go cutting off a whole bunch.

Now... I hope someone who shows a LOT will pipe up and give us their run down.