Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Hawkeye95]

Yes she most likely bred out the gold gene and bred in the silver into her whites. you don't notice it much between the two whites when say you visit a flock with gold gened whites and then go somewhere else to see silver gened whites...BUT put them together side by side and the difference is AMAZING. silver based whites hold up under the sun much better than golds, but they can still sunburn. they also hold up against yellow dyes in their food (corn and marigold)

Okay, so if that is the case-- that sounds great! So, my splash sunburned pretty badly this summer. Yellowed out the tips of the feathers horribly. Have you had issues with that too on BBS colors? This Fall I plan on building conditioning pens in my horse barn so they aren't in the sun anymore. But isn't that a PITA? Do you know of anyone breeding silver based blue and splash? What about black??

ETA-- oh, and am I insane, but I also think the sunburned feathers are more brittle, too!! Is that my imagination, or did that happen from the sun?

 

[peepblessed]

Two new pictures of my Catdance pullet that I took yesterday just short of five month birthday. She is panting and her wings are droopy but she is getting rounder and fluffy everyday! She does have a few dingy colored patches. Anyone know how serious that is?

 

[aoxa]

Two new pictures of my Catdance pullet that I took yesterday just short of five month birthday. She is panting and her wings are droopy but she is getting rounder and fluffy everyday! She does have a few dingy colored patches. Anyone know how serious that is?

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

So figure we could exercise some "snap shot" evaluations...

I know which birds are posing better, not posing well, moving around when I took these pictures....I want to see how everyone thinks about the 4 birds, one I'm bored and 2. we could all use the practical experience on eye evaluation and its neat to see how everyone sees birds similarly and differently

BUT in the pictures I do have, Rate the birds 1-4. who is expressing the best type, down to the 'worst' and why do you feel 1 is best and 4 is worst?

Chocolate


Fudge


Pudding


Penny

 

[mystdogs]

Two new pictures of my Catdance pullet that I took yesterday just short of five month birthday. She is panting and her wings are droopy but she is getting rounder and fluffy everyday! She does have a few dingy colored patches. Anyone know how serious that is?

She's a beauty! Can't wait to order eggs from Catdance...don't know if I'll be able to wait until the fall with all the beauties I've been seeing

 

[Hawkeye95]

So figure we could exercise some "snap shot" evaluations...

I know which birds are posing better, not posing well, moving around when I took these pictures....I want to see how everyone thinks about the 4 birds, one I'm bored and 2. we could all use the practical experience on eye evaluation and its neat to see how everyone sees birds similarly and differently

BUT in the pictures I do have, Rate the birds 1-4. who is expressing the best type, down to the 'worst' and why do you feel 1 is best and 4 is worst?

Chocolate


Fudge


Pudding


Penny

I'll play! I like the last bird best -- this one right here (Penny). Then the first bird pictured I'd say would be my #2 --Chocolate. One thing that I have just become aware of from my last show is that the judge pointed out how many silkies have sloping tails. If the tail slopes down, he deducts harshly. The first two don't seem to have that problem. I think this last bird has better color than the first, too. How old are Fudge and Pudding-- are they pretty young? My really young birds just don't develop those cushions until much later. The first bird seems off balance, too-- but that's likely from being stood on a stool? Looks like her right side is higher than the left. But that's just the way I'm seeing it in that picture. It does look like the Chocolate has a better chest, too...

 

[PNWGirl]

...... 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.

I, much, prefer styptic powder (although it might seem more expensive, I've had my current jar for 7 or 8 years and I use it on all my show dogs as well). (http://www.petco.com/product/6112/Kwik-Stop-Styptic-Powder.aspx ) I've used the pen and - for me- the powder is much easier to use and easier to add more, to the nail, if you get a gusher. You can also slow any bleeding by firmly putting pressure, to the toe, just behind the nail. Just keep in mind that a little pressure goes a long way.

I keep the end of a clean Q-tip in my mouth. If I catch a quick, I touch the wet end of the Q-tip into the powder and then to the bleeding. If you need more, that is easy to do. Just don't put the Q-tip back in your mouth :0 Stuff is nasty!!

I also like using this clipper (http://www.petco.com/product/10274/..._-JW Pet GripSoft Nail Clipper for Cats-10274 ) you have more control and I use this on my puppies as well.

Sheila

 

[CarolinaChickenKeeper]

Intoo have been told that silver genes whites are easier to keep clean looking too

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I'll play! I like the last bird best -- this one right here (Penny). Then the first bird pictured I'd say would be my #2 --Chocolate. One thing that I have just become aware of from my last show is that the judge pointed out how many silkies have sloping tails. If the tail slopes down, he deducts harshly. The first two don't seem to have that problem. I think this last bird has better color than the first, too. How old are Fudge and Pudding-- are they pretty young? My really young birds just don't develop those cushions until much later. The first bird seems off balance, too-- but that's likely from being stood on a stool? Looks like her right side is higher than the left. But that's just the way I'm seeing it in that picture. It does look like the Chocolate has a better chest, too...

Good eye, Chocolate is standing weird cause I had my finger in her face, and I think the angle I took the picture played a part in it.

I agree Chocolate and Penny are pretty close for taking 'best' of the four, Penny has the better color and nicer wing carriage in the picture, also she'd had a bath a few days ago, so shes in better 'condition' than the other 3 are.

Pudding is the youngest of the bunch, Penny is the oldest I believe right off the top of my head. Penny just naturally stood pretty, but she turned her head. bah. LOL Penny also has a lopsided crest at the moment, can't really see it in the picture well.

Tail slope - Good eye. Fudge kept tucking her tail down, she has a nice cushion but she was the absolutely most wigged out by the stool, and I fought her the hardest to stay still. LOL But yes in this picture her tail is tucked and sloped down.

 

[Brookiesbrooder]

Two new pictures of my Catdance pullet that I took yesterday just short of five month birthday. She is panting and her wings are droopy but she is getting rounder and fluffy everyday! She does have a few dingy colored patches. Anyone know how serious that is?

I cany wait until my 12 catdancers that are in my brooder fill out like this

......stunning