Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[dwegg]

I just bathed my three girls for the show tomorrow and one of my blues have 6 toes...well at least a definate toe nail...not really a toe...I just don't know how I missed that...well she will not be going now and I am bummed I only have two to take...oh well...

My splash has a lot of waxy pins on her head when I was washing her and I couldn't get them off as I have no fingernails..not a good night...:/

 

[ChicksNherps]

I just bathed my three girls for the show tomorrow and one of my blues have 6 toes...well at least a definate toe nail...not really a toe...I just don't know how I missed that...well she will not be going now and I am bummed I only have two to take...oh well...

My splash has a lot of waxy pins on her head when I was washing her and I couldn't get them off as I have no fingernails..not a good night...

do you have a wire slicker? I find it works good for wax pin feathers

 

[peepblessed]

She is so gorgeous! And coming from a BBS, wow she is stunning!

I forgot she is actually from a Blue/splash pen so had to be a blue x blue. Thanks again!

I just bathed my three girls for the show tomorrow and one of my blues have 6 toes...well at least a definate toe nail...not really a toe...I just don't know how I missed that...well she will not be going now and I am bummed I only have two to take...oh well...

My splash has a lot of waxy pins on her head when I was washing her and I couldn't get them off as I have no fingernails..not a good night...

Oh that was a tough discovery! Hope the show is awesome and makes up for your disappointment!

 

[peepblessed]

I gave a bath to my blue and supposed black and i could see the difference. I took some pictures of the black, let's see if you think the undercoat is black enough

It may be the pictures but it doesn't look dark enough for black.

 

[cvchickies10]

I need some pointers on this guy. #1. I've never shown a silkie. Perpetration practice has commenced. I gave him his first bath today. I didn't place any emphasis on getting his color back bright white. I just wanted to get the first layer of yuck off from this week long rain and see how well he would tolerated being washed. I used dog wash. I've done my best at making sure he didn't have any possible DQ issues.

If you see any please let me know. I'm defiantly no expert on silkie breed standards. I did a bad job at getting all the soap out of this tail and he's a tad wet.

When I look up photos of breed standard I see these beautiful round puffs. I also see photos similar to his. I'm completely confused.

The tail worried me the most.

Compared to some, I'd say he's a bit leggy?

But I can't help but love his face!!!!

Should I even bother though? He was hatched July 9th. From what I read he may or may not be old enough.

Any tips & tricks on whitening his coat? How to manage his tail etc? Any advice would be a god send.

 

[ChicksNherps]

I need some pointers on this guy. #1. I've never shown a silkie. Perpetration practice has commenced. I gave him his first bath today. I didn't place any emphasis on getting his color back bright white. I just wanted to get the first layer of yuck off from this week long rain and see how well he would tolerated being washed. I used dog wash. I've done my best at making sure he didn't have any possible DQ issues.

If you see any please let me know. I'm defiantly no expert on silkie breed standards. I did a bad job at getting all the soap out of this tail and he's a tad wet.

When I look up photos of breed standard I see these beautiful round puffs. I also see photos similar to his. I'm completely confused.

The tail worried me the most.

Compared to some, I'd say he's a bit leggy?

But I can't help but love his face!!!!

Should I even bother though? He was hatched July 9th. From what I read he may or may not be old enough.

Any tips & tricks on whitening his coat? How to manage his tail etc? Any advice would be a god send.

His tail is all hard feathers, but being a non-bearded he may do okay in a show. There tend to not be too many non-beardeds and they aren't quiet up to par as the beardeds type wise. How many toes does he have? Also, check his wings, pull them out gently and make sure there are no large gaps or twisted feathers. His foot feathering looks to be decent enough so that is good. Next time you bathe him use a little dawn and scrub the top of his head to remove those waxy pin feathers, so he is all fluff no wax.

for whitening, I just bought this horse shampoo called vetrolin white and bright, it works pretty well but you have to really lather it in or it will stain his feathers. I found that true white shampoo by top performance also works well.

 

[thedragonlady]

It may be the pictures but it doesn't look dark enough for black.

X 2 ! This is often the problem in BBS birds when you keep using what are really dark blue birds instead of true blacks. It seems to me that now everyone is gung ho on BBS. Why? If you loose your true blacks in the breed, they really will be just that...LOST. Infusion of true black blood will help a BBS pen every time. Please read the standard on BLUE, and SELF BLUE. They are different.

 

[cvchickies10]

Thank you so much!!!! I was sad to see they weren't going to look like the beautiful birds on this forum. We have a bearded female and her waddle is uneven so she went right back out after I brought her in to inspect. I already warned my husband he will probably have to buy me a really nice pair at this show if there are any there. I think we may have gaps in a wing. I'm going to go double check right now. We have plenty of other breeds that may do better. Ive just fallen in love with this breed. Even people who hate poultry love my silkies. Any suggestions on who to be looking out for breeder wise? We are going to the NW GA show on Feb 2nd. I'm really fond of this look.

 

[cvchickies10]

No gaps!! But I really messed up his tail. Going to wash him up again tonight. I think my tubs were to small.

We have 5 toes, all toe nails & no double nails but the 5th toe doesn't look even in setting with each other. They are both coming from the fourth. He's such a good sport. So the wisps on his head need to be preened?

 

[LaPetiteFarmer]

X 2 ! This is often the problem in BBS birds when you keep using what are really dark blue birds instead of true blacks. It seems to me that now everyone is gung ho on BBS. Why? If you loose your true blacks in the breed, they really will be just that...LOST. Infusion of true black blood will help a BBS pen every time. Please read the standard on BLUE, and SELF BLUE. They are different.

This bird is supposed to be from a black X black but I still have have my doubt lol. I will do some tests anyways just to be sure.
I agree with you on keeping black and black and that is the reason why I am doing my best not to make the mistake to add a dark blue in my black pen.