Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[Sanna]

Quote: Would you let us know if this stuff works? I have a little pullet that has a little bit of the same crusty looking stuff on her wattle on the left side of her face. I think it is due to the sniffles she has. Her eye has been watering, as well as the nostrils. I could be wrong but that's what it looks like because the crust is only in the are where the discharge from her eye and nostril was.

 

[peepblessed]

Well, I took some picture of my girl who has very flaky, dry skin and I have been applying some vaginal cream but it actually look even worse to me. It seems to be too strong for her. Sorry. she looks terrible with oily and creamy stuff all over her. Anyway what else could i do? Should I stop the cream and try vaseline instead? It doesn't seem to be contagious at all so that is a good thing, but I really need to fix her though.

Hope you get some help with this. I would not breed the double toe nail but if she is awesome in every other way it's a tough decision.

 

[liljunie]

I apologize in advance if this is off topic. I am new to silkies and am wondering how old does a chick have to be to determine, show, breeder or pet quality. I think I know the obvious answer for pet quality chicks with 4 or 6 toes or a twisted beak. Is there any way to judge quality in chicks or do you have to let them grow to see what develops? I recently hatched 2 silkies that are a week old and have more in the incubator. I want to start a good quality breeding stock so plan to only keep the best for breeding. I guess the real question is at what age do you usually cull?
Thank you!!

 

[groundpecker]

I apologize in advance if this is off topic. I am new to silkies and am wondering how old does a chick have to be to determine, show, breeder or pet quality. I think I know the obvious answer for pet quality chicks with 4 or 6 toes or a twisted beak. Is there any way to judge quality in chicks or do you have to let them grow to see what develops? I recently hatched 2 silkies that are a week old and have more in the incubator. I want to start a good quality breeding stock so plan to only keep the best for breeding. I guess the real question is at what age do you usually cull?
Thank you!!

For a beginner, you would want to let them grow about 6 months before culling "except for very obvious traits". As you raise a few generations, you will learn to spot the bad traits earlier than now and cull accordingly. Just because a birds has a less desirable trait, does not mean it cannot be bred to make excellent offspring.

Different breeders use different times and methods of breeding and culling. It takes wisdom to make a correct decision, and that takes time to learn the faults the line may produce.

I really suggest letting them grow up, attend a few shows, and do as much research as you can before culling for "non-obvious" traits.

 

[ChicksNherps]

Professional pictures from the Northeastern Poultry congress! Photographer David McIntyre was there doing professional photographs. He did 2 of them for free because he said my birds were the most well behaved and he wished all of the birds were just like them

 

[dwegg]

Professional pictures from the Northeastern Poultry congress! Photographer David McIntyre was there doing professional photographs. He did 2 of them for free because he said my birds were the most well behaved and he wished all of the birds were just like them

wow those are amazing pics...so beautiful...

 

[setir052083]

Gorgeous pictures ! Did he take them on black velour? I missed the Congress his year but I will be there nex year!

 

[peepblessed]

Professional pictures from the Northeastern Poultry congress! Photographer David McIntyre was there doing professional photographs. He did 2 of them for free because he said my birds were the most well behaved and he wished all of the birds were just like them

Wow! Really impressive photos!! Excellent!! Ice looks self-blue in this photo.

 

[LaPetiteFarmer]

Would you let us know if this stuff works? I have a little pullet that has a little bit of the same crusty looking stuff on her wattle on the left side of her face. I think it is due to the sniffles she has. Her eye has been watering, as well as the nostrils. I could be wrong but that's what it looks like because the crust is only in the are where the discharge from her eye and nostril was.

I definitely will. I bought it this morning and also got a bottle of "Aveeno skin relief shower and bath oil". I gave her a bath and her scaly, dry and flaky skin is only located in her face and throat. I massaged her as much as I could and applied some vaseline. I am going to go to the feed store and get some Ivermectin because my only option now are scaly mites.

 

[ChicksNherps]

I definitely will. I bought it this morning and also got a bottle of "Aveeno skin relief shower and bath oil". I gave her a bath and her scaly, dry and flaky skin is only located in her face and throat. I massaged her as much as I could and applied some vaseline. I am going to go to the feed store and get some Ivermectin because my only option now are scaly mites.

is it IN her throat? If it is, she may actually have canker. Check the inside of her throat and see if you can see any crusties inside her beak and in her throat.