Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[chickendales]

With much respect, how can it be bull? He was absolutely correct about my bird. And he was right to DQ him, too. Or any other bird that weighed in too heavy or light. I didn't like it, but all the same, when I went home to weigh him, he was indeed over weight by several ounces and certainly not within the 20% weight allowance. Had I been more experienced and thought to weigh him before I left, I never would have taken an over weight bird to the show. This was my fault-- the fault of the owner. I look at it this way-- WE, as breeders, are responsible for ONLY bringing birds that meet the SOP. If our birds don't meet the SOP, then by what right should we be upset for being DQ'd? We need to always be ethical in our breeding and in who we select for our show birds. I have learned a lot by going to shows. These judges know their birds. This one in particular that DQ'd my bird on weight is VERY familiar with Silkies. He was an out of State judge that the show hired to come in. Judges are supposed to know the weight limit on all breeds and what that feels like. And if they judge many shows in a season, they know what they are doing. So far, all of the judges I've encountered have been much older, so I can only imagine how many years of experience they have had. They know what they are doing, whether they have picked up 20 birds or 200 that day. I'm not a judge-- and frankly never will be, there is no way I could pass the testing they have to do! So my respect for them is unequivocal; they deserve it.

Ultimately, we can not fault a judge for our own mistakes.

out of things i worry about with breeding silkies weight is low on my list at moment

 

[chickendales]

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Nice feet! can't tell much by the angle of the picture...hes pretty young though isn't he?


shes cute, she'd be a lot nicer if those wings were higher and tighter. how old? she looks really young?


Nice type, though shes 'taller/leggier' than I like hens to be.... I personally have always been a big fan of the dark partridge, even though SOP calls for bay/chestnut coloring as opposed to the darker brown. I really like her though Jesse

 

[chickendales]

thanks these new birds that young havent had them long so they didnt want hold still

 

[peepblessed]

Wow Peep!!!! You've gotta give that boy a try. GORGEOUS!!

Thanks!!

 

[peepblessed]

Peep-- I say GO for it! Or you can ship him down to me and I'll give him a test drive! hehehe! He's gorgeous!!! I mean.... REALLY!!! There is NO back on him and he has an insanely beautiful crest and comb!! I could go on and on about how beautiful he is. You HAVE to show him! This Fall, I hope you are feeling better so you can get out and show him!

Thanks so much! I was really hoping to be able to show this fall but I'm still not able to travel. I'm shooting for early next year now....)

 

[peepblessed]

Here is a discussion on another site about wry tail. It does not give a definitive cause, but thought you might like to see this --->
http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=105658#Post105658

Thanks!

 

[peepblessed]

I went to a local tailgate yesterday and I wasn't expecting to see any silkies. (there weren't any at the last tailgate) I brought 8 birds, came home with 2 hen of the original 8. Imagine my surprise when I got there and it was Silkieville, so many silkies! I saw some whites and blues that caught my eye while driving in, most everything else looked hatchery quality. I got there late so I was way at the back, so by the time they got to me, they had spent most of their money. When it was slow, I quickly made my way down to the silkies that I had scoped out on my way in. They were LOVELY birds! I couldn't believe my luck. I looked them ALL over, with the owners help, and picked out 6. He laughed and said "I have NEVER had someone at a tailgate be so thorough about checking the my birds. Most people just say pick out a "cute one" and walk away." I was afraid that I may have offended him a little by my approach. Turns out, he's an avid local breeder and shows regulary, so he wasn't offended at all. In fact, he seemed delighted. We talked shop, he told me all about his silkies and how he strives for the best. While these birds, many of them 4 or 5 months, had some filling out to do, they had TONS of potential. The foundation was there. I walked away with 2 splash hens, 1 blue hen, 1 blue roo, and a pair of whites and they were priced to move. $5 a piece! Can you believe it?!?! I will post some pics later. The gentlemen came down to my birds and he was very surprised with their quality, in fact, he wanted my blue roo until we talked about the comb. I said "This is why he is here, I don't want to breed that into my pen". He shook his head and said "That is a shame, everything else is there". Overall, it was a great day! Came home with some fantastic birds and made a couple of new friends. I just wanted to THANK YOU guys for your support and sharing all of your knowledge. I have learned so much!

Wow! Amazing! Congrats!!!

 

[tiki244]

I went to a local tailgate yesterday and I wasn't expecting to see any silkies. (there weren't any at the last tailgate)  I brought 8 birds, came home with 2 hen of the original 8.  Imagine my surprise when I got there and it was Silkieville, so many silkies!  I saw some whites and blues that caught my eye while driving in, most everything else looked hatchery quality.  I got there late so I was way at the back, so by the time they got to me, they had spent most of their money.  When it was slow, I quickly made my way down to the silkies that I had scoped out on my way in.   They were LOVELY birds!  I couldn't believe my luck.  I looked them ALL over, with the owners help, and picked out 6.  He laughed and said "I have NEVER had someone at a tailgate be so thorough about checking the my birds.  Most people just say pick out a "cute one" and walk away."  I was afraid that I may have offended him a little by my approach.  Turns out, he's an avid local breeder and shows regulary, so he wasn't offended at all.  In fact, he seemed delighted.  We talked shop, he told me all about his silkies and how he strives for the best.  While these birds, many of them 4 or 5 months, had some filling out to do, they had TONS of potential.  The foundation was there.  I walked away with 2 splash hens, 1 blue hen, 1 blue roo, and a pair of whites and they were priced to move.  $5 a piece!  Can you believe it?!?!  I will post some pics later.  The gentlemen came down to my birds and he was very surprised with their quality, in fact, he wanted my blue roo until we talked about the comb.  I said "This is why he is here, I don't want to breed that into my pen".  He shook his head and said "That is a shame, everything else is there".  Overall, it was a great day!  Came home with some fantastic birds and made a couple of new friends.  I just wanted to THANK YOU guys for your support and sharing all of your knowledge.  I have learned so much!

Sounds like a GREAT day!

 

[tiki244]

O thats funny peepblessed I was reading and didn't know you had posted that right above me! Now I gotta find this bird everyone is complementing.