Silkie breeding, genetics & showing

[chickendales]

Thank you so much for this in depth info!
Haha! Pretty funny! You started it!!

i know lol

 

[chickendales]

X2. Even my grown LF don't like pellets.

my chickens dont either

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: melanized Asiatic partridges = e^b based blacks

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: When I have had the bantam sized pellets, they didn't seem to mind, but that may have been the flavour of the feed, as it was really good stuff

Personally I prefer to use pellets as there seems to be less waste, and that way it is easy at a glance to know what kind of feed I am looking at, or at least to narrow it down.

 

[littlecritters]

melanized Asiatic partridges = e^b based blacks

I still seem to have the question of how we can tell the genotype of a bird by its phenotype. Is Destinys rooster an e^b based black? And this is determined by looking at him? sorry to keep talking about blacks, but I really want to understand this.

 

[littlecritters]

Quote: I'd love to see a picture of your blue

Adora, Sorry I haven't gotten pics of the blue boy. I've been focused on trying to nurse several silkies that were shipped to us and got lost in the transportation process for a few days. Unfortunately, one stunning bird arrived dead and another bird suffered neurological damage due to the shipping delays (dehydration and possible stroke). Here is a pic of our poor little guy getting ready to be tube fed, all wrapped up in a sleeve from a sweatshirt. Dr Peter Brown from First State Vet Supplies suggested this helpful technique. He also shared important info that chickens don't have diaphragms like humans, so they can't be wrapped tight or they will literally suffocate.

 

[ChicksNherps]

you dont want use pellets on chicks under 4 months

In starter? Why would you want pellets? Even teh smallest pellets I have seen are too small for a newly hatched chick. Sometimes I find I need to grind the crumbles to mash for the first few days.

X2. Even my grown LF don't like pellets.

they are almost a year old, but I need to switch from layer to grower

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: There are some things you can tell from appearance, and others you cannot. A browner bird is either sunburned, has older feathers or is e^b. Not to say that an e^b can't be very black. Add enough of the right melanizers and you may be able to compete with the best. But most of the blackest birds seem to be E or E^R based from what I have seen of chick photos, breeding information passed on by the breeders, etc.

Chick down indicates some of the genes carried, and the e-allele is one that shows. Breeding records of offspring from the bird will also give clues, although you cannot discount that some of the genes may have come from the other parent (unless it is a sex-linked gene).

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Okay, from the way your posts read, we all thought you were feeding chicks, not adult birds. I've never een a pelleted grower ration; good luck!

 

[ChicksNherps]

Okay, from the way your posts read, we all thought you were feeding chicks, not adult birds. I've never een a pelleted grower ration; good luck!

I found some

http://blueseal.com/product/?id=134&species=Poultry&search=true