Silkie breeding

[chickenkeeper12]

Hello everybody, I have 4 white silkies right now. I have one roo and 3 hens. They are 16 weeks old right now. I am getting 6 more silkies, the colors I'm getting are 2 black, 2 splash, and hopefully a couple buff. Since I'm not going to be showing my silkies I was wondering if it is all right to breed the different colors. Im not sure if you guys will know this but what colors would I get if I breed a,
White and buff
White and black
White and splash

Also when do silkie hens start to lay and when does a silkie rooster start to crow?

Thanks

 

[groundpecker]

first of all, i would suggest looking up the Standard of Perfection on silkies for showing and breeding traits.

I would keep the varieties pure..meaning breed white to white, buff to buff and so on.

Silkie pullets usually start to lay around 6-8 months depending on the time of year.

roosters will crow about a month or two before the hens start to lay, at least mine do.

 

[chickenkeeper12]

The thing is I don't want to show them so would it be all right to breed the different colors?

 

[groundpecker]

Sure you can breed however you want then. Just keep up with which cock you mated with which hen and the chicks they produced. This way you can breed them again, and pick which outcome you liked the best.

 

[aoxa]

Breed all your colours. Any silkie sells. Doesn't need to meet the SOP, but I would not breed any with deformities.

White to anything is a crapshoot. You can never tell. White covers any colour and it's always a surprise. You may end up with some standard colours. I have when crossing my different colours. I started for fun and actually ended up with birds I could show.





From a blue x buff mating I got some partridge. I will breed them to their own colour now and see what happens.

 

[chickenkeeper12]

So your saying that breeding white with a color will be pure white or it will look bad?
BTW thanks for the pics and the colors you bred

 

[aoxa]

So your saying that breeding white with a color will be pure white or it will look bad?
BTW thanks for the pics and the colors you bred

I've never seen an ugly colour in a silkie - though I've seen ugly silkies.



Here are some more of what I got out of blue x buff (yes even the white!)


Here is one of the blues I started with. All 3 of my starting stock (pullets) are blue. 2 from one source, one from another.








The dad of all.