Silkie colors

[JacinLarkwell]

I'm planning on getting Partridge, Grey and Buff silkies.

My original plan was to have 1 pair of Patridge, 1 pair of Grey and a buff girl with each pair.

Will I still possibly get buffs from these mixes or would it be better to just have 3 pairs?

 

[NNYchick]

This was a post from pine hill silkies that explains breeding for pure colors. You might find it helpful, I did.
Breeding Responsively:

There seems to be a lot of talk about what colors to breed together... or not... As a person who breeds to 'show', I tend to be a bit of a purest... But here's some tips on what happens when certain varieties (colors) are crossed and what that means later on down the line...

What NOT to cross:

Paint to Buff - Will most likely add black (smut) or Partridge traits to Buff chicks and red (DQ) into paints and/or black birds!

Buff to Black - Buff silkies should be a lovely even shade of orange / gold. [Think Buff Orpington]. It's very hard to breed black (smut) out of buffs, as it keeps popping up for multiple generations, ruining a buff line.

Buff to Blue- or Blue to Blue Cream. Blue Cream is a delicate balance of Lavender (Self Blue) and Buff. Self Blue is NOT blue.. So folks that are trying to get Blue Cream out of blue genetics (instead of Self Blue) are going to end up with Wheaton based Blue Partridge looking birds.

Buff to Partridge - Wheaton Partridge is okay, but not the SOP and more importantly, Partridge will add black into the buffs.

Paints to Blue - Will add diluters into the black spots of the Paints making Paints "look" like blue splash silkies. And again, most likely, will add the red gene into blue birds.

Any 'red gene' (Partridge, Red Pyle, Red, Red Buff etc).. into Greys, Blues or Pure Black or Paint - No, they are not "Calico's". It's introducing a DQ (red) into a solid line. This red may show back up many many generations down the line... It's a nightmare for SOP breeders.

Here's are some accepted crosses:

Paint or Gray to Silver based solid (recessive) White or Black

Black to Blue or Splash

Buff to Buff - breeding lighter to darker birds

Grey to Grey - breeding lighter to darker birds

These are just simple suggestions... I'm not here to police everyone's breeding program!

And even though you may fancy yourself as an amature backyard breeder.. no one keeps all of their chicks, year after year. So if you love the breed... it would help everyone on down the line, if folks were a bit more careful about what they are sending out into the "market" as a pure Silkie... Those hidden genetics will pop back up, and if a future buyer decides to get serious about a breeding program.. it could make a huge difference in how well they do...

Just something to think about...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

And even though you may fancy yourself as an amature backyard breeder.. no one keeps all of their chicks, year after year. So if you love the breed... it would help everyone on down the line, if folks were a bit more careful about what they are sending out into the "market" as a pure Silkie... Those hidden genetics will pop back up, and if a future buyer decides to get serious about a breeding program.. it could make a huge difference in how well they do...

Just something to think about...

I eat my extras, so no need to worry about being careful about what others breed for.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

But thank you for the info. So I should just have 3 pairs instead of 2 mixed trios?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

But thank you for the info. So I should just have 3 pairs instead of 2 mixed trios?

Two trio.. not mixed.

Or three pairs..

Why do the extra hatching/rearing/processing with all the crossing there's PLENTY of culls when breeding toward the SOP.. With NO way to discern the buff eggs from the others... DO what YOU love.. this get's exhausting.. I know!

Breeding high quality buffs in anything is more challenging than it appears from everything I read. If you want buffs.. DON'T cross them!

Plus.. how are you going to guarantee the gender and have just a pair of each.. I wonder?!

When ordering from someplace like Purely Poultry etc.. there is a HUGE variation in quality.. are you getting bearded or non bearded? If you're going to order a bunch and grow them out and keep the best of the best and eat or sell the rest.. then NO problem!

Have you already used this basic calculator? It can tell you some simple things about your first generation crosses.. The second drop down tab is in English..
color calculator

Pairs are really meant to be short term for mating.. long term.. maybe not ideal.. consider keeping a stag pen and a hen pen and swapping in JUST the rooster you want to hatch from.. still no way to discern who's eggs to keep separate and not hatch a bunch of extra crosses.. But if you didn't wan't to raise them out.. they could always be culled and used as compost, fertilizer, snake or barn cat food, etc if you could identify the non conforming colored ones at hatch.. DON'T berate me for the suggestion, just do as YOU see fit, please!

And you probably do know that grey in Silkies is not the smokey grey color seen in most blue birds.. right? Just making sure.

Happy adventure!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Two trio.. not mixed.

Or three pairs..

Why do the extra hatching/rearing/processing with all the crossing there's PLENTY of culls when breeding toward the SOP..
I don't breed towards the SOP. If I did, I wouldn't be asking if I could get buffs from these crosses
With NO way to discern the buff eggs from the others... DO what YOU love.. this get's exhausting.. I know!

I figured when they hatched I'd know what each chick was. All three look very different.

Breeding high quality buffs in anything is more challenging than it appears from everything I read. If you want buffs.. DON'T cross them!

Plus.. how are you going to guarantee the gender and have just a pair of each.. I wonder?!

I'm ordering extras of each and planning to eat or sell these extras since they're only from certain color pens

When ordering from someplace like Purely Poultry etc.. there is a HUGE variation in quality.. are you getting bearded or non bearded? If you're going to order a bunch and grow them out and keep the best of the best and eat or sell the rest.. then NO problem!

Have you already used this basic calculator? It can tell you some simple things about your first generation crosses.. The second drop down tab is in English..
color calculator
I've tried for months now and can't figure it out.
Pairs are really meant to be short term for mating.. long term.. maybe not ideal.. consider keeping a stag pen and a hen pen and swapping in JUST the rooster you want to hatch from.. still no way to discern who's eggs to keep separate and not hatch a bunch of extra crosses.. But if you didn't wan't to raise them out.. they could always be culled and used as compost, fertilizer, snake or barn cat food, etc if you could identify the non conforming colored ones at hatch.. DON'T berate me for the suggestion, just do as YOU see fit, please!

I absolutely loath male pens. I refuse to keep them. I'm much more willing to just have multiple housing places for smaller groups. Not berating because I use some cull chicks for feed for birds and reptiles. Also I'm moving in a few years and can't take most or probably any of my live birds so I'll be introducing new blood to my eggs I hatch in my new home

And you probably do know that grey in Silkies is not the smokey grey color seen in most blue birds.. right? Just making sure.
yes, I know. Loath the solid lavender/blue and splash color in birds so I was very careful to see these looked different than that

Happy adventure!

 

[NNYchick]

It’s really hard to sort chicks based on how they look at hatch and not knowing what parents they came from or the parents genetic background i learned the hard way it’s heartbreaking to not do your homework first. I absolutely love grays I grew out a trio and hatched a bunch of chicks all of them ended up with red leakage I was so disappointed. The parents didn’t have any leakage but the breeder I got them from must have mixed colors. It was a waste of 2 whole years growing out the trio and then hatching 50 feeding them and growing them out only to have 50 culls. This was the trio. I decided I’ll wait on grays till I know more about genetics and can secure a breeder/mentor that breeds them correctly.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

You could get buff chicks, yes. If all you’re wanting is colorful chicks. There will be many that are combo-colors, too. But if you are trying to get the best quality color and work toward the SOP, I would breed buff to buff

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Then I'll just seperate my hatcher. Anyways, the question wasn't why I needed to know who laid what exact egg. The question was if I would get a buff from mixing a buff with a partridge or a grey. That's all I was asking.

I keep saying it, I'm not breeding to the SOP.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

Then I'll just seperate my hatcher. Anyways, the question wasn't why I needed to know who laid what exact egg. The question was if I would get a buff from mixing a buff with a partridge or a grey. That's all I was asking.

I keep saying it, I'm not breeding to the SOP.

Then short answer? Yes. Buff and some other very interesting colors, too. Exactly what depends on what they’ve got on the family tree