Silkie Combs question

[SundownWaterfowl]

Most breeders prefer the smooth combs on silkies without any bumps. But the
standard of perfection says this about the combs ""with a number of small
prominences over it,". So the comb should have bumps. If not, how do you breed
for smooth combs. Just breed them together, and then take the son that has the
smoothest comb, and so on.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I PMed you--I believe the rough texture is from one of the rose comb associated genes--some breeds have smoother rose combs and others are very "textured." Offhand I don't recall the specifics of what causes the difference.

So yes, one thing is to select for a smoother surface. The other is to breed in the pea comb gene if it is not already present. I do think it is present in a lot of silkies at this point, but at some previous time it apparently was not. Pea comb is associated with a prominant breast keel ridge, so that is perhaps one way of making an educated guess as to whether it is in your flock or not.