Silkie doves

[poultrykeeper08]

Does anybody have any experience with silkie doves ?
I bought a dove with 2 others but this one is different . I thought it's feathers were all messy from being in the box but he's Been in a pen since Monday and his feathers are loose and messy still .

I've tried rubbing the feathers in one direction to see if they would go back and they don't

Do they need any extra care ? If bred to a normal ringneck dove what will the offspring be ?

Any info appreciated

 

[larrylofts]

Silkie Doves Are Easy To Care For Just Remeber They Do Not Fly Well And Need A Pen Were They Are Not On The Ground And Can Walk Were They Need To Go Feed And Water Dishes Low For Them To Reach Do Not Mate Silkie To Silkie Normal To Silkie With Some Of The Offspring Being Silkie Some Normal And Some Normal Looking But Carrying Silkie Gene

 

[95yj]

silky care is pretty much like other ringneck doves, some of them can't fly well, others can fly just as well as a smooth feathered bird. I have a hypothesis that flight skill is largely based on the opportunity to learn, all my cage raised birds (silky and smooth) are terrible flyers yet my birds raised out of cages are excellent. I believe that they're are varying degrees of silkiness because i'v found birds that are kind of in between silky and smooth and then birds that are uber-fluffy, but its difficult to find much information beyond the basics.
You should breed a silky to a smooth, i believe the gene is co-dominant so you'll get a mix of silky and smooth, if you breed two silky's they will breed but the babies end up looking like porcupines and can't stay warm or fly at all.

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

Never breed silky to silky. Silky in doves and pigeons is like frizzle in chickens. Pure (homozygous) silkies will look like porcupines and have very poor quality, brittle feathers and not be as healthy. Doves who only have one gene for it will still appear silky, but they will be the pretty kind you are looking for. Breeding one to a normal dove will give you about half and half.

Silky doves aren't as good at flying, some are, and some can't fly at all. It just depends on how they are. The amount of silkiness to their feathers can vary, even if they only have one gene for it. Better to keep them in something similar to a rabbit hutch rather than a loft since they will stay on or near the floor anyways. Otherwise, they don't require any different care than other doves.