Silkie thread!

[peepblessed]

Hello again Silkie fiends! I have another question, that's probably already been asked, if it has I apologize

So, in my search for birds, I've ended up with a gaggle of different colors and not enough space to keep them all separate

I've got b/b/s, which I'll gladly lump together. But I've also got whites, porcelain and what are supposed to be lavender (though to me they look white). Anyway, obviously the whites need their own pen, but can I house my porcelains and lavenders together without producing a bunch of crazy stuff? My understanding is porcelains are still lavender splits, and if I breed them to a lavender I'll get lavenders and more splits (porcelains), am I correct in my thinking or did I fudge what I think I read? I've found that in my mad scramble to buy adorable Silkies I just bought whatever I could find with no regards to color, so now I have to figure out what the heck I'm going to do with all of them. Thanks so much guys, what would us noos do without you!?!

From one silkie "fiend" to another!

Lavender chicks look very white as juveniles. Yes, you can house porcelain and lav together. You quickly find there just isn't enough room to raise every color you want! If your goal is to improve the breed, be sure to carefully evaluate every bird.

 

[Fancy Feathers]

Hey guys, I've started this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/690632/silkie-breeding-genetics-showing
for serious discussion of breeding and showing Silkies.
If anyone has any comments or suggestions, or an idea of how to word anything diffferently? PLEASE feel free to share!

 

[peepblessed]

The club forum has a thread with tons of photos of split wing. If her feathers are still growing in after a molt, and you had not seen the issue before it, my best guess is that she simply has not grown in the new axial feather. If you post photos showing her whole body, another showing the "good" wing side and a third showing the side you are concerned about, we may be able to help. Let her hold her wings herself--don't spread them. If you want, you can spread the wings and show those TOO, but we need to see photos where she is holding her wings herself.

Somehow I am missing some section in the club. I thought I had seen everything. Obviously not!!

 

[mystdogs]

I DO think this is a valuable thread, certainly. I just wish there was a next level thread, so to speak. There is a big difference in loving all the silkies and keeping them as pets as opposed to wanting to breed quality birds for exhibition. The former is the majority however, so be it. Again, as some folks seem to think I meant to trash the thread, I DO enjoy it. Heck I leave the tab up all the time for easy access. A person can still wish for more though right? ;-)

Perhaps starting a new thread focusing on the breeding and showing of silkies could help? I know I find this thread hard to keep up with and follow certain posts. It is just very busy and I really don't have the time to weed through twenty odd pages a day to try and find the answers to questions I've posted the day before. Is there a FB group dedicated to showing/breeding silkies? I would think following certain posts would be easier in that format. Let me say before anyone gets mad, I like this thread, but really just don't have hours a day to devote to reading it. So I have nothing against this thread, but I wouldn't mind something that is easier to get the answers from without having to go one page after another to seek out the answer

 

[peepblessed]

First, porcelains are NOT lav splits (if they are split, they are absolutely not porcelain under any conceivable definition or standard). Porcelains should be pure for lavender, but they also have several other genes going on that lavenders do not. Yes, you can house them together, but don't expect good lavender offspring. Your porcelains might benefit, though. Or they may not. It depends on how far into development they are, and whether their breeder knew what he/he was doing. Also depends on type of all the birds, regardless of variety. Depending on your spacing and number of pens, and of course your goals, you might consider letting many of the birds mix together and simply not hatch from that group. Or throughout the year, rotate different varieties through your breeding pen. If you keep one breeding pen, one pen of boys and a third of girls, you won't have to wait to hatch once you rotate birds into the breeding pen.

This is important info! I did not know that lavender from this cross would be poor. Why is that?? I was planning to do it! Your breeding pen rotation is such a great plan. I can't believe this didn't get through to me before. I'm sure it's been mentioned. I feel like such a dunce!!

 

[4hchickmama]

We had this dicussion a while back. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/297632/silkie-thread/17700 Hawkeye has a great photo of an immature wing. Maybe she will repost it for you. This is such a critical subject. I'm hoping we will get some feedback from Sonoran or anyone else who has extensive knowledge on the subject. We always see photos of very obvious split wing but what about the ones that are not so obvious?

The club forum has a thread with tons of photos of split wing. If her feathers are still growing in after a molt, and you had not seen the issue before it, my best guess is that she simply has not grown in the new axial feather. If you post photos showing her whole body, another showing the "good" wing side and a third showing the side you are concerned about, we may be able to help. Let her hold her wings herself--don't spread them. If you want, you can spread the wings and show those TOO, but we need to see photos where she is holding her wings herself.

Thanks Ladies. I will take some pics later when the kiddos are sleeping. She did NOT have this issue before, so I think I am just being a worry wart. I am off to look at the post and the club forum.

 

[peepblessed]

The club forum has a thread with tons of photos of split wing. If her feathers are still growing in after a molt, and you had not seen the issue before it, my best guess is that she simply has not grown in the new axial feather. If you post photos showing her whole body, another showing the "good" wing side and a third showing the side you are concerned about, we may be able to help. Let her hold her wings herself--don't spread them. If you want, you can spread the wings and show those TOO, but we need to see photos where she is holding her wings herself.

I tried again to find those photos on the club sight. No matter what I type in the blog search line it says no matchs. I've got to be doing something wrong. Any ideas?

 

[4hchickmama]

Okay this is the one I am worried about the split wing on.

Full Body right side





Left side:


And the "bad" wing spread out:


"Good" side spread out:


Now as I spread her wings out, I noticed what looks like new feathers growing in on that side...good sign I'm hoping:



Also, looking at some pics I found, it looks like "normal" split wing occurs closer to the wing tip. So I think I am just being paranoid. I'm still learning more about it all. I know nothing of the condition before reading about it here. Peepblessed....I couldn't find the info either on the site. Thought I was doing something wrong. It gives me some comfort to know that I wasn't alone! lol

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I tried again to find those photos on the club sight. No matter what I type in the blog search line it says no matchs. I've got to be doing something wrong. Any ideas?

Go to Gallery : Album Gallery, and look through a few 'pages' back for "Wings" and "Wings 2" albums Janine Jenzano of Hurricane Silkies has been gathering the pictures from members to put the different feature albums together Also go to forum and look through the genetics one, they are listed somewhere in there too. type, eyes, feet/toes, tails/cushions, crests, and wings

 

[4hchickmama]

Go to Gallery : Album Gallery, and look through a few 'pages' back for "Wings" and "Wings 2" albums Janine Jenzano of Hurricane Silkies has been gathering the pictures from members to put the different feature albums together Also go to forum and look through the genetics one, they are listed somewhere in there too. type, eyes, feet/toes, tails/cushions, crests, and wings

Thanks! I appreciate it!