Silkie thread!

[ChicksNherps]

And where can I find you?

With the little polish rooster?

yup, or with ice and/or nori. They are bringing name tags so I will have my username and real name on it. I'll also have a lime green jacket.

 

[Sanna]

yup, or with ice and/or nori. They are bringing name tags so I will have my username and real name on it. I'll also have a lime green jacket.

If I can't find you, I'll start screaming "Where is ChicksNherps?!?"

I'm sure that would go over well.

 

[Sanna]

Is Amoxicillin safe to give to a 5 month old pullet with a cold? I have these 125mg pills split in half.
Or the Amtyl powder which has Amoxicillin?

 

[naught]

How soon can one tell if their Silky is a hen or roo?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I would say SHAPE rather than CONDITION. Good type conforms to the parameters of the standard. Poor type if farther from or completely different than the standard. In the later photo I would not say the blue has poor type, but she is certainly nowhere nearly as typey as the white girl. There are judges and breeders who prefer birds whose type is not extreme. Birds with less extreme type can be better breeders than the typier ones who may need AI for fertility.

Any bird, regardless of the quality of its type, can be in good or bad condition, and that relates to the care and feed it gets as well as things that aren't as easily controlled such as going through a bad molt.

 

[Keric]

I would say SHAPE rather than CONDITION. Good type conforms to the parameters of the standard. Poor type if farther from or completely different than the standard. In the later photo I would not say the blue has poor type, but she is certainly nowhere nearly as typey as the white girl. There are judges and breeders who prefer birds whose type is not extreme. Birds with less extreme type can be better breeders than the typier ones who may need AI for fertility.

Any bird, regardless of the quality of its type, can be in good or bad condition, and that relates to the care and feed it gets as well as things that aren't as easily controlled such as going through a bad molt.

So type=shape=poofiness, ess-shape, strictly looks.

Good type conforms to the SOP.

Extreme shape does not always equal good type? Just depends on personal opinions?

 

[Keric]

Do silkies with extreme poof like the white above have fertility issues? Because of genes or because physical body shape doesn't allow for rooster to properly get the job done?

(Similar to the reasons broad-breasted turkeys have issues breeding)

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Poofiness is not really shape or type, although it is called for in the standard. The standard is made up of a set of words that describe the ideal. HOWEVER, how any individual INTERPRETS the words can vary to an extent. And how they are interpreted can and does change over time. A few years back if a silkie did not have a massive crest it was unlikely to win; now judges are looking for a more moderate crest. Standard calls for a moderate crest. What pray tell is "moderate"? To one person it can mean something entirely different than to another; what is small to one person may be moderate to another, and what is large, but not massive, may mean moderate to a third. In some breeds the standard is very specific: number of tail feathers, angle of tail to body, etc. The silkie standard is, IMO, too inexact. I would like to see something that listed percentages of body to tail to head/crest. To me that would give more specific data to base interpretation on rather than nebulous, inexact terms.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Do silkies with extreme poof like the white above have fertility issues? Because of genes or because physical body shape doesn't allow for rooster to properly get the job done?

(Similar to the reasons broad-breasted turkeys have issues breeding)

Yes, they can, and some breeders trim when they are in breeding pens; others AI. Super typey males can have problems "connecting" with the girls. So yes, somewhat similar issues as with the turkeys.

 

[aoxa]

I would say SHAPE rather than CONDITION. Good type conforms to the parameters of the standard. Poor type if farther from or completely different than the standard. In the later photo I would not say the blue has poor type, but she is certainly nowhere nearly as typey as the white girl. There are judges and breeders who prefer birds whose type is not extreme. Birds with less extreme type can be better breeders than the typier ones who may need AI for fertility.

Any bird, regardless of the quality of its type, can be in good or bad condition, and that relates to the care and feed it gets as well as things that aren't as easily controlled such as going through a bad molt.

Thanks Sonoran for getting into it in more depth.

The blue is my own, and the white is a friends. The blue was the first silkie I started with.