Silkie thread!

[ChickNmamma]

If they have 5 toes they are show quality, if they have 4 they are not

There is a LOT more to "Show Quality" than just the toes. And it can't be identified until they are fully grown - so there are no "Show Quality" chicks, juveniles - or eggs.

You will also need foot feathering, no DQs, fluffy crests, fluffy tails, correct back length, correct stance, correctly held wings... much more than just 4 vs 5 toes... Anything that doesn't have DQs and has the potential to be "Show Quality" can be called Breeder Quality - as chicks or juveniles.

 

[kabhyper1]

Okay all of you experts! I have a puzzle to solve. I have a 8x4 coop with an attached 10x4 run. My chickens free range most of the day in a 1/4 acre fenced pasture. I have 4 Wyandottes (3 pullets and 1 cockerel all 5 months old) , 1 LF cochin pullet, 2 ee mix pullets, and two silkies (one roo one pullet) So 9 total in the coop. All around the same age. My two roos get along just fine. even though one is a huge wyandotte and one is a silkie lol. Anyway, I am getting 2 or 3 more silkie pullets, the sae age as the two I have from the same breeder. I am wondering how you all think they will do integrating them into the flock. I would eventually like to have a silkie coop, but I don't have a way to do it yet. Any thoughts?

 

[Sanna]

Considering it was like one day we gave her (after being broody for AGES) a five week old baby. Some people were like, no, that's not going to work but it did and she's such a good mommy! Heck, at 16 weeks she was even mothering two 8 week old isa browns - that's why she's the boss. She's practically mothered all of the other chooks.

Wow, she started young. Maybe her calling in life is being a mother!

 

[Sanna]

How many bodies can they cram in one pile? lol


Sorry, not a silkie but she cracks me up. LOL

 

[ChickNmamma]

Okay all of you experts! I have a puzzle to solve. I have a 8x4 coop with an attached 10x4 run. My chickens free range most of the day in a 1/4 acre fenced pasture. I have 4 Wyandottes (3 pullets and 1 cockerel all 5 months old) , 1 LF cochin pullet, 2 ee mix pullets, and two silkies (one roo one pullet) So 9 total in the coop. All around the same age. My two roos get along just fine. even though one is a huge wyandotte and one is a silkie lol. Anyway, I am getting 2 or 3 more silkie pullets, the sae age as the two I have from the same breeder. I am wondering how you all think they will do integrating them into the flock. I would eventually like to have a silkie coop, but I don't have a way to do it yet. Any thoughts?

They can all live together - just be aware when the hormones kick in on your huge wyandotte he might try to mate your teeny silkies - and that could hurt them. I have had no problem integrating silkies into any of my pens - but the rooster will try to mate with them - just make sure they are old enough and strong enough to be jumped on by all that weight... That goes for ALL your silkie girls.

 

[Lynzi777]

Figured I'd jump over here and ask a question since it has to do with Silkies.

I recently had 5 silkies hatch out and was curious as to why 2 of the 5 had one toe without a nail on each foot. (the same toe on each foot) One hatched out with only 4 toes and I'm trying to decide if it would be alright to use in my breedings. I have a lavender split roo, lavender hens, a splash hen, a black hen and now these 5 chicks - a dark blue, light blue, a splash and 2 partridge - which I am selling. I just LOVE the dark blue one and definitely want to hold onto it but if I can't use it for breeding then I don't need it taking up more space in my coops. And what are your thoughts on the two chicks with missing nails on their toes?

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Figured I'd jump over here and ask a question since it has to do with Silkies.

I recently had 5 silkies hatch out and was curious as to why 2 of the 5 had one toe without a nail on each foot. (the same toe on each foot) One hatched out with only 4 toes and I'm trying to decide if it would be alright to use in my breedings. I have a lavender split roo, lavender hens, a splash hen, a black hen and now these 5 chicks - a dark blue, light blue, a splash and 2 partridge - which I am selling. I just LOVE the dark blue one and definitely want to hold onto it but if I can't use it for breeding then I don't need it taking up more space in my coops. And what are your thoughts on the two chicks with missing nails on their toes?

It's a side effect of the polydactyl gene, it's probably the outer toes right? I don't remember if it's okay to use them for breeding though. It's a fault in showing.

 

[AussieHens96]

Wow, she started young. Maybe her calling in life is being a mother!

I think so!

 

[heirloomorps]

Figured I'd jump over here and ask a question since it has to do with Silkies.

I recently had 5 silkies hatch out and was curious as to why 2 of the 5 had one toe without a nail on each foot. (the same toe on each foot) One hatched out with only 4 toes and I'm trying to decide if it would be alright to use in my breedings. I have a lavender split roo, lavender hens, a splash hen, a black hen and now these 5 chicks - a dark blue, light blue, a splash and 2 partridge - which I am selling. I just LOVE the dark blue one and definitely want to hold onto it but if I can't use it for breeding then I don't need it taking up more space in my coops. And what are your thoughts on the two chicks with missing nails on their toes?

Sometimes it can even be an incubation issue with missing nails. I think that a missing nail is a fault, not a DQ, but a missing toe is a DQ. If it has 5 toes on one foot and 4 on the other, I would test mate and see what the chicks come out like. If it has 4 toes on both feet I wouldn't use it in breeding as it probably lacks the 5 toe gene.

 

[Lynzi777]

Sometimes it can even be an incubation issue with missing nails. I think that a missing nail is a fault, not a DQ, but a missing toe is a DQ. If it has 5 toes on one foot and 4 on the other, I would test mate and see what the chicks come out like. If it has 4 toes on both feet I wouldn't use it in breeding as it probably lacks the 5 toe gene.

I read in a genetics thread that a 5-toed Silkie bred to a 4-toed Silkie would produce 100% 5-toed chicks. Is that true?

This is what I read:

four toes silkie X five toes silkie( has two five toes genes or homozygous)= 100 % five toes offspring ( heterozygous or carry a recessive and dominant gene)

If you get any four toes offspring that means the parent is split ( heterozygous) for five toes; or in other words the parent has a dominant and recessive gene.

five toes offspring X five toes offspring = 25% homozygous five toes (two five toes genes), 50% heterozygous (split), and 25% four toes ( two recessive 4 toes genes)

The chicks that are split (heterozygous) can produce four toes offspring.

five toes offspring (heterozygous) X homozygous five toes parent = 50% homozygous and 50% heterozygous five toes offspring

If you keep track of which birds you mate and the number of toes the offspring have you can determine if your five toed birds are homozygous or heterozygous.

If you mate two five toed birds and some of the offspring are four toed, then both parents are heterozygous or both parents carry a recessive gene. MARK THE BIRDS AS HETEROZYGOUS.

You can also test mate your birds. Cross a five toes bird with a four toes bird: IF NO FOUR TOES SHOW UP THEN THE FIVE TOES IS HOMOZYGOUS FOR FIVE TOES. You will have to hatch more than a few eggs

also another article:
Two common faults, single combs and four toes are simple recessive traits. If one single comb chick hatches from a breeding pen, you can be certain that both parents carry the trait for a single comb. The single comb "gene" is recessive to the normal Silkie comb so two Silkies with correct combs can produce a single combed chick quite easily. If you have a pair produce a single combed chick, you need to decide whether to continue using the parents in your breeding program. You must weigh the problems of introducing the undesirable trait into your flock against your breeding goals. Sometimes it is acceptable to use Silkie with a "bad" trait if that Silkie has other excellent qualities. Knowing which Silkies carry the trait is the first step towards eliminating it. With single combs, I would like to point out that with careful inspection, it is very easy to see if a chick has a single comb the moment that it hatches.

Another annoying fault is the Silkie that hatches with less than the required five toes on each foot. Having only four toes is another recessive trait but be warned that it is not a simple recessive. The five toed trait is only incompletely dominant so the Silkie with four toes can actually carry the five toed trait. Confusing? Definitely! However, if one four-toed chick hatches from a breeding pen, you can be certain that both parents carry the trait for four toes - to a certain degree.

Again, this "gene" is basically recessive to the normal Silkie five-toed condition, a condition that has the scientific name of polydactyly. Polydactyly simply means "many toes" and frequently involves too many toes! (However, six and seven toed Silkies are an entirely different story for another article.) So, restating the obvious, two Silkies with the correct number of toes on each foot can produce a four-toed chick quite easily. As with single comb producers, if you have a pair that produces a four-toed chick, you need to decide whether to continue using the parents in your breeding program. Decide whether you want to introduce an undesirable trait. No Silkie is perfect in all ways. It might look nearly perfect but odds are that it will have some genetic flaw that you do not like.

I look at each chick that hatches, band it and mark down its down color, whether its comb is correct, how many toes it has on each foot, whether is has a vaulted knob on its skull, and whether it has good foot feathering. Some breeders are quite particular on the degree and quality of separation of the 4th toe from the 5th toe.



Both parents were 5-toed so it sounds like both have this "split" gene. :-(