Silkie thread!

[AmandaVirginia]

Would y'all say I have a blue Silkie and a white Silkie? I just love my two little fluffy butts (; They have Splash in their bloodline, does that mean they could have Paint in their bloodline also? Next Spring, when they give me baby chicks, I'm going to keep a couple! I'll definitely pick two Splash or Paint little ones! And, I can't wait

 

[Kayana]

Lucky stand of breeding a white with a black? Not very certain how you get these.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

@MuscovyMadness, what is the difference between Splash and Paint?

Splash is two copies of blue, paint is dominant white and the black shows through holes in the dom. white.

Most Silkies are recessive white, getting paints is not as easy as crossing a white and black. There is a paint Silkie thread, might be a good place to do some research

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I was wondering how to tell if any of my silkies are full silkies??

Your normal feathered birds (without the typical shredded Silkie feathers) are not Silkies, but I would call them Sizzles. I breed them as well, they're wonderful! There's a Sizzle thread here on BYC, a search should turn it up

 

[kellyloveschad]

Your normal feathered birds (without the typical shredded Silkie feathers) are not Silkies, but I would call them Sizzles. I breed them as well, they're wonderful! There's a Sizzle thread here on BYC, a search should turn it up

 

[abbevilleoz]

Yep, Steve is all Silkie. Roo looks mostly Salmon Faverolles except he looks crested. Faverolles have a reputation of being very docile.

 

[kellyloveschad]

Yep, Steve is all Silkie. Roo looks mostly Salmon Faverolles except he looks crested. Faverolles have a reputation of being very docile.

well maybe then he defiantly watches over his babies!!! not really his because hes not much older but he thinks so!!!

 

[Kayana]

Splash is two copies of blue, paint is dominant white and the black shows through holes in the dom. white.

Most Silkies are recessive white, getting paints is not as easy as crossing a white and black. There is a paint Silkie thread, might be a good place to do some research

Ya I am gonna check it out cause those are very pretty. I am wondering i am no geneticist but I am wondering if you can cross breed other chickens and get a particular color, then breed that with a white silky until you breed the silky feathers and feet back but keep the color you were striving for. Breeding each new generation with a white I mean.
Such as breeding a white silkie with a Rhode Island Red. Getting a sort of cross then breeding that clutch with another white silky dominating the silky appearance gene but keeping the red color of the RiR. Idk might be stupid but that's what they did to get all different types of dogs.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I (respectfully) disagree. Freddie Mac is a Silkie, a frizzled Silkie, but still a Silkie. And he appears to a blue partridge, a non standard color. The smooth roo could have some Favorelles in there, but I think its more likely that his incorrect comb comes from Cochin (or Polish) lineage. Most use Cochins (or Polish) to breed Sizzles, since they're easily found with frizzled feathers. Krewalla is a frizzled Sizzle. Sleeping Beauty looks like a blue partridge, definitely not a paint, and she's a frizzled Silkie too. Snow White could be a paint I suppose, however to me it looks more like a splash. If it were paint, those feathers would be black, and that black coloring would go all the way down to the base of the feathers. In the picture, they look blue, and I think splash is more likely considering all of your others are blue/black based. Breeding blues can give blue, black and splash offspring. Shredded feathers= Silkie, normal feathers= Sizzle. That's just my opinion though, so take it for what its worth.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Ya I am gonna check it out cause those are very pretty. I am wondering i am no geneticist but I am wondering if you can cross breed other chickens and get a particular color, then breed that with a white silky until you breed the silky feathers and feet back but keep the color you were striving for. Breeding each new generation with a white I mean.
Such as breeding a white silkie with a Rhode Island Red. Getting a sort of cross then breeding that clutch with another white silky dominating the silky appearance gene but keeping the red color of the RiR. Idk might be stupid but that's what they did to get all different types of dogs.

Not stupid at all. When I started breeding Sizzles, I out crossed to a frizzled Cochin. Then I bred the offspring back to Silkies to get back Silkie type. I was going for a different feather type, but the general idea is the same. Your task will be more difficult since you'll have to bring back type while trying to keep mahogany (if that's what you're going for). But, it can be done. Red Silkies do exist. I *think* you'd be better off starring with a buff Silkie rather than white though. White is a wild card color, it basically turns off whatever actual color is really under there. So, if you start off with a white that's hiding blue or black, I'm not sure that's going to give you the results you're looking for. If I were starting from scratch to achieve the beautiful mahogany color RIRs are famous for, I'd try to find the reddest buff I could (or perhaps a very red partridge). I'm not a genetics pro, but that's what I would do. Maybe someone else with more knowledge will give their opinion. Or you could just save yourself a ton of trouble and track down some red Silkies that someone else has already dedicated their time and effort too. Just trying to get normal feathers (frizzled and smooth) on a bird that has all the characteristics of a Silkie, with great type, has taken me about 6 years. So time is definitely a big consideration when you're thinking about taking on a project like this. I had no regard for color when I first started my project, but I was also working with blue, black and splash, colors that are easily found in many breeds. My only great concern was getting rid of leakage, not such a big deal if you keep a good grasp on it from the very beginning. Either way, good luck, you'll certainly learn a lot along the way if you decide to give it a go!