Silkie thread!

[SilverSilkie]

Quote:

Silkies where crossed with many other races. Temperament is also transfered by genes.

That is a very naughty boy!

Most Silkies from red origine are (because of their ancestors) and yes these were NO Silkies.

 

[SilverSilkie]

Quote:
Well my silkies are just pets not for showing and if I do breed them then I will but not for money for myself or for friends who know that they aren't show quaility. Just makes me mad that some people on here can be right down rude and that's not cool at all. When I seek someone's advice on what color my chicks are. and I get well they aren't 100% silkie when in fact that they are. It's not cool to have your birds judged so harshly like a lot of you do on here , just because a lot of us cannot afford expensive sQ birds like a lot of you can.. I've had some HQ birds that were a lot better than any SQ bird I've ever seen before. I think what makes us so mad is that some people on here just don't care about our feelings and there's no reason for anyone to be rude to anyone on here. Just because we don't know what color we will get or we don't understand this or that we're learning just like everyone else. Some of us haven't been breeding that long or have had chickens that long. Or we want to know what color we'll get cause we might want to sell the chicks.

No one can read the mind of a poster to know what they are looking for as feedback. If you ask "what colour is it," then I would expect answers that say what colour it is or to say it is a mixed colour. And if the answer is "mixed colour" you should not be hurt or angry that someone did not express love and adoration for your bird--you asked for and were given information. You did not ask for validation for your feelings for your bird.

If you ask "what do you think of my birds," I would expect people to critique them based upon their experience with the breed--some will give you minute detail such as a wing set being too loose or lacking to too much crest, too long a back, etc. Some of those comments may be a good assessment from the perspective of the standard, and others may not be. But if you did not want to hear people's assessments, then you need to phrase your request better; there are also people who DO want a serious critique, and being told "he's so cute" does nothing to help them.

No one here is trying to be rude, and reading rudeness into the answers doesn't make sense. It is also not rude to say that a bird does not look like it is 100% silkie. Regardless of YOU knowing its background, the people you are asking DO NOT unless you tell them. One of the birds in the photo that started this discussion looks to have non-silkied wings. Now the photo is not the best, so it could simply be a poor photo, but the poster chose that photo, and made no comments such as "the wings look wring here, but they readlly are silkied--this was just the best photo I could find" or something similar. If the bird is non-silkied, he has non-silkie ancestry somewhere in his past. It happens.

Online writing--heck ANY writing-- is far different than conversation, where facial expression, body language, voice inflection, word spacing, etc. can all give meaning that simply is not present in printed words.

 

[bantiehen]

Well if no ones trying to be rude then they need to think before they write anything because a lot of times it can come across rudely and no one wants to be treated rudely on here... not trying to start a fight but you wouldn't like it if someone said your silkies look like you know what would ya? Nope ..

 

[SilverSilkie]

Quote:
Sometimes people understand different than the writer intended and visa versa !

 

[bantiehen]

whatever anyway back to silkies.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

@bantihen...When I first started breeding silkies I thought I had GREAT birds and sometimes got my feelings hurt when folks didn't share my enthusiasm. But I decided to take the comments and really examine the standard of perfection for silkies and try to learn from those with more experience that me.

I'm glad that I did this because now I truly do have SQ silkies. It took about 3 years and a lot of hard work but I met my breeding goals.

Perhaps ask yourself what your goals are. If it's just to have some nice pets, then be sure to say that when you ask for an opinion. Some of us might make critical comments thinking that you are really trying to improve your flock when you really are just looking for someone to say how cute they are.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
Well my silkies are just pets not for showing and if I do breed them then I will but not for money for myself or for friends who know that they aren't show quaility. Just makes me mad that some people on here can be right down rude and that's not cool at all. When I seek someone's advice on what color my chicks are. and I get well they aren't 100% silkie when in fact that they are. It's not cool to have your birds judged so harshly like a lot of you do on here , just because a lot of us cannot afford expensive sQ birds like a lot of you can.. I've had some HQ birds that were a lot better than any SQ bird I've ever seen before. I think what makes us so mad is that some people on here just don't care about our feelings and there's no reason for anyone to be rude to anyone on here. Just because we don't know what color we will get or we don't understand this or that we're learning just like everyone else. Some of us haven't been breeding that long or have had chickens that long. Or we want to know what color we'll get cause we might want to sell the chicks.

No one can read the mind of a poster to know what they are looking for as feedback. If you ask "what colour is it," then I would expect answers that say what colour it is or to say it is a mixed colour. And if the answer is "mixed colour" you should not be hurt or angry that someone did not express love and adoration for your bird--you asked for and were given information. You did not ask for validation for your feelings for your bird.

If you ask "what do you think of my birds," I would expect people to critique them based upon their experience with the breed--some will give you minute detail such as a wing set being too loose or lacking to too much crest, too long a back, etc. Some of those comments may be a good assessment from the perspective of the standard, and others may not be. But if you did not want to hear people's assessments, then you need to phrase your request better; there are also people who DO want a serious critique, and being told "he's so cute" does nothing to help them.

No one here is trying to be rude, and reading rudeness into the answers doesn't make sense. It is also not rude to say that a bird does not look like it is 100% silkie. Regardless of YOU knowing its background, the people you are asking DO NOT unless you tell them. One of the birds in the photo that started this discussion looks to have non-silkied wings. Now the photo is not the best, so it could simply be a poor photo, but the poster chose that photo, and made no comments such as "the wings look wring here, but they readlly are silkied--this was just the best photo I could find" or something similar. If the bird is non-silkied, he has non-silkie ancestry somewhere in his past. It happens.

Online writing--heck ANY writing-- is far different than conversation, where facial expression, body language, voice inflection, word spacing, etc. can all give meaning that simply is not present in printed words.

Yes!! ha! Any times I've posted pictures, I usually DO want a harsh critique of my birds, because I WANT to know their faults! It helps me learn! If someone tells me 'hey, they're cute'... I'm still left in the dark with my original question and that can be very frustrating too!

But good point here-- I guess be VERY specific about what you are looking for in an answer.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Okay, and speaking of... on my little Splash pullet, she has the red coming out on the tips of her feathers under her neck in a V shape. (I posted her picture earlier trying to guess her gender). My Splash cockerel has NO red showing through anywhere. Is she a breeding potential, or is that a bad idea? Just wondering about the red-- I don't know enough about this color to know how bad this is.

 

[LeasureChix]

I have been watching and feel the need to speak up. This section of the Forum is Breeds, Genetics, & Showing. There are very serious Silkie enthusiasts, breeders that have been working for decades, doing their very best to breed to the written Silkie standard. I'm not included in that group but coming from a show dog background, I can understand the pains they go through in trying to create the perfect silkie. Add to that the knowledge of genetics and knowing what is behind their birds for generations. I have seen the same things written over and over again: "What would I get if I cross my white to _____". I'm sure it gets old to explain over and over why NOT to breed white to anything but white, just as one example.

I commend the super knowledgable hard working Silkie breeders. I come here to learn from you. I've had silkies for a year and will be showing in 2012. I was lucky to start with excellent quality young stock plus eggs from some of the really great breeders in the US. Still, I ended up with PQ in my grow out pen. I'm finally getting it narrowed down but will be posting pics of the ones I'm not sure of so I can get an honest assessment from the "professionals".

Seeing pics is fun for me whether they are SQ or someone's favorite pet. I totally agree with the previous post, if you post a pic and ask for feedback, be specific. Leave the hurt feelings at the door and take the comments as that person's opinion. I like seeing pics, good examples of the breed and bad, so I can learn more.

Honestly, if you are going to eat the offspring, it might not matter much what you breed. If you are going to sell chicks, it starts to matter. An unknowing family or 4-h kid can buy your chicks thinking they are getting a good example of the breed. I'll leave it at that.

This is just MHO.

Have a great day!

 

[LeasureChix]

Quote:
VERY well said!