Can I get a opinion on this one?So my white non bearded mama hen right now is what most would call UGLY pet quality. But she throws some really pretty babies. that almost look bearded and have nice crest and feet feathers. So my question is should I keep her in my breeding program or replace her with one of her chick that is 4month olds now . Here is a picture of mother and child.
Suggie
Angelica
Looks like my blue partridge. The lighting definitely affects the colors in images, esp from digital cameras. Pretty birdIt's the lighting I think. It's a very dark blue.
Here she is again
I'm sorry for your loss[COLOR=000033]So many partridge silkies here![/COLOR]
[COLOR=000033]I'm beginning to miss my most favorite hen (a partridge) who passed away suddenly a few months ago.[/COLOR]
I also lost my partridge hen about a month ago to a LGD in training. One paw was all it took.
Nope, sitting strong for 48 hours so far
Very cute! I would hope no one would tell you they were ugly. They will be wonderfully sweet birds, I'm sure. They all seem to have a fantastic attitudes.I've been mostly lurking since I got my 3 week old Silkies 3 weeks ago. I have 6 of them, here are two. Oh and these are hatchery babies from Ideal so please don't tell me they're ugly
Don't mind the baby hand, he's 21 months and he adores the chickens. I try to keep them away from the babies until they have all of their feathers but he's relentless. One of my blue babies:
One of my white babies, this one has two toes on each foot fused together but s/he gets around just fine so we're leaving them alone:
We have 2 whites, 2 blacks, and 2 blues out there along with 11 other babies (Polish, Houdans, Frizzles, a Barred Rock, a Sultan, D'Uccles).
I think your chick is really amazing and I'm VERY surprised that it came out of that bird posted above. I have no idea what to say about that! LOL It's not a bird I would suspect would ever throw something like that. I don't know that it would continue to throw chicks like that. How many chicks have you hatched from that mama bird? If you are getting only a small percentage of super nice birds, I'd say it's time to retire her and use one of the really great looking chicks you have gotten. You didn't say what rooster you are using, but I was told by another show breeder (not on here) that roosters are usually responsible for the female's crests. So that chick may not have much to do with the hen as much as it has to do with the rooster. Also, it's a proven fact that by hand selecting the best birds, you get even better birds. Select for large crests and you get better crests, etc, etc. This is why you will hear over and over breeders being very picky about feet, wings, etc... because those traits do pass on. Birds that don't have what you are looking for won't pass on traits you want. Or IF they do... I'd say it's a fluke and in any given situation, you have the odds as with any gamble-- it may work out or it may not. If you have stacked your chances with the right birds, the chances of the traits appearing that you want are more likely to happen. So yeah, I'd retire your mama and work with the chick you got, it looks fantastic. Just check for split wing, and you should be good to go!
I have a hen that is a bit nicer than your mom, but definitely not the greatest, and she throws my best babies.
