Silkie toe question

[OneCuteShasta]

I've got a flock of silkies that I wanted to add some new blood to. My silkies all have 5 separate toes. I hatched some eggs from some other BYC members and the chicks have 4 toes with a 5th one coming off the 4th toe, about half way up. If that makes sense... LOL! I've got a really nice flock and don't want to mess it up by adding these chicks to it. Is this type of spacing acceptable? Would you add them to your flock?

 

[steve2495]

no im prty sure thats a rly bad thing im not an expert but ive seen alot of posts about that and it isnt good and alot of low qual breeders have that. if u wnat to still breed em keep them to themselves and see if any of the chicks have five toes then put those in with ur normal flock. i think u can sometimes breed the full fifth toe back just by breeding them to themselves

 

[jimnjay]

I would use the new bird you describe only if he/she has some other feature that is awesome and your other birds may need an improvement in that area. Toes plague us for a very long time. You can improve foot feathering more easily than placement and number of toes.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I would not add them to my flock. Enjoy them for the fuzzybutts they are, but don't breed them unless you have to.

 

[Chris09]

This is from http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.com/


Legs and Toes: Male - Legs short and stout, set well apart, straight when viewed from the front. Lower thighs: short, stout at top, tapering to hocks, abundantly feathered. Hocks: covered with soft and silky feathers curving inwards about the hocks.
Shanks: rather short, stout in boner, well feathered on the outer sides with silky plumage, the upper part growing out from thigh plumage and continuing into foot feathering. Spurs: medium size and length, set just above the 5th toe. Toes: five, the three front straight, well and evenly spread, the hind toe double, the normal toe in natural position and the extra toe placed above, starting from close to the other toe, but well formed, longer than the other toes and curving upwards and backwards; the outer and middle toe well feathered. Female - same as male except no spur. (Bare middle toe a serious defect in either sex)

Chris

 

[LilPeeps]

You should only use that bird for breeding if it is desirable in its other features (e.g. type, color, etc), otherwise you shouldn't use it for breeding. If you're curious as to how it will be passed down, you can separate it as a pair (or trio if it's a male), to be sure the offspring are from that bird.

 

[OneCuteShasta]

I figured they shouldn't be added, but I wanted to make sure. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. If I keep them, they'll have to go into the larger pen with standard chickens and I'm not too sure if they could hold their own. The other option is to sell them off. That's so hard to do since I hatched them, but it would probably be best... I'm pretty furious with the seller. I ask quite clearly how the toe spacing was, and was told it was good.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Can you post photos?

One cannot predict the toe separation on eggs, only on hatched birds; it is a variably expressed trait. That doesn't mean you should add them to your flock--any time a bird has traits you dislike, that is a reason to be selective. Some people are picky about combs, some about wings, others toes. I'm picky about the overall bird, but not about any single trait.

As others have said, and this is an overall breeder statement, not just silkies, for every 100 birds hatched, maybe 10% are "keepers."

All in all, toes are only 5 out of 100 points.

 

[Smoky73]

Quote:
I would not necessarily be upset with the seller. He/she could have birds all with good toe seperation and still have these issues pop up in the offspring. I know I cull heavily for toe seperation or other toe issues, thats my first round of culls and I still had a 6th toe come up and a 4th toe this year. It happens.

 

[Mrs MIA]

...and my silkies do just fine out with the "big girls", so don't be worried about mixing them. Just be sure to give them their own lower roost.