Greetings All;
I keep coming across the question "what are SIZZLES?" and too often I hear the response they are a frizzled Silkie A frizzled Silkie is just that, a frizzled Silkie. It may well have come from a Sizzle breeding but, it is NOT a SIZZLE!
There is an excellent pic of the two different birds at this topic site https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=101486&p=1
Frizzle is a feather type & can be found in most breeds, including Silkies. SIZZLE is a developing breed. The standard we are working with at this time are basically the Silkie standard BUT with a change in feather type to barbed frizzled and as a variety, barbed smooth. That means, 5 toes, blue skin, crests, walnut or pea comb, turquoise ear lobe, compact body type, etc. BUT NOT SILKIE FEATHERS! We are still working out the fine points & will eventually write our own standard to include the changes we desire.
SIZZLES are, in the original breeding, a cross of a Frizzled Cochin to a Silkie (matters not which parent was which) The chicks produced are referred to as F1 ie: first generation. . The cross produces 4 types of feathers - smooth regular, frizzled reg, silkie reg & frizzled silkie (aka; Frilkie) You can breed opposites back to each other ie; smooth silkie to frizzled reg, frizzled silkie to smooth reg..etc. to produce the desired frizzled & smooth SIZZLES. In the earlier generations it is not uncommon to see only 25% with frizzled feathers & that doesnt take into account getting the proper crests, toes, color or combs. F1 do NOT a breed make. That takes time & dedication.
The problem with breeding a frizzle feathered bird to a frizzle feathered bird (no matter what breed)is the double frizzle gene gives you what is called a frazzle. This produces feathers that are soft, very curly and unfortunately usually brittle & tend to break off, leaving a bald bird. It is also known to, in a higher %, come with internal irregularities that can shorten the life span. So, that said, the general rule of thumb is to breed a frizzled coat to a smooth coat, preferable one with frizzle genetics. We (folks on the Sizzle list) have decided to include smooth feathered sizzles as a variety of SIZZLES for that very reason.
Following that rule of thumb, your next choice is to check you traits & breed for what you want ie; a light pigmented bird to a dark, straight comb to walnut, 4 toes to 5 etc. Choose your best stock & breed to reduce faults & increase desired results. It took me 5 generations to weed out 4 toed birds in favor of 5 toes & I'm still getting some straight combs and some light pigmentation but, ..it's a process and a very challenging & interesting one at that!
For the sake of simplicity we have taken to calling them Sizzle (with a capital S) for frizzled Sizzles & sizzle (with a lower case s) for smooth sizzles.
For 5 years I have been breeding pretty much only back into my own lines, since I started out with a sizable gene pool. Ive been hatching over 200 chicks per year. My F5 generation produced about 30-35% birds that I considered progressed far enough to keep & I still have my share of faults to breed out. In the earlier generations I was seeing only about 10 20%. I'm taking a clue from some of the other successful breeders this year & breeding back to Silkie roos to strengthen my characteristics. The challenge there is then I increase the chance of getting Silkie feathers, which we DON'T want but, I feel my lines are fairly strong at this point & want the infusion of traits that I still need to improve my breeding.
I am by no means an expert, either on chickens or on genetics but, I have some practical experience & because of the great people on the Sizzle list, Ive learned lots. I have tried to keep track of the information on BYC about Sizzles & realized that there is a lot of confusions so I hope by sharing some basic information it will help others. To answer some of the questions Ive been asked, I would avoid breeding back to Cochins if at all possible as you really only breed to them for the frizzled feathers & don't want the other traits. If you don't have a smooth sizzle roo to breed your frizzled Sizzle girls back to, try a Silkie roo. You'll get a higher % of silkie coats but, most of them will have the SIZZLE genes & you can breed them back to a barbed coated Sizzle next year.
I hope this helps clarify some of the general questions out there. There is a lot more in depth information available that just takes some asking & digging to get to. If I can be of any assistance in that quest well, it helps me learn too!
Best of Luck!
SarahsSizzles
I keep coming across the question "what are SIZZLES?" and too often I hear the response they are a frizzled Silkie A frizzled Silkie is just that, a frizzled Silkie. It may well have come from a Sizzle breeding but, it is NOT a SIZZLE!
There is an excellent pic of the two different birds at this topic site https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=101486&p=1
Frizzle is a feather type & can be found in most breeds, including Silkies. SIZZLE is a developing breed. The standard we are working with at this time are basically the Silkie standard BUT with a change in feather type to barbed frizzled and as a variety, barbed smooth. That means, 5 toes, blue skin, crests, walnut or pea comb, turquoise ear lobe, compact body type, etc. BUT NOT SILKIE FEATHERS! We are still working out the fine points & will eventually write our own standard to include the changes we desire.
SIZZLES are, in the original breeding, a cross of a Frizzled Cochin to a Silkie (matters not which parent was which) The chicks produced are referred to as F1 ie: first generation. . The cross produces 4 types of feathers - smooth regular, frizzled reg, silkie reg & frizzled silkie (aka; Frilkie) You can breed opposites back to each other ie; smooth silkie to frizzled reg, frizzled silkie to smooth reg..etc. to produce the desired frizzled & smooth SIZZLES. In the earlier generations it is not uncommon to see only 25% with frizzled feathers & that doesnt take into account getting the proper crests, toes, color or combs. F1 do NOT a breed make. That takes time & dedication.
The problem with breeding a frizzle feathered bird to a frizzle feathered bird (no matter what breed)is the double frizzle gene gives you what is called a frazzle. This produces feathers that are soft, very curly and unfortunately usually brittle & tend to break off, leaving a bald bird. It is also known to, in a higher %, come with internal irregularities that can shorten the life span. So, that said, the general rule of thumb is to breed a frizzled coat to a smooth coat, preferable one with frizzle genetics. We (folks on the Sizzle list) have decided to include smooth feathered sizzles as a variety of SIZZLES for that very reason.
Following that rule of thumb, your next choice is to check you traits & breed for what you want ie; a light pigmented bird to a dark, straight comb to walnut, 4 toes to 5 etc. Choose your best stock & breed to reduce faults & increase desired results. It took me 5 generations to weed out 4 toed birds in favor of 5 toes & I'm still getting some straight combs and some light pigmentation but, ..it's a process and a very challenging & interesting one at that!
For the sake of simplicity we have taken to calling them Sizzle (with a capital S) for frizzled Sizzles & sizzle (with a lower case s) for smooth sizzles.
For 5 years I have been breeding pretty much only back into my own lines, since I started out with a sizable gene pool. Ive been hatching over 200 chicks per year. My F5 generation produced about 30-35% birds that I considered progressed far enough to keep & I still have my share of faults to breed out. In the earlier generations I was seeing only about 10 20%. I'm taking a clue from some of the other successful breeders this year & breeding back to Silkie roos to strengthen my characteristics. The challenge there is then I increase the chance of getting Silkie feathers, which we DON'T want but, I feel my lines are fairly strong at this point & want the infusion of traits that I still need to improve my breeding.
I am by no means an expert, either on chickens or on genetics but, I have some practical experience & because of the great people on the Sizzle list, Ive learned lots. I have tried to keep track of the information on BYC about Sizzles & realized that there is a lot of confusions so I hope by sharing some basic information it will help others. To answer some of the questions Ive been asked, I would avoid breeding back to Cochins if at all possible as you really only breed to them for the frizzled feathers & don't want the other traits. If you don't have a smooth sizzle roo to breed your frizzled Sizzle girls back to, try a Silkie roo. You'll get a higher % of silkie coats but, most of them will have the SIZZLE genes & you can breed them back to a barbed coated Sizzle next year.
I hope this helps clarify some of the general questions out there. There is a lot more in depth information available that just takes some asking & digging to get to. If I can be of any assistance in that quest well, it helps me learn too!
Best of Luck!
SarahsSizzles
