Standard Silkie colors...or not? Other questions...

[goatmom7]

Hi -
I have two young 15wk silkie roos (I assume - they are both crowing!) that are beautiful, but I am not sure which colors they are. I would like to breed them next spring with my white silkie hen, and wondering as well what color results I might with this mix? How many can they hatch successfully? I know they are good mothers! I have been looking for another silkie hen, especially black, but no luck yet. We just LOVE them!! These three silkies live with 13 other large breed chickens (they are all 8wks old) that they have been raised with. I am attaching photos for any thoughts!!

Thanks so much in advance!
Valerie

p.s. Also, any thoughts as to whether these two roos can live successfully with both a blue ameraucana roo AND blue orpington roo? Total of 12 hens (one is white silkie hen) and 4 roos = 16 total in coop. These other two roos are part of a group of 12 that are 8wks and moved into coop recently, and we are hoping to keep them, but are waiting to see how it goes. I thought if one had to go it would be the orpington as he is huge, but we like them both. I am also wondering if having one bantam hen in there will be unsafe for her? She grew up with the buff brahma and the two silkie roos since days old, but just got mixed with the other 8wk standard breeds - she is pecking them and bossing them around with no issue, so maybe OK? She lived in the coop first though! Like I said, I've been looking for another silkie hen, but do I need another bantam hen period? Our coop is 8x8 with LOTS of high roosts and have very large rotating free range areas. They all seem to get along well so far! My 15wk brahma is naturally the queen, but not bugging the others too much - I think the sheer number of younger ones helps a LOT!

Photos 1 and 2 are Daffodil, and 3 and 4 are Lavender. Needless to say with the names, we originally thought they both were hens!! LOL.

 

[goatmom7]

anyone??

 

[keesmom]

Neither one is a standard color. As for breeding to white, you could get anything. White is an off switch, preventing color and patterns from coming through. So no one can tell what genes your white hen carries. Then crossing to a mixed color gives you something completely unpredictable.

Four cockerels may be a bit much for 12 hens. I wouldn't keep a silkie hen with LF males. If you want to breed pure silkies then you will have to find more silkie hens. If you don't mind mixes maybe try some bantam Cochin hens, or bantam frizzles.

 

[goatmom7]

thanks so much for the reply. bummer...so neither is a standard color?! But they are silkies, right? If so, then how does that happen then if they are silkies, but the colors aren't standard? what is the defect here? in the silkie breeding world, are you supposed to only breed certain color roos to specific colored hens to produce standard colors? is it bad to breed with these roos and a white hen? they are wonderful pets so they are staying, but I would like to know more. ;-)

also, what is LF? large fowl? I assume the orpington is a large, but what about the blue ameraucana roo? he is much smaller than the orpington roo. and truthfully we like him a LOT more. ;-))

thanks!
valerie

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

No, they are not standard color, but they are certainly Silkies! Their coloring could have come about from someone mixing up colors, or some kind of throw back from when someone else mixed something else in or maybe they came out of someone's project pen.
To me, they very much look like they could've come from a porcelain project, which isn't an accepted variety, but beautiful nonetheless!
Yes, you should only breed like colors if you're breeding to the standard.
Is mixing colors bad? Certainly not! If you intend to show them, you won't win any big awards, but it'll be a fun experience anyway! Breed them to your white hen and be surprised by what color the chicks and up being
LF= Large Fowl. Comparing Orpingtons and Am. is like comparing apples and oranges. Orps are big, heavy bodied birds and Ams are more streamlined, smaller bodied birds. There should be a size difference between them. If the Am is super small, maybe its a bantam.

Anyway, there are threads in the Breeding, Genetics and Showing section for all of the birds you've mentioned. They would be an excellent place to start since you want to learn more!

Best of luck!