Terminology explanation needed

[cresty]

Can someone explain some terminology for me? What does it mean if a chicken is 7th generation or 9th generation? Example: I know a silkie crossed with a naked neck makes a "showgirl". Now, if a bird is listed as 7th generation showgirl does that mean it's the 7th generation off the original cross or that there have been 7 generations of showgirl to showgirl breedings?

Thanks,
Cresty

 

[jimnjay]

It is my understanding when crossing two different breeds the first Generation is usually referred to as F1, If you continue with the numbering system from there on with each sucessive breeding of the crossed birds you will get F7 which included the orginal Silkie X Turken in this case. If the individual breeder is referring to the number of pure breedings or not I don't know. You could always ask. By the time you have F9 you are deeply into a new breed. There could still be variations in different features such as foot feathering or comb type and color at that point but you would have a pretty well developed type and the offsprings should not have lots of throw backs but there could still be some pop up periodically. Silkie feathering is resessive so getting all the birds to have silkie feathering will take a while.

Hopefully a Showgirl breeder will come along and confirm what I have stated.