Can someone please help me with some questions. I have mostly white silkies and cochins. Im wanting to breed only certian birds but I'm not sure with ones I should sort off and not bother breeding. Should I short off bad feet first, bad combs, no nails on toes, bad leg feathers. Which is worse to have.... I just would get better quality going in my bunch. My kids will be showing these chicken in 4H so thats my main reason for wanting to get good babies coming. Thanks for any advise my white silkies had been getting bred by my moltted cochin and blue splash cochin what are they going to look like.LoL!! They all have black skin and silkie feet but wonder what colors they will be. mostly blackish for now. Help!!!! hahah
Your best bet would to cull what you listed above and peen the diffrent breeds, look at the byc auction and pick up some quality eggs to hatch and add to your flocks. Do you have a Standard of Perfection (SOP)?
My best suggestion is to go to an APA show, and get there the day of cooping in. Find someone who is knowledgeable of the breeds you like to keep and approach them and ask them IF they would critique your birds. Many breeders are wanting to help new to the hobby folks like yourself. Even better is to wait till after the show and find a judge and ask him/her to critique your birds. Have the birds clean and in a decent size cage. Before bringing the judge or breeder over make sure the birds feet are clean. No one likes looking over a dirty bird. You should get a good idea of your quality. Do not be surprised IF these folks may tell you to cull and start over. Many times when you get to a show on Coop in day you can pick up a reasonable good quality male that someone is parting with. You can always buy males cheaper then hens/pullets. And get lesser quality pullet/hen to start a flock and hatch every single egg. OR buy young juvies or chicks from a reputable breeder. Good luck!
