Vaulted skulls... Are they actually a curse??

[suebee]

I've never had any problems or injuries with vaulted skull silkies or polish. Many find a vaulted skull more desirable. One thing I'm trying to find out is if vaulted skull silkies more likely to be female....hmmm.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

I've had one silkie chick with an extremely, I mean unusually huge vault just die in the first week of life and we always wondered if the vault was to blame.
I have also had one very beautiful splash cockerel die from a direct peck to the head by a tough standard red sex link hen. And several times I've had silkies suffer from vestibular symptoms after a less severe head trauma. (they always recovered in a week or 2)
In comparison to most other chicken breeds, silkie chicks are more fragile in general, vaulted skulls or no.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

with vaulted skull silkies or polish - the chicks especially one good peck from an adult bird to the crest/skull can kill them since the peck can easily penetrate their thin fragile skull coverings and in the case of most silkies - no protection except skin.

I agree I have seen chicks with and without vaults that have equally nice topknots - it all depends on the quality of the line. I have a few chicks with vaulted skulls that I just got but I can't put them with my other silkies because they'll get killed (I learned this yesterday

- one was pecked one time while I was watching them interact and the chick swooned a bit and when I picked it up within a minute it was dead - that one peck from a 8 week old went straight through to its skull)

 

[destiny_56085]

The chicks with the huge vaults are usually the ones more likely to be stuck in the shell. They have a hard time pipping since they can't manuever in the shell very well. If they do make it out of the shell, they are very sensitive to being brooded with other breeds. One hard peck to them can kill them. As young adults, I separate my cockerels off from the pullets as soon as I can tell. I've been left with more than a few pullets with crookneck when the overeager boys were trying to mate. I've had a few die while traveling to shows. They hit their head in the carrier. One of my splash pullets died while I was just giving her a bath before a show. She was flailing around and knocked her head into the faucet. Extreme temperature swings will also cause swelling on their brains. I've lost a few due to that too.

I'm getting to the point where I'd almost rather have all my hens non-vaulted. In my opinion it gives them a better crest shape. The big old vaults leave this mushroom shape and you can see the indentation or crease where the skull meets the vault. For showing, you have to sit there for about an hour carefully plucking and shaping that crease out. For the breeding aspect, you don't see as many of the hens getting hurt when the cock grabs on with its beak while mating. My cocks I do like to be vaulted though. It provides a backdrop for their comb. It usually goes hand in hand with the smaller combs and bigger crests on them. Pullets it doesn't seem to matter on crest size for me...just shape.

This is kind of what I'm trying to say...
On this buff cockerel (yeah it crowed), look at the dark triangular section on the front. You can see exactly where that vault rised up on him. At least this one had enough feathers to round out the crest pretty decent. Good example of how that big vault hides that comb on him too.

ANother big vault hiding the comb on another cockerel:

Here's what I mean by the mushroom shape on pullets. You can definitely see where the round vault is sticking up and how the rest just sits there. It not nice and round...more like a stocking cap sitting on their head.

Now this is more the shape I want....nice and round. No indentation....

 

[Jenski]

Thanks to those who have added info on vaulted skulls. It has been very helpful.

Just to add to the pot of general knowledge - - I unfortunately had a breeder-quality silkie euthanized this week for severe torticollis (wry neck). I asked the state vet to do a necropsy and take a look at her skull/brain in the process, thinking the vaulted skull might have contributed to an injury to my girl's brain. Interestingly, the vet called me back and reported there was no vault; she found a complete, intact skull. . . and these are not PQ silkies, either; their superior-colored sister won BV at the Silkie Nationals last year.

I wonder, though, if perhaps only certain lines of silkies have the vaulted skull - - perhaps only the "purest" or oldest, unbroken lines from China? Just a thought. I welcome any thoughts or info on this, and hope I have added something of value here.

 

[Rachel's Hobby Hatchery]

confused here, what causes the "vaulted skulls"??? also, if there is no benifit but a lot of reasons not to then why do people still breed/keep chickens with vaulted skulls? Why not just dispatch the vaulted ones and breed the ones that have regular skulls, eventually the problum will breed out of the blood line. Im worried about the life of adult birds with this condition... Im not an ARA, but come on, if the bird is suffering than why keep it live???? maybe I just dont understand?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Rachel's Hobby Hatchery :

confused here, what causes the "vaulted skulls"??? also, if there is no benifit but a lot of reasons not to then why do people still breed/keep chickens with vaulted skulls? Why not just dispatch the vaulted ones and breed the ones that have regular skulls, eventually the problum will breed out of the blood line. Im worried about the life of adult birds with this condition... Im not an ARA, but come on, if the bird is suffering than why keep it live???? maybe I just dont understand?

I have lots of adult silkies, male and female, that are vaulted. Absolutley none of them are suffering. They live a normal life just like my other chickens.​

 

[destiny_56085]

This isn't a regular occurance, but it does happen. I hatch anywhere from 25 to 60 chicks a week. When I break open the remaining eggs, I'll find 10+ usually that were fully formed but just couldn't get out. I will have over 100+ babies in the growout pens at any given time. The chicks don't bother me so bad. Its the one you have prepped for 6 months already and have the highest hopes for. Those you remember. You do lose a few here and there. Its not like a huge plague, but it does happen with these breeds.

 

[suebee]

I guess my theory on vaulted skulls apt to be females is out the window after all your feedback. Great pics destiny!

 

[destiny_56085]

Rachel's Hobby Hatchery :

confused here, what causes the "vaulted skulls"??? also, if there is no benifit but a lot of reasons not to then why do people still breed/keep chickens with vaulted skulls? Why not just dispatch the vaulted ones and breed the ones that have regular skulls, eventually the problum will breed out of the blood line. Im worried about the life of adult birds with this condition... Im not an ARA, but come on, if the bird is suffering than why keep it live???? maybe I just dont understand?

It originally started out as a mutation. Its a trait that people selected to keep in the gene pool. 10 years ago when I was just looking into raising silkies, I never saw a vaulted skull on a bird period. Within the last 5-7 years or so it seems like this trend has taken hold. Its just like in other animals. Why do they raise satinette pigeons with beaks so short that they can't feed their young? Why raise bulldogs with heads so massive that you have to do a C section to get them out versus a natural birth? Its because you can...... Alot of people equate vaulted skulls with big crests. Get the right bloodlines and this isn't something you have to worry about. In the beginning people didn't care if they had fragile birds as long as they were breeding for monster vaults. They are finally starting to realize the negative consequences. Same goes for those breeding for the shortest backs possible and S shaped stance. Great for the show ring, but eventually you will end up employing AI on all your birds because they can no longer breed naturally.​