What is most important when breeding silkies? Silky Breeders Help me!

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Quote:
Type is most important. There is a saying, "build the house first, then paint it." A bird with four toes and excellent type will give better quality offspring than one with poor type but correct toes. However, if you are going to use a four-toes bird, the mate must have at least five toes or you will not get 5-toed offspring.

Count the number of defects in a bird when deciding to use it or not--if there is too much to correct, then you will be a long time chasing one thing or another. Any more than three things wrong and it may be a wonderful pet, but should not be a breeder.

Most silkie traits are dominant (silkie feathers are an exception), so even with one copy you are heading in the right direction.

Keep birds in colour-matched groups: white to white, partridge to partridge, buff to buff, etc. Keep records of the offspring from each mating so that you can see what works and what doesn't. A male with one female may not produce good chicks, whereas with another the chicks are dynamite!

A red comb is hard to correct; however comb shape is pretty easy. Toe separation is pretty easy. Number of toes is easy (your 4-toed birds got that from BOTH parents, not just one).

What she said. Arent 5 toes dominant?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yes, 5 toes are dominant, but if both parents have 4 toes...

 

[CallyB57]

Quote:
My camera is dead as the battery will not hold a charge (it's 7 years old). And I hesitate to buy another battery as I'd rather have an upgraded model and will buy another soon. If I can think to bum my Mom's digital cam, I will take some of all my silkies and post them here.

 

[bossynbella]

I am going to go check again but I am pretty sure I checked my black silky and he had 5 toes on both feet. The questionable bird has 4 on one and 5 on the other.
I know my birds will never be the best starting with what I have but I like the ones I have and want to just keep improving the quality.
I will let you know if the rooster has 5 toes.
Melissa

 

[bossynbella]

Quote:
Type is most important. There is a saying, "build the house first, then paint it." A bird with four toes and excellent type will give better quality offspring than one with poor type but correct toes. However, if you are going to use a four-toes bird, the mate must have at least five toes or you will not get 5-toed offspring.

Count the number of defects in a bird when deciding to use it or not--if there is too much to correct, then you will be a long time chasing one thing or another. Any more than three things wrong and it may be a wonderful pet, but should not be a breeder.

Most silkie traits are dominant (silkie feathers are an exception), so even with one copy you are heading in the right direction.

Keep birds in colour-matched groups: white to white, partridge to partridge, buff to buff, etc. Keep records of the offspring from each mating so that you can see what works and what doesn't. A male with one female may not produce good chicks, whereas with another the chicks are dynamite!

A red comb is hard to correct; however comb shape is pretty easy. Toe separation is pretty easy. Number of toes is easy (your 4-toed birds got that from BOTH parents, not just one).

What she said. Arent 5 toes dominant?

Sorry it took so long for me to reply but I checked every single other silky we have and Oprah is the only one with four toes. So why do half of my babies have four toes. And WHY do some of my "black" silkies have white creasts! I will talke pics later and show you. I just don't understand this I thought I had three nice looking black silkies and what I am getting for offspring is atrocious I am honestly afraid to even keep the really nice looking ones (there are only two of 10) because I am afraid they are hiding something that will pop up next time around.
I have seperated just Grendle, Gretchen and the blue hen. I left oprah in the other pen for now. Till i figure this toe thing out.

Thanks Melissa

 

[Windchyme]

Quote:
Thank you for your observation. I myself in the mess of toes and crests and wings and backs and everything else one has to concern ones self with when choosing and culling have not paid a whole lot of attention to size and you are so right that I should. In the future I will try to remember about that along with everything else. I'm sure at least some of my birds are too big.

 

[Windchyme]

Quote:
What she said. Arent 5 toes dominant?

Sorry it took so long for me to reply but I checked every single other silky we have and Oprah is the only one with four toes. So why do half of my babies have four toes. And WHY do some of my "black" silkies have white creasts! I will talke pics later and show you. I just don't understand this I thought I had three nice looking black silkies and what I am getting for offspring is atrocious I am honestly afraid to even keep the really nice looking ones (there are only two of 10) because I am afraid they are hiding something that will pop up next time around.
I have seperated just Grendle, Gretchen and the blue hen. I left oprah in the other pen for now. Till i figure this toe thing out.

Thanks Melissa

Melissa,

You got your silkies from a hatchery that does not care about what babies you get in the future. They put whatever together to breed with whatever. This is one reason you go with breeders for your silkies and even then sometimes unexpected things pop up. They are hiding things that will pop up later...guaranteed, but not as bad as your intial ones. It is very possible that some of the ones that don't show the 4 toe trait are carrying it and when they match up together they are making it.


To make the quality better study the standard thoroughly and try to understand it when you go through youngsters pick the ones with the least amount of faults for your breeders.

That's just about all you can do if you are not willing to start over.

 

[jimnjay]

I think your first mistake was buying hatchery Silkies. If it were me, I would put them aside and buy some eggs from a good breeder. There are lots of people on this board that raise nice Silkies and do not charge an arm and leg for them.

Hatchery birds are from mass produced birds and the segregation of colors and faults are not important to the breeders, just numbers of birds.

You can deal with a fault or two here and there and improve the overall look of the offspring. If you hatch a bird with 4 toes and one parent has 5 and the other 4, that means that the bird with 5 toes has a 4 toed bird in its ancestory. Any bird you breed from that pair will also carry the 4 toes gene and they will pop up throughout your future breeding program. Same with off colors in the hackles, wings and tail.

Crest size can be improved but it is best to start with a bird that has a moderately good crest. Same with foot feathers. Don't start with a bird with next to no feathers and expect to improve it in one generation.

People who have exceptional Silkies have worked for years to get them that way and when they sell birds you can expect to pay a good amount for them.

Raising Silkies like any other breed requires that you read and understand the standards for perfection for that breed. Read the posts here and go to Shows and ask question specific to you immediate goals. There is no magic formula to producing quality Silkies especially if you start with hatchery birds. It is a labor of love and study.

I have been raising Silkie for 4 years and I know a good one when I see it but I still can not break it down into intregal parts and say exactly what make that bird better than others. Some people have a much better eye than others.

 

[bossynbella]

I understand the hatchery thing but the one with four toes I have now I got from a breeder on here. So I am not sure you can say. Breeders are better then hatcherys all the time. I get attatched to my birds I am more then willing to add better stock I just don't want to have to sell off all the ones I have now.
Melissa

 

[Shared Acres]

Lots of good info here!