What would I get from this pairing?

[BawkenQuackers]

What kind of chickens would I get if I mixed a bearded white silkie rooster with a white EE hen or vise versa? Would the chicks be white as well? Would they be faster growing than regular silkie? Is the feather type and fibro melanism a dominant or recessive trait? Has anyone else attempted this pairing?? Like to hear from you! And of course any other info would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm sorry no Silkie breeders have responded to your questions. I have had a few Silkies, and have seen mixes, and I can only relate what I've observed. I also have foot feathered Marans and crested Cream Legbars that I've observed in my own mixes.

My experiences....

Silkies (according to my understanding) that are pure white are likely recessive white...so 50/50 chance of chick being white if bred over a blackish bird...BUT you are putting that over an EE white....which might be recessive or dominant depending on the history. So let's assume both are recessive, it takes 2 genes for recessive, and breeding those 2 would give 2 genes (1 from each parent) so white chicks. If the EE is dominant white...white on all chicks again. It would take a few breedings over a black bird (as dominant black is primarily targeting black) to figure out if you've got dominant or recessive.

My experience with foot feather...passes most of the time, ditto with crests, for the first generation. It begins to drop out by generation 2 and beyond. Though I've noticed 1st generation is not as cleanly foot feathered...meaning some are rather sparse.

The Silkie feathering seems to fall away pretty fast...most Silkie mixes I've seen are normal feathered. A quick "AI search" (understanding that's limited reliability) does indicate it is a recessive trait. So with my personal experience and what AI is telling me, I suspect your chicks first generation will have normal feathering. You'd have to line breed back to the Silkie parent to get a 50/50 forward.

My experience has been the same with the melanine. It seems to pass pretty quickly too as most Silkie mix chicks I see have red combs. You'd have to line breed back to the Silkie to fix that trait. Apparently the fibromelanosis (which is dominant) also needs an inhibitor to be expressed, which I suspect is recessive?

Hopefully an experienced Silkie breeder will step in and give some advice.

Good luck with your mixes.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I should correct that a recessive white over a black bird would only be black as it takes 2 recessive genes.

And as to the beard, my experience is that generally passes to the first generation as well, but drops off in 2nd beyond unless you line breed back.

Going back to your how fast will it grow question...I can relate to bantam Cochins...first generation all mixes lost the fluffy Cochin feathering, had sparser footing, and were halfway size between standard parent and the bantam mother. So you end up with 3/4 sized chickens.

I enjoy my backyard mixes immensely. I find hybrids to have stronger health and growth.

LofMc

 

[BawkenQuackers]

I'm sorry no Silkie breeders have responded to your questions. I have had a few Silkies, and have seen mixes, and I can only relate what I've observed. I also have foot feathered Marans and crested Cream Legbars that I've observed in my own mixes.

My experiences....

Silkies (according to my understanding) that are pure white are likely recessive white...so 50/50 chance of chick being white if bred over a blackish bird...BUT you are putting that over an EE white....which might be recessive or dominant depending on the history. So let's assume both are recessive, it takes 2 genes for recessive, and breeding those 2 would give 2 genes (1 from each parent) so white chicks. If the EE is dominant white...white on all chicks again. It would take a few breedings over a black bird (as dominant black is primarily targeting black) to figure out if you've got dominant or recessive.

My experience with foot feather...passes most of the time, ditto with crests, for the first generation. It begins to drop out by generation 2 and beyond. Though I've noticed 1st generation is not as cleanly foot feathered...meaning some are rather sparse.

The Silkie feathering seems to fall away pretty fast...most Silkie mixes I've seen are normal feathered. A quick "AI search" (understanding that's limited reliability) does indicate it is a recessive trait. So with my personal experience and what AI is telling me, I suspect your chicks first generation will have normal feathering. You'd have to line breed back to the Silkie parent to get a 50/50 forward.

My experience has been the same with the melanine. It seems to pass pretty quickly too as most Silkie mix chicks I see have red combs. You'd have to line breed back to the Silkie to fix that trait. Apparently the fibromelanosis (which is dominant) also needs an inhibitor to be expressed, which I suspect is recessive?

Hopefully an experienced Silkie breeder will step in and give some advice.

Good luck with your mixes.

LofMc

Thank you for the info! I really appreciate it. These mixes will be pets, though I have something in mind for them and of course if I sell any culls I will disclose what they are. I do plan to breed out the crested trait but I would like to keep the melanin, beards and feathered legs if possible in future generations and depending on what they look like as for the silkie feathering.