What's wrong with their feathers?

[misschickenlittle]

I now have gobs of splits, with Blues, Blacks, Mauves & Chocolates. I have Fluffy Blues & Blacks. I'm hoping to get Fluffy Chocolates & Mauves this hatch, since they started laying again a couple of weeks ago. 

I'm going to split out the Splits from the Fluffies to REMOVE the Silkied from the Chocolates, since I'd like to also have flat-feathered Chocolate Ameraucanas.

They seem very strong now after several generations of outcrossing to good Ameraucana stock. I feel like I'm back to normal constitution. I had one hen drop for no reason out of about 30 birds in the last 6 months. She was from 2 generations back, so I think we're good!!

I'd love to get more eggs from you. All my Am are roos...

 

[wolftracks]

I now have gobs of splits, with Blues, Blacks, Mauves & Chocolates. I have Fluffy Blues & Blacks. I'm hoping to get Fluffy Chocolates & Mauves this hatch, since they started laying again a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going to split out the Splits from the Fluffies to REMOVE the Silkied from the Chocolates, since I'd like to also have flat-feathered Chocolate Ameraucanas.

They seem very strong now after several generations of outcrossing to good Ameraucana stock. I feel like I'm back to normal constitution. I had one hen drop for no reason out of about 30 birds in the last 6 months. She was from 2 generations back, so I think we're good!!

I need to pick your brain on chocolates. I started with 2 hens and a black roo. All bantams. I had 7 pullets and lost 5! Don;t ask. So I have the 2 hens and the 2 black split pullets in with a split roo. Split meaning chocolate/black. I'm lost for this year. I was told I should get chocolate pullets and black cockerels this year.Hope that's right. I want LF, but had to start with the bantams. I'd like mauve, so if I can get this right, I can work on those while working on LF. At least I think I can.

I have 5 or 6 smooth splits for the Silkied pens. One black, some blues and a splash. Then I have a blue hen and roo in one pen and a splash roo in the other. I'm taking the all smooth hen out of his pen. Not sure what I should put in with him. I was thinking the splash, the black for sure, except I'm not sure. Anyone have a suggestion?

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote: Hold up...in Chocolate, hens can't be split. They either are or aren't...so if your offspring are black, they are not in the chocolate game unless they are male.

That's a bit tough to get sometimes, because the brain keeps switching back to the way things work for recessive, but basically I think what you have is this:

CHOC pullets + Black roo= (current) choc split roo & BLACK pullets

So where you are now is 2 different sets of girls:

choc split roo + CHOC pullets= 50% CHOC, both sexes. BLACK pullets have no choc, BLACK cockerels are split

choc split roo + BLACK pullets= 50% choc pullets (others will be black, no choc at all), 50% choc split cockerels, 50% BLACK cockerels no choc

SO:

I would get those black pullets out of the mix, to up your choc production pronto. In Chocolates, the quickest way into the game is with a Choc male.

On the Silkied, it's your call...what colors do you want the most?

 

[wolftracks]

Hold up...in Chocolate, hens can't be split. They either are or aren't...so if your offspring are black, they are not in the chocolate game unless they are male.

That's a bit tough to get sometimes, because the brain keeps switching back to the way things work for recessive, but basically I think what you have is this:

CHOC pullets + Black roo= (current) choc split roo & BLACK pullets

So where you are now is 2 different sets of girls:

choc split roo + CHOC pullets= 50% CHOC, both sexes. BLACK pullets have no choc, BLACK cockerels are split

choc split roo + BLACK pullets= 50% choc pullets (others will be black, no choc at all), 50% choc split cockerels, 50% BLACK cockerels no choc

SO:

I would get those black pullets out of the mix, to up your choc production pronto. In Chocolates, the quickest way into the game is with a Choc male.

On the Silkied, it's your call...what colors do you want the most?

Well of course I was wrong. I've never heard about the black hens not being split. I read this before and didn't reply, but ran out and grabbed the black pullets out, so now it's just the 2 chocolate hens and the split roo. I stuck the black pullets in with the black roo and a lavender hen, so I'm good for now. Right?? LOL

Oh wait, I just reread.......... So if I have the black pullets in there, I could still get splits? OMG !!! My brain hurts this morning. LOL My black pullets are from the same breeding as the split roo, so do I use them? They aren't laying yet and I need to snatch them out of the black pen if I can still use them.

I have no access to a chocolate roo. I know it takes forever to do it this way, but it's all I have to work with.


OK I have a split Silkied roo/splash... and several hens from BBS, so all one of more of each color or pattern. The other pair of splits are blue and they are the parent birds of these pullets. I was thinking of putting my black pullet into the blue pen. I'm good with getting blacks, and want to have at least a few. I was then going to put the splash and blue girls in with the splash roo. I'll get more splash that way. Will that produce splash and blue or is there still a good chance of black? I know black can come from it, but was thinking there would be better chance of blues.

Another question I have is using a black from one of these breedings to lavender. I have lavenders, so that's a start, but what would I do to get lavender without a mutation happening from using the blues? I've seen birds bred from a BBS breeding and the result wasn't a pure color. I know I don't need all of that now, but thinking future breedings to get lavender Silkeds later on.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I'm getting very confused about what you have and their genetics.

The problem of using black hens with a split choc is that you will not be able to tell which of the sons are split to choc and which are not.

what is a split silkied roo/splash? split to what? choc? lav? what are the blues split to? choc? lav? If choc, the mother cannot be split as was said earlier.

What are your goals?

 

[wolftracks]

Sorry. He's Split to Silkied. Ok all if my Silkieds are splits. I have a Splash and a blue.... roos . Then I have A blue split to hen with my blue roo. The split pullets I have left are also smith. I lost all the ones with Silkied feathers. So now I had one black, one slash and some blues from the blue parents.

I hope that make sense.

I was thinking of putting a blue and black with parent roo. The blue one.

I'm thinking the splash and other blues should go with the Splash roo. Does any of this sound right?

 

[wolftracks]

I hate auto correct

 

[ChooksChick]

Sonoran's right about the inability to know what the boys are if you do leave the Black hens in there. You should leave them out for at least a couple of weeks and get a batch of eggs you KNOW will produce split and Choc boys. That's your fast track.

On the Silkieds, you should wait to work toward Lav until you have a Silkied Black, either gender. You want to know that all of the offspring are split to Lav, split to Silkied. If you have a mixed population and have to put splits together, you could lose track of the genes and have things crop up later you don't mean to...and worse, you could lose the genes you're working to infuse, because split to split also creates bird who get nothing from either parent: 25% express, 25% devoid, 50% split.

When you think of your B/B/S, you could really just match them up any which way- what colors do you want to produce?

 

[DragonEggs]

Hey does anyone have some of these eggs available? I've got my incubator up and running and have been experimenting with a strand of frizzle americaunas and I would LOVE to breed some frizzled silkies! Not to mention I have been wanting some of these beautiful babies for a few years now! LOL!

 

[LBKS]

We have a new thread over here for those who might have missed it (less misleading thread name): https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/827543/silkied-ameraucana-project

AFAIK no one has eggs to ship just yet, but I could be wrong. I expect there will be some later in the season - I'm pretty sure I will have more silkied/split eggs than I can incubate this year.