Which ones should I keep?

[emzee]

I am going to find new homes for some of my silkies and I need help deciding which ones to keep and which ones to sell. I know that none of these are show quality, but which ones do you think are the closest? I only want to keep one of the roosters and I only want to sell one of the hens. So let me know which rooster to keep and which hen to sell. Thanks!

Rooster 1:


Rooster 2:


Rooster 3:


Rooster 4:


Hen 1:


Hen 2:


Hen 3:


Hen 4:


Hen 5:

 

[blaundee]

First, make sure the ones you want to keep all have 5 toes- not 4, not 6. Next, you want as many toes as possible to have feathers.

CERTAINLY get rid of rooster #1.

 

[blaundee]

Also, check their wings, open them all up and make sure they don't have split wings or twisted wings, etc. Get rid of ALL that have split wings.

From the little photos, and not being able to see their feet and wings well, I would say to consider keeping Rooster #4. But ONLY if he has good feet. #2, then #3... Get rid of #4.

 

[emzee]

Yes, they all have 5 toes and none of them have split or twisted wings. I thought I should probably get rid of rooster 1 on account of his unnaturally long tail! So is the most important trait in silkies foot feathering? Or is body type more important? When you say: #2, then #3... Get rid of #4, are you talking about the hens? So your opinion is to keep rooster 4 and get rid of hen 4. Is that right? Thanks for your help!

 

[blaundee]

Quote:
No, I was talking about the roosters. I meant to say get rid of number 1, not 4. My choice in order is #2, #3, #4 (All depending on their feet and wings, assuming they are similar to each other.) I wouldn't even consider keeping #1.

 

[blaundee]

Neither body type or foot type is actually more important, but if you have bad feet, it will haunt you in future generations and is harder to fix than body type. Plus most of your birds seem to have similar body types- I would rather have one who's body type was a bit off than have bad feet and wings.



As for which hen to get rid of, I'd say #5, or #2- if the feet are the same, and they both have good wings, I'd get rid of #5 hen.


So my final answer is... keep #2 rooster and get rid of #5 hen. (Assuming feet and wings are the same on everyone)

 

[lotzahenz]

HI Emzee!!! I haven't seen you on here in a while! Your birds are so nice. I like roo 4 the best from the pic, just because he has the most feathering. I least like hen two, she does not have as many feathers in her hock area. Best luck with the decision.

HenZ

 

[emzee]

Thank you both so much for all your help! Does anyone else have an opinion?

 

[emzee]

Okay, so after looking at their foot feathering I decided to keep rooster 2 and sell hen 5. Thanks again!