Working towards making a cuckoo silkie!

[Pampered chicken girl]

I am hoping to create cuckoo silkies!! I currently have a barred rock, silkie, and silkie rock which is a silkie Barred Rock Cross. I am planning on breeding the silkie rock under the silkie and breeding back to silkies and silkie rocks to create a bird with silkie feathers and features but retain the cuckoo color. I know it will take awhile but when I have the time and space this is my plan. Any suggestions or help with genetics is appreciated. If you have questions please ask I would love to answer! I will keep everyone posted too

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good luck with your project!

 

[NatJ]

I am planning on breeding the silkie rock under the silkie and breeding back to silkies and silkie rocks to create a bird with silkie feathers and features but retain the cuckoo color. I know it will take awhile but when I have the time and space this is my plan. Any suggestions or help with genetics is appreciated.

The white barring is caused by one specific gene.

If you have black silkies, and if your silkie-rock mix has the white barring, you will never need to cross back to a Barred Rock. Just make sure each mating has at least one bird with barring, and keep breeding to the black silkies until you have all the other silkie traits. Then start breeding your barred (or cuckoo) birds to each other and you will soon have a line of cuckoo silkies that breed true.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

The white barring is caused by one specific gene.

If you have black silkies, and if your silkie-rock mix has the white barring, you will never need to cross back to a Barred Rock. Just make sure each mating has at least one bird with barring, and keep breeding to the black silkies until you have all the other silkie traits. Then start breeding your barred (or cuckoo) birds to each other and you will soon have a line of cuckoo silkies that breed true.

Ok thanks, what if my silkies are paint?

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Good luck with your project!

Thanks

 

[NatJ]

Ok thanks, what if my silkies are paint?

If you breed two paints together, you should get some chicks that are all black.

Also, if you breed your barred chickens to paint silkies, you will get some barred, some paint, and often some black. You can breed from any of them, but the barred ones and the black ones will be eaiser to work with than the paint ones.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

If you breed two paints together, you should get some chicks that are all black.

Also, if you breed your barred chickens to paint silkies, you will get some barred, some paint, and often some black. You can breed from any of them, but the barred ones and the black ones will be eaiser to work with than the paint ones.

Ok thanks

 

[Abarrett3870]

Omg! This is so interesting & if successful would be a beautiful silkie. Please update with pics of any cuckoo silkie success. They will be in high demand if you do . Good luck

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Omg! This is so interesting & if successful would be a beautiful silkie. Please update with pics of any cuckoo silkie success. They will be in high demand if you do . Good luck

Thanks! I'm going to start doing some silkie breeding soon so I'll definitely start experimenting!