Giant Silkie True Blue project

[Lilfufubrahma]

My end goals for this project:
-white Silkie feathers, no pattern
-black skin, blue ears
-eight to eleven pounds at maturity
-big round puff ball tail
-balanced/upright stance
-walnut comb, plumb or black
-20 to 30 inches tall
-hens lay blue eggs

The birds I’m using to get this result:
-white silkie
-whiting true blue (for blue egg gene)
-Cochin (to increase the fluffiness)
-red ranger or freedom ranger (for heft)
-dark Brahma (for size)

My expectation is that Giant Silkie True Blues will be 21/64 Silkie, 19/64 whiting true blue, 8/64 Cochin, 8/64 ranger, 8/64 dark Brahma

Anyone working on Giant silkies and/or silkies that lay blue eggs is welcome to post on this thread. This is the very beginning of a project I expect to take several years. I have chicks of all the base breads. The only one I am on the fence about is the Cochin. I will be starting the first matings in fall, so there is still time to make some adjustments. Once I start I want to see the plan all the way through to learn how I can adjust my planning for future projects.

 

[triciayoung]

This post may help you:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/giant-silkie-project.1346733/

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Good luck! I will keep an eye on this to see how it goes!
I am hatching some of my silkies eggs right now actually, the rooster being a light Brahma… I’m quite interested in how they will turn out. Fluffy like a silkie or more full feathers? Maybe just head, cheek and feet fluff? Very very excited to see

 

[Adorae]

My understanding is the hookless-ness of the Silkie feathering is recessive. So you'll likely end up with normal feathering on a dark skinned bird.

 

[Lilfufubrahma]

Good luck! I will keep an eye on this to see how it goes!
I am hatching some of my silkies eggs right now actually, the rooster being a light Brahma… I’m quite interested in how they will turn out. Fluffy like a silkie or more full feathers? Maybe just head, cheek and feet fluff? Very very excited to see

Feel free to share your chick pics! I’m excited about the project. I have 1 breed left to get and my birds need to mature. I should start be ready to start hatching F1 in fall!

 

[Lilfufubrahma]

My understanding is the hookless-ness of the Silkie feathering is recessive. So you'll likely end up with normal feathering on a dark skinned bird.

The first generation will be split for hh (the silkie feather gene), so the second generation will be bred back to pure silkie 50% of the offspring have hh homozygous for the recessive silkie gene. It’s going to take 7 generations and a lot of barnyard mixes sold to neighbors, but that’s part of the fun. But you are absolutely right that the first generation will be normal feathers on a dark skinned bird.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Feel free to share your chick pics! I’m excited about the project. I have 1 breed left to get and my birds need to mature. I should start be ready to start hatching F1 in fall!

I will! Still 19 days to go though

 

[RanaR]

How’d they turn out?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Similar to my Rainbow Laying Silkies (Mini Project), which are gonna be Largefowl, or Giant.

 

[Lilfufubrahma]

Similar to my Rainbow Laying Silkies (Mini Project), which are gonna be Largefowl, or Giant.

sounds extremely similar