Silkie cross for color

[Timbers Happy Hens]

What breed is good to cross to silkies to introduce specific colors? I’m considering crossing my lavender Orpington girls to my black silkie or paint silkie roo to work towards producing a line of lavender silkies. I know it would take time and work but that’s the fun part! I also thought about doing the same thing with chocolate Orpingtons, as I’m getting a couple soon.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What breed is good to cross to silkies to introduce specific colors? I’m considering crossing my lavender Orpington girls to my black silkie or paint silkie roo to work towards producing a line of lavender silkies. I know it would take time and work but that’s the fun part! I also thought about doing the same thing with chocolate Orpingtons, as I’m getting a couple soon.

Orpingtons are about the last breed I would cross to get a color into silkies. There are already silkie breeders with lavender birds. If you must make your own, use lavender cochin bantams. At least they're the right size and have feathered legs already.

 

[Chocoboko]

In the long run, you'd save yourself money by just purchasing the pricier lavender silkies from a breeder than trying to breed your own from silkie/cochin or orpington crosses. That's generations worth of chickens you'll need to house, feed, and provide care for (or sell/rehome) just to get to the chicken you actually want many years later. Many breeders will ship chicks also, so location may not be an issue.

Now chocolate silkies are harder to come across in the states. If your heart is set on chocolate, if you're unable to find a breeder, and you're willing and able to go the mile to breed for them, then by all means go for it! Just keep in mind that there is two types of chocolate: sex-linked and dun. Sex-linked chocolate iirc is recessive and can be found in Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Seramas in the states. Dun I think is more common and works like the blue gene, so you would be breeding black/dun/khaki instead of black/blue/splash.

You'll also need to decide if them meeting standard is important because you're going to have to deal with breeding out the nonstandardized traits. Crossing a silke with an orpington, for example, will leave you with issues with:
single combs
reduction of fibromelanism
improper toe number
reduced or missing crests, muff/beard, and foot feathering
red ears
brown eggs
body size conformation
Plus silkie feathering is a recessive trait, and requires frequent back crossing to not lose completely, much like the sex-linked chocolate color itself.

A lot to think about! Sorry for the huge infodump!

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

Honestly it's tempting to start a thread just for everyone to post pics of their bushy browed birds, can't get enough of them!
That's the best part about any animal tbh, nothing has to match the sop for them to be wonderful. They're all amazing in their own way.

Yes! I love the threads that are just pics of cute birds. And yes I agree, I’m not currently breeding to the sop as I haven’t been doing this long, just strengthening my stock right now and trying to learn more. My favorite birds are nowhere near show quality and the one I do have that’s show quality is such a snatch

 

[Chocoboko]

I could be wrong but I think they would most likely be black based birds with leakage or partridge like markings. I don’t think you’d get any blue or splash like combos since 1 copy of the blue gene has to be present in both parents for it to be expressed in the phenotype

Splash technically has two copies of the gene so one would be guaranteed to be passed on, creating blue. It would be like crossing a black with a splash, but with the possibility of partridge leakage.

Here's a handy chart I've seen going around explaining basic BBS inheritance. Hope it helps!

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

Last > was aware, IDEAL Hatchery had lavender cochin bantams. They were listed as Self Blue

Thank you, they have them listed for $5 a piece for live chicks. Extremely reasonable honestly. I’ve never ordered live chicks before, should I wait until spring when the weather is better?

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

Last > was aware, IDEAL Hatchery had lavender cochin bantams. They were listed as Self Blue

Wow I’ve never heard of ideal hatchery before. They had a few other breeds I’ve been on the hunt for and their shipping isn’t ridiculously expensive. Thank you for the recommendation! Will be ordering in a month or so

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

In the long run, you'd save yourself money by just purchasing the pricier lavender silkies from a breeder than trying to breed your own from silkie/cochin or orpington crosses. That's generations worth of chickens you'll need to house, feed, and provide care for (or sell/rehome) just to get to the chicken you actually want many years later. Many breeders will ship chicks also, so location may not be an issue.

Now chocolate silkies are harder to come across in the states. If your heart is set on chocolate, if you're unable to find a breeder, and you're willing and able to go the mile to breed for them, then by all means go for it! Just keep in mind that there is two types of chocolate: sex-linked and dun. Sex-linked chocolate iirc is recessive and can be found in Orpingtons, Wyandottes, and Seramas in the states. Dun I think is more common and works like the blue gene, so you would be breeding black/dun/khaki instead of black/blue/splash.

You'll also need to decide if them meeting standard is important because you're going to have to deal with breeding out the nonstandardized traits. Crossing a silke with an orpington, for example, will leave you with issues with:
single combs
reduction of fibromelanism
improper toe number
reduced or missing crests, muff/beard, and foot feathering
red ears
brown eggs
body size conformation
Plus silkie feathering is a recessive trait, and requires frequent back crossing to not lose completely, much like the sex-linked chocolate color itself.

A lot to think about! Sorry for the huge infodump!

No i appreciate the information. I’ve been breeding for a little bit now and was interested in a side project for fun, especially since I’d really love some lavender silkies. I’m not to worried about Lots of generations of babies as I have lots of people in my area that buy the barnyard bantams I produce. It’s a great way to supplement the chicken keeping costs.
I do have a chocolate hen that I got from a breeder that I’m very excited to cross to my paint rooster in the spring. But the lavender have been almost impossible to find. I’m not bothered by have little mixed breeds running around as long as they’re healthy. One of my best hens is a satin silkie, perfectly black, no leakage and gorgeous green sheen feathers. If I was breeding to show them the entire situation would be different.
I do understand it would probably be more expensive in the long run, but $5 and $10 here and there is a lot easier on my budget than $100 all at once.

 

[Chocoboko]

Yes, I just have a chocolate hen right now, but I’m waiting for a breeder nearby to have a chocolate rooster come available so I can hopefully produce some sex linked muave pullets too.
I also love the crazy eyebrows, my calico Cochin roo has them, he’s not quite to the sop but he’s just so darlin I can’t bring myself to sell him.

Honestly it's tempting to start a thread just for everyone to post pics of their bushy browed birds, can't get enough of them!
That's the best part about any animal tbh, nothing has to match the sop for them to be wonderful. They're all amazing in their own way.

 

[PinkFrostina]

I know I’m late to this thread, but does anyone know what a grey splash silkie roo crossed with a partridge hen would give you offspring-wise?