Project: Silkied EE

[NagemTX]

Following! I have blue cream silkies. Not quite sure what colors make that but was told lavender and buff. Mine look more normal blue redish. Anyway love this project and thak you for commenting on my projects.

 

[Slothinc]

Following! I have blur cream silkies. Not quite sure what colors make that but was told lavender and buff. Mine look more normal blue redish. Anyway love this project and thak you for commenting on my projects.

From what I have seen, there seem to be two types of blue cream silkies - some are the combination of actual blue and buff, and some are the combination of lavender and buff… and I think a lot of breeders have mixed them so they are a mix bag lol! The lavender based ones tend to look a lot lighter than the blue based ones. A lot of breeders are kind of starting to call the blue based ones “blue buff” but I think that’s a relatively new term. I would love to get blue creams at some point. I tried to get some last year from Bobbi Porto but sadly the only blue cream chick that hatched was a blue cockerel, which I gave away. (Not quite sure how that happened!) I may try getting some more blue creams in the future as I love them.

My grow outs are getting bigger. They range from 5.5-7.5 weeks old. Here are a few pictures. The “satin” lavender chicks are a cross of silkie and lav ameraucana bantam and will lay a blue egg, plus they are lav/lav. So they will be awesome for this project!

And I have 3 lav silkies so with 6 lavender birds I will really be able to jump start the lavender side of things!

The paint chicks are all 1/4 lav ameraucana bantam so they all have 50% chance of having the lav gene and 50% chance of having the blue egg gene.

 

[Delphene]

I love both of those breeds! Good luck

 

[Slothinc]

I love both of those breeds! Good luck

Thank you!!

 

[Slothinc]

Here are some new pictures of the grow outs as they approach 3 months old. One of the little black boys has found his voice. Once some of these boys are old enough to mate the hens, I will start hatching some eggs. On the next post I will ask for suggestions for pairing each of my layers with the cockerels that are growing out.

Here are the 15 growouts.

 

[Slothinc]

Okay who would like to play a pairing game?? Here are my 11 current laying girls. Who would you pair each one with?

Remember the goal is breeding towards birds that resemble a silkie with fibro skin, small combs (walnut preferred), dark eyes, feathered legs, upright tail, who lay a fun colored egg. For the color of the birds, lavender is preferred, but I also love paint, mottled and a few others. Feather types can be any - silkie, satin, frizzle satin/silkie. Naked necks are welcome.

I will post the hens on this thread and the possible boys on the next.

Hen #1 lavender ameraucana bantam - carries 2 blue egg genes, and 2 lavender genes. The smallest bird I have. She lays a very light blue egg.

Hen #2 Lemon Cuckoo silkie. My most typey silkie. Large crest but not vaulted. 95% sure she is cuckoo though it is hard to tell because of her coloring. Has light skin, eyes, comb due to cuckoo genes. Should have sex linked babies. Could possibly be useful for getting lavender based blue cream??

Hen #3 Olive Egger. Cross between blue marans and recessive white silkied EE. Carries recessive white, and non fibro gene. Carries one blue egg gene. Her eggs are light olive. Close to large fowl size.

Hen #4 Frizzled silkie showgirl. I thought was black but now I think blue. She doesn’t have any green/purple sheen. More of an underlying dull brown. Kind of a bummer because I need black birds. She’s a pure silkie and lays a light cream egg. Because she is frizzled and NN she could have some fun babies.

Hen #5 Black 1st gen cross of silkie and lav bantam ameraucana. She lays a pretty little blue egg (has one blue egg gene), and carries a lavender gene and the silkie gene as well.

Hen #6 Frizzled satin laced project silkie hen with black tail. She lays a blue/green egg! Carries 1 blue egg gene. Non vaulted. Her comb and wattles are kind of red.

Hen #7 Sister to hen 6. This one has a gray tail. She has a vaulted head and darker pigment. But she lays a very light cream egg, no blue egg gene.

Hen #8 Paint showgirl silkie. She’s 5 years old and has cute babies. However she does carry the non fibro skin gene and recessive white She’s a pure silkie and lays a tan egg.

Hen #9 1st generation cross of silkie and lavender ameraucana bantam. The daughter of hen 8. She lays a lovely little green egg and carries one blue egg gene. She is a lightly spotted paint but has autosomal red which makes her look dirty. I *think* the autosomal red may be coming from the lavender bantam ameraucanas because many of the paint offspring I am getting have that. Her comb and eyes are light. She carries lavender and silkie feather genes.

Hen #10 Gold birchen silkie hen. She’s five years old. She was fully black when she hatched but developed the birchen when she feathered out. She has a nice beard and feathering. But she must be blue based as she has had some blue offspring. She’s a pure silkie and lays an almost white egg.

Hen#11 Jubilee English Orpington. My largest girl. She lays pretty eggs that look orangey pink because of their bloom. They sometimes have speckles. She carries for lavender. I don’t know if the bantam boys will be able to mate her. But if they can, I’d love to hatch some of her babies.

 

[Slothinc]

Possible boys to pair with. All are 3 months and still growing out.

Roo #1 Paint silkied boy. Has nice toes and pigment. Seems to have some autosomal red coming through which makes him look dirty. He is 3/4 silkie and 1/4 ameraucana bantam. He has 50% chance of carrying lavender and 50% chance of carrying a blue egg gene but I haven’t tested him. More than the 1st generation crosses, he is starting to resemble a silkie. His mom is hen #10 the gold birchen in the post above.

Roo#2 black 1st generation cross of silkie and lavender banty am. He is the first one to start crowing, and is a little feisty - has no problem trying to spar the smaller hens. He has a pretty sheen to his feathers. He carries one blue egg gene, the silkie gene, and one lavender gene.

Roo #3 lavender 1st generation cross. He is awesome because he has 2 lav genes, one blue egg gene and a silkie feather gene.

Roo #4 lavender silkie boy. He will be helpful for giving all of his offspring a lavender gene and a silkie feather gene. But being a pure silkie he does not carry the blue egg gene.

 

[Slothinc]

Here are the pairings that I might make - I find that I am really just gravitating towards the two lavender roos. The black roo I don’t really have a need for because the lavender cross is essentially the same but has both lav genes so anyone that I wild pair to a 1st generation crosses gen cross would go with the lav boy I think. The paint boy I like but I should probably test him before breeding him so I know what he could potentially produce.

Hen #1 lav bantam am to Roo #4 Lav Silkie for all lavender first generation crosses that lay a blue egg.

Hen #2 lemon cuckoo silkie to Roo #3 lavender 1st generation crosses that cross. Would produce black sexlinked (m cuckoo, female solid) with leakage. 50% of offspring carry blue egg gene. 50% of offspring would be silkied, 50% satin.

Hen#3 OE to Roo #4 lav silkie, I suppose to get black babies who carry lavender with a chance at green or brown eggs. 50% would be silkied, 50% satin.

Hen #4 NN blue(?) silkie frizz to Roo#3 lav 1 gen, for black and blue offspring. 50% silkied, 50% satin, 50% frizzled, 50% NN, 50% blue egg gene, all carry lavender. Only keep black chicks.

Hen #5 black 1st generation crosses gen cross to Roo #4 lav silkie. Offspring will be 50% silkie, 50% satin, 50% lavender 50% black. 50% will have blue egg gene.

Hen #6 frizzle with blk tail to Roo #4 lavender silkie. No idea on coloring as I have no clue how lacing genes work. All offspring will carry lavender and 50% will have one blue egg gene.

Hen #7 frizz with gray tail to Roo #3 lavender 1st generation crosses gen cross. Not sure how colors will work but all chicks will carry lavender and 50% will have blue egg gene.

Hen #8 NN paint silkie to Roo #4 they will not have any blue egg genes but will be pure silkies with 50% having NN and all carrying lavender. The babies will be 50% paint and 50% black.

Hen #9 paint 1st gen cross to Roo #4 lav silkie - 50% silkied 50% satin, 50% will have blue egg gene and 50% will be Black 50% will be paint

Hen #10 gold birchen to Roo #4 lav silkie for purebred silkies without the blue egg gene. Babies will be black/blue probably with birchen? Not sure. All will carry lavender.

Hen #11 Orpington to Roo #3 or 4. Not sure what color the babies will be with the jubilee added in, but some will be lavender. If bred to Roo 3 then the eggs would have a chance to be kind of olive. All satin offspring.

So basically in with Roo #3 (lav 1st gen cross) we have Hens #2 (lem cuckoo) #4 (NN frizz) #7 (frizz satin laced gray tail)

And with Roo #4 we have all the rest, so 7-8 of them.

I wonder if I should rehome the paint boy or if I should test him to see if he has the blue egg gene. I could breed him to the lav am banty to see if he carries lavender.

 

[NagemTX]

If you want the blue egg gene to stick I would put F1 over F1 and your dubble blue egg gene hen.

 

[Slothinc]

If you want the blue egg gene to stick I would put F1 over F1 and your dubble blue egg gene hen.

That’s true - any other combo will only yield 50% chance of blue eggs I should probably do that and then test and keep birds that both have blue egg genes. However that will take the birds more towards the ameraucana bantam side, and not silkie. But maybe I should give it a try. If this black cockerel matures first, even though I don’t really need him, maybe I should just let him breed when he starts and hatch out those babies and only keep the very best ones.