Silkie feathering

[TundraFang]

Hi, I bought some silkie chicks and most of them have hard feathering. I'm planning to breed the hard feathered ones with the chicks with the correct feathers. How many generations I'd need to breed before all the chicks I hatch have the fluffy Silkie feathering?

 

[PioneerChicks]

Where did you get them from? How much hard feathering do they have? If they are completely or even mostly hard feathered than they are likely silkie mixes, if not another breed entirely.

 

[TundraFang]

Where did you get them from? How much hard feathering do they have? If they are completely or even mostly hard feathered than they are likely silkie mixes, if not another breed entirely.

I got them from a breeder that claimed they're pure Silkies and she's breeding towards the SOP. Evidently not. I think some of them are pure Silkie but very low quality and some are most likely mixes. It doesn't bother me either way. I just want fluffy chickens lol I originally bought hatching eggs and then I bought older chicks from her. The older chicks had some sort of illness and I lost a ton of chickens but that's a whole new can of worms. I'll go take pictures of the weirdest ones!

 

[TundraFang]

There's also some black and white ones that are completely hard feathered but look like normal silkies otherwise. They all have a walnut comb, grey skin, and extra toes so they at least have some silkie in them.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

They look like Satins.
These are not an officially recognized breed but are essentially Silkies with hard feathering. They cannot be called Silkies though because they do not have silkied feathers. Depending on how many generations they have been working on the Satins, they may still be recessive for silkied feathers. The only way to know is to breed them with a Silkie and see what happens. If they carry the recessive gene for silkied feathers, then breeding them to a regular Silkie will give you 50% silkied feathered offspring and 50% hard feathered offspring.
While a Satin can never be 100% Silkie, they can be well over 90% Silkie.

 

[TundraFang]

They look like Satins.
These are not an officially recognized breed but are essentially Silkies with hard feathering. They cannot be called Silkies though because they do not have silkied feathers. Depending on how many generations they have been working on the Satins, they may still be recessive for silkied feathers. The only way to know is to breed them with a Silkie and see what happens. If they carry the recessive gene for silkied feathers, then breeding them to a regular Silkie will give you 50% silkied feathered offspring and 50% hard feathered offspring.
While a Satin can never be 100% Silkie, they can be well over 90% Silkie.

Okay thanks! Another question if you have time, the showgirl/naked neck looks Barred so is it possible to get a chick with the correct feathering but still keep the Barred coloring?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Also your naked neck bird, which would be called a Showgirl if it had silkied feathers, is incomplete dominant for the naked neck gene. Unless you want more naked necks or Showgirls, you should not use this one for breeding.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Okay thanks! Another question if you have time, the showgirl/naked neck looks Barred so is it possible to get a chick with the correct feathering but still keep the Barred coloring?

Yes it is possible, if this bird is truly barred.
Breed this one to a black silkied feathered bird and you may get Cuckoo silkies, but they will also be "Bowties" which is when a NN is bred to a non naked necked bird. Depends on what your goals are.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Also if your possibly barred bird is a hen, then her offspring will be sex linked when bred to a solid colored rooster, (barred boys, non barred girls).

 

[TundraFang]

Yes it is possible, if this bird is truly barred.
Breed this one to a black silkied feathered bird and you may get Cuckoo silkies, but they will also be "Bowties" which is when a NN is bred to a non naked necked bird. Depends on what your goals are.

Okay! I don't mind showgirl or bowtie offspring. It'll add some variety to my mixed flock

Also if your possibly barred bird is a hen, then her offspring will be sex linked when bred to a solid colored rooster, (barred boys, non barred girls).

It's starting to look a bit red in the face so I'm guessing cockerel. I have another one that also looks barred that I think is a pullet. Would they breed true to their coloring?