silky bantam or just silky

stann · **Joined:** Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:06 pm **Posts:** 2

I will contact them to see if they are already apart of the forum if not will ask the to join up

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

to the forum stann ^ I see this is post number 2 = :-D

glad you are here :-D

stann wrote:

I have seen the bantam version once about 3 years ago in a small town in Victoria the breeder maybe one that soozorps is referring too not sure but I will not name them. They had at the time about 10 or so true bantams but I am sure they have a lot more now?

That may be them stann – one of the other breeders was in VIC – I lost their [and a few other peoples] contact details in our move so am not able to get an outcross [resigned shrugging]
[interstate breeder I know is not prepared to release stock]

stann wrote:

I will contact them to see if they are already apart of the forum if not will ask the to join up

Excellent idea :-D

as they would have a wealth of info to share re the Silkie

silver duckwing · **Posted:** Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:17 pm

Our silkie hen, Vanilla, is very small, only a tiny bit bigger than our Jap bantams (she likes to hang out with them !) but she comes from a flock of normal size birds so we can't really call her a bantam. She was described to us as 'the runt of the litter'! We have been told that this can occur in flocks that are inbred over a long period, or just by chance from time to time. She is the best natured, smartest silkie we have had and is laying every day at the moment, which is more than my other chooks are managing! Do you think that if we bred her to a similaarly small bird we would get more littlies? Is that basically the way chook breeds are bantamised?

OakA · **Posted:** Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:15 am

Silver duckwing,
It is the way many breeds were bantamised, some others used a bantam out cross then selectively bred back to produce the fowls they desired.This outcross must have many similar breed characteristics to the bantam breed you are intending to make ie a rosecomb bantam as a cross to produce Minorca bantams or maybe an Australorp bantam to produce Orpington bantams, breeds that share a common genetic make-up and breed characteristics.
Many old books discribe the process but simply it was a case of smallest to smallest, breed late (so as to come to maturity quickly and thus a smaller fowl results), breed from pullets (laying a smaller egg which resulted in a smaller chick to start with) and feed sparingly or with feeds that lacked the higher nutrient value to allow them to grow to thier genetic potential (not starved but feed mixes that were lower in protiens and contained things like oats which has a lower feed value for poultry, it is filling but not growth promoting).
It is a process that can take many years of careful selective breeding and attention to keep the ideal in mind so the end result is a perfect miniature of the Standard sized breed.

treetrunks · **Joined:** Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:34 am **Posts:** 1

Sounds very much like the process for miniature horses with each generation they got a little smaller. I had both the std size and bantam in the silkie but that was many year ago and now just the std size. The bantam was a joy to keep and I found even more broody than its bigger cousin

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

treetrunks wrote:

The bantam was a joy to keep and I found even more broody than its bigger cousin

yeah - tell me about it :-?

it is easier to get them to go broody that to lay the eggs in the first place :roll:

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