Silvers

[Jean]

I am new to the silver color, and I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice as to what to look for in a silver cockerel as far as color.  I think I can pick out good body type, comb, etc.

I only have four pullets so they all get to stay.  I have five cockerels and would like to only keep two and I do not have the APA book to look up the standard.

I have a couple with alot of white on their hackles and saddle, is this good?  

Thanks,

Jean

[John]

Go to the ABC site\'s Photos page and check out the LF and bantam silvers.  Between the two you can see the proper pattern and colors.
http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html

[Jean]

I\'ve looked at the pics John, but my guys are younger than that bird and do not have alot of adult plumage yet.

I have so many birds right now, that it is a wise decision for me to start culling anything that looks off immediately. I\'m going through a bag of grower and a bag of chick start every week and the hatching egg sales are down.  (Yes, I hatched way late this year and still have chicks under 8 weeks.)

Jean

[John]

Look for cockerels with no red on their backs and shoulders.  They should be black and white only.

[grisaboy]

Jean,
I would use the pictures of the wheaton males as a guide.  They have excellent type and color.  You have to imagine all of the red parts as white.  As John said, you want the silver males to be only black and white.  Also, look for a solid black chest.  If you have several males that are only black and white,  then you can pay more attention to other details.  A lot of silver males seem to be high in the chest.  (compare the pictures of the silvers to the wheatons)  We want to have our silvers look more like the wheatons, with the deeper chest.  Also, look for wide backs and rather broad head with well curved beak.  Big red eyes and full beard.  If I were you, I would keep 5 or 6 of the black and white ones until they get a bit older.  They may still have a couple of feather changes to go through and it is often hard to tell how they are going to look as adults untill they are 6 months old or older.

Curtis

[Mike Gilbert]

Good advice, Curtis.   One more thing I would like to add is to remember that silver males will have black striping in the hackle, while wheaten males should not.   If they are quite young, they may have white specks or blotches on the chest.  Sometimes that goes away as they get older (hopefully it does) but sometimes it doesn\'t, so it can be risky to cull them for color at too young of an age.

[Jean]

Thanks for all the advice!

I guess I will have to let them grow another month or two before I widdle them down a little bit.

Thanks,

Jean