8/30/99

Hello. I'm a Silkie bantam breeder from southeastern Missouri. I hope you can help me find information on some silky Japanese Bantams.

I have heard about silky feathering cropping up in Japanese Bantams, Cochins, Rhode Island Reds, Turkens, Spanish, Spangled OEGs, and Sumatras. I have a little book, JAPANESE BANTAMS, by Banning-Vogelpoel that mentions this phenomenon in Japanese Bantams. I am aware that several breeds carry the recessive gene, "h", for "silky" feathers besides the Silkie breed. I would like to find some of these "mistakes" or at least some information about them. I think it would be an interesting experiment to foster these unusual silky varieties.

There is an old article that refers to nine breeds where this may occur...but I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. The actual site of the article is: Jones, S. V. H., 1921, "Inheritance of silkiness in fowls. Journal of Heredity, 12:117-128.

I would like to talk to breeders of one of these other non-Silkie breeds who have witnessed some of these crop-out silky birds...whether the "silky" things were Japansese Bantams or not. If you have seen these "mistakes" in your own birds or heard of such things in other breeders birds, could you let me know?

Thanks for your time! I look forward to hearing from someone.

Inga Ladd
Malden, MO
USA

Hello Inga,
My name is Jan Ubels and on my Chabo Home Page (http://members.tripod.lycos.nl/~Jan_Ubels ) are pictures from silky feathered Chabos. I also know a lot of people who raise these birds. If you are intrested I could give you a address in the Netherlands from a person who have several colours of silkyfeatherded Chabos and who will be able to sent you some eggs.
Please let me know.

9/26/99

Dear Jan:

Thank you for your reply!!! I am sorry I did not see your reply earlier. Do you happen to know of anyone in the USA who raises silky-feathered Chabos? Importing is so difficult... Does the breeder you mentioned in the Nederlands have an email address? I would like to correspond about these unusual Chabos and maybe obtain more photographs.

The photo on your page of the silky wheaten Chabo hen is very nice. I have a webpage of Silkie links at http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Park/3826/index.html
May I add the hen's photo to my webpage? I am working on a new section which will show silky-feathered representatives of other breeds. I have located a few silky feathered Cochins also.

Finally, I have one very pressing question. Do you think that the silky-feathering in the Chabo is a throwback to a common ancestor with the Silkie or do you think it is the result of modern cross-breeding with the Silkie? How common is the silky-feathering in pure Chabo without silky feathering?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,

Inga Ladd
Malden, MO
USA

I have seen pictures of frizzle Japanese, silky Japanese, rumpless (tail-less) Japanese, and large-combed Japanese. Are any of these ABA or APA recognized. If so are the frizzles/silkioes shown as frizzles/silkies or Japanese. Are frizzles, silkies, and nacked necks considered a variety of breed. (i.e. frizzle cochin: shown as frizzle or cochin?) What is difference betewwn self blue and blue, Is one the same a Blue Andulasians where 24% of the offpring are white, 50% are blue, and 25% are black? What all varieties are recognized in Japanese. (APA and ABA only please)

None of these varieties you mention are recognized in the American Standards. I am the secretary of the Japanese Bantam Breeders Association (US) and a few people in the club keep frizzled Japanese. I have yet to see a silky or rumpless, though I do know of a couple breeders of bearded ones. Anything but the standard (normal feathered, non-bearded are not recognized, and would be shown as AOV. Frizzled feathers are a disqualifying defect in anything not shown as a frizzle, and therefore would be shown exclusively as a Frizzle Bantam. The large combed varieties are in several of the overseas standards, but never gained popularity here. Blue Japanese are heterozygous (like the Andaluisian) and a few people are trying to develop self-blues which breed true and are of a much lighter color.
Recognized varieties in US:
Barred, Black, Black Breasted Red, Black Tailed Buff, Black Tailed Red, Black Tailed White, Blue, Brown Red, Gray (Birchen) Buff, Mottled, Self Blue, Silver Duckwing, Silver Laced, Wheaten, White. Several of the varieties listed do not presently exist, and some claim never existed outside someone's wishful thoughts.
The Black Tailed White is by far the most popular and the highest quality. Whites, Blacks, Grays, Black Tailed Buffs, Mottles, Barreds, and Brown Reds exist in lesser numbers and variable quality. People are working to re-create varieties like the Buff, Black Tailed Red, Self Blue, and Wheatens.

HELLO,
I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE 'NON STANDARD' CHABOS. I KEEP FRIZZLED AND SILKIE CHABOS WHICH WE HAVE IN ENGLAND,WE DO NOT HAVE RUMPLESS CHABOS OVER HERE YET BUT I AM TRYING TO PRODUCE THEM BY CROSSING THEM WITH OEG RUMPS.I THINK THERE IS ONLY A HANDFULL OF BEARDED IN THE COUNTRY BUT NEVER SHOWN.I WOULD LIKE. THERE IS ONLY ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MAIN BREEDERS OF SHOW FRIZZLES IN COUNTRY AND FEWER SILKIE BREEDERS.MY QUESTION IS... COULD YOU CROSS THE 'REJECT' THIN WIDTH OF FEATHER FRIZZLES WITH SILKIES TO PRODUCE MORE CHANCE OF THE RECESSIVE SILKIE CHICKS? THIS IS JUST AN IDEA.I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD WORK OR NOT.I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OTHER BREEDERS.

The "reject" thin-feathered frizzles are homozygous for frizzling (FF), but probably do not carry silkiness (hh) at all. Therefore, they are (FFHH).
A non-frizzled silkie is (ffhh). A cross between the two should give all (FfHh). These would have "good" frizzling, but would not be silky-feathered unless one of the frizzles was carrying a hidden (h) for silkiness.
Breeding these among themselves, or breeding back to a Silkie should give some frizzle silkies if that is what you want. Since silkiness is recessive, it is harder to get and easier to lose. Frizzling is an incomplete dominant, so if the bird has it, you can see it as soon as the little wings start curling. If you can't see frizzling, it's not there at all.
Since frizzling and silkiness are not related, no extremes of thin frizzles will produce a true silkie.

am looking for blue chabos, does anyone have any resources for them other then Black Forest? He doesn't have any avaliaible right now.
thanks
Sharon

Sharon,

I raise and breed exhibition quality Blue Japanese Bantams. Contact me if you are interested.

John