Hi,
I have kept chickens (and ducks and geese) for a couple of years now. I have golden sex links and rhode island reds, I origionally got them for grasshopper control (they work great!), but I have come to really enjoy them as pets. My friend has a small mixed flock. Her rooster is a black silkie bantam. Her hens are araconas, and various bantams including a white crested Polish, a silkie, and some cochins. She is willing to give me some of the eggs to incubate. What would be the result of this? Is this a bad idea? I have expirience breeding dogs, and us dog people get upset at "back yard breeders" who cross-breed dogs, because they are destroying the breed instead of advancing it. Does the same go for chickens. If I decide to try this, the chickens hatched would just be kept as pets. What I'm really curious about is what feather type of the chicks would be. Would it be silkie or normal or somewhere in between? Also, what size would the auracona (full sized) x silkie bantam be, what color eggs would they lay? Any thoughts on this subject will be greatly appriciated. Thanks in advance,
Chrissie

I'm not sure about the adult size or feather type, but the gene for colored eggs is dominant, so the crosses will lay colored eggs.
As for ruining the breed, if you're not going to breed them it shouldn't hurt.

Chrissie,

Don't worry about what people think. What we purebred poultry people get upset about is when people represent mediocre stock as purebred, and dupe beginners who are wanting to get started. Most hatcheries are guilty of this to a degree. When you pin the most of them down, they say "not show quality" Enjoy your mixed breed chickens--they provide endless variety, and they will never be mistaken for purebred. Even most breeders will experiment with cross-breeding in their efforts to improve existing stocks.

Chrissie,

That's right, just enjoy your birds and don't worry about it. All chickens are thought to have originated from jungle fowl and meny of the pure breeds that we enjoy today are known to have been originally developed from crossing two or more breeds to develope a new breed. When this so called pure breed suddenly developes a new color or bearded after hundreds of years, you can bet it was not due to luck. There is a lot of fowl play going on in that department. The true value of any chicken is in the eye of the beholder. For a reality check a person only needs to go to a livestock aution where a chicken is a chicken. You can buy half grown chickens all day long for $2.00 or if you pay more than $10.00 for any full grown chicken you paid to much. I've seen lots of show quality bantam pairs sell for $10.00 dollars at aution with the cage their in, but a breeder will insist that their super chickens are worth $100.00 a pair. What is a chicken worth that you can't handle, around $.90 a pound maybe? I'm still waiting for the golden eggs and the pedegry papers. Oh and bye the way, my birds better than your birdssss, my birds are better than yours. Ha, Ha, just kidding. Have fun with your birds. Chief

Could someone tell me how to sex chicks - someone told us you could pull thier wings apart and tell by thier wing. What are we looking for?????