Color in silver pullets

[Temple DaSilva]

I'm attaching a photo of a bantam silver pullet I have that was about 13 weeks old when I took this pic.  Is this an example of shafting?  If so, will it improve with age/molt or stay pretty consistent?  Also, should she have less cream across the breast and more salmon or is this acceptable?  I have the SOP but I didn't recall reading about cream color within the salmon.

Thanks for the opportunity to learn as I go (including when and when not to rotate iPhone pics... hopefully).

-temple in CT

[John W Blehm]

Yes, the white shaft of the feather contrasting the ground color of the feather is what we call shafting.  It is very common with silver Ameraucanas.  You can even see some on Walter Malcolm's hen "Coral".  Some are worse than others and breeding from the best helps.  I've made some outcrosses that have helped, especially with LF silvers, but they sometimes introduce melanizers that produce darker feathers also...then they have to be bred out.  Excessive shafting should make or break the bird when it comes to breeding it, but there are some many traits to consider that you learn to live with some shafting. 
I doubt the salmon in the breast will extend into the white area as she matures.  Depending on your other pullets she may not be to breed from with 2 or more faults.
I had at least 5 different matings of bantam silver this year, so you should have a diverse gene pool from the chicks you received.  Breed from the best is my best advice.  I'm down to just 2 pullets myself, after my dogs killed many this year.

[John W Blehm]

Yesterday I took photos of the two pullets I have.  I will breed from both for a couple reasons.  First, other than a lavender silver pullet, these are the only two I have left.  Secondly, though they both have faults, they both also have some "pluses" or positive traits. 
Instead of trying to eliminate shafting the initial goal may be to just reduce it.  A female with very fine white shaft color is desired over one with broad, in your face, white shafts...way too much contrast in colors.
The first pullet, below, is very typical looking.  The shafting isn't as bad as the second pullet, but along with that note that the first has a darker head.  With the desired whiter head seems to come more shafting.  My belief is the melanizer(s) that helps darken the shafts also contributes to darker feathers on the head and else where.  The trick may be to find a more local melanizer that only covers the shafting.
I have some LF silver pullets that, I'm sure, no one would say have "shafting", but again their heads aren't as white as I would like or the Standard calls for.

[Temple DaSilva]

Thanks so much for the information and especially the photos showing the head color and degree of shafting.  That's really helpful.  I was looking mostly at breast color and shafting on my first pass through the group but now will go have a look at head color to see if I need to reconsider the four pullets I thought were my picks.