California-Southern

[Sylvester017]

Can anyone recommend a silkie or Cochin breeder in Southern California?

Amber Waves Silkies in Norco, CA is where I plan to get my next Silkie when I'm ready. They've been breeding show Silkies and have had Hollywood celebrities buy from them -- Jennifer Anniston, Teri Spelling, etc. They have straight-run or more expensive DNA-sexed Silkie pullets. They post photos and prices of available DNA-sexed pullets on their "Silkies for Sale" page. They have all APA colors but I check their sale page when my preferred color choice shows up -- I want a definite pullet so I'm willing to pay the $$$. They are close enough in SoCal for us to drive to their farm when we're ready for pickup. Years ago I called Wes's Pets and Feed in El Monte and asked him if he sold older juvenile Silkies since I didn't want to be surprised with a chick that grew up male. He said around Feb-Mar he had a private breeder that sometimes brings a few older juveniles into the store for sale. That's how we got our Black Silkie pullet in March 2012. The only thing is I have no idea who the breeder is, whether the Silkies are vaccinated, or what the parentage is, and our Black Silkie is pretty and spunky but has been my problem Silkie with health issues - respiratory occurrences, thinner "fur" than our thick-feathered Partridge Silkie, smaller body, etc.

BLACK SILKIE feathers fade to rust in our brutal SoCal summer sun so I won't get solid Black feathers again in ANY chicken breed


BLACK SILKIE about a month after we had her in-house for quarantine - she got accustomed to wearing chicken diapers


Her feathers look black where "fur" is thickest but camera flash washes out the black to blue where feathering is thinner



With Amber Waves Silkies the birds are vaccinated, and the parent stock is on premises to view/tour by appt so I plan to go to them next time.

http://showsilkies.com/sale.htm

 

[chick-habit]

Amber Waves Silkies in Norco, CA is where I plan to get my next Silkie when I'm ready. They've been breeding show Silkies and have had Hollywood celebrities buy from them -- Jennifer Anniston, Teri Spelling, etc. They have straight-run or more expensive DNA-sexed Silkie pullets. They post photos and prices of available DNA-sexed pullets on their "Silkies for Sale" page. They have all APA colors but I check their sale page when my preferred color choice shows up -- I want a definite pullet so I'm willing to pay the $$$. They are close enough in SoCal for us to drive to their farm when we're ready for pickup. Years ago I called Wes's Pets and Feed in El Monte and asked him if he sold older juvenile Silkies since I didn't want to be surprised with a chick that grew up male. He said around Feb-Mar he had a private breeder that sometimes brings a few older juveniles into the store for sale. That's how we got our Black Silkie pullet in March 2012. The only thing is I have no idea who the breeder is, whether the Silkies are vaccinated, or what the parentage is, and our Black Silkie is pretty and spunky but has been my problem Silkie with health issues - respiratory occurrences, thinner "fur" than our thick-feathered Partridge Silkie, smaller body, etc. BLACK SILKIE feathers fade to rust in our brutal SoCal summer sun so I won't get solid Black feathers again in ANY chicken breed BLACK SILKIE about a month after we had her in-house for quarantine - she got accustomed to wearing chicken diapers Her feathers look black where "fur" is thickest but camera flash washes out the black to blue where feathering is thinner With Amber Waves Silkies the birds are vaccinated, and the parent stock is on premises to view/tour by appt so I plan to go to them next time. http://showsilkies.com/sale.htm

She is so cute!!!! We started off with six silkie and Cochin and our poodle, a predator and an unexpected liver hemorrhage has left us with three, including a black smooth silkie! We Love our breeder but she has moved even further away than she was before all the way up in Northern California and we'd love to just make an easier trip of getting chicks this time! After doing some looking around I'm suddenly found myself in love with d'uccles, now I'm on the lookout for them too. Thank you for your amber waves advice I had forgotten about that hatchery and will go check them out right now !

 

[sol2go]

Amber Waves Silkies in Norco, CA is where I plan to get my next Silkie when I'm ready. They've been breeding show Silkies and have had Hollywood celebrities buy from them -- Jennifer Anniston, Teri Spelling, etc. They have straight-run or more expensive DNA-sexed Silkie pullets. They post photos and prices of available DNA-sexed pullets on their "Silkies for Sale" page. They have all APA colors but I check their sale page when my preferred color choice shows up -- I want a definite pullet so I'm willing to pay the $$$. They are close enough in SoCal for us to drive to their farm when we're ready for pickup. Years ago I called Wes's Pets and Feed in El Monte and asked him if he sold older juvenile Silkies since I didn't want to be surprised with a chick that grew up male. He said around Feb-Mar he had a private breeder that sometimes brings a few older juveniles into the store for sale. That's how we got our Black Silkie pullet in March 2012. The only thing is I have no idea who the breeder is, whether the Silkies are vaccinated, or what the parentage is, and our Black Silkie is pretty and spunky but has been my problem Silkie with health issues - respiratory occurrences, thinner "fur" than our thick-feathered Partridge Silkie, smaller body, etc.

BLACK SILKIE feathers fade to rust in our brutal SoCal summer sun so I won't get solid Black feathers again in ANY chicken breed


BLACK SILKIE about a month after we had her in-house for quarantine - she got accustomed to wearing chicken diapers


Her feathers look black where "fur" is thickest but camera flash washes out the black to blue where feathering is thinner



With Amber Waves Silkies the birds are vaccinated, and the parent stock is on premises to view/tour by appt so I plan to go to them next time.

http://showsilkies.com/sale.htm

Would you avoid black feathered chickens due to fading or for another reason?
My black feathered chickens (not silkies) have not faded; various breeds and mixes.

 

[sol2go]

This is sad but sweet.
Chick that was euthanized, my vet and staff returned her to me in this little box.

 

[Jessimom]

Can anyone recommend a **d'uccle** silkie or Cochin breeder in Southern California?

TJ chickens down in San Diego. I've gotten eggs from them, not sure if she sells chicks. I've gotten some beautiful D'uccles, Seramas and Seabrights from them.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

This is sad but sweet.
Chick that was euthanized, my vet and staff returned her to me in this little box.

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Oh, poor baby! I'm sorry you lost her. But what a wonderful vet staff to do that for her. I had a rooster returned after a necropsy and I was holding my breath before opening the box only to discover they had cleaned him, put him back together and positioned him as if he was sleeping, head tucked under his wing.

It's good to know during times of loss and sadness that there are people out there who care, people who don't even know you. I'm glad you found a good vet. And I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[sol2go]

Oh, poor baby! I'm sorry you lost her. But what a wonderful vet staff to do that for her. I had a rooster returned after a necropsy and I was holding my breath before opening the box only to discover they had cleaned him, put him back together and positioned him as if he was sleeping, head tucked under his wing.

It's good to know during times of loss and sadness that there are people out there who care, people who don't even know you. I'm glad you found a good vet. And I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you for your kind comments and for sharing your personal story, that seems exceptional.

 

[chick-habit]

TJ chickens down in San Diego.   I've gotten eggs from them, not sure if she sells chicks.  I've gotten some beautiful D'uccles, Seramas and Seabrights from them.

I have gotten ahold of her. Thank you!!!

 

[Sylvester017]

Would you avoid black feathered chickens due to fading or for another reason?
My black feathered chickens (not silkies) have not faded; various breeds and mixes.

Every summer our Black Silkie's feathers turn to rust from our brutal SoCal sun plus add dust-bathing to the feathers and she turns to rust EVERY summer! Not to mention how hot it is for a black animal to forage in our 100+ degree summers. Since drought was declared our summer heatwaves have been starting earlier and earlier each year. Usually our first 100+ heatwaves hit late August/early Sept and then for only 2 or 3 weeks long at most. THIS year our 100+ heatwave started first week of June and just this past week suddenly dropped from 85-90o to our first sprinkling rain Saturday night. Sun is bright and sunny again outside and warmer weather forecast for Thxgiving. I'm sick of this heat -- lost 2 hens this summer from heat which I'm sure compromised their immune systems -- they couldn't tolerate the intense heat plus ward off the maladies that struck them. The water misters, ice cube water, and wet-down soil under the canopy shade doesn't help much when it is 100+ every day of every month. I don't see global warming improving any time soon so I won't be getting any more all-black chicken breeds, or large/heavy, or thick under-downed breeds for our climate. While NoCal gets all the flooding, we in SoCal are getting all the heatwaves and drought restrictions.

Here's my green yard 6 yrs ago before State drought was declared -- never watered ANYTHING but the raised garden bed veggies:


Now I feel like we live in the stinking desert and water usage is restricted for lawns down to once a week and dishwashing and laundry only after 6 pm to avoid water bill penalties. Lost the 3-yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana in the photo below -- she never did well in heatwaves but this year it was the worst we ever had:

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

Would you avoid black feathered chickens due to fading or for another reason? My black feathered chickens (not silkies) have not faded; various breeds and mixes.

Every summer our Black Silkie's feathers turn to rust from our brutal SoCal sun plus add dust-bathing to the feathers and she turns to rust EVERY summer! Not to mention how hot it is for a black animal to forage in our 100+ degree summers. Since drought was declared our summer heatwaves have been starting earlier and earlier each year. Usually our first 100+ heatwaves hit late August/early Sept and then for only 2 or 3 weeks long at most. THIS year our 100+ heatwave started first week of June and just this past week suddenly dropped from 85-90[SUP]o[/SUP] to our first sprinkling rain Saturday night. Sun is bright and sunny again outside and warmer weather forecast for Thxgiving. I'm sick of this heat -- lost 2 hens this summer from heat which I'm sure compromised their immune systems -- they couldn't tolerate the intense heat plus ward off the maladies that struck them. The water misters, ice cube water, and wet-down soil under the canopy shade doesn't help much when it is 100+ every day of every month. I don't see global warming improving any time soon so I won't be getting any more all-black chicken breeds, or large/heavy, or thick under-downed breeds for our climate. While NoCal gets all the flooding, we in SoCal are getting all the heatwaves and drought restrictions. Here's my green yard 6 yrs ago before State drought was declared -- never watered ANYTHING but the raised garden bed veggies: Now I feel like we live in the stinking desert and water usage is restricted for lawns down to once a week and dishwashing and laundry only after 6 pm to avoid water bill penalties. Lost the 3-yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana in the photo below -- she never did well in heatwaves but this year it was the worst we ever had:

Sorry to hear about your losses. I lost one hen on Father's Day due to heat and laying stress on a 108-109°day and she was disabled with a broken leg that never healed properly. All my other chickens did okay. Weird about the fading. I have many large black chickens (2 Australorp, 1 Jersey giant, 1 Cochin, 3 mixes), a couple of black polish and a black Silkie. They all free range together all day every day. None of them have had any fading issues with their feathers.