Advice on silkies

[Koreydavisstem25]

Hello i have about 15 pure bread Silkies chicks! And I want to breed and sell the fertilized eggs and chicks any advice?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Tagging @SoftSilkie and @LynnaePB, any thoughts?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Oh and welcome to the forum!

 

[Koreydavisstem25]

Thank you!!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Thanks for the tag, @jmns! And welcome to BYC, @Koreydavisstem25!


I'm still only getting started breeding silkies, but I'll share what I know.

Make a sales plan. Calculate how many chicks you can sell per month and how much you'll sell them for. (My silkies lay 4-6 eggs per week on the low side.) Check your market to find a good price for uncommon chicks. In my area I can sell day-old strait run chicks for over $5.

If they are pure-breed, keep they that way. In the spring especially (chick season) separate them from other breeds so the chicks will be pure silkie.

Better quality can be sold for more money. I have heard that the rooster affects the quality of the chicks greatly. Try to find a show-quality cock, if possible.

Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[LynnaePB]

Thanks for the tag @jmns!

I think SoftSilkie brought up really good points!

I started hatching shipped eggs from multiple breeders last year to start a paint silkie flock. I wanted to start out with some diverse genetics. If the source you got yours from is good and has a good breeding system in place it's not necessarily needed though. I'm learning as I go along, this was the first year I really got into breeding, growing out and selling some chicks as well as older grow outs from my foundation flock.

I'm still trying to figure out what works in my area. Honestly it's been difficult, that may partly be due to covid though. Be prepared for chicks not selling, and make sure you have space to grow them out in case they don't. Pullets are usually very sought after and easy to sell but cockerels can be very hard to place.

I'm still not sure how to handle the cockerel situation myself. Cockerels don't always get along well once they start getting their hormones so although bachelor pens can work they also sometimes don't. Extra cockerels that I couldn't place have really impacted my plans this year. I'd be a lot farther in my breeding goals if I was willing to dispatch excess cockerels, it may come to that point but I'm really struggling with it. Something to think about if you don't feel comfortable culling.

You'll be able to sell for more if your stock is very nice. I've seen people making business pages etc on facebook showing cute pictures of their stock and otherwise giving a glimpse into their breeding and set up and that seems to drum up interest. It's something I've been meaning to do, I've just been a little hesitant to show off my flock on a business page as there are still some major cosmetic faults I need to improve. I try to be very open about faults when selling though

If you want to be able to ship eggs or birds to customers in other states getting NPIP status is the way to go as it is illegal otherwise. If you just want to sell local it's not as much of a consideration. I'm hoping to try to get NPIP certified in the next year after we move and have our new pens/breeding area set up.

Welcome to BYC and good luck with your silkie breeding!