Hello, from a new member and long-time follower...

[RABel67]

We bought a home in a small Upstate NY village last year, and were thrilled to start our hobby farm with chickens in our backyard this spring. I've used the forums on this site for nearly a year to learn about our desired breeds, as we only grew up with RIRs. We currently have six week-old silkie chicks in an indoor brooder and plan to add a dozen barred rocks for meat shortly.


A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS:

Does Tractor Supply Company ever get any color other than white silkies in store? I know they offer mixed colors if you place an order for 25+ chicks to be shipped directly to your home.

Can a silkie have barbed feathers? We bought our six from TSC from marked bins. They all fit the criteria of the silkie breed but one. It has black skin, five toes, feathered legs and toes, a blue-gray beak, the helmet-shaped head, but the feathers on the wings are coming in as traditional, barbed feathers. Is it possible that it is a sizzle? Any idea what it may turn out to look like as an adult? Any idea on what may have gotten with a silkie at the hatchery, if it's not a true silkie?

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and

! Pleased you joined our community! Glad you made it official and said hello! I'm not sure how much autonomy each TSC has over what it orders. Since they are scattered over several states, they may not even use the same hatchery?? So, you might ask your local TSC from where it is they order and if you can request some color variation. On the question of the barbed feathers, you might want to inquire in the Silkie thread in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/14/general-breed-discussions-faq
And if you'd like to chat with fellow in-state poultry peeps, find the NY thread own this link and say howdy:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you
Best wishes and thanks for joining BYC!

 

[RodNTN]

I am glad you joined us! You've been given some great advice and links, so I'll just say thanks for joining and best wishes!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Chicken Paradise

 

[RABel67]

Thank you so much. All that either local TSC will tell us is "We get what we get when we get it. We have no control. If you want something specific, ship it to your house." Unfortunately, we do not have room for 25 silkie pets on the back lawn with other poultry and animals. I will certainly check out those forums. Thank you so much! I've felt like a silent member, using this as my go-to expert site for all chicken research.

 

[N F C]

I'm glad you're not a "silent member" any longer, make yourself at home here and enjoy all the benefits of membership!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under RABel67

Welcome!

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out