How do you guys do it......?

[joe17]

I have a couple silkies right now(6 to be exact!) and they arent the best quality........ They dont have feathering up to the middle toe and their wings are a little loose. I decided to sell them all and get better quality silkies..... how do yall do that? I know big breeders have to do this often. Its going to be really hard for me to get rid of these silkie

I love them! I know some people who will give them great homes though

I have one 1 month old black silkie (who is really nice!) and 3 silkies that just hatched out of some Bobbi POrto eggs. Depending on how many roosters etc I get, I will order some actual chicks from Bobbi Porto. I hope I get a little trio or quad of silkies so then I could just hatch the eggs. 2 of the silkies that hatched out of Bobbi Porto's eggs have vaulted skulls. I heard only females have vaulted skulls (?). So I guess I will atleast have 2 pullets.

 

[thebritt]

Have you tried your local feed store? Or 4-H chapter? Silkies make great showmanship birds for beginners! Quality doesn't matter, as long as the 4-H'er can tell the judge WHY it's not a show quality bird.

 

[muddyhorse]

roos can have vaulted skulls. bobbi has some very nice birds. Yes, it can be hard to get rid of your silkies. So far I have found people I know to take the PQ birds. one of my friends has Bubble Gum now

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I don't completely agree on the 'quality doesn't matter' aspect. Quality is taken less seriously at 4H shows, but it still matters quite a bit. Our fair has the dinkiest little show, with only approx. 20 birds every year in the competition, but the judges still do their job to the fullest and give every owner the pros and cons of their bird(s) and pick the ones that best represent the breed, show quality or not. This applies to showmanship also. The 1st place owner might be picked for knowing the most about their bird/how they handle it, butthe unifom of the bird is still looked at. Younger children are generally given a break at times, but obvious hatchery birds don't tend to win. With Silkies, I'd never recommend anyone purchases hatchery birds with the hopes to exhibit them. There's nothing to gain from that. Some selective breeds you can get away with doing that with, but not Silkies. Breeders are the way to go in this case.

As far as culling goes, I don't think it's easy for anyone who has to part with an animals they have gotten attached to. We have to cull a rooster from our flock who has some major hackle-leakage, but also has a nasty attitude to boot. I don't want him, but it still hurts to let him go. Because he's mine. Sometimes to attain our farthest goal, we have to do what we have to do. If they have great dispositions, then I'm sure someone will want them.

HOWEVER: In certain situations, you can pair or mate a bird of lower quality to one of higher quality and end up with some awesome looking offspring. I think this was the situation in a thread yesterday. Little things like that can be resolved.

Yes, all Silkies could have vaulted skulls. Male or female.

Edited To Add: The uppermost part of my comment is only my opinion. I don't want to start anything, but my understanding is that quality still counts.

That's all.

 

[joe17]

I completely agree with you! I didnt even know 4 H shows dont really take the quality all that seriously! I thought all poultry shows look at the quality of the bird and judge on that. When I show, I will show in 4 H. I have 4 really nice silkies as of now though sooo........ lets hope I get a few pullets so I can breed them all!

 

[robin416]

"Yes, all Silkies should have vaulted skulls. Male or female."

No, all Silkies should not have vaulted skulls. If a bird has heavy down and excellent feathering on the head it does not matter if the skull is vaulted or not.

I have birds in my coop with and without, unless you rubbed their heads you can not tell.

Vaulted skulls lead to more possibility of brain injury. I've found my highest mortality rates in new chicks occurs with those that have vaulted skulls.

 

[joe17]

I think they meant they could both have vaulted skulls, not should have them. I just hatched chicks and 2 have vaulted skulls. Their crests look really big! The chicks are much cuter than the silkie without vaulted skulls! That is true, a silkie does not need to have a vaulted skull to have a big crest.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Yes, I meant 'could' not 'should'. Went through some heavy school testing today, I'm a tiny bit sleepy.

I only mean that both are able to have vaulted skulls, because the OP was unsure if males can have vaults.

Thanks Joe for catching that.