I NEED A SILKIE 101 please

[WhiteCochinLover]

Hi how big are silikies? what colors are your favorite? everyoe says white ones are nicer s that true? how much is a SQ silkie? how much is a PQ silkie?

Thank you <3

 

[Fiddlehead]

Hi WhiteCochin! Silkies are great. They come in a variety of colors, your basic colors are black and white, self blue, partridge, splash, buff, cuckoo, red, porcelain, paint are becoming quite popular! There is a wide range of prices for them. Hatchery silkie chicks can be only a couple of dollars, while I have seen a pair of SQ's go for hundreds! Most breeders sell PQ's and BQ's for under $50 depending on age and DQ's. A SQ is obviously higher in price and can be very subjective.

My favs are black and white. Silkies are bantam size, smaller than your average RIR, or Wyandotte. Similair to the size of a cochin IMO.

 

[aoxa]

It depends on what your favourite colour is. I don't necessarily like the white ones better, but they seem to be all I see in show (the one show I was at).. I personally like the silkies with different colouring in them (ie: not SQ obviously..) I wouldn't have the time to show, so I just look for what I like to see in a chicken (healthy, happy, brought up well, etc.) I have a blue hen and a buff rooster. The rooster is more SQ than the hen, but I just love both of them!

ETA: bought both for $15/piece - one was 4 months old (hen) and the rooster was just over a year)

 

[AngelaB]

I am getting one today! She is 15 weeks. How do I tell that it's a female? The owner says they are hens, but I would like to be able to know what to look for, just for some reassurance. I've ended up with 2 roos this year (other breeds) and had to find new homes for them. I know silkies are hard to tell the difference with. What should I look for at 15 weeks?

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Silkies are fun, but they are incredibly dumb birds. They are pretty much defenceless against predators and will drown in a few inches of water.

 

[WhiteCochinLover]

Quote:
YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lichick28]

A pullet/hen would have a round top knot/crest depending on quality. A rooster would have longer feathering (streamers) towards the back of the head/neck

 

[AngelaB]

Quote:
Thank you!

 

[lichick28]

If you just want pq MyPetChicken sells sexed silkies. I think you have to buy 3 or more chicks which isnt bad but they will be just pq

 

[mama24]

I will never get a white silkie again. My white silkie is the only chicken I've lost to a predator since I moved to the country. We have hawks literally living in the trees in our yard, and haven't lost a single chicken, lf or bantam, to a hawk, thanks to my super aware bantam Minorca roo. But a fox got the white silkie. She was dumb, didn't always stick with the group, couldn't see well b/c of all the fluff in her eyes, and worst of all, was very visible b/c of her snow white fluff. I have a sultan who is just as visible, but at least she has some brains. She never forages out on open ground with the rest of the flock, stays near them, but close to cover, and she's the first to dive under a bush when the roo makes the "flying object" call. She knows she can't see! lol