Ideal poultry silkies and sebrights

[TexasChicken12]

I was wondering what quality silkies and Sebrights ideal poultry has. I was thinking about getting some from our local tractor supply this spring and they order from ideal. The only shows they might be in would be
4-H and/or our fair. Please post pics of ideal silkies and/or Sebrights if you have any. Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Twistedfeather]

If you want an idea of a ideal silkie chicken and a sebright than what you're going to find most helpful is that you get the APA standard of perfection (Most of the information except basic care and disease is in that book.) When I raised silkie I spent a lot of time finding the right bird. Also the opinion of the judge will affect the way the bird is judged. When buying silkies go to reputable breeders and search high and low for any blemishes. Check the head to see that there is not a single comb but a silkie comb which is a modified rose comb with the silkies crest in which should represent the breed well. The earlobes should be blue, skin should be black and the basic body should look like a football. Some breeders pull out the hard feathers in the tail and I have seen many good silkies get reds because the kid did not know to do that. Check the bottom of the feet to see if there are five toes on each foot rather than the basic four toes and see that it has feathers on it's feet. You can find reputable breeders at poultry shows and sometimes at poultry swaps. Always check the health of the bird with the basic knowledge that the breed is more susceptible to pasty vent and Marek's disease. Silkie are great birds for beginners!

I have not raised Sebrights but the true bantams (meaning they have no large fowl counterpart) were developed by Sir John Sebright a renowned breeder of chickens, pigeons, and maybe other birds. Sebrights have a rose comb, mulberry skin, and there is some odd proportion to the lacing. The males are hen feathered so if one has sharp sickle and hackle feathers it can get docked down. They have slate blue legs and come in two standard varieties gold and silver yet the silver seems to have more problems surviving than the golds.

Whatever breed you do get make sure you can get them as close to the standard as you can even if it's just 4-H which is why I have competition in poultry because kids go according to standard. I've been told that it costs the same to take care of a show quality bird or animal rather than a plain old bird. Hatcheries are more quantity over quality and I've seen many strange birds with many defects and Disqualifications. I don't know about your tractor supply stores and where they get it but I know that ours uses hatchery birds.

Good Luck on your 4-H project and know that this Oregon 4-Her is supporting you all the way. 4-H is fun isn't it?

 

[TexasChicken12]

Yes!!!! 4-H is awesome!!!!! I do archery, horse judging, horse quiz bowl, and I'll start dary cow judging in June. What do you do?

The only problem with finding a Sebright breeder is that there are none in our area. I haven't started looking for a silkie breeder yet, it's my brother that wants a silkie, I want a Sebright.

 

[Michael OShay]

I was wondering what quality silkies and Sebrights ideal poultry has. I was thinking about getting some from our local tractor supply this spring and they order from ideal. The only shows they might be in would be
4-H and/or our fair. Please post pics of ideal silkies and/or Sebrights if you have any. Any help is very much appreciated! Thanks!

I've ordered Black Silkies from Ideal Poultry in the past, and while I wouldn't expect to win any shows with them, they were certainly beautiful little bantams with all the characteristics of Silkies that I would have expected.

 

[TexasChicken12]

Ok! That helps! I've heard some bad thinks on here about Ideals silkies, such as poor feathering, and that their Sebrights were good for hatchery stock. Is that true? Thanks soooo much for all your help!

 

[Michael OShay]

Ok! That helps! I've heard some bad thinks on here about Ideals silkies, such as poor feathering, and that their Sebrights were good for hatchery stock. Is that true? Thanks soooo much for all your help!

There were no noticeable problems with the hair-like feathering of the Silkies I got from Ideal. It would have taken an expert in APA standards to have found any noticeable flaws in my Black Silkies.

 

[TexasChicken12]

...

There were no noticeable problems with the hair-like feathering of the Silkies I got from Ideal. It would have taken an expert in APA standards to have found any noticeable flaws in my Black Silkies.

Awesome!!! We were wanting the black silkies!!!!! Thanks that helps a lot!

 

[Michael OShay]

Awesome!!!

We were wanting the black silkies!!!!! Thanks that helps a lot!

You're welcome.