indexed but not sexed silkie chicks.. indexed? ???

[ourrune]

Hi! Im going to pick up a couple of 2 week old silkie chicks next sat from a farm i found on craigslist. They r one week now and the farm isnt open except sat and sun so i have to wait!! mean while i am new to chickens i have 3 6 week olds pullets i received a couple weeks ago so thats the extent of my chicken knowledge.
my question is when i contacted this person via text message they said they had white silkie hens for 25 and one week old silkie chicks indexed but not sexed for 7. What does indexed mean? I can not find the meaning anywhere online and even tho he put his number in for texting he was frustrated with having to text and wanted to talk on the phone instead therefore didnt answer my question about what indexed means. (I was with family at the time so i wanted to avoid the phone then).
can anyone help? Thanks so much!!!

Ps if there are any tips or anything that a beginner should know about chicks in general or with the silkie breed please share. TIA

 

[ladycat]

I never heard that term in relation to chickens. I googled and found this cached listing for indexed chicks, but no explanation: http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...696781+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=opera

I'll keep scrolling down the google results and see if I find a definition.

 

[ladycat]

I'm not finding anything. Maybe someone else knows.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've never heard that either. Maybe it means they've put bands or dye on them and they're keeping track to see who's what?

 

[kyexotics]

I thought indexed was the "hip" way to say you had a prostrate check?

Never heard that term either, and we sell tons of them...We sex them using this method and since we've been using it, we haven't had an error yet or at least none brought to our attention like "you said we bought 5 hens, they're all roosters!" But we've only been doing it for about 4mths, it also seems to work, and easier, on Sultans and polish...Silkies are actually the toughest with all the extra silk but it's still possible...We also never tell anyone 100% as we're sure we'll make a mistake or get fooled by one or more, it'll happen but this works way more than it doesn't,,,



Practice it, checks some babies, mark them and see how they turn out or compare it to ones you have had vent sexed...It's only useful very early, once the wings start to feather, it's too late, in our opinion...

 

[ourrune]

Thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate the time you take to at least get with me on the subject. I still am not sure what it means but i suppose i will find out Saturday and then ill get back to everyone on it then we will all know lol

 

[ourrune]

I thought indexed was the "hip" way to say you had a prostrate check? Never heard that term either, and we sell tons of them...We sex them using this method and since we've been using it, we haven't had an error yet or at least none brought to our attention like "you said we bought 5 hens, they're all roosters!" But we've only been doing it for about 4mths, it also seems to work, and easier, on Sultans and polish...Silkies are actually the toughest with all the extra silk but it's still possible...We also never tell anyone 100% as we're sure we'll make a mistake or get fooled by one or more, it'll happen but this works way more than it doesn't,,, Practice it, checks some babies, mark them and see how they turn out or compare it to ones you have had vent sexed...It's only useful very early, once the wings start to feather, it's too late, in our opinion...

Im so new with chickens all together im not sure if id be comfortable doing that with a chick lol it would be nice to be able to do before i buy them. Is that generally considered okay to check the sex of someones chicks before you buy so you can try to be sure you got a fenake instead of a male? not that i probably will but curious to know.

 

[kyexotics]

Im so new with chickens all together im not sure if id be comfortable doing that with a chick lol it would be nice to be able to do before i buy them. Is that generally considered okay to check the sex of someones chicks before you buy so you can try to be sure you got a fenake instead of a male? not that i probably will but curious to know.

I have no problem when people want to check for themselves, I appreciate the confirmation! We will also take back any rooster someone doesn't want, we can't hatch enough of them, a recent hatch was 32 hens 0 roos...

 

[ourrune]

Oh wow of silkies in particular you have a hard time of producing roosters? Thats interesting. I was wondering if i bought 2 silkie chicks and one or both ended up roos if i would have a hard time finding them a home because we wouldnt have the room. I really would only want one but i thought id better get 2 so better chance of getting a girl Lol is it better to buy online than from someone locally? Particularly on craigslist?

 

[ladycat]

I thought indexed was the "hip" way to say you had a prostrate check?

Never heard that term either, and we sell tons of them...We sex them using this method and since we've been using it, we haven't had an error yet or at least none brought to our attention like "you said we bought 5 hens, they're all roosters!" But we've only been doing it for about 4mths, it also seems to work, and easier, on Sultans and polish...Silkies are actually the toughest with all the extra silk but it's still possible...We also never tell anyone 100% as we're sure we'll make a mistake or get fooled by one or more, it'll happen but this works way more than it doesn't,,,



Practice it, checks some babies, mark them and see how they turn out or compare it to ones you have had vent sexed...It's only useful very early, once the wings start to feather, it's too late, in our opinion...

That only works in chickens that have been specially bred for it. It's a known method for many decades, and it's utilized by commercial hatcheries (the ones that provide chicks to commercial factory farms), because they hatch millions of chicks at a time and it's cheaper and faster to do it this way than to hire professional chick sexors.

So what they did beginning early in the 20th century was to develop multiple lines, some with the fast feathering gene, and some with the slow feathering gene.

Then they breed fast feathering roosters to slow feathering hens. The resultant offspring can be sexed by the feathering on their wings.

It doesn't work in back yard flocks.