Picking silkie chicks

[VegaJones]

Im going to pick out a quad of silkie chicks. They should be a day or 2days old.just wondering what do you guys look for when you buy young silkie chicks

 

[ozu]

Okay. When I was picking out silkies, I had NO idea what to look for. If you are looking for pullets, I would look for the ones who do not stand as tall.

See how tall he is standing?



Ended up being a gorgeous rooster. Look for a really fluffy face and whatnot if you want a fluffy one!


This little girl, Gracey, always wanted to stand really low to the ground.


She didn't end up as fluffy.


His chest is raised, not very fluffy cheeks. No beard or muff.


Turned into a pretty ugly, aggressive rooster :/


Roosters also tend to be more noisy but not always. Calmest or smallest does not always mean pullet. Willow (first roo) was super sweet, fell asleep in my hands, and was very quiet and teeny.

I've heard if you feel where the comb should be, if it indents- a girl. Not indented- boy. Boys have thicker legs/feet usually but sometimes you can't tell until they're older... be sure to observe their behavior. Watch and see, a lot of time if you've interacted with young chickens, an intuition can tell you who's a girl or boy. Definitely expect at least one boy so you don't become extremely disappointed if you end up with one or two... as you can see, I got two out of three :/

 

[VegaJones]

Thanks that really helps

 

[ramirezframing]

When looking for a good silkie, make sure it has black skin, 5 toes, and feathers on the legs outside and middle toes. The ones with a bump on the head have a vaulted skull, nothing to do with gender.

 

[ozu]

^I don't know if that person is referring to what I said about the bump/indent... but I was talking about where the comb should be, not the top of the skull where it would be vaulted.

 

[ramirezframing]

^I don't know if that person is referring to what I said about the bump/indent... but I was talking about where the comb should be, not the top of the skull where it would be vaulted.

No, I was not talking about what you said. I have had people ask if a vaulted skull told the gender of a silkie chick, since not all silkie chicks have a vaulted skull, which it does not. I have never heard of what you said before, so I can't say one way or the other if it works or not.

 

[ozu]

No, I was not talking about what you said. I have had people ask if a vaulted skull told the gender of a silkie chick, since not all silkie chicks have a vaulted skull, which it does not. I have never heard of what you said before, so I can't say one way or the other if it works or not.

Oh okay I just didn't want the OP to get confused! I can't say for sure whether it works or not, but from what I've heard, it does give a good idea. I looked up how to sex silkies..... AFTER I got mine and learned that bit of information LOL. A bit late!

 

[VegaJones]

Thanks. I really want to pick out pullets. I can keep one roo but thats all. I want to show them next year and breed them so that i will have silkie eggs (they are some of the healthiest eggs to eat) i also have out of state family that would love a couple chicks if i breed them once in a while.

 

[ozu]

Of course! It is really hard to find just pullets, try to prepare yourself just in case you end up with more than one rooster. Really, the way I would do it, now that I know, would be:

1. Observe them- the way they act and see what feeling you get from them. Sometimes just watching can provide a lot of information.
2. Watch and look for any that stand extra high. Avoid those if you can.
3. Remember that it is likely there will be more cockerels in the batch than pullets.
4. Once you find some you are interested in that you think may be pullets, feel the comb-area- though it'll be good to check everyone.
5. Check and make sure the ones you like have the dark skin, five toes, and such that ramirezfarming said.
(If you look at the three I picked out, I would avoid any like Albedo, the white one. I think the blue/black- Gracey- would be more ideal skin color wise.)