Show me Hatchery silkies

From MPC:
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From Ideal:
12477_sillies.jpg
 
I bought some Silkies from Ideal but didn't like them at all. Many of them had no foot feathering or crests. I bought a dozen from TSC and loved them. They were all whites and just exactly what I wanted in a Silkie. They had nice crests, and most had pretty good feet. They were pretty fluffy and very cute. They had slightly smaller crests than SQ birds which I actually liked because I could see their eyes . I would post pictures but they were on my old computer and it just quit on me. Now at TSC I did pick the ones with the best feet and crests from the bin full.
I liked that I could pick them there. If I can find any pictures I could get on this computer I will post some. I don't have the Silkies any more because alot of my birds were placed when I got sick last year. If you can find some at a local store you can hand pick the ones you like best.
 
I didnt know TSC had silkies. They just had a bin of Bantams last year. Thats how I got into chickens
smile.png
love it. My DH said I cant go back lol
 
Mine are from Welp, there is a lot of variation. Out of 5 buff Silkies, I got 2 with single combs and my buff rooster has a red face. Here is my worst rooster:
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And heres my best Buff hen:
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You know, I had always liked the idea of having silkies (I'm still a bunch of years away from being able to have any chickens), but on all the breeders' websites, the birds just looked so extreme. They're still cute, I guess, but I couldn't even see their faces, and I wondered how they'd be able to survive unless kept penned with only others of their breed. I liked the idea that they're gentle and make good broodies, possibly allowing me to add other breeds by putting eggs under them, but was kept off by the extreme-ness of show-quality birds. I started looking around to see if people bred non-bearded silkies, hoping that at least these might be better able to see and coexist with other chickens, but even those were rather extreme.

NOW, having finally seen what the silkies from hatcheries look like, I'm actually considering putting them back on my list. Hatchery websites have either drawings of adults only, or add pictures of the chicks they sell, giving no representation to what the adults looked like. I'm new to chickens, so I just assumed that most silkies would be like the SQ ones. I actually LIKE the hatchery birds better, and will keep this in mind when my "chicken-owning" days finally arrive. Thanks to all for posting pics, and if anyone else has hatchery silkies, please post those as well.

Gotta love BYC!!!

:)

~Chris
 

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