Silkie Chick Prices?

[phoenixxflame]

I've been trying to get silkies for a year now, and I've FINALLY gotten some. The thing is, I have too many. I only want to keep about 4-5, but I have 10. I know silkies can vary greatly in price depending on how "show worthy" they are. Can anyone tell me how much I should sell my silkies for? Here is a pic for evaluation...

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, your Silkie's pretty cute.

That one looks like a boy.

Standard price I see is $5-10. Unless they are full grown laying hens then $25-40 MAX depending on quality. No way you can call them show or pet worthy unless you've been showing and are VERY familiar with the standards of the breed... and even then, not until they are grown out.

I personally wouldn't get rid of any until you are SURE of gender... otherwise you might end up with NO females. My last batch ended with 7 boys and 3 girls, and 1 of the boys was a late bloomer not showing gender until several weeks after the others.

That one there is of the bearded variety, which I prefer over non bearded.

Congrats on finally getting your silkies... I hope they are less broody than mine!

 

[phoenixxflame]

Hi, your Silkie's pretty cute.

That one looks like a boy.

Standard price I see is $5-10. Unless they are full grown laying hens then $25-40 MAX depending on quality. No way you can call them show or pet worthy unless you've been showing and are VERY familiar with the standards of the breed... and even then, not until they are grown out.

I personally wouldn't get rid of any until you are SURE of gender... otherwise you might end up with NO females. My last batch ended with 7 boys and 3 girls, and 1 of the boys was a late bloomer not showing gender until several weeks after the others.

That one there is of the bearded variety, which I prefer over non bearded.

Congrats on finally getting your silkies... I hope they are less broody than mine!

Yea, I was planning on selling them later on. If I send you pics of my other silkies, will you be able to guess the gender?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They are probably too young still, but that one there has a huge part in it's comb feathers. So I am still JUST guessing/predicting on this one. Guess the breed/gender game is one of my faves! But I wouldn't expect to much accuracy at this age for them little cuties. Please feel free to post and let us try though.

Because I spend a ton of time with my birds, it is often easy to tell by their interactions/behavior with some exceptions of course. But on ALL of mine I could tell most by 8 weeks and all by 14, even though they say Silkies are some of the hardest. Having both genders as I'm sure you do will make it much easier because you will have easy comparisons to make. My first batch of 3 were all female and so I didn't know for sure until they started laying because they are also solid black. Now that I have boys, I can see the black ones still get the iridescent feathers on their tails and a portion of their wings that non of my girls have. White would probably be even harder. But by 14 weeks ALL the boys combs are significantly different than the females.

Once confirmed females, I wouldn't sale for less than $20 before reaching lay and $25-30 once started laying and still in their first season. Value goes down FOR ME, as they reach 2nd season or later. I honestly wouldn't pay $40 even from show stock and especially not from a non NPIP source. But once confirmed male, I would be happy to find a home for free or $5... because otherwise, they will be processed either for human or animal consumption. Too many boys, no matter what breed are not good for my flock. And my stag pen is only where my breeding rooster(s) and grow out are. But I don't keep them long term if not for breeding because there comes a point (if your hatching) that it would just be too many mouths to feed. Not to mention the sound level or crowding and other dynamics. One of my Silkie boys was crowing and trying to mount by 11 weeks old or younger, I would have to look at my records for exact detail. My Silkie hens are just as loud as any other large fowl breed, actually maybe even louder! just as an FYI. But ALL are individuals!