Silkie genders?

[All4Eggz]

Someone on craigslist is selling silkies. I really want more silkies, but I can't have any more roosters. So I want to know what you guys think of these silkies? I know the photos are really blurry and they don't show all 5 silkies, but that's all the photos that the seller provided the buyers with.

From these horrible photos, is it possible to tell if at least one or two of them are hens? I don't want to be scrammed into buying all roosters... happened to me before, better not happen again.

I won't be able to keep the roosters, so I want to know if there is at least one hen in the bunch of 5. I absolutely LOVE the cuckoo one!

The seller claims that the bunch is a "mix of hens and roosters". I just want to make sure...

TIA!

 

[JedJackson]

It's impossible to know for sure with those pictures, but I would bet the orangey one and the barred one are both males. The frizzles could be females. To be honest, those birds don't look to be in great condition. I would personally skip this seller.

 

[Swbertrand1]

We raise Silkies and it's impossible to tell even looking at them in person. You'll know when they lay an egg or start to crow.

When we've wanted to know the sex of newly hatched Silkie chicks, we've used a DNA sexing service called IQ Bird Testing out of Florida. For about $12, they'll test an eggshell or feather from selected birds and send us a report based on their DNA from the egg membrane or the feather depending on which we send it. We usually send an egg shell...

The trick is keeping track of which shell/feather went to which bird so we know which result matches which bird. Leg bands and good record-keeping here are important...

 

[All4Eggz]

It's impossible to know for sure with those pictures, but I would bet the orangey one and the barred one are both males. The frizzles could be females. To be honest, those birds don't look to be in great condition. I would personally skip this seller.

Thank you. Part of why I wanted to purchase them from him is because we've tried to buy birds from him before, but we saw how bad the living conditions were All his birds were in small cages, trampling each other. We got to hold some of the birds, and they were so skinny it was unbelievable. We want to save them from their misery.

When we decided to buy some birds (about a few months ago) from him, he told us that they were $15 a piece, when the ad said clearly that they were $5 a piece (both in the title AND the description). He said it was a typo, and we ended up not buying the birds.

This time, I was gonna call him ahead of time to verify the price, but I wanted to figure out gender (if possible) first.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Thank you. Part of why I wanted to purchase them from him is because we've tried to buy birds from him before, but we saw how bad the living conditions were All his birds were in small cages, trampling each other. We got to hold some of the birds, and they were so skinny it was unbelievable. We want to save them from their misery.

When we decided to buy some birds (about a few months ago) from him, he told us that they were $15 a piece, when the ad said clearly that they were $5 a piece (both in the title AND the description). He said it was a typo, and we ended up not buying the birds.

This time, I was gonna call him ahead of time to verify the price, but I wanted to figure out gender (if possible) first.

I agree with Jed. That's sad. I would probably want to do the same, of course quarantining them for a few weeks, deworming them, etc.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Thank you. Part of why I wanted to purchase them from him is because we've tried to buy birds from him before, but we saw how bad the living conditions were All his birds were in small cages, trampling each other. We got to hold some of the birds, and they were so skinny it was unbelievable. We want to save them from their misery.

When we decided to buy some birds (about a few months ago) from him, he told us that they were $15 a piece, when the ad said clearly that they were $5 a piece (both in the title AND the description). He said it was a typo, and we ended up not buying the birds.

This time, I was gonna call him ahead of time to verify the price, but I wanted to figure out gender (if possible) first.

Best thing you can do in a case like that is contact animal control or the ASPCA in your area to investigate for animal cruelty. It's a tough thing to do, but who else is going to do it? Who else is going to help save the current birds and any future birds from someone that is not giving them proper care?

As for price discrepancies, print the ad out and take the copy with you to avoid bait-and-switch pricing tactics...

Good luck!

 

[All4Eggz]

Best thing you can do in a case like that is contact animal control or the ASPCA in your area to investigate for animal cruelty. It's a tough thing to do, but who else is going to do it? Who else is going to help save the current birds and any future birds from someone that is not giving them proper care?

We thought about doing that, but we just don't know

As for price discrepancies, print the ad out and take the copy with you to avoid bait-and-switch pricing tactics...

We showed him his ad after he tried changing the price, and it said clearly "$5" in both the title and the description. Come on now, if you mess up once, I understand, but you can't mess up that bad to have the wrong price TWICE. He still wouldn't sell us the birds for $5, so we just left.

 

[Swbertrand1]

We thought about doing that, but we just don't know

We showed him his ad after he tried changing the price, and it said clearly "$5" in both the title and the description. Come on now, if you mess up once, I understand, but you can't mess up that bad to have the wrong price TWICE. He still wouldn't sell us the birds for $5, so we just left.

Probably the best thing, but do consider Animal Control or ASPCA. It's despicable the way some folks treat animals of any kind.
The owner of any animal is all that animal's got, and if that owner is failing that animal, the animal has NOBODY else unless you step up.

 

[STACEYH]

When you buy from a mill (like puppy mills) it tells the operator it is okay to keep doing it and they will profit greatly from it. It is not for you to know but to report what you know, the Aspca, PETA, or other organization WILL know. They can help the owner, the animals, and the future animals. You just have to be brave enough to do your part.

 

[All4Eggz]

This is what the ad looks like*. I wouldn't be surprised if he switches the price to $20 per bird, $100 for all

*Location and phone number were blotted out for privacy