Silkie questions!!!

[jpenfield]

Hi I am new to this site, but I am just looking for a breeder in Massachusetts where I can get show quality hen Silkies of all different colors and get them SOON. I want to be able to show the silkies and I want the colors white, red, grey, splash, and black. These will be my first chickens EVER but I have done my research. I am willing to pay for shipping if they are anywhere else in the US. I am also willing to use a hatchery if they are GUARENTEED to be show quality. I was origanaly going to do Meyer Hatchery but they are definitely not show quality. Thanks!

 

[Whittni]

You should raise the birds you show yourself, not display someone else's work, that's like plagiarism. Your best bet is purchasing hatching eggs.

 

[jpenfield]

You should raise the birds you show yourself, not display someone else's work, that's like plagiarism. Your best bet is purchasing hatching eggs.

I know I am still looking for chicks but I need to know they are females, any breeders I can use?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

You should raise the birds you show yourself, not display someone else's work, that's like plagiarism. Your best bet is purchasing hatching eggs.

NO! Give credit where it is due, but you do not need to breed to show!

 

[buttercup95]

I don't think you need to breed to show either just get some juveniles if you want certain colors. Silkies are one of the most difficult breeds to sex as it is though

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hi I am new to this site, but I am just looking for a breeder in Massachusetts where I can get show quality hen Silkies of all different colors and get them SOON. I want to be able to show the silkies and I want the colors white, red, grey, splash, and black. These will be my first chickens EVER but I have done my research. I am willing to pay for shipping if they are anywhere else in the US. I am also willing to use a hatchery if they are GUARENTEED to be show quality. I was origanaly going to do Meyer Hatchery but they are definitely not show quality. Thanks!

Unless you purchase adult birds, there is no way to be certain they are show quality. The term means different things to different people. No hatchery will have show quality silkies; some have better or poorer quality than others, but NONE have show quality.

Realize that red is a project colour, not a recognized variety. The other varieties you listed are recognized. Are you looking for bearded or non-bearded? Unless you get adults, gender is not certain or known. The American Silkie Bantam Club has a number of members from the New England area.

 

[buttercup95]

Unless you purchase adult birds, there is no way to be certain they are show quality. The term means different things to different people. No hatchery will have show quality silkies; some have better or poorer quality than others, but NONE have show quality.

Realize that red is a project colour, not a recognized variety. The other varieties you listed are recognized. Are you looking for bearded or non-bearded? Unless you get adults, gender is not certain or known. The American Silkie Bantam Club has a number of members from the New England area.

I disagree with all hatchery chicks not being show quality. Just like you said there is no way to be certain unless you buy an adult, and it's very unlikely to get a show quality bird from a hatchery but not impossible. Just my opinion I don't show silkies, but I know people who have showed other birds from hatcheries and done well. I don't mean to be rude I just thought it would be a little harsh if a young kid brought a hatchery chick to fair and someone decided it wasn't show quality because it was a hatchery chick.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: It's origin from a hatchery is not what it would be judged on; the ABA/APA standard is what it would be judged on. There is no way the judge would even know where the bird came from. I stand by my statement. Hatchery silkies are not show quality. It takes a LOT of work and careful breeding to get the qualities you want in exhibition birds. Hatcheries breed for volume sales, not to meet the standard or improve the breed.

My post that you quoted was in response to someone looking for birds to show, who stated they were willing to purchase from a hatchery if they would guarantee show quality. No chick or egg is show quality, although it may have the POTENTIAL, based upon its parents. I was simply saying that to find the birds they are looking for to purchase from breeders, not from a hatchery.

If someone said, "I want a yardful of silkies, and I don't care about showing or breeding," then I wouldn't have said that they can't get that from a hatchery--they could, and maybe that would be a better source as hatchery beards, muffs and crests tend to be smaller, offering less vision obstruction which if better for birds that run loose.

 

[NYREDS]

I disagree with all hatchery chicks not being show quality. Just like you said there is no way to be certain unless you buy an adult, and it's very unlikely to get a show quality bird from a hatchery but not impossible. Just my opinion I don't show silkies, but I know people who have showed other birds from hatcheries and done well. I don't mean to be rude I just thought it would be a little harsh if a young kid brought a hatchery chick to fair and someone decided it wasn't show quality because it was a hatchery chick.

You may know people who have "done well" with hatchery Silkies at a local fair, where the judge is often not a judge at all but rather a local "expert". I guarantee you don't know anyone who has shown hatchery Silkies at an APA/ABA sanctioned show where there was competition from Silkie breeders.
It may in fact be the case that everyone is entitled to their opinion but that doesn't make all opinions valuable. As a wise man once said "every one is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts. " The fact is that show quality [a phrase I don't like] birds don't come from hatcheries.

 

[Farmergreen]

Well your over here No ing it all. You can not show proveable evidence that a Hatchery Bird never done well in reputable (ABA, APA) shows.

Oh I reported you to the site managers for your jugdemental attitude. I left the ABA because of the likes of you