Silkie thread!

[JenS9]

Hello I just almost bought a silkie but I was too slow and now I want to order some from a hatchery but I was wondering if anybody had better luck with one hatchery than another. I usually use Murray McMurray, but I could use a different hatchery if need be.

I got mine from Ideal, but it's the only hatchery I've ever ordered from. I have an album here if you want to see them.

 

[JenS9]

If you want a better quality bird I would get one from a breeder or possibly at a poultry swap.

I wish I had a breeder near me. I'm trying to find a pretty pullet to ship in but haven't had any luck yet.

 

[buttercup95]

If you want a better quality bird I would get one from a breeder or possibly at a poultry swap.

Unfortunately I don't have that option right now. I'm not very trusting of anyone at our local swap and I hardly ever see silkies there anyways. I'm not truly interested in show quality or anything I'm just wanting a few to try them out I've never had them before. I just was wondering if people had bad luck with any particular hatcheries.

 

[buttercup95]

I got mine from Ideal, but it's the only hatchery I've ever ordered from. I have an album here if you want to see them.

Oh yours are just gorgeous! do you trim the feathers around their eyes? I heard that was a common problem among silkies

 

[Jharper]

Unfortunately I don't have that option right now. I'm not very trusting of anyone at our local swap and I hardly ever see silkies there anyways. I'm not truly interested in show quality or anything I'm just wanting a few to try them out I've never had them before. I just was wondering if people had bad luck with any particular hatcheries.

I've seen some good ones come from cackle.

 

[Suzierd]

Wow, he is awesome!

 

[farmer boy]

I'm sorry. I thought I had.

I do not think you can get Splash from your Silver Partridge and your black hen. You MIGHT be able to get splash if your Silver Partridge is actually a Silver/Blue Partridge and you cross him with your Blue hen - you need two copies of Blue to get splash. If your Black hen is actually Black, she does not carry a copy of Blue, no matter what her parents were. B/B/S breeding goes like this: Black = NO copies of blue, Blue = one copy of Blue, Splash = two copies of Blue. Two Blacks will never create a Blue, even if both their parents were Blue. If your Silver Partridge is Black based and your Black hen is really black, then you will not get any Blues - or any Splashes. If you get any Blues - then one or the other is not Black...

I can't tell quality from the pictures - they weren't the best (on the move) and having them trimmed by the breeder certainly doesn't help. Let them grow back all their feathers - and take pictures when they are standing still and relaxed.

Crooked beak may be genetic, watch his kids closely and if he passes it on do not use him. Broken toes are not genetic - do not worry about those unless it was because of brittle bones. I do not know what can cause the tilt of her neck - does she have problems with wry neck? I believe that is a vitamin deficiency - and may be an inherited inability to properly process the food we are feeding them. If the kids do not show any similar symptoms I would guess they are fine.

Your boy is just Smutty Buff. He may carry Partridge - but so do lots of Blues, Blacks, Whites, Splashes, Buffs, etc.. and nobody appends "Partridge" after them. When you get to the next generation (like your young one) then you can call them Partridge, those kids went from the Buff side to the Partridge side.

I went back and looked at your Silver Partridge male again - he may very well be Silver/Blue Partridge. Cross him with your blue hen for the possibility of Splashes. Your "Black" hen also shows some gray underfluff - you may have a Dark Blue instead of a Black there as well. When you get chicks out of the pair see if you get any Splash chicks - that will tell you if she is really Black - or Blue.

the tilt in her neck does not pass through genes ... im not sure why she got it but it never went through her genes and my silver partridge boy developed his crooked beak as he got older and the black hen when she was little had orange mixed in with her black im not sure if that helps with anything else or not but just letting you know .. i have gotten babies from my blue hen they were black dark blue and a lighter blue but they caught the cocci so they died and one of the partridge chicks died to .. she was more orange then the one in the pictures and axoa posted pictures on here and im pretty sure those are the ones from my smutty buff

 

[PaintedFeathers]

Wow, he is awesome!

Painted Feathers he is gorgeous!

Thank you =) He's such a good boy. Needs conditioning though, he's icky

I just gave him a bath but he's still stained and he has some broken foot feathers

 

[2jsbabyfarm]

Thought I'd share a picture of our 3 year old and one of our 9 week old silkies. He loves all our chickens but this little one really loves him =)

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thought I'd share a picture of our 3 year old and one of our 9 week old silkies. He loves all our chickens but this little one really loves him =)

Oh, ain't love grand?