Silkie thread!

[KMHunter]

Quote: Yeah, I was just going to hatch out a couple so I could get a couple of pullets. Well I have 10 at the moment, and I know when the time comes I am going to find it hard to part with any of them! They are just soo cute?

Peep- I saw your post about your babies going outside at 6 weeks. Where are you located? I am wondering about doing that here in WA state. The days are fine but the nights can get down to 55-60 degrees. I could supplement with a ceramic bulb of lower wattage if necessary. Thoughts? They are so small! I worry. Lol!
ETA- Peep, I just saw your location.

Sometimes I am slow on the uptake.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: THe only "size" mentioned in the standard is weight. Silkies are one of the largest bantams; they should not be tiny, but even that is a comparison. If you are comparing a silkie to a largefowl white rock, they ARE tiny. Or conversely, you could say the rock is huge. IMO, they are about volleyball to soccerball sized.

 

[GoldBarRanch]

I need a pair of nice really BLACK mature silkies. I have one hen right now . Anybody in AZ near me have any for sale or knows someone please PM me.

 

[chisNchickens]

I tend to rarely use those terms. I am likely to be more descriptive "drop dead gorgeous," "lots of potential," really nice except ...," etc. Some birds are better showbirds than breeders, and some are better breeders than show birds. The only thing that makes a bird "show quality" is meeting the standard, and depending on the size of the show, that may not be enough to win. If there is competition, you need to EXCEL at the standard, not just meet it. And then some judges interpret differently than others, and a winning bird under one judge may not place nearly as well under another judge (look at how often double shows have different placements). And then there are ambiguous terms like medium or very small. One person's medium is large to another and small to a third. Then there are people who want to judge size based upon height or length or width, which are not measured in the standard.

I know you don't. Its typically those who don't show at all that throw the terms around, further confusing newbies . It would be nice if we had a thread for those truly interested in showing and breeding to the standard. This thread is NOT it. When I started I read this entire thread and truly only a handful of pages were helpful. Mostly it is new silkie owners asking the same Qs over and over and over. Sigh. The ASBC has wonderful images and critiques that are very helpful ( I LOVE that feature!), but the forum isn't active.

 

[Sanna]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation
This has where they should be and some other examples too.

Perfect, thank you!

Soooo cute!! Makes me want more! HAVE TO RESIST TEMPTATION!

Good luck with that one!

I failed...and ordered more eggs. lol

 

[3ChickensinNC]

No such thing as a breeding quality five-week old chick. Folks are wayyy too loose with the term "show quality". That and claiming your flock is "show or breeder quality" simply because it came from a show breeder (or even just a popular breeder). Not the case at all. I can always spot those to stay away from simply for those two reasons. You have a better chance of producing show quality birds, yes. But you will see here just as many or more very unappealing birds from those very same breeders. Just the way it is. 'Tis genetics.
Not intending to pick at anyone, specifically 3ChickensinNC, just an opportunity to point out the above.

No picking at all. A lesson learned the hard way. Bad thing is I found them on here. Wish there was a way to warn against this. Hawkeye has been helping a lot with this issue. She has been a blessing .

 

[HenThymes]

HERE IS BREWSTER MY CUCKOO ROO

Thanks for sharing! This is a picture of George when he was younger, he has matured very nicely. Though we did rehome him recently but have two barred babies growing out. I just noticed last night that the blue cuckoo's comb is starting to turn more mulberry compared to the black cuckoo!!

George

babies

 

[Hawkeye95]

Just sharing a pic of my ladies I took today. Pearl, the silkie, Lady Peckington the sizzle, and Poppy the Plymouth Rock.

Pretty! Looks like they are happy to be out eating the grass.

THe only "size" mentioned in the standard is weight. Silkies are one of the largest bantams; they should not be tiny, but even that is a comparison. If you are comparing a silkie to a largefowl white rock, they ARE tiny. Or conversely, you could say the rock is huge. IMO, they are about volleyball to soccerball sized.

Okay, I finally drug out my mail scale. It read out at 2 lbs 15.8 oz for my rooster .... which means he is 47.8 ounces. The standard calls out 36 ounces for a cock. He is a whopping 11.8oz too heavy. Sigh. I indeed have a boy too large. Well that just bites. What are your thoughts on "runts"? LOL In all seriousness I have two chicks that aren't growing like the others and I suspect they are boys. They are VERY tiny... thinking that would make a better rooster?? Of course, depending on how they grow out and if they present with any faults. At this point in time, their feet are perfect (nice V with no webbing on the 4th and 5th)... but too early to look at wings and crest, leakage, etc... Have you had an experience with tiny runts that don't grow at the normal rate. Is that something to stay away from..? I have other cockerels growing out, but they are offspring to my "large" cock.

I know you don't. Its typically those who don't show at all that throw the terms around, further confusing newbies . It would be nice if we had a thread for those truly interested in showing and breeding to the standard. This thread is NOT it. When I started I read this entire thread and truly only a handful of pages were helpful. Mostly it is new silkie owners asking the same Qs over and over and over. Sigh. The ASBC has wonderful images and critiques that are very helpful ( I LOVE that feature!), but the forum isn't active.

THIS is supposed to be the thread for those interested in showing and breeding to SOP. We just need more people interested in showing to stick around. But otherwise, there are several people here that are breeding to SOP, but yeah, not everyone is doing that. No reason to ditch the thread, because this is a great source of information for everyone. It would be nice if the ASBC had a more active board for those of us with questions regarding showing and breeding, but it doesn't. The only other place would be the ASBC FB group, and I have found I can get immediate answers to questions. This is a fantastic thread right here and if you are going to start showing your birds, then I hope you stick around to offer tips and advice you learn to others that are just starting out. This is my first year showing-- starting early this Spring, this summer, and now our next one will be in the Fall. That experience is invaluable to the thread here and others that are wanting to get started themselves in doing this. Sonoran and others offered their experience to me right here on this thread right before my first show, and I still have a lot to learn. This thread could offer more if we all stuck around and encouraged others to do the same and shared our experience.

 

[Hawkeye95]

No picking at all. A lesson learned the hard way. Bad thing is I found them on here. Wish there was a way to warn against this. Hawkeye has been helping a lot with this issue. She has been a blessing

.

it's alright! A couple of false starts and you'll be off and running! And by finding out the hard way-- you can be of more use to others than just having everything come easily. So now you know what to avoid and can help others do the same. Guaranteed you learned a lot more this way than if you'd just bought a perfect pair and started that way.

OH-- and thank you!

Thanks for sharing! This is a picture of George when he was younger, he has matured very nicely. Though we did rehome him recently but have two barred babies growing out. I just noticed last night that the blue cuckoo's comb is starting to turn more mulberry compared to the black cuckoo!!

George

babies

They are adorable!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I think that most of the folks who post this kind of stuff are rank beginners who bought a pair or so of chickens and immediately started selling eggs, chicks, etc. Very few exhibitors (of any breed) will sell eggs or chicks--they know that for every drop dead gorgeous bird they hatch, they will also hatch a bunch of ones who may be nice, or may not, but are not potential show champions. And they usually do not want to risk letting those very few stellar examples go.

Maybe ask the moderators to post a sticky thread on terminology in the BST section, or even make it part of the required reading to participate there? It would help if you provide at least a start of the writeup. Limit the terms to those commonly used in ads, and don't aim it as an attack, just as an informative set of data.