Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Chickengirl2671]

No
I'm not allowed to hatch anymore

I feel your pain.

 

[chickengr]

So… I have eggs brewing in the incubator, again!

Wasn’t planning to hatch again until the Spring, but I can’t seem to let fertile Silkie eggs go to waste. I do have a bit of a wait list for chicks, so I will have buyers for most of them.
Looks like a few from Kana are fertile! This girl has never liked any of the roosters I have had, so happy to see that she’s getting along with Eko.
I’m having more and more difficulty telling the different Silkie eggs apart. Looks like I have from at least 3 hens.
First eggs due to hatch on the 26th.View attachment 2962440

I put the eggs in incubator too. it was for a friend. as I had a few silkie and bantam cochin eggs I put them too. I am not sure if my boys mate so this is to check fertility as well. my new silkie boy is young and my bantam cochin is a dog attack surviver (limping for good) so I don't know if he is capable of mating.

 

[Cynthia12]

I used to hatch, and I loved hatching those silkies!

 

[LynnaePB]

So sorry my response to everyone is so late! I managed to catch up on the thread last night but didn't have the time to respond to anything till tonight.

RIP Burtle This morning he wasn't moving, not making a sound, just looked like he couldn't breathe properly so I quickly dislocated his neck with the painless broomstick method. Poor boy. I wonder what was wrong with him.

I'm so sorry about little Burtle, it really doesn't sound like just a vitamin deficiency and I'm sure you did the best thing for him by not letting him suffer.

I hope you'll have some adorable new (and all healthy) babies soon from Char.

So I had to share with the Silkie lovers…I had the opportunity to acquire a couple of older pullets from a local breeder and I took it…it’s so hard to find for sure pullet silkies. I’ve only had them a couple of days and they’re a bit freaked out, but I know it’s tougher when they’re a bit older. They’ll be in quarantine for awhile in my dining room, and I’m being extra careful since my flock is just getting over fowl pox. Sia got to spend some time out front this morning and she perked up a lot. They’re both so sweet I hope they get along well with Betty and Fuzzy!

Meet Sia -

View attachment 2961345

View attachment 2961346

And Cher -

View attachment 2961347

View attachment 2961348

Congratulations on the new additions! They are both such cuties!

Hi dear friends, I haven't been on board for quite a while...last time I was here there were about 400 pages - oh wow and now already 700! I thought so often of all of you, hoping that all of you and all your little ones are fine
Happy New Year, dear friends - may 2022 be a wonderful year for all of you and all your loved ones
I'm sorry I kind of vanished. My mom got the diagnosis lung cancer and so much changed for all of us here then. I often thought 'tomorrow I will be back on board' and then I just didn't make it - - again.
Little flock - my little James with the 6 girls - and boy group - Maku, Kasimir, Snowman and Sindbad - are all fine.
The girls are all laying and tiny Schorschette, the smallest hen, lays the biggest eggs
Brioche taught me how to handle a broody and Roberta and Schorschette confirmed, what I learned Then Brioche got broody again. And today again I heard some Halloween-worthy screaming when walking towards the coop
The Silkies are all my joy.
I'm glad to be back here, dear friends, and I'm looking forward to catch up on everything

Welcome back! Definitely missed you on the thread and it's so nice to see you here again!

I'm so very sorry your mother, you, and the family are having to go through such a hardship. I can't imagine how difficult that must be but I hope things go for the best for everyone.

So… I have eggs brewing in the incubator, again!

Wasn’t planning to hatch again until the Spring, but I can’t seem to let fertile Silkie eggs go to waste. I do have a bit of a wait list for chicks, so I will have buyers for most of them.
Looks like a few from Kana are fertile! This girl has never liked any of the roosters I have had, so happy to see that she’s getting along with Eko.
I’m having more and more difficulty telling the different Silkie eggs apart. Looks like I have from at least 3 hens.
First eggs due to hatch on the 26th.View attachment 2962440

Oh so exciting! And wonderful you've already got homes lined up for most of the little ones. Kana is such a pretty girl, that is wonderful you'll be able to get some little ones from her finally. I'm sure her and Eko's babies will be gorgeous!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Well, it takes time to build a reputation. I live on an island with a population of 200,000 and a limited market for Silkies. People are able to buy them from hatcheries from the mainland for about five dollars each so why should they buy mine that I charge three and four times more for?
My goal market is people who really want these birds and really want to care for them and are willing to pay more for a quality bird. I give people lots of attention, if they are waiting for eggs to hatch I send them photos of the eggs under development which most people find pretty interesting and cool! Each chick hatched has an individual portrait and is banded individually, the buyers then get to pick the chicks in order of their place on the waitlist. I make myself available for folks after they buy the birds if they have any questions that come up. I offer them a six page care guide that I developed recently with specifics to taking care of Silkies in an environment like Hawaii, and of course I refer them to BYC!
I really love my birds and I want the people who buy them from me to be really happy with them and to love them as well. In general, the people that are willing to pay more money for a bird, are people who are going to take care of them and I’m trying to cater to this population. I also have repeat customers. I usually give them a discount.
At this point most of my business in by word of mouth. I do not have Facebook or Instagram but I am thinking of making an Instagram page in the future, if I can get my daughter to help me set it up! She fortunately is an excellent photographer and helps takes photos of the birds as well as helps me with the birds in general. Don’t think you’re going to make money on this though! This for me is just a hobby that I thoroughly enjoy. To keep my daughter motivated I split any money I get from sales with her. Her motivation waxes and wanes as she is getting older.
When my waitlist gets short, I post ads on craigslist when eggs are in the incubator to let people know that chicks are expected to hatch on such and such a day and to let me know if they are interested to be added to my waitlist. I sell most of chicks from five days of age to make sure that they are eating and drinking and pooping and acting normally and are healthy. Only recently I’ve been asking for a small deposit to be on the waitlist, mostly so I know people are serious about it.
There is a lot of trial and error in this process as other breeders can attest. You have to figure out what your goals are for breeding, what are you trying to do. Most of the birds I sell are for pets. I hatch all of my eggs in the incubator, at least for now, so they are all handled frequently right from hatch and all are quite friendly, which is what people want. I vaccinate my birds against Marek’s disease, which only one other breeder on the island is doing and this is also a plus as a selling point. It does add about five dollars each to the chick price due to the expense of importing the vaccine from the mainland.
So, sorry for all the rambling!
Hope this gives you an idea. This is very specific to my circumstances and environment. You’ll have to figure out what works for you.
What are other people selling chicks for? How available do you want to be to buyers?
Ask yourself these questions.
You could also just hatch some chicks and see what happens! It is a lot of work but so very addictive! Such a great joy seeing those little chicks crack out of the eggs!

Oh i love everything you are doing!! What a fun process for you and your daughter, as well as the buyers.

I pay cheap when i get hatchery chicks, but i happily pay a premium ($12-20) for the locally hatched chicks. I know the time and effort it takes, and i love to support their hobby as well (plus i get super cool chicks!!). I'm sure they aren't making a profit, just covering expenses to share the joy of these special breeds.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Oh i love everything you are doing!! What a fun process for you and your daughter, as well as the buyers.

I pay cheap when i get hatchery chicks, but i happily pay a premium ($12-20) for the locally hatched chicks. I know the time and effort it takes, and i love to support their hobby as well (plus i get super cool chicks!!). I'm sure they aren't making a profit, just covering expenses to share the joy of these special breeds.

See...why can't more of "you" live near me! Lolol

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Guess what.... FINALLLLLLYYYYY... got my coop and run setup and leveled and ready to go! Girls moved in last night!!


They look so tiny in all of that space!

I had to take Elsa out.. because she was just totally attacking Esmeralda. I put her back in her old coop until evening, then she seemed calmer. Still chasing, but not feet in the air hawk attack style.

They were all so funny, no one wanted to go into the coop. So i had to wait til it was almost dark, then put each one up on the roost. Not only that, they wouldn't get down in the morning either So i carried each one down again. I could see Minnie and Daisy exploring in there this morning after breakfast, so maybe they'll get it. Curious where they are going to lay eggs. Probably in the run instead of one of the 8 nest boxes

 

[Silkie Princess]

Guess what.... FINALLLLLLYYYYY... got my coop and run setup and leveled and ready to go! Girls moved in last night!!

View attachment 2963601View attachment 2963600View attachment 2963598View attachment 2963599View attachment 2963597
They look so tiny in all of that space!

I had to take Elsa out.. because she was just totally attacking Esmeralda. I put her back in her old coop until evening, then she seemed calmer. Still chasing, but not feet in the air hawk attack style.

They were all so funny, no one wanted to go into the coop. So i had to wait til it was almost dark, then put each one up on the roost. Not only that, they wouldn't get down in the morning either So i carried each one down again. I could see Minnie and Daisy exploring in there this morning after breakfast, so maybe they'll get it. Curious where they are going to lay eggs. Probably in the run instead of one of the 8 nest boxes

So big! Could you mail Elsa to me? She would be BFF's with Bella

 

[AngBantamLuv]

See...why can't more of "you" live near me! Lolol

Well i did... but i didn't have my chicken hobby at the time. I think joining (or making) a local Facebook FARM group (those allow sales) really gets more attention to the hobbyists, both sellers and buyers. I see plenty of ISO ads and the sellers respond w their availability.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

So big! Could you mail Elsa to me? She would be BFF's with Bella

I willl happily box her up