Starting from square one

[Crazy chicken lady 9983]

Hey y’all I am fixing to start a project on making silkie chicks from a hatchery into top notch show quality birds. I know I could have just started from a show breeder but I thought it would be fun to see how long truly how much effort breeders put into their birds. Any tips, tricks, and standards would be greatly appreciate. Thanks

 

[The Moonshiner]

Hatch tons

 

[Lydia Huizenga]

I agree with above. If you want to watch something silly but gain some information, I recommend watching the movie Chicken People. I'm not sure of all the places you can watch it but I know it's on PlutoTV. You have to read up a lot on the standards first so you know what to look for. Genetics are a complicated thing and don't always go as expected so there will be quite a lot of failure but it won't be your fault. Don't give up! This is something I've dreamed to do.

 

[Amer]

Buy the Standard of Perfection from the American Poultry Association website. Assuming you are from the US.

 

[Amer]

https://americansilkiebantamclub.org/pages/silkie-standard
Here is the standard for Silkies for until you decide to get the book.

 

[Crazy chicken lady 9983]

Thank you all

 

[Amer]

Thank you all

You're welcome!

 

[NatJ]

making silkie chicks from a hatchery into top notch show quality birds... Any tips, tricks, and standards would be greatly appreciate.

Buy a lot of chicks from the hatchery, so you can select the best ones.

Many of the distinctive Silkie traits are caused by dominant genes, so if your first birds do not have them, they will never appear later. So when you select which birds to keep, make sure you choose at least some with feathered feet, at least some with dark skin, at least some with 5 toes, and so forth.

 

[Crazy chicken lady 9983]

Buy a lot of chicks from the hatchery, so you can select the best ones.

Many of the distinctive Silkie traits are caused by dominant genes, so if your first birds do not have them, they will never appear later. So when you select which birds to keep, make sure you choose at least some with feathered feet, at least some with dark skin, at least some with 5 toes, and so forth.

Ok thank you