Texas

[4goldens]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on here for awhile so I thought I'd introduce myself. I live in Richmond, TX which is a suburb of Houston. I currently have 12 chickens and 4 geese.

I'm looking to add some silkies to my flock and was wondering if anyone here knows where to get some in Texas.

Thanks!
Laura


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[needlessjunk]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on here for awhile so I thought I'd introduce myself. I live in Richmond, TX which is a suburb of Houston. I currently have 12 chickens and 4 geese.

I'm looking to add some silkies to my flock and was wondering if anyone here knows where to get some in Texas.

Thanks!
Laura


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Welcome from Round Rock. What kind of geese do you have? I only have ducks so I don't know where to find some silkies.

 

[4goldens]

I have 2 Africans and 2 Sebastopols. What kind of ducks to you have? I've been thinking about getting some in the spring.


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[Brookshire11]

Poultry Show Central keeps lists of lots of poultry shows.

Many shows are sanctioned by the APA and have serious breeders that exhibit birds. If you want to enter APA sanctioned shows, you'll need to get a copy of the Standard of Perfection and learn all about your breed, breeding to the SOP, etc., so that you can be competitive with the other exhibitors. Here is where to get the SOP: http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm

Generally you don't have to belong to the APA to enter APA sanctioned shows, but I can tell you that if you are not raising birds that closely resemble the SOP for your breed, your birds don't have much of a chance of winning much of anything. And if they have traits considered DQs (disqualifications), you're automatically out of the running, and if they have serious problems with things like their body type, the judges will see it and not even bother to get them out of the cage for hands-on examinations. If you're raising birds from the feed store/hatchery, you may as well not even bother entering an APA sanctioned show unless you just want some experience with the exhibiting process and are not looking to win anything.

Non-APA sanctioned shows like county fairs and such are often more lenient with judging and you can have "pretty" birds that are clean and spiffed up that can win but not necessarily be Standard-bred birds. But for most other shows, you'll need to look into getting birds from breeders and continue to breed your own flock to the SOP so that you can maintain/improve your birds so they continue to have the uniform look that the SOP calls for.

If you don't have your NPIP, you'll also need to call the typhoid/pullorum tester for your area to come out and test, because they generally want a copy of your testing certificate when you send in the application for the show. http://tvmdl.tamu.edu/products-services/testing/texas-pullorum-typhoid-program/

The next ones coming up in TX that I know about are the Bluebonnet Classic and the Ft Worth Stock Show.

Someone on Amazon sells a pretty good DVD all about how to exhibit birds at poultry shows.

So helpful! Thank you!
I want to show my Russians next year, but they're not accepted back in yet. So we're working on that
Do you show?

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on here for awhile so I thought I'd introduce myself. I live in Richmond, TX which is a suburb of Houston. I currently have 12 chickens and 4 geese.

I'm looking to add some silkies to my flock and was wondering if anyone here knows where to get some in Texas.

Thanks!
Laura


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Welcome!
It depends on the quality you want and how far your willing to drive

I'm near Dallas and there's not really a shortage of Silkies around here.
You can pay a decent amount for a really great bird though.
If you want them just for backyard purposes, I have a hatchery Silkie who is still fairly personable and a great broody/mama hen.
Ideal Poultry is close and usually has them in stock.

I have 2 Africans and 2 Sebastopols. What kind of ducks to you have? I've been thinking about getting some in the spring.


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Oooh! Sebastopols!
Where did you get them?

 

[bnjrob]

So helpful! Thank you!
I want to show my Russians next year, but they're not accepted back in yet. So we're working on that
Do you show?

I have not shown. I need to, to try to get Javas out into the public eye and generate interest in getting more folks willing to keep them and breed them seriously. And after seeing that some of these poultry shows have a very limited variety of different breeds shown, and not seeing any Javas at all, I will probably have to bite the bullet and find some time to do some exhibiting soon.

I have an out of state friend that has Orloffs and hear about the arguing with everyone still trying to come up with a Standard for them that everyone can agree on. Getting them to the shows is the way to get them seen and get them closer to being recognized in the SOP. Of course the rules are that the exhibitors of Orloffs must have been APA members for I believe 5 years, in order to be able to exhibit them at the qualifying shows. So if you're serious about them, I'd recommend going ahead and getting your APA membership going so that you can help get with the work of getting the Orloffs recognized.

 

[4goldens]

I don't mind driving too much. I'd just make it into a road trip with the kiddos. I don't show or anything but just like nice looking birds with good personalities.

I got the Sebastopols from a lady about an hour north of me. I don't think they're great examples of the breed but love them anyway!


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[Brookshire11]

I have not shown. I need to, to try to get Javas out into the public eye and generate interest in getting more folks willing to keep them and breed them seriously. And after seeing that some of these poultry shows have a very limited variety of different breeds shown, and not seeing any Javas at all, I will probably have to bite the bullet and find some time to do some exhibiting soon.

I have an out of state friend that has Orloffs and hear about the arguing with everyone still trying to come up with a Standard for them that everyone can agree on. Getting them to the shows is the way to get them seen and get them closer to being recognized in the SOP. Of course the rules are that the exhibitors of Orloffs must have been APA members for I believe 5 years, in order to be able to exhibit them at the qualifying shows. So if you're serious about them, I'd recommend going ahead and getting your APA membership going so that you can help get with the work of getting the Orloffs recognized.

Oh boy, I'll have to find that out.
I joined the Russian Orloff Society of USA and Canada earlier this year and they've been really helpful.
They're new though (obviously) and yeah..we don't have an SOP yet..

Thanks again! You always have such good advice, I love reading your posts
And good luck with the Javas! I would still like a few, but I'm at maximum capacity until we move again.

 

[Areolyn]

I don't know I wanna show bantam cochins and I'm looking at the state fair this coming year...how do you guys join APA?

 

[needlessjunk]

I have 2 Africans and 2 Sebastopols. What kind of ducks to you have? I've been thinking about getting some in the spring.


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Are your Sebastopols friendly? I think they are so cool! I have a Welsh Harlequin, a Blue Runner, Fawn and White Runner and a white layer. They are babies right now and 3 weeks old. I had to pekins but they turned out to be males and are living on a ranch now.

 

[4goldens]

They are to me but recently the male has become very protective towards me so hisses at everyone else.

I really like the welsh harlequins, they were one of the breeds I was looking at. Did you just not want any males?


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