Health Practices
Due to the fragile nature of chicks, I cannot guarantee their health or lives once they leave my care. I unfortunately have no control over new owner care. I can only attest that my own flock is disease and pest free, and that chicks are healthy at the time I sell them. Buyer will be asked to inspect birds before accepting them, and it is always good practice to quarantine any new animals from your current ones!
Sex Guarantees
Silkies are notoriously difficult to sex. All of my chicks are sold straight run (unsexed) with very few exceptions. I may occasionally have birds old enough to sex or pullets from a sex-link breeding. They will be labeled (and priced!) as such. Please understand that mistakes do happen. I am human. Eggs can be mislabeled, or chicks can be mixed up. In the event that you are specifically sold a pullet that turns out to be a male, I will buy him back for what you paid for him. If you do not want to return him, I will refund what the price difference was between pullets and straight run at time of purchase.
Please note this does NOT apply to straight run chicks that turn out to be males. That is an inherent possibility with straight run chicks. Also, the use of “showgirl” is a feather type, and does not imply that a chick is female.
Quality Guarantees
I strive for SOP with all of my birds, but I cannot guarantee the quality of every chick. You could put two show winners together and still not every single chick will be show quality. Quality is also difficult to assess in very young chicks. I will happily share photos and videos of my breeders for reference. I consider most of my chicks “breeder quality” and they are priced as such. However, if chicks from me are growing out with major quality issues (single combs, poor crests, sparse feathering, they look like they came from Tractor Supply, etc.) I want to know about it so I can make it right! Their parents will need to be assessed. If you want to bring them back, I will buy them at their original purchase price.
That being said, I don’t show my birds. I use exhibition line silkies to improve my project colors and satins, but my birds are family pets. They are allowed to free range, sun bathe, and play in the dirt. I am not interested in putting them in conditioning cages for show (or quarantining them when they return). A gentle, friendly rooster is much more valuable to me than a structurally perfect one with an attitude problem. If you are getting into silkies purely for exhibition, my chicks are probably not for you. I’d be happy to put you in contact with some excellent exhibition breeders!
I do occasionally have known pet-quality or early generation project crosses. They will be listed accordingly and reduced.
A note about skin color: some genes (such as barring and mottled) cause pigment holes, and birds of those colors will have lighter skin. This is not considered a defect in those cases.
Hatching Eggs
I hatch for myself first. Hatching eggs will be offered at my discretion and likely only when I don’t have the incubator space. I hesitate to sell them at all given the prevalence of egg buyers blaming the breeders for hatching aspects out of our control. There are absolutely NO guarantees on hatch rates for hatching eggs. I have no control over your handling or incubator practices. Hatching eggs are ALWAYS a gamble, do not purchase them if you are not willing to assume that risk.
Pricing
Waitlists and Holds
I no longer maintain a waitlist for chicks! Birds will be posted to the website and Facebook page as they become available. Priority will be given to whomever chooses the first pick up date. I will not hold birds longer than 24 hours without a deposit due to the high number of no-shows. With the abundance of deposit scams online, I typically operate first come first serve, cash at pick up only. If you want me to hold birds for you, I am willing to discuss deposits on a case-by-case basis at my discretion.
Pick Up
I do not ship birds or eggs at this time! Pick up is at my home in Bridge Creek. I may have limited availability to meet in Bethany. No-shows will be blacklisted.
Plush Prairie 