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 is to inspect birds before accepting them, and it is always good practice to quarantine any new animals from your current ones!
A comment I see occasionally in poultry groups is that silkies in particular are exceptionally more fragile or “always die”. Please, if you cannot provide the proper care to keep baby chicks alive, do not buy my birds.
Sex Guarantees
There are no sex guarantees! All of my chicks are sold straight run (unsexed). Young silkies are notoriously difficult to sex, and DNA testing is cost prohibitive for myself and my customers. I may occasionally have birds either old enough to sex or from sex-link breedings which will be labeled (and priced!) as such.
Please note 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 potential. 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 have decided to not offer hatching eggs at all. I have witnessed too many breeders deal with buyers acting completely ridiculous when they don’t experience a 100% hatch rate.
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! 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 