What are showgirl chickens worth?
Prices start at $50 each for pet quality birds, and go up for breeding or show quality birds. The broodiness of both Silkies and Showgirls means they sit faithfully on eggs and do a great job of hatching and raising chicks.
How big do showgirl chickens get?
The typical bantam breed, showgirls, are similar to standard Silkies in size. They are raised to be cuddly, broody, and especially for the exhibition. They weigh between 1.8 and 2.8lbs and, as such, do not make the perfect dinner-table companion.
What is a showgirl Silkie?
The Showgirl Silkie is a unique looking chicken that is a Silkie and turken or naked neck cross-breed. Showgirls combine the features of two of the weirdest looking breeds, Silkies and Transylvanian Naked Necks or Turkens and they have all the Silkie characteristics, along with the naked neck.
How long do showgirl chickens live?
These chickens are long-lived, often having life spans up to around nine years old, and continue to stay beautiful even when older. The fact that silkie chickens are unable to fly due to their fluffy plumage makes them the easiest of all chickens to keep as pets because they are that much easier to contain.
Can silkie chickens be sexed?
It can be difficult to sex any chicken breed at a young age, but Silkies, in particular, are even more of a challenge because they mature slower than other breeds. The male and female also have similar coloring and plumage, particularly the crest plumage. Below are 7 things to look for when trying to sex your Silkies.
What is a pullet chicken?
Pullet is the term for a female teenage chicken, while a male teenage chicken is called a cockerel. Between 5-7 weeks, you should be able to begin visually distinguishing males from females. Compared to pullets, the combs and wattles of cockerels often develop earlier and are usually larger.
What does a showgirl rooster look like?
Showgirl roosters typically develop larger combs and wattles at an earlier age much like regular roosters. They also tend to have streamers, which is the name for longer feathers sticking out behind their comb.
Are showgirl chickens friendly?
Like Silkies, the Showgirl hens are very broody and exceptional mothers, and they are often used to hatch the eggs of other breeds. Showgirl females are usually very calm, sweet and gentle birds, they usually make excellent pets, especially for children.
Can you show Showgirl Silkies?
Showgirls are essentially Silkies with some unusual feathering, and typically share the same sweet, docile personalities as Silkies usually have.
When can silkies be sexed?
Silkies are one of the most difficult breeds of chicken to sex beacuses the differences between hens and rooster are very subtle at a young age. They become sexually mature at 5-6 months old and at this age the first obvious signs of gender may be revealed.
How can u tell if a chick is male or female?
So the simplest rule in sexing chicks by down color is to remember males have lighter heads, sometimes with a white or yellow spot, and females have darker down color often with a black or brown spot or stripes on their heads or with darker stripes on their backs.
What kind of chicken is a showgirl chicken?
Below: A classic showgirl Silkie chicken. The Turken is used in the first generation to incorporate the incompletely dominant Naked Neck gene into the breeding program, then for multiple generations continue by crossing the Naked Necked chicks back to Silkies to improve type.
What kind of breed is a showgirl Silkie?
Showgirls combine the features of two of the weirdest looking breeds, Silkies and Transylvanian Naked Necks or Turkens and they have all the Silkie characteristics, along with the naked neck. Below: A showgirl Silkie chick. They should have the right skin colouring on the skin of the neck.
Can a showgirl have tufts on her neck?
Only NN Silkies are called showgirls. You need two copies of the naked neck gene but with all the other characteristics of the standard Silkie. Below: A Showgirl with one copy of the naked neck gene will have tufts on the neck.
Is the Turken chicken a turkey or a chicken?
Some people even think that Turken Naked Necks are an actual cross between a turkey and a chicken. The name Turken can sometimes add to this confusion, as the name is derived from the once popular idea that this animal was a hybrid animal. Despite the possible misleadings, Turken Naked Neck chickens are just an interesting breed of chicken.