Easter Eggers and Silkies

Little Coop on Salt Creek

Songster
7 Years
Feb 20, 2016
438
368
217
Southwest Colorado
Hi!
We are new here. Sweet husband is out working on coop as I type this!
We are thinking of starting our flock with 12 chicks.. among a couple of other breeds, I have been looking at Easter Eggers and Silkies in particular. I would love some feedback on a couple of questions I have. #1: Will the Easter Eggers lay through the winter? #2: What other breeds do you all keep with your Silkies so they aren't picked on? Thank you everyone! ~ Jenny
 
Ok well I have Easter eggers and hey do lay more than the others in the winter and I would say keeping some more breeds that are more calm and docile like the buff orpingtons
 
I keep my silkies with other bantams. I haven't kept them with large fowl.

My EEs did not lay last winter but then neither did most of my other birds as it was unusually brutal. What are your flock goals? What kind of egg production do you want? Neither of those breeds are great layers.
 
As far as flock goals, I was wanting variety. I also want good egg production, that being said.. I am curious if keeping a 1/4 or so of the flock that aren't huge producers will harm the egg production goal to badly. We are a family of 5 and it seems like we can eat our weight in eggs some weeks!
 
Well then I wouldn't get the silkies they only lay abou 100 eggs a year unless u want them to go broody to hatch out eggs for u so I would want the Easter eggers but for me I am getting silkies because I don't eat eggs but I want them to hatch eggs for me to fill my orders
 
If it were me I would pass on silkies. They are in my experience poor layers, and hatchery ones are really tiny. Half the size of the ones I got from a breeder. I would get at least one Easter Egger. No two are alike and most lay green or blue eggs. For above average layers I would suggest black sex links, Austrolorps, any color of Rocks, Minorcas, Anconas and brown Leghorns (I like them better than the whites). Other decent breeds would be Orpingtons, any color Wyandottes, Brahmas, and Sussex. Some hatcheries have olive eggers and marans if you want a colorful egg basket.
 

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