Silkie Hen to Roo Ratio, EEs & Broody Eggs

[sixlittlechickens]

Hey there,
We're thinking about moving to a new town with no restrictions on owning roosters. Obviously, the first thing I think about is chickens! I love silkies and easter eggers, and while I currently only have 4 silkie hens, I want more! I'd love to get some roosters too. This is where the questions come in...

1. What's the optimal hen : rooster ratio for silkies? I've seen 6:1 and 3 or 4: 1. I ended up with 3 accidental silkie roosters and 6 hens at one point, no issues (had to get rid of them due to town rules though). Silkie roos seem to get along well with each other. My 3 were BFFs. What do you think?

2. So, I currently have 4 white hatchery hens and was thinking about getting assorted silkie eggs from a local breeder. Then I would let the silkies do their broody thing and hatch the eggs themselves, and possibly start a breeding project. Breeding for temperament and health, not color. Is this a viable plan?

3. How do EEs and silkies get along? I've had them both, but not together.

Thanks!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

1. I'll let Silkie breeders step in for question #1. The hen rooster ratio is a rule of thumb. The real tale is if your roosters are mating so often with the hens that the hens are bedraggled and harassed morning to night. I've not had Silkie roosters, so I go by more standard rules. My personal rule is with a gentle boy you can go down to 1:6 or 1:5 easily. More aggressive boys need a larger flock, though the favorite always seems to be over used. I "cull" the overly aggressive boys as there is no need.

2. That's how I started my flock. I began with hatchery quality birds (artifically brooded from chicks from the feed store). I had a mix of standard sizes. Then, after burning a coop down transitioning pullets to the outdoors (bad choice of heat source), I purchased a notoriously broody Silkie from a breeder. Oma-San (a smoky grey Silkie hen) went broody every 4 months. I purchased breeder quality eggs (an excellent buy...try to get local) and hatched chicks of the breeds I preferred. (I hatched Marans, Cream Legbars, Barnvelders to build an olive egger program). Oma-San was a faithful mother who got her own broody palace with designated hutch and run for grow outs.

3. How well will your standard EEs act with Silkies. THAT depends. I personally had a terrible time with my Silkies (by now I had 3 Silkie hens) integrating with my standards. The standards just could not stop pecking at their poms (which can cause brain damage in Silkies). Also, the Silkies were terrible at free range waddling rather than running and becoming an absolute mud magnet (in my wet Pacific Northwest)...Oma-San got picked off by a hawk forcing me to reconsider my plans. ALL Silkies immediately remained in the broody hutch/run for the sole purpose of brooding and hatching and growing out chicks. I integrated the pullets at about 10 to 12 weeks of age into the main flock.

So the answer to number 3 totally depends on your flock and your free range environment. I personally had a disaster integrating standard and bantam Silkies.

Good luck with your move and your new brooding project. It's a lot of fun to grow a flock from the ground up.

LofMc

 

[sixlittlechickens]

1. I'll let Silkie breeders step in for question #1. The hen rooster ratio is a rule of thumb. The real tale is if your roosters are mating so often with the hens that the hens are bedraggled and harassed morning to night. I've not had Silkie roosters, so I go by more standard rules. My personal rule is with a gentle boy you can go down to 1:6 or 1:5 easily. More aggressive boys need a larger flock, though the favorite always seems to be over used. I "cull" the overly aggressive boys as there is no need.

2. That's how I started my flock. I began with hatchery quality birds (artifically brooded from chicks from the feed store). I had a mix of standard sizes. Then, after burning a coop down transitioning pullets to the outdoors (bad choice of heat source), I purchased a notoriously broody Silkie from a breeder. Oma-San (a smoky grey Silkie hen) went broody every 4 months. I purchased breeder quality eggs (an excellent buy...try to get local) and hatched chicks of the breeds I preferred. (I hatched Marans, Cream Legbars, Barnvelders to build an olive egger program). Oma-San was a faithful mother who got her own broody palace with designated hutch and run for grow outs.

3. How well will your standard EEs act with Silkies. THAT depends. I personally had a terrible time with my Silkies (by now I had 3 Silkie hens) integrating with my standards. The standards just could not stop pecking at their poms (which can cause brain damage in Silkies). Also, the Silkies were terrible at free range waddling rather than running and becoming an absolute mud magnet (in my wet Pacific Northwest)...Oma-San got picked off by a hawk forcing me to reconsider my plans. ALL Silkies immediately remained in the broody hutch/run for the sole purpose of brooding and hatching and growing out chicks. I integrated the pullets at about 10 to 12 weeks of age into the main flock.

So the answer to number 3 totally depends on your flock and your free range environment. I personally had a disaster integrating standard and bantam Silkies.

Good luck with your move and your new brooding project. It's a lot of fun to grow a flock from the ground up.

LofMc

Thank you so much, this is super helpful!