We have had Silkies, both hens, roosters, hatched chicks, and raised chicks purchased from others... We have found the females to be always docile. Even when they are broody toward other birds, they are always docile for being handled by people. We have never had a hen attempt to bite/pull skin even when taking babies out from under her.
The roosters are often very calm, even after maturity. Of 10 Silkie roosters we have raised, only one was the type to jump at your feet or try to use his claws, and he was a farm store purchase, part of our first set of chickens, and small enough he was pretty harmless, even for our seven year old handler. The rest were calm, treated the hens well, kept excellent watch, and remained sweet when caught and held, just like the hens. I have never had a Silkie attempt to bite or pull skin.
The broodiness can be a challenge if you have a lot of birds and hot summers where you might miss that a hen has gone broody inside the hot coop. We have to pull Silkies out and shut the coop up from them when their broodiness is sparked. They also will spark each other to brood, so if you have more than one, you might end up with everyone trying to brood.
The heavily feathered feet mean you need to watch carefully for overgrown toe-nails and leg mites (Silkies seem to be particularly effected by leg mites over standard non-feathered footed chickens).
Eggs are very hard shelled, so cracking them takes skill if you want unbroken yolks. A good layer will produce about every third day in her season.
The roosters are often very calm, even after maturity. Of 10 Silkie roosters we have raised, only one was the type to jump at your feet or try to use his claws, and he was a farm store purchase, part of our first set of chickens, and small enough he was pretty harmless, even for our seven year old handler. The rest were calm, treated the hens well, kept excellent watch, and remained sweet when caught and held, just like the hens. I have never had a Silkie attempt to bite or pull skin.
The broodiness can be a challenge if you have a lot of birds and hot summers where you might miss that a hen has gone broody inside the hot coop. We have to pull Silkies out and shut the coop up from them when their broodiness is sparked. They also will spark each other to brood, so if you have more than one, you might end up with everyone trying to brood.
The heavily feathered feet mean you need to watch carefully for overgrown toe-nails and leg mites (Silkies seem to be particularly effected by leg mites over standard non-feathered footed chickens).
Eggs are very hard shelled, so cracking them takes skill if you want unbroken yolks. A good layer will produce about every third day in her season.