Silkie

We've had several of this breed now, and are big fans. Hens are incomparable moms, roos are good at their jobs and friendly. Some of this is due to raising, we know.
Broodiness can be a problem. Crest can impare vision, which is funny and dangerous.
Don't keep this bird for eggs, as others have said. Do keep them for amusement, companionship, incubator/brooder combo... You get the idea!

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.

Used to have an old silk, she passed away, but never ever have i had or seen a chicken as kind and sweet as she was. She would always go broody and our other chickens never bothered. She wasn't queen bee, but no one cared about her. IF you want an egg layer maybe not this breed, but if you want a clowny beautiful chicken this is it. Ours layed eggs at least 3 times a week but they were little. Took 3 to make one australorp egg She was so worth it though! Never could have asked for a better bird. RIP Distance miss you If you have young children they are delicate birdies, but if supervised they are great chickens for kiddos to hang out with, because they would rather chill like kings and queens than hang out with peasants(i swore thats what our used to think)

They are the best chickens ever. They are so friendly and lovable and they become your best friends when they get to know you and form a bond with you. I love them because they have poofy feathers on top of their heads. It makes them look like a poodle.

I have 1 silkie hen & so far she’s the best, she’s super funny & follows me where ever I go, though I have other chickens who try to attack, I’m always with her when I let her out to free roam, they are very sweet as well planning on getting her a new friend, I raised her when she was 3 days old & I enjoyed it, my dogs also love her

The chickens are overall funny looking and beautiful chickens. The bad side of owning this breed is that they smell VERY horrible. They don't lay and they didn't grow very big within 7 months.

View attachment 1629484 Silkies are a fantastic breed. My daughter loves being able to easily pick them up and put them on her lap. My coop is large but they all snuggle together in a little pile at night. They are not flighty. It may be because they have difficulty seeing. Either way it's been a great breed.

I regards to other reviews - yes sometimes dont lay by 7 months, but will. Be patient. If "they" smell it is very possible you are doing something wrong. I have many birds right now and they barely ever smell. It's probably your run that smells. Try pea gravel.

Tip - If you want any breed to be lap chickens you cant ignore them and expect them to love you. Bring treats every day and hand feed. View attachment 1629484

I breed silkies and have found that better quality birds have that sweet loving personality. Poorly bred birds tend to be flighty and aggressive. My 6 year old niece can handle all my roosters and they make great fathers even to chicks that aren’t theirs. They aren’t a heavy egg layer tho so definately more of a pet and lawn ornament.

So far out of 12 Silkies, I've only ended up with one decently personable individual. Everything I'd ever been told about the breed has turned out to be completely false (in my limited experience, at least), much to my disappointment. Cockerels are human AND hen aggressive as all get out. And, as strange as it may sound, I've received some pretty nasty bites from the fluffy little females. Would never recommend anyone I know get a few to fulfill their desires for loving pets. That said, I'll always have some around for aesthetic purposes.




~Alex

I read this before bringing home my first silkies - great overview of the breed. Thank you!

Silkies are the ideal pet chicken for children. They tend to be very calm, non-aggressive, and vocal. They are also nice ambassador birds for daycare or nursing homes, because they can take a lot of handling without stress. They are not prolific layers except for when they gear up for spring. They can learn to enjoy bathing and blow drying. They do recognize their people and get quite excited when their owners show up. They love people and to be showered with attention. They are easy to hatch and the babies never really go through an awkward dinosaur stage.

I love my silkies! This is a great chicken as a pet. They don't "need" as much space, and don't care to be up on a roost. They lay cute little cream colored eggs.

I specifically fell in love with the breed when my smooth silkie became a mother...WOW! She is SUCH a great mom...I've heard over and over that silkies are the best broodies. It's true! She opened my eyes even further to the complexities of chickens. She is so loving...and it's amazing to watch her teach the babies all the little life-lessons they need to know.

I have two full silkies, and two silkie mixes. Of course, I love them all. My experiences have shown me that Silkies are personable - they want to be close to their people. Sweet, cuddly and soft.

I like your article. I became the proud owner of a white silkie and partridge silkie(Nugget and Pom Pom) they are quite shy but friendly.

I'd just like to add that they can't see past their face feathers, so I trim my girls facial plumes which helps them be less skittish as they can see and decide what's a threat and whats not.
The nature of their feathers means they get quite grubby, my girls have a warm bath ad cool blow dry once every two to three weeks in baby shampoo.
This is when you really get to see their black skin, as you don't really see it any other time.
They are lovely birds and obviously not kept for their egg production but because they're cute.
My silkies are rubbish at chicken self defense, hence they have a separate day run to live at their pace and are transferred to main coop at dusk for safety.
I've also got 3 silkie chicks that my broody maran/rhode island cross hatched for me. I'd like to think your article encourages more chicken keepers of flocks for fun, to have a couple of silkies in the mix.

i am giving this review beacause this page was very helpful! Will be wonderful to all who want to know about Silkie chickens. IIIIIIIIII LOOVVEEEEEEEEE SILKIEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice breed details, wonderful wording, good info.

I love, love, love my Silkies. They are so adorable and friendly and totally content to sit on your lap. My little Silkie rooster is the sweetest thing you could ever meet. There is nothing better than watching them run around their yard with their fluffy butts and legs. Sometimes their foot feathers need some extra cleaning and TLC but it's totally worth it to have these as part of your flock.

Only cons: chicks are really, really hard to sex (I learned this the hard way), hens can go broody, and they can be picked on if they are living with full size hens of a different breed. I keep my silkies in a separate coop so it's not a problem. Everyone needs some Silkies in their life!

I used to have a pair of black silkies for show!They are such friendly birds, even the roosters! They can be slow maturing depending on the gender. My Rooster Matured very quickly, where as my hen didn't start laying until she was over a year old. The roosters dont crow as often as a full sized rooster. Definitely recommended for showing purposes, mamas, or even just a pet!

Once you get a taste of these birds, you'll quickly become addicted as I have!
I lost both of mine last month, The Rooster was bested by our Americana, and my hen died a few days later of a broken heart from losing her rooster.
Silkies get attached very easily. One of the Only roosters I've had that loved to be pet and cuddled! They can be some what high maintenance due to their feathers. I had to bathe mine every once in a while because they would get really dirty.
I don't know if it was just my hen, but she Was really sweet and good natured to everyone except this one hen who was higher than her in the pecking order. She would always get into fights with her so eventally we had to separate them and give the silkies their own mini coop. I even entered my silkies in the state fair and won with them!!

What sweet birds! I just got my second silkie, and I am loving her! Such sass and silliness in one bird, it’s straight out of a doctor suess book! I highly recommend them, it’s so fun to have one in your yard. They really make great pets! I highly recommend giving them lengthy aristocratic names, it seems quite important due to their looks and personality. Mine, for example, is named Mona Lisa le poulet de Egglantine (an eglantine is a type of rose). Seriously, there is so much fun to be had with these fuzz muffins.