Anyone have experience with silkie mixes??? UPDATE: I GOT EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[boochaces]

A woman down the street has silkie mixes for sale. She said they are silkies and various standard sized hens. I guess dad is a silkie and she has various egg layers that are the moms. 1 day - 3 week old chicks. Would these make cool additions? Anyone have experience with silkie mixes?

 

[sourland]

One thing can almost be guaranteed - they will be excellent broody hens and mothers. Most such crosses are rather attractive birds.

 

[boochaces]

docile? friendly? egg layers?

i am excited i think.

 

[sourland]

Docile and friendly - yes. Fair egg layers - more interested in raising the next generation.

 

[boochaces]

Sounds great... We'll see!

 

[4hchickmama]

I have a sizzle (Silkie x Cochin) and she is one of the best birds ever. Super docile and friendly. My daughter uses her as a showmanship bird. Granted she is a 10th generation cross, but every silkie mix I have met has been super friendly and had great personality. Egg laying is fair, with some being better than others. Showgirls for example (silkie X Turken) are supposed to be very good layers. I guess it depends upon what they are mixed with. Do you know what these are mixed with?

Here is a pic of my daughters silkie mix:

 

[boochaces]

I have a sizzle (Silkie x Cochin) and she is one of the best birds ever. Super docile and friendly. My daughter uses her as a showmanship bird. Granted she is a 10th generation cross, but every silkie mix I have met has been super friendly and had great personality. Egg laying is fair, with some being better than others. Showgirls for example (silkie X Turken) are supposed to be very good layers. I guess it depends upon what they are mixed with. Do you know what these are mixed with?

Here is a pic of my daughters silkie mix:

Lovely!!!! Aw!
Yeah, the woman said they are mixed with a variety of standard sized chickens? Egg layers!
How big are silkies? I really know nothing about them!

 

[4hchickmama]

Lovely!!!! Aw!
Yeah, the woman said they are mixed with a variety of standard sized chickens? Egg layers!
How big are silkies? I really know nothing about them!

Silkies are smaller sized birds. My pure silkie is a great egg layer. She lays 5-7 eggs a week. They are on the small side as far as eggs go, but are still super tasty. My guess would be that if they are silkie crossed with mixed standard laying chickens, you will have decent layers. Silkies tend to be broody, meaning they want to sit on eggs and hatch them. This can slow down egg production because they aren't laying while they are wanting to sit on eggs. Mine was trying to hatch a white rock she found a few weeks back.

Lady Peckington, my daughter's bird I showed a pic of, has hard feathers, but you can get a variety of feather types when you cross silkies in. You can get hard feathers, silkie feathers, or a kind of inbetween kind of feathering. Silkies also have 5 toes and black skin and feathered feet. Crosses may or may not inherit these traits. They usually have a dark walnut shaped comb instead of a bright red single comb you see on most chickens.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I had a very determined little Banty ROO that kept getting in a pen with a small group of Silkies. After that I named him Houdini....it was rather obvious that the Offspring were Crosses. They never laid many eggs, but they were very very BROODY....good little group of Mommies came from that Banty/Silkie Cross.

 

[boochaces]

Thanks, guys.
I am going to pick up two of them or maybe three and go from there. We are very interested in egg layers but I have been telling Stephen I wanted a couple of Silkies from day 1! Mixes would be just as cool!