are silkies delicate?

[MomMommyMamma]

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This is good to hear. My daughter is 6 1/2 and I have no doubt that she will LOVE the fluffy silkies.

 

[SilkieTime]

This is a very hard question to answer. Some lines are and some are tuff as nails. I would not let my silkies get wet in cold wealther, Some can go out in the cold and some don't like it. Some sleep on the floor and some don't like to. Sorry I can't give you the information you want but that is just how it is. I love mine and want them to be happy and healthy.
Getting eggs at this time will take a lot more care. It will be 8 weeks before your chicks feather out all over and all chicks need extra heat at this age. The younger they are the more care they need in the weather to come.
After they get to know you they are just like puppies. Take it one day at a time and you will be just fine. OH, and we will be here if you need help.

 

[MomMommyMamma]

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Aww - thanks! The woman who is going to hatch them for me said that they don't have very good hatch rates (in her experience - which means I guess mine may not have a good rate then right lol). Purchased 6+ eggs. I have planned to keep them inside for the most part (maybe a sunny afternoon out for a while) for about 12 wks. The weather here has been really weird recently. It was 80 on Monday. Now it's in the 40s.
I did message the breeder I purchased the eggs from with my questions so she can hopefully shed some light on her particular chickens and their hardiness.

 

[fluffychicksmomma]

I'm a newbie myself, we have 5 Silkie hens that are 6 months old. I don't have any other breeds to compare them too, but they have seemed pretty hardy, so far. The always choose to stand out in the rain and we can't figure out why they don't take shelter, they have plenty. My kids pick them up and hold them often. I think a few of them actually like it, they always come running up to us. Of course we have had them and handled them since day one, so I would guess that helps. They lived in our noisy living room for their first 10 weeks of life.
I too have been wondering how cold of temps they can stand. Its getting in the 30's at night but 50/60s in the day. We just put a 90 watt bulb in the coop at night, but I am also wondering what all I need to do for them, (besides the heated waterer).

 

[muddyhorse]

silkies do well with kids this is my DD6 and her girl

our show birds stay inside but everybody else gets wet and they do fine. Just keep a close eye out for mites they seen to get silkies

 

[Bird Collector]

Go ahead and get you some silkies. I have four, two bearded and two non-bearded. I put a heat lamp...250 watt red bulb in their covered run if they want it and in their sleep coop I hang a ceramic reptile heat coil just to take the chill off. They have done well. You don't want to give them too much heat because when they do go out of their coop in the winter it is too much of a temp difference. Now I do have one that was my first silkie, Willow and only my second chicken who ended up being out in the rain and got some respitory junk. Off to the vet I went and they feel she has some perminate lung damage and minds the cold more then the heat. She is still plugging along and I make sure she is eating good and I suppliment her with meal worms which equates to chicken crack. If you have standard chickens too they will help heat the coop. In the summer the chickens are all spread out when they sleep and in the winter it is one clump of beaks and feathers. I have found them not to be wimmpy chickens either because I have a big mix of all sizes and they hold their own. I have all their picure on my pages. Good luck.

 

[ultasol]

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Interesting. I have SQ silkies with proven records, and I haven't had any pass out in the tub or while being blowdried, my coops are predator proof, I know mites can be an issue so I keep an eye out for them and treat as needed, so no losses there. No heat stroke, even though I live in an area with 110 degree weather on and off in the summer. They do get some ice in the water, and access to shade, but that goes for all my chickens.

I will admit right now my silkies are in my shop, because I am continuing to hatch and the rest are either growouts or conditioning for show as the western silkie national is in Stevenson, WA in the spring and I am going to be taking quite a few birds.

I guess I would say that silkies may require more maintenance than non-crested breeds, due to a proclivity for mite problems as well as crests blocking vision, but I don't think they are that bad. They do require a nice dry coop, if you are going to show you need to keep them off the dirt somehow. I haven't found them to be harder than other birds by a large margin,.. but when starting off with them keep your numbers small while you learn what you need to look out for and have the time to look over each silkie weekly until you get an eye for problems.

A preventative program for mites also helps.

 

[Apomerantz]

Ok, I have some silkie questions as well, and this seems like a good post to ask them in. My silkies are 6 months old. What are signs of mites, what should I look for? Also, how do I treat mites if/when they get them? I live in western Wa and our winters usually don't go below 25 degrees, and that is on a cold day, will I need to add a heat lamp or will they be fine with plenty of shavings in their coop? Also, when do they start LAYING?! Do they stop laying in the winter? These are my first chickens so I have a lot of questions!
Thank you!
Amy

 

[TurtleFeathers]

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Now, of course, I don't show, but in MY mind, if some "better (show) quality" silkies are THAT delicate, it sounds like nature's way of eliminating weakness to me. I personally wouldn't breed birds that were THAT susceptible to stress and such, because I wouldn't want those traits passed down to their offspring. But thats JMHO.

I have silkies from some top show breeders, and I have some that are pet quality, but none of them are from hatcheries - and I've never had ANY of them die from things previously mentioned here. In fact, mine lived outside thru two back to back blizzards last winter, and then another month of almost 4 feet of slowly melting snow in their runs - none of my chickens (including the silkies) were happy about it, but they suffered no ill effects, and they laid eggs the entire time. Plus, my silkies have endured 95+ degree heat, oppressive humidity, severe thunderstorms, drought, etc... this past summer, right along with my other breeds - so, if silkies were as delicate as some say, there's no way any of mine would still be living. Of course, I have their houses and runs situated in the shade and as protected from the weather as they can be, but here, there is no way to *completely* shelter them from the elements - that is, unless they live indoors, which just is NOT an option here.

As far as lice and mites are concerned, I've never really had much of a problem with them in any of my birds. Once in a while, I give my crested breeds a shot of Frontline spray if I see any signs, but thats it. I don't use DE or any dust of any type on the birds themselves - I use Stall Dri in my coops mixed with the pine bark mulch on the floor and mixed with the pine shavings in their nest boxes, and they all have access to the ground in their runs. Even the silkies.

So, I find that my silkies are as sturdy, if not sturdier, than any other breed I have here. And honestly, if they weren't, I wouldn't have them as part of my flock.

Just my two cents...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I have never found my silkies to be any more or less delicate than any other breed, and yes, I show and have high quality silkies. Silkies are perhaps less hardy in HOT weather, due to the nature of their feathers, but they will do fine in cold weather so long as they do not get wet & cold, which is a problem for any chicken. They are native to China, which gets extremely cold. I have not found them any more likely to choose to go or stay outside in the rain than any of my other chickens.

In my experience it is more likely to be the muff feathers than the crest feathers that block vision. Judicious trimming or plucking of hte feathers that block vision will solve that problem. If trimmed, the feathers will not regrow until the next molt. If plucked, they will start regrowing immediately.

My oldest silkie is 7 1/2 years old; in mid-January 2003, as a tiny baby (2 days) she got out of the nestbox and was stiff and cold when I found her. A few hours under a heat lamp and she was restored. Her name is Chili, for the chilling she received.