Chicken Breed Focus - Silkie

[Abesinger]

Thanks!!!

It honestly depends on the rooster    . They may need some time to get along, I recommend raising males together from a young age. And silkies are actually the normal size of any other chicken, though the Bantam Silkies are much smaller. Bantams have no "Quiet Crow" Exception though. My Buff Bantam Silkie Rooster has a loud little squeaky crow. Kinda sound like someone stepped on a squeaky toy to the cock-a-doodle-do tempo.

Silkies are known to be docile anyway, but there have been a few instances where silkie males are quite aggressive.

If you want multiple roosters, I recommend rising them around eachother, and with the hens they will breed with (also raised from a young age if possible)

I was getting 6 Thai spring!!

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Thanks!!!
I was getting 6 Thai spring!!

Oh awesome!! I'm really jealous! I wish I could get more silkies, ( I only own 2 Bantams at the moment, but I want a standard Silkie once I pethome/schoolhome my Buff Bantam Rooster) I plan to get 1 standard silkie, White, Blue or Red, once Nugget ( Buff Bantam Silkie Rooster) is in a good home.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

My Silkie roosters do well together. I have two Silkies and a Sizzle (looks like a Silkie, but with regular, frizzled feathers) males in my pen. At various times they're separated into different breeding pens, but they do run together with the girls too. They weren't all raised together. My black rooster is 6 or 7 years old now, he traveled with me when we moved from VA to TN and he's top dog in the pen. My splash rooster came from another BYC member, I acquired him about a year ago. The Sizzle was hatched out in my incubator and introduced when he was old enough to hold his own. They're all little loves, especially Swiffer, the Sizzle. He spends a lot of time roaming around the yard with my daughter (she's 9). She heads to the coop just about everyday after school, pulls him from his pen and hangs out with him while he pecks in the grass for a bit. I've caught him in her room a few times too, on her bed just hanging out She used to bring Early, the black rooster, inside for tea parties when she was little (not much has changed there apparently. "but Mom, Swiffer and I are watching a movie, can't we finish before he goes back outside?". NO!).

But I agree, they're all individuals and some individuals can be little buttheads. Temperament is something I strongly select for when breeding though, and I've never had a mean Silkie rooster

 

[Sylvester017]

Silkies sound like such a great breed! And I hadn't realized they were good layers or how big the eggs are! I was surprised from pictures because I thought bantams had small eggs lol although, for me, being the pork chop that I am, I don't think it would be enough.. I can eat a couple normal eggs at once, usually like 3 or 4 in scrambled 2 or 3 fried, sometimes less. and since Silkies are smaller that'd be like half a dozen a day LOL it's interesting they're alert too cause i always thought they couldn't see hah they sure seem like a great bird. Maybe i will have to build them a coop and keep them one day

Pullets and cockerels might be a little slow to be alert but then that can be with any young chicken breed. Once the Silkies are adults and forage outdoors they get very alert to their surroundings. Because of their run skip jump limitation I make sure there are a LOT of hiding places not far apart so they can quickly hide (pop-up canopy, several dog houses, low plywood shelters, plants, bushes, lawn furniture, etc). My two Silkie adult hens nibble around each other's eyes and make their own vision control so I've never had to trim their eye fluff. Also, natural backyard foraging wears down or matts the crests somewhat so there's no vision problems, My Silkies are always foraging into little spaces and emerging with spider webs, straw, grass, and other debris in their fluff. They are such funny and cute little chickens but more useful than we ever imagined. Most bantam breeds are smaller than Silkies and are very flighty but you don't have that problem with Silkies because they can't fly - they take cute little running jumps with their wings but aerial soaring is impossible for them so you can't lose them over the fence like other bantam breeds.

As for eggs, I use 5 Silkie eggs to make an equivalent 3-egg omelet. Our girls consistently lay 1.25 oz eggs and once in a while 1.5 oz. Since Silkie egg yolks are practically the same size as average egg yolks and have less egg white I will sometimes add liquid egg white to make the omelet less yellow in color - those natural Silkie yolks get really orange from free-ranging and make a deep yellow omelet! IHOP's and Denny's Diner's omelets look anemic next to our bright yellow Silkie omelets!



The Cuckoo Marans and White Leghorn eggs are 2.25 oz each and the Silkie eggs are 1.25 oz with one that is 1.5 oz. Cuckoo egg is brown, Leghorn egg is bright white, and Silkie eggs are tinted/cream.

 

[Skeeter10]

not trying to sound dumb but are silkies nice show breeed

 

[ShrekDawg]

Pullets and cockerels might be a little slow to be alert but then that can be with any young chicken breed. Once the Silkies are adults and forage outdoors they get very alert to their surroundings. Because of their run skip jump limitation I make sure there are a LOT of hiding places not far apart so they can quickly hide (pop-up canopy, several dog houses, low plywood shelters, plants, bushes, lawn furniture, etc). My two Silkie adult hens nibble around each other's eyes and make their own vision control so I've never had to trim their eye fluff. Also, natural backyard foraging wears down or matts the crests somewhat so there's no vision problems, My Silkies are always foraging into little spaces and emerging with spider webs, straw, grass, and other debris in their fluff. They are such funny and cute little chickens but more useful than we ever imagined. Most bantam breeds are smaller than Silkies and are very flighty but you don't have that problem with Silkies because they can't fly - they take cute little running jumps with their wings but aerial soaring is impossible for them so you can't lose them over the fence like other bantam breeds. As for eggs, I use 5 Silkie eggs to make an equivalent 3-egg omelet. Our girls consistently lay 1.25 oz eggs and once in a while 1.5 oz. Since Silkie egg yolks are practically the same size as average egg yolks and have less egg white I will sometimes add liquid egg white to make the omelet less yellow in color - those natural Silkie yolks get really orange from free-ranging and make a deep yellow omelet! IHOP's and Denny's Diner's omelets look anemic next to our bright yellow Silkie omelets! The Cuckoo Marans and White Leghorn eggs are 2.25 oz each and the Silkie eggs are 1.25 oz with one that is 1.5 oz. Cuckoo egg is brown, Leghorn egg is bright white, and Silkie eggs are tinted/cream.

That's great they're so alert!! And very nice they're not as flighty! I may have to grab some haha But oh wow, seems like they would make a nice omelette then! Those eggs are pretty big! Didn't realize they were so big!

 

[ShrekDawg]

not trying to sound dumb but are silkies  nice show breeed

I don't think it's dumb at all! I've heard of tons of people showing them so I assume they do! They're gentle, sweet birds (from what I've read) and not as flighty (again, what I've read, even just above) so easy to handle. Plus people breed for the really pronounced, nice crest, and lots of people do that for showing so I guess people do. But then they can't see as well.

 

[Fancychooklady]

not trying to sound dumb but are silkies  nice show breeed

Never dumb ! If you don't ask , you can't learn. There are many beautiful silkies being shown at country fairs and poultry expos all over the world.
I will be taking some of mine to our country show this weekend for the ' animal nursery. The kids love them.

 

[applebutter14]

i dont know much about silkies but last week i ordered a black one from murray mcmurray hatchery. i cant wait to pick them up!!!

 

[Banaynaychicken]

i dont know much about silkies but last week i ordered a black one from murray mcmurray hatchery. i cant wait to pick them up!!!

So Luckyyyyyyyyy! I have 2 silkies, but i've never had babies before... ( only got my chickens 3 months ago)