Totally haven't had Silkies -- or chickens -- long enough to tell, but Eliot here took a hawk strike protecting his girls and survived. (Granted, small hawk.) He and his cohort Mort (name because he almost died as a chick) are always on high alert patrolling the yard. They also chase gigantic Caesar around and scare him witless. Ironically Caesar gets most of the girls because he's the only one big enough to do the deed.I will admit they have a reputation of being great at going broody, I've been tempted to get some to help my girls, the breeds that I have don't often go broody. Maybe silkies are smarter than they look, they don't appear to me to be the type that could survive our hawks. They look like dollhouse chickens.Anyone free range silkies?
. And I really like my silkie roo, as do my visitors. I know they seem like hawk bait, but the males feathers in their heads are sleeked back rather than falling forward over their eyes. He's perfectly capable of seeing an attack, sounding the alarm, and running for cover. And, besides my leghorn who runs zig-zag circles around the rest of my flock, he's the fastest chicken I own. 
She lays at least 6 eggs a week ( until she went broody.) She does have a tendency to try to hide her eggs, while my other girls are all perfectly happy to return to the coop to lay in their nest boxes. More than once this summer, she would seemingly stop laying for a few days... An Easter egg hunt would reveal her clutch in a nice secluded area. I have a feeling that she'll wander off next summer and return with a brood of chicks. I am highly impressed with her egg laying, and now with her mothering skills. If you're looking for a broody, my vote goes to the Cochin over the silkie. Of course, that's my newbie experience with one bird... A whole flock of Cochins may be a different experience altogether.
