Convince me i need silkies

[Amer]

I think Silkies gain braincells when they hatch chicks too.
I remember my friend thought one of my Silkies was so cool when I showed her to her, then I set the hen down outside and she became worried that the unintelligent bird wouldn’t find her way back inside and would get eaten and asked that I put her inside, since I’d told her Silkies were pretty stupid.
So I did, though I told her the Silkie knew the way back in.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I think Silkies gain braincells when they hatch chicks too.
I remember my friend thought one of my Silkies was so cool when I showed her to her, then I set the hen down outside and she became worried that the unintelligent bird wouldn’t find her way back inside and would get eaten and asked that I put her inside, since I’d told her Silkies were pretty stupid.
So I did, though I told her the Silkie knew the way back in.

My boy, David, is great st getting out, but that's about the only thing he's great at. Thankfully the other males seem to realize his lack of viable brain matter and just let him wander around their space until I scoop him back up

 

[Amer]

My boy, David, is great st getting out, but that's about the only thing he's great at. Thankfully the other males seem to realize his lack of viable brain matter and just let him wander around their space until I scoop him back up

Lol

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Lol

Hes so silly. Makes pretty babies sometimes though, despite his Ichabod Crane apperance

 

[deidreg]

Thank you! Yes, I will definitely keep the crest on the short side.

I wonder if that's why they don't react as quickly to alarm calls, the fact that they don't see that well if their crest isn't trimmed.

And again, because I free range, do you recommend any colors that in your experience have found that they tend to get singled out less? Also if anyone has done a cross I would love to hear about the results, temperament, feather type, general features, brooding ability etc

Pictures are more than welcome!

I don't know if color matters to other chickens. I've heard hawks are less likely to attack black chickens because they look more like crows. Not sure if that's true.

If you're prepared to deal with any of their potential quirks, then go get a couple silkies. We can share experiences and offer advice, but you'll have your own adventure with them.

 

[fluffycrow]

My boy, David, is great st getting out, but that's about the only thing he's great at. Thankfully the other males seem to realize his lack of viable brain matter and just let him wander around their space until I scoop him back up

That's just too funny! While my rooster isn't the brightest in the bunch, he's got some tricks, I'll give him that. Whenever they're free ranging and I drop some food on the ground, he acts as though there's danger coming and takes all the hens away. After a couple of seconds, he returns to the food and pretends to have found it, even though he saw me drop it and he calls all his hens back

I don't know if color matters to other chickens. I've heard hawks are less likely to attack black chickens because they look more like crows. Not sure if that's true.

If you're prepared to deal with any of their potential quirks, then go get a couple silkies. We can share experiences and offer advice, but you'll have your own adventure with them.

Thank you for your help! I wasn't really saying which color tends to be problematic amongst chickens, more so which color provides an extra security measure from predators. You all have made me serious consider adding some silkies this or next spring!

 

[Yardmom]

My Silkies are pet quality. I free range my Silkies. I occasionally have a few standard hens mixed in their flock after the Silkies hatch them. I am surprised when a predator attack happens and it is a standard bird that ends up being taken instead of a Silkie, but this has happened more than once. My Silkies lay eggs during winter. My Standard birds (over a year) do not. My silkie roosters are respectful to their hens, but so are my standard roosters. The only time I have seen males not be respectful to hens is when they are less than a year old. I have seen that in both my Silkies and my Standards.

 

[fluffycrow]

My Silkies are pet quality. I free range my Silkies. I occasionally have a few standard hens mixed in their flock after the Silkies hatch them. I am surprised when a predator attack happens and it is a standard bird that ends up being taken instead of a Silkie, but this has happened more than once. My Silkies lay eggs during winter. My Standard birds (over a year) do not. My silkie roosters are respectful to their hens, but so are my standard roosters. The only time I have seen males not be respectful to hens is when they are less than a year old. I have seen that in both my Silkies and my Standards.

Thank you for your insight! It seems like pet quality Silkies are more likely to survive in a free range setting, and are generally smarter, possibly due to the lack of excessive cresting

 

[fluffycrow]

I don't remember if I have mentioned it in another post, but if anyone has experience with crossing silkies, I would love to know the outcome, everything from feather type, color outcome, general appearance, behaviour, braincell capacity, broodyness etc

Sorry if my posts on this thread are sometimes a mess

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't remember if I have mentioned it in another post, but if anyone has experience with crossing silkies, I would love to know the outcome, everything from feather type, color outcome, general appearance, behaviour, braincell capacity, broodyness etc

Sorry if my posts on this thread are sometimes a mess

A silkie crossed to anything with normal feathers will produce normal feathered offspring that carry a silkie feather gene