Do Silkie Bantams make good pets?

[TobyTheQuail]

I'm about to acquire a Silkie Bantam but before I did I wanted to make sure that I was making the right choice. I like that breed because of how adorable and cuddly they are number one, also because I've heard that they're friendly and calm in nature. My questions are: what's their life expectancy, are they noisy and is there a friendlier breed? In a nutshell, what I'm looking for is for a relatively quiet bird who's friendly, docile, loving and smart. Any recommendations?

 

[Painted Calls]

Healthy happy chickens live outside with other chickens. A happy chicken doesn't live in an apartment with a diaper on. If you can't give an animal what it needs to thrive, it is purely selfishness to get them anyway. Don't call yourself an animal lover if all you're thinking about is your own gratification.

If it is a must, inside visits wouldn't be terrible. However that means that they get to go back outside and be chickens afterward. Foraging and dust bathing. Chasing bugs and jumping to catch them. Destroying the beautiful flowers you worked hard to plant in your flower beds.

 

[K0k0shka]

My Silkie hen grabbed a long piece of grass out young pullets beak and pulled it out! Saved its life from crop issues!! How's that not smart!?

Don't project intent. Chickens steal things out of each other's mouths all the time. The hen was probably trying to take the blade of grass for herself. A chicken has no concept of crop issues. It doesn't even know what a crop is. This is how "my animal is so smart" myths are started.

I wouldn't mind that if that his choice but from past experiences they prefer sleeping on my legs.

That's because your legs are the closest thing to a roost that they can find. Birds have a built-in drive and need to sleep while perched on a branch. By having a chicken sleep in a human bed with you, you are depriving them of a primal need. And they might look like they want to be in bed with you, but that's not because they are comfortable like that - it's because they are flock animals and don't like sleeping alone. So they'd rather be uncomfortable but snuggled next to somebody, than alone. Their ideal sleeping arrangements are on a perch, next to another chicken.

I understand that you love your animals and do your best to care for them, but I think you're putting your wants above their needs here. They can absolutely live out full lives indoors and be physically healthy, but there's no objective way to measure if they are actually happy. They won't jump for joy or tell you with words. But they will have basic chicken needs unmet and they will be silently and invisibly unhappy. I'd say the most basic needs that can't be met in an apartment and sleeping in a bed is 1) perching to sleep, 2) scratching in dirt and 3) dust-bathing. Chickens are scavengers by nature and in the wild would find food while scratching through the ground. So scratching (looking for food) is a primal need, and exists even when food is readily provided. Satisfying a primal need makes one happy - animal or human. Scratching makes chickens happy. So does dust bathing - it's a grooming need. A chicken scratching a hardwood floor or carpet and sleeping on a soft bed is not a happy chicken, even if there's no way to visibly tell, because they can't really show it.

Now, whether any of this matters, depends on you. You can set your metrics on meeting enough needs to keep the chicken alive and healthy (food, safety, attention etc.) and call it a day. Which is fine. Or you can set your metrics higher and aim to have your chicken be happy, in addition to alive and healthy. In that case you'd need to put their needs above yours and let somebody with outdoor space take care of them. Or you can try to modify your apartment to meet them halfway. You can make a small perch and put it in your bedroom, and have them sleep there instead of in your bed. And you can provide areas for the chicken to meet some of its other primal needs that it can't otherwise meet in an apartment. Like a large tray or open cat litter box filled with loose material (mix of mulch, soil, sand, pine shavings etc) that the chicken can scratch through and dust bathe in. Sprinkle some grain in it so it has the satisfaction of "finding food" in the litter (they love that!) It will get messy... so you'll need to get creative... but it would make your house chicken much, much happier. Still not as happy as a chicken living outside, but definitely happier than a chicken sleeping in a bed and only ever walking on human floors.

As for the purchase minimum, see if you can go to a feed store in person and ask if you can buy a single chick. Or find somebody in your area who's also looking for chicks, who'd be willing to split an order with you. Or find somebody local who is hatching and ask if you can buy a single chick from them. Probably hard to find in NYC, but you'd be surprised - people keep chickens in cities, too, so there might be somebody nearby. See if there's a local facebook group for chicken owners. Those can be useful in finding resources.

I strongly encourage you to get two chickens instead of one, though. Won't make that much of a difference to you - bantams are small, and if you're already making accommodations for a chicken in your apartment, two instead of one isn't going to change things that much. But it will change everything for your chicken. If you get two, the chickens will be happy to have each other, to snuggle together on their mini roost, and to keep each other company when you're not there. Because, even with the best efforts and spending lots of time with them, you're still gonna have a life (I suppose) and want to go out and do things, even if it's just to the store to buy food, or to take a shower. And then your single chicken will be lonely.

I still don't think this is a good idea, but you seem pretty set on doing it, so if there's no discouraging you, at least I wanted to give you some ideas for how to make it work in a way that would make your chicken happier to be in this unnatural setting. Good luck!

 

[Painted Calls]

So, I was curious to see what kind of people would go along with comments such as this one. A comment like this is actually considered to be the bullying type. Anyway, upon my search I discovered that one individual seems to have insecurity issues, another is just on here to meet people like this is some sort of dating site and the other one looks like they seriously need to go into rehab. Crack is wack ppl. Remember that.

So mature of you to stalk people!

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

Are you adding to your current flock? Or starting a new one?

Silkies can be fairly nice, like all chickens some are, some aren't! Chickens in general live 3-10 years depending on a ton of factors, I believe 5-7 is fairly normal. My Cochins were always extremely sweet (my silkies it varied more, but individuals vary a LOT)

Are you buying an adult, or a chick? How old are they? How many are you buying?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I'm about to acquire a Silkie Bantam but before I did I wanted to make sure that I was making the right choice. I like that breed because of how adorable and cuddly they are number one, also because I've heard that they're friendly and calm in nature. My questions are: what's their life expectancy, are they noisy and is there a friendlier breed? In a nutshell, what I'm looking for is for a relatively quiet bird who's friendly, docile, loving and smart. Any recommendations?

I have silkies. They are super cute and sweet. Docile, make some noise when laying. My cockerel talks all day (and crows). Some are smarter than others. They do enjoy sitting in your lap and getting some scratches on the neck.
I have other breeds that are smarter though. If you are planning to get one, I recommend getting two, so they have a buddy. They can live up to 9-10 years with good care. They are a little higher maintenance than other breeds.

 

[TobyTheQuail]

Silkies, in my experience, aren't very noisy. Life expectancy should be around 7 years with good care. More friendly, docile are breeds are Cochin and D'uccle (but some Cochins can be a bit loud).

Do you have any other chickens?

At the moment I don't have any other chickens. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing...I live in an apartment in the city and so he's going to be sleeping with me, literally in the same bed. Therefore, I would prefer a chicken that is not going to make too much noise, that doesn't poop too much (perhaps the smaller the breed the smaller the poop?) and who loves receiving tons of affection.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

At the moment I don't have any other chickens. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing...I live in an apartment in the city and so he's going to be sleeping with me, literally in the same bed. Therefore, I would prefer a chicken that is not going to make too much noise, that doesn't poop too much (perhaps the smaller the breed the smaller the poop?) and who loves receiving tons of affection.

Really if you can't get 2 chickens (so they have a friend) and don't have a yard for them to forage then I suggest not getting a chicken, maybe a cat instead to go in your bed?

 

[Kiki]

At the moment I don't have any other chickens. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing...I live in an apartment in the city and so he's going to be sleeping with me, literally in the same bed. Therefore, I would prefer a chicken that is not going to make too much noise, that doesn't poop too much (perhaps the smaller the breed the smaller the poop?) and who loves receiving tons of affection.

Excuse me I have a quick question...
Are you planning on having the chicken sleep under the covers with you?

 

[The Moonshiner]

At the moment I don't have any other chickens. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing...I live in an apartment in the city and so he's going to be sleeping with me, literally in the same bed. Therefore, I would prefer a chicken that is not going to make too much noise, that doesn't poop too much (perhaps the smaller the breed the smaller the poop?) and who loves receiving tons of affection.

Will this chicken be an emotional support chicken?
Sounds like you may be in real need for one.