anatess
Chirping
- Mar 9, 2017
- 99
- 184
- 86
The good thing about having silkies is they're small and can't fly - they can maybe hop over 1.5 feet if they get startled enough so you just need to put up a 2-foot garden fence around their side of the yard and you're golden. And, of course, they're as pretty as pekingese...
The bad thing about having silkies is they lay smaller eggs and most of them don't lay more than 3 eggs a week. So you'll need 4 hens to get a dozen eggs.
But also, silkies are broody. They like sitting on their eggs, so you can get more silkies.
And because they're smaller, the roosters are easier to handle even with kids.
Okay, so me being from the Philippines, I grew up around cockfighting rings (I know, I know... I seriously didn't even think anything was wrong with them until I came to America and found out they're illegal here). So I have uncles and cousins who own fighting cocks. One thing I learned about roosters from them is roosters are kinda like dogs. If you handle them a lot they are tamer and more tolerant of people. And if you're timid around them, they'll club you. But if you're Alpha around them, they'll back down. Roosters have different personalities - some are very territorial and some are just happy go lucky. Now, these roosters are bred to fight, so they cull the nice guys. But I've never had a problem being with them even when I was a kid. My aunt, on the other hand, gets clubbed everytime she goes through the fence, even when she's throwing treats. I think it's because she's scared of them. This is just my experience and have no scientific backing of any kind.
The bad thing about having silkies is they lay smaller eggs and most of them don't lay more than 3 eggs a week. So you'll need 4 hens to get a dozen eggs.
But also, silkies are broody. They like sitting on their eggs, so you can get more silkies.
And because they're smaller, the roosters are easier to handle even with kids.
Okay, so me being from the Philippines, I grew up around cockfighting rings (I know, I know... I seriously didn't even think anything was wrong with them until I came to America and found out they're illegal here). So I have uncles and cousins who own fighting cocks. One thing I learned about roosters from them is roosters are kinda like dogs. If you handle them a lot they are tamer and more tolerant of people. And if you're timid around them, they'll club you. But if you're Alpha around them, they'll back down. Roosters have different personalities - some are very territorial and some are just happy go lucky. Now, these roosters are bred to fight, so they cull the nice guys. But I've never had a problem being with them even when I was a kid. My aunt, on the other hand, gets clubbed everytime she goes through the fence, even when she's throwing treats. I think it's because she's scared of them. This is just my experience and have no scientific backing of any kind.
