I need questions answered regarding Silkies!

I would not recomend silkies I have had much better success with cochins and ameraucanas as well as justmutts.

 

Just my opinion~~~but Silkie hens are the best broodies there are. Second, would be Cochins; the reason is the Silkies are much less aggressive towards me when I need to check the eggs. Aggression is good if the broody has to deal with predators, but my birds don't have to.

The Silkies I raise that don't make the cut as breeder or show quality, are usually sold to local guinea breeders as broody hens (at a very good price).

Another advantage to the Silkie is that they do well in confinement.

 

Yes Silkies make fantastic broodies and great mamas

 

Quote:And not to mention, they're just the sweetest little chickens!

 

Silkie's are GREAT.Ive raised many silk's over 6 year's along with many other bantam and standard breed's.My new 7 month old just hatched her first clutch of egg's.3 of her own and 4 OEGB egg's.One egg didnt finish hatching so don't know what it was.I did have to bring in last egg and put in bator and finish it out.But great for her first clutch.7 out of 9 survivor's.The other 7 are doing super they are wide open lil thing's jumping up 3 steps already in a 2 tier coop.Cochin's are good broodie's as well along with frizzle hen's.I have heard Belgian Quail are too but never had any of those.A guy I know use's cochin's and Belgain to sit his peafowl egg's.Polish wont sit egg's and Never had but one broody in sebright hen too. So those are not good broodie's.

 

My Silkie is a FABULOUS broody. She sat on shipped eggs for 3 weeks, IN the coop, in a nest box, in 90 degree temperatures (and insane humidity!) and I never even saw her pant once while all the other girls were panting like dogs. She let me candle the eggs without so much as a bristle. She endured many a fellow hen laying eggs in the nest while she was in it with no complaints.
She only hatched out one chick (b/c I gave her the porous and detached-air-cell eggs) and she accepted one of the chicks that I hatched in the bator as if it were her own.

I highly recommend a Silkie for brooding (not so much for egg laying. She's a year old and has never laid an egg yet!).

 

I ABSOLUTELY recommend silkies for brooding your eggs. They are so sweet and diligent in their duties, not to mention loving and caring towards their babies, whether the chick is a chicken, quail, or turkey.

 

Quote: Another recommendation for silkies as broodies!

 

I have 3 laying silkie hens right now, of those 3 two went broody - one started in june the other started in July. Snowball my white sat on 6 silkie eggs from the 3 of them, and dutifully sat on them through heat, rain, etc (in the coop) and hatched out 4 beautiful healthy chicks and is the most dutiful mother to them now @ 3 weeks old. Taffy my pale buff hen went broody right about 4th of July so I ordered some Mille Fleur eggs for her to sit on, and of 11 shipped eggs she hatched 9 but only 8 survived. She hatched them out Tuesday, (3 days early!!!) and she had to endure 100+ temps, crazy humidity, etc. and like someone else said - she didn't never pant or anything. Both my silkie girls were good with letting me check eggs, move them, candle the eggs, ect...Until they started to hatch, once the babies started hatching and now - when babies are under them - hah my hand gets pinched and peck. They are GREAT mamas. Taffy just took her brood of 8 out for the first time this AM when I opened the coop up and let them out to free range. So very cute!


Silkies and cochins are the best broodies, and I highly suggest if your not interested in breeding them, atleast get you a couple hens to brood other eggs.