Info on Silike Chickens and Questions

[lizardboy55]

hi,

i am thinking of getting silkie chickens. i was going to get strate run. do the roosters crow? i heard that they do not. is this true? also, i was going to hatch their eggs and put them into my automatic egg turner. i have the one for duck eggs, not quial eggs, will the eggs fit in the duck egg turner like normal chicken eggs do? Also i would like some breed information...like how many eggs they lay, what size egg, etc. also, where should i get them from...hatchery wise, cheap please.

Thank You!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Silkie roos do crow.

They are a very broody breed, so you might not need an incubator. Their eggs are nice in size for a bantam! But when they go broody they won't lay, so if you really need eggs I'd also buy some egglayers.

I think I read they lay about 100 eggs a year but am not sure if I remember this correctly.

They don't like ramps or high roosts. Generally they like to sleep in a pile on the floor. If you do give them roosts - remember that they cannot fly and will fall off the roost at some point, even if they can manage to stairstep their way up to a tall roost.
If they must use a ramp, keeping the food in the coop and NOT helping them down the ramp helps.

I have silkies from Welp right now and they are quite lovely! I have had them from McMurray before and they were just fine, too.

Also if you would like the very large crests, you need to get them from a breeder. I have hatched out silkies from Catdance (kelar on BYC) and was VERY pleased- very LARGE crests and wonderful dispositions. Also I hatched some out from Ebay and those were very nice too!
You don't want to get them from a breeder with a disease that passes vertically down to the chick through the egg, so try to get eggs from a reputable breeder if you decide to hatch them. It is MUCH cheaper to buy live chicks. My hatch rate for shipped eggs is about 50%.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Also you don't want them bullied so it is very good to buy all the chickens to be raised at once if possible so they will all grow up together. That way the silkies won't get pecked on the head and end up with wry neck.

It may work out just fine to add to the flock later but is more stressful. My silkies are actually above quite a few chickens in the pecking order in my flock, so they aren't necessarily carpets!

But if you need to add to the flock later don't worry, just stop any bullying of your silkies is what I am trying to mention.

 

[duckman14]

What's wry neck?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What's wry neck?

Wry neck (crookneck):
http://browneggblueegg.com/Article.html
click on crookneck article on left column to read article

There is a "Let's Talk Wry Neck" thread on BYC that is very good if you ever need it.

 

[duckman14]

Cool. Thanks

 

[lizardboy55]

thank you all!!! it really helped.

 

[farmer boy]

yes rooster do crow and my silkies rooster up pretty high and they do not fall off and they lay around 100 eggs but they can lay more or lay less depends on what their nests are like and where they would be living at / the area .... i have silkies mine just started laying and she is laying everyday