Is it a good idea to get Silkie Chicks?

[cayuga mommy]

I am considering getting some silkie chicks this spring. I have heard that they are really wonderful birds. But, I just dont know for sure if they are the right bird for me. I live on 5.25 acres of land. One acre is devoted into two pens for my ducks ( cayuga, and soon to be mandarins ) So, I do have enough space for a good chicken pen. But, what are ( on average ) silkies personalities?
I have had chickens in the past. But, all I had were leghorns and RIRs. Is there anything else that is needed specifically for silkies? Oh, and just a random question. Can chickens and quail live together? My friend keeps her Buttons and her chickens ( leghorns ) together. But, I just dont see how they live together.
And, during the winter, any special things to do for silkies? Besides what is needed for all other chickens?
Thank you in advance

 

[Crazy_For_Chickens]

I am also considering getting silkies. They are very nice birds and have a wonderful persinality. I don't think you have to do anything special. But I don't really know.

 

[Chirpy]

Silkies are wonderful! I absolutely love mine. Don't listen to Purple Chicken he's slightly tipsy upstairs and sees things that don't exist... like evil Silkies!

Silkies usually roost on lower roosts or even the floor. I put a ramp up to my roosts and my Silkies would go up to roost with my other chickens, although one of my Roo Silkies uses the lower roost while the rest of the chickens ALL go to the two higher roosts. The other one of my Silkies actually would fly up to the 7 ft. high roost every night! Silly bird.

Because they can have lots of feathers over their eyes they don't always see as well as other chickens and may be more prone to being eaten by hawks and other predators because they don't see them as quickly (or at all). So, having extra safety measures to protect them is a must.

They do tend to get dirtier in muddy circumstances but other than how awful they look when all bedraggled, they are fine.

Because they are smaller, they lay smaller eggs so you need to think about whether you care if you only get small or possibly medium size eggs; oh, and they are white eggs, if that matters to you.

Sorry, I have no idea about them living with other types of birds. Mine live with my standard size chickens and do just fine. They also lived with my Guineas and were just fine.

Good luck with your decision. Keep asking questions and getting info from other people; then you can make up your own mind on whether they will work for you.

 

[hatchaholic]

Mine are 14 weeks old today, and live with my other chickens, both standard and bantys, and my geese and turkeys.

 

[snowydiamonds]

They love water...compared to other chickens so be careful w/rain or ponds. I don't know how anyone gets their other birds to live w/geese... my geese girls won't allow any other birds in their area and have taught their 6 month old "children" to be the same way! I wish I could keep my geese and ducks together

 

[hatchaholic]

Quote:
I have three embden geese who live side-by-side with 7 turkeys and over 40 chickens. But, we got the geese, turkeys, and most of the chickens in the same order as day-olds. And, they free-range over a descent amount of space. Only problem we had was with the geese pulling on the turkeys tail feathers. Now, that may all change when the female geese start laying this spring...

 

[snowydiamonds]

It will change, Kim... I lost my favorite crested girl duck last summer one day while I was out fishing when the geese decided it was time the ducks moved out. I moved the remaining five that evening as soon as I got home and started counting and making sure everyone was happy and healthy

 

[hatchaholic]

Maybe...They've been together for almost 9 months, so we'll see. If so, we'll just separate them out. We're planning on building a separate turkey pen anyway.

 

[dangerouschicken]

We have Silkie chicks that are Purple Chicken's Silkie hatchlings... they are not as evil as I would have predicted. They are actually down right LOVEABLE

Get them. You won't regret it.

 

[dangerouschicken]

See how adorable they are?