Need advice/suggestions on what to do with Silkies...

[WindRunner]

Hello, all. I was given two cockerels and a hen by a relative who found out we were looking for chickens. Our intention (which they weren't aware of) was to raise chickens for meat and eggs. We found out the chickens were Silkies and not particularly great as egg-layers since the eggs were small and not great for meat as they are small chickens.
After a lot of research, we decided to get 10 Barred Rock. We have received them yesterday and all is well.
When we heard the relatives had chickens, we hadn't built/bought a coop, so we rushed to get something to hold them until we built the main coop.

My question is what to do with the Silkies. Understand that we are new to raising chickens, so it's possible they would have a special fit into our flock of Rocks.

I would probably be able to rehome them, but I didn't want to be too rash. I had heard that Silkie hens were excellent brooders while Rocks could be not so great. If keeping them to sit on eggs to hatch would be worth the feed and management, then perhaps I should integrate them into my Rocks. However, if they wouldn't be a match, I would try to find a new home for them.

I will add that when we got the Silkies, they had been crammed together in a small cage for several days and is what prompted us to hurry and build a coop asap. I think they are about 2.5 months old. Since receiving them and completing the main coop, they have really filled out, look healthier, and seem very happy where they are.

I'm just not sure I want to keep them if they do not earn the expense of raising them. I have included some images: first of the quick coop we built, and the second a picture of the Silkies.

Any suggestions?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some breeds are known to go broody often. That does not mean that each hen of that breed will go broody at all, let alone when you want her to, but your odds of a hen going broody is much better than with some other breeds. Some breeds are known to hardly ever go broody. That does not mean that no hen of that breed will ever go broody because some will, but it can be pretty rare. Silkies are known to go broody often, Rocks are not. It is very much an individual hen thing. I really like my broody hens but the only way to control whether or not eggs hatch is to get an incubator. If you hatch eggs laid by a hen that does go broody and keep replacements the possibility of one of those going broody jump up a lot.

Most hens of any breed that go broody are great mothers. They know more about being good mothers by instinct than we will ever know. Occasionally you get an exception with any breed, but most are good. I find the more I interfere with my broody hens the more problems I cause.

I'm a proponent of knowing what your goals are and using those to make your decisions. Most silkies are bantam, I can't tell if those are or not. A bantam broody hen cannot cover as many eggs as a full sized hen. Two of yours are boys, they will never go broody. A silkie has very dark meat, some say black or purple. In some cultures that meat is considered a delicacy, some people are put off by the color. A silkie is supposed to not lay that well, like other bantams the eggs can be small and they can be infrequent, but some silkies lay 5 or 6 eggs a week. Like everything else that a breed is supposed to do, there are always exceptions.

With all these exceptions and unknowns I can't tell you what will happen with specific chickens. Until they mature you just won't know. But all you have to go by at your stage is breed tendencies. For your stated goals I'd suggest you rehome the silkies. I don't see it as a fit.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have included an image of each. I've had them for a week or so. Two of them will crow like crazy, the other one I have never heard more than a cackle from. I assumed it was a hen. The first image of the "red" one was attacked by the other two before we got them. Since we have increased their area a lot, they don't bully it, anymore and the damaged part on the back of its head is healing quickly. The white one with the larger comb also crows. The last image with the flatter comb, I think, is a hen. They are all beautiful birds.

All 3 are cockerels, or roosters.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I told my wife what you said, and we both busted out laughing. The guy who gave them to our relatives to give to us said he was giving us two hens and one rooster. Maybe he knew what he was doing!? LOL

It's common for people to give away males, & lie, or they just didn't know.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Mine are more wild, & smarter.

It could just be your luck. I've been raising/breeding them for years. The only less smart ones I have are from Show Breeder stock I got from Ohio.

Poppy’s luck includes: Loudest, constant crowing roosters, derpy breeds, weird chickens that stalk eachother.

 

[DobieLover]

Silkie hens were excellent brooders while Rocks could be not so great.

Untrue. My PBR was the BEST mother hen I ever had.

I don't care for Silkies. They can be "bullied" in a flock of normal feathered LF birds, they don't produce many eggs, they constantly go broody and don't have normal feathers so keeping warm in cold climates can be an issue. I would re-home them.

 

[WindRunner]

All 3 are cockerels, or roosters.

I told my wife what you said, and we both busted out laughing. The guy who gave them to our relatives to give to us said he was giving us two hens and one rooster. Maybe he knew what he was doing!? LOL

 

[Aunt Angus]

Yup. All 3 roosters.

That said, Silkues do GREAT in my LF flock. They are not bullied at all. They lay a ton of eggs, and I use them to adopt chicks all the time. My Silkie girls, even though they are tiny, can cover a dozen eggs.

But I don't see you needing any for your purposes. And 3 roosters won't help you AT ALL. Your donator probably knew exactly what he had. I'd rehome them, if I were you, or despatch them.

 

[Cloverr39]

Are you sure one silkie is a hen? Couse in the 2nd picture all 3 look like roosters to me. Do you have any better pictures of them close up?

Silkies go broody a lot. My silkies are pretty good layers. Eggs are small, but enough for me since I don't use eggs much. I have 3 silkie hens + another hen and on a normal day (no broodys) I get 2-3 eggs. If you want to keep chickens for eggs and meat I don't think silkies would be any good. I keep mine as pets and also breed them to improve silkies in my area. Mostly the breeding tho. I really enjoy the breed

 

[WindRunner]

Yup. All 3 roosters.

That said, Silkues do GREAT in my LF flock. They are not bullied at all. They lay a ton of eggs, and I use them to adopt chicks all the time. My Silkie girls, even though they are tiny, can cover a dozen eggs.

But I don't see you needing any for your purposes. And 3 roosters won't help you AT ALL. Your donator probably knew exactly what he had. I'd rehome them, if I were you, or despatch them.

When I was a teenager, I would shoot and eat every type of bird in the area. I haven't tasted a Silkie, yet, so I think I will let them fill out a bit more and see if I like them. They are probably just about at that point, now. Actually, "Red" is kinda puny, but, hey, bigger than a redwing blackbird.