New Member aspiring to raise Silkies.

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Shutterchick

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Jan 26, 2025
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Hi All! My name is Sharri “Shutterchick” and I am new to the forum. I am planning to get 5 silkies that will be ready for laying early spring. I am wondering about a hen house for them. The seller says they lay on the ground. So any ideas on a hen house for these little beauties?
 
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I love silkies! I don't have any right now but when I did, I kept them in a smaller coop area with good drainage. I kept fresh bedding at all times as the feathered feet can get infected if exposed to moist environment. They enjoyed being misted once a week. They are easy to keep but you require more attention than other breeds. I found them sensitive to extreme heat and cold but very friendly. The extra fluffy ones may require 'haircuts' so they can see. Best of luck!
 
Hiya, Sharri, and welcome to BYC. :frow

No, silkies need nest boxes just like all breeds.

The only ones that lay on the floor are the newer layers, only once or twice.

You’ll need at most two nest boxes for them as it’s one nest for four birds. They should be about 1 foot by 1 foot square. Silkies can’t jump very far and can’t fly well, so you either need to put them lower to the ground, meaning difficult egg collection, or put them at eye level and make them a ramp or two to get to them.

Silkies want to roost as high as they can, just like other chickens. So these roost on top of our nest boxes, on the walking rail in front of the nest boxes, and a couple in the nest boxes. I sprinkle stall refresher granules up there making cleanup easier.

In case you weren’t aware, silkies are more prone to vitamin deficiencies and diseases than most other breeds.

Ours get Kalmbach’s Flock Maker crumbles which is 20% protein. That is feed for chicks and adults. Laying hens will need more calcium than the feed provides, so we have a heavy dog dish in the coop with oyster shells. Those that need it eat it and those that don’t won’t. We also supplement their feed with Rooster Booster granules and occasionally put Poultry Cell in their water. This is all to help prevent any deficiencies and keep their immunities strong.

Since I want them to eat their feed to get nutrients, I keep treats down. I found they wasted Kalmbachs Henhouse Reserve, a layer feed, so put them back on the crumbles for feed, then use the Henhouse Reserve as scratch. This is the most nutritional treat as it’s a feed in itself.

Other treats are simply making a mash out of their crumbles. They love that! Scrambled egg are an occasional healthy treat too, and stuff from the garden in the summer. They love kale so we grow that just for them.

Here’s a picture of when our first coop was new to show what I mean about ramps. You could go a little lower on the nest boxes than we did so less ramp is needed.
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Here are some ready for bed. Some perch on that railing in front too. There are horse bedding pellets in the nests since at one point I had several sleeping in the nests and mucking up the straw with poop, so dirty eggs. With the pellets, that helped a lot and they didn't mind. I stir those around with a stick every few days.
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I didn't see where you lived. I'm in Wisconsin so choose to heat our coops to 40F so they don't have to struggle to stay warm in the sub-zero temps we get, plus our eggs/water doesn't freeze. What type of coop you build depends on where you live. Each chicken needs 4 square feet in a coop, but with silkies you can get by with a little bit less. Here's a ton of Coops our members wrote articles about that you could peruse for ideas.

If you have any questions, be sure to ask! We'll of course love to see pictures of them when you get them!
 

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