New to the Silkie family

[3909Paolini]

Wow, I am new to BYC and I was steered to this thread. So many beautiful birds everyone has. I have two brand new Silkie babies and questions. I certainly know where to go for the answers. YEAH!!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Welcome to BYC and the silkies! They are really fun birds. Ask lots of questions!!

 

[3909Paolini]

Welcome to BYC and the silkies! They are really fun birds. Ask lots of questions!!

In the words of Despicable Me "They're so fluffy"! Okay, first question. When I went to the feed store to buy babies I had in my mind to only get hens. I was planning on getting two Silkies and two of one other breed. Of course, I got there and the nice gentleman at the feed store couldn't tell me what the gender of the Silkie was because I guess you just can't tell until they get older. I thought about it for a while, and against my husbands better and seriously smarter judgement, I went ahead and got the two Silkies anyway along with two Barred Rock's. I figure we live on three acres so if it turns out we have some roosters I can live with the crowing (besides I kind of like the sound in the morning), but recently I read that the roosters are mean. Not just mean, really really mean. Is this right or does it just depend on the rooster?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I have never had a rooster more than a few months as I live in the city and they are illegal here. Like you, I got chicks and had two end up being boys so I found new homes for them. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in but I think it depends on the rooster. It is my understanding that they can be mean but aren't always.

They have an important job in the flock and a good roo will take that seriously and try to protect his girls. I think the most important thing is to have a good ratio of boys to girls so that your hens don't get over mated. They can be a little too rough with too many boys in a flock.

I am sad I had to get rid of the boys. Silkie roos are beautiful and this guy was really sweet and followed me around.