Raising Silkies in Michigan

[Crazy Chicken Lady10]

I currently have a flock of 10 hens and 2 ducks. My chickens are all different breeds and my ducks are rouen. In the spring I am going to get some chicks and was thinking about getting two silkie hens. But I have read many different things about silkies on the internet and wanted to make sure I would be able to properly care for them. Here are my questions:

1. Can silkies survive a Michigan (Central MI) winter?
2. Do Silkies tolerate heat well? (By well I mean as well as any other chicken)
3. Is it okay to have different breeds in a flock with silkies? (I was going to get two silkies because I don't want them to not have any friends if they get picked on by the other breeds)
4. Is it bad to get straight run? I know if you want hens you should look for pullets, but the only place I know of that usually has silkies only has straight run. I know roosters tend to be mean to hens, is this also true for silkies?
5. Can silkies be free range? I have read that silkies are prone to predators and aren't safe in wind or rain, but if I kept them in their coop during rainy/bad weather days, would they be fine as free range? I let all my other chikens roam freely on days that aren't rainy (although sometimes I do if it is just sprinkling. Other times it will be sunny then all of a sudden it will start raining). Also, I have some wooded area on my property that my chickens like to explore. Would that be bad for chickens? We seldom have predators, only the occasional hawk, but the chickens know the drill when they see a hawk. Other then that, maybe a stray cat now and then but it usually minds it's own buisness. Most of the time any predators are out at night when the flock is safe in my barn.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't have Silkies so can't answer all the questions, but:

3. Yes, possibly... a lot of it depends on the temperament of your current birds. Silkies can get picked on because they're small, docile and simply look "different" but doesn't mean that will happen for sure. If your flock is pretty laid back and you have no bullying and plenty of space, it might work out. If you already have bullying and know some hens are very dominant, it'll be a lot tougher, no matter what breed of bird you're integrating.

4. Straight run is an issue if you cannot have roos, do not want roos, and/pr have no plan on what to do if you get one. So that's up to you if that's something you can deal with or not. Since each bird is an individual no telling how a potential roo would behave with your flock, although since you already have hens, they're likely going to keep any young cockerel in his place until maturity.

5. They're prone to predators as they're smaller, can't fly, and their head tuft can impair their vision. So if you're going to risk free ranging I'd consider keeping the head feathers trimmed back just to give them a better chance.

 

[Crazy Chicken Lady10]

Thank you for your quick and very helpful response!

 

[Kluk-Kluk]

I had several silkies at one time, which I raised from incubated eggs and introduced to a mixed breed flock. (I did give away the roos.) Years later (after I had no silkies left), I raised day-old chicks - 2 Silkies, 1 Speckled Sussex, 1 Cochin, 1 Ameraucana, and 1 Wyandotte - together, then introduced them to the established flock. The silkies did just fine, but I did not have any aggressive breeds. As far as free range, I don't free range mine anymore due to numerous predators, but when I did have my first silkies, I had white, black, and blue silkies, and the hawk went after the white one - very easy to spot. Luckily, the hawk missed, but traumatized that poor chicken!

I live in upstate New York, and we have cold winters. I lost one of my silkies in the wintertime, and at the time I thought it was due to cold. Not sure, though, because I had subsequent silkies and they did OK through the winters. In general, I keep my chickens inside all day (with lights on) if the temperature is below 12 F or so. I think with silkies, you should definitely do that; I hear of others letting their chickens out when it's even colder, but my chickens choose to be indoors at that temp. And with a silkie, I wouldn't chance it getting hypothermic.

One thing about my silkies: they went broody often.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
All good advice here already.
I do think that they are more fragile, and they are small, can't really fly, and have poor vision because of those cute topknots. Often they end up in separate housing for those reasons, so be ready for that if you get any. Broodiness is a good thing!
Straight run chicks will certainly include cockerels! They are hard to sex, so it may take a while to decide which chicks are male too. Some roosters are nice, and some aren't, and you find this out as they grow up. Have a plan for extra or nasty cockerels!
You do have many different predators in mid-Michigan! Sooner or later they will all turn up...
Mary

 

[NNYchick]

Mine do well in my cold Northern NY weather with out insulation or heat in the coop, I do not let them out if its raining or snowing but have let them out this winter on mild days, they are not interested in staying out long though. In the summer I do start to see panting at around 80 degrees but I have never lost one to cold or heat.
Mine do not free range, I let them out if I'm home in my yard. They do not even use the whole acre they have available to them they stay in the 30 ft of yard that is between the coop and the house, though this my be different if they were in with different breed that does range farther. My first year with them I was letting them out while I was at work but within an few weeks we had a fox take out half my flock so I don't let them out unless I am there to hear the warning call. I have noticed that my silkie do not have a since of urgency even if the rooster gives the warning for the cat in the yard they just kind of all stand there and call out too but no one runs for cover.

 

[Matilda Belle]

1. Can silkies survive a Michigan (Central MI) winter? Yes
2. Do Silkies tolerate heat well? (By well I mean as well as any other chicken) I'm not sure with regard to "other chickens" since I only have silkies, but as long as they have adequate shade and water they are fine.
3. Is it okay to have different breeds in a flock with silkies? (I was going to get two silkies because I don't want them to not have any friends if they get picked on by the other breeds) Can't help on this question since I only have silkies.
4. Is it bad to get straight run? I know if you want hens you should look for pullets, but the only place I know of that usually has silkies only has straight run. I know roosters tend to be mean to hens, is this also true for silkies? Silkie chicks are almost always straight run. They can't be sexed (without a DNA test) until maybe 4-6 months or longer. My silkie roosters have never been mean.
5. Can silkies be free range? I have read that silkies are prone to predators and aren't safe in wind or rain, but if I kept them in their coop during rainy/bad weather days, would they be fine as free range? I let all my other chikens roam freely on days that aren't rainy (although sometimes I do if it is just sprinkling. Other times it will be sunny then all of a sudden it will start raining). Also, I have some wooded area on my property that my chickens like to explore. Would that be bad for chickens? We seldom have predators, only the occasional hawk, but the chickens know the drill when they see a hawk. Other then that, maybe a stray cat now and then but it usually minds it's own buisness. Most of the time any predators are out at night when the flock is safe in my barn. I can't answer this either since my silkies do not free range.

 

[Crazy Chicken Lady10]

1. Can silkies survive a Michigan (Central MI) winter? Yes
2. Do Silkies tolerate heat well? (By well I mean as well as any other chicken) I'm not sure with regard to "other chickens" since I only have silkies, but as long as they have adequate shade and water they are fine.
3. Is it okay to have different breeds in a flock with silkies? (I was going to get two silkies because I don't want them to not have any friends if they get picked on by the other breeds) Can't help on this question since I only have silkies.
4. Is it bad to get straight run? I know if you want hens you should look for pullets, but the only place I know of that usually has silkies only has straight run. I know roosters tend to be mean to hens, is this also true for silkies? Silkie chicks are almost always straight run. They can't be sexed (without a DNA test) until maybe 4-6 months or longer. My silkie roosters have never been mean.
5. Can silkies be free range? I have read that silkies are prone to predators and aren't safe in wind or rain, but if I kept them in their coop during rainy/bad weather days, would they be fine as free range? I let all my other chikens roam freely on days that aren't rainy (although sometimes I do if it is just sprinkling. Other times it will be sunny then all of a sudden it will start raining). Also, I have some wooded area on my property that my chickens like to explore. Would that be bad for chickens? We seldom have predators, only the occasional hawk, but the chickens know the drill when they see a hawk. Other then that, maybe a stray cat now and then but it usually minds it's own buisness. Most of the time any predators are out at night when the flock is safe in my barn. I can't answer this either since my silkies do not free range.

Thanks for the helpful response!

 

[Crazy Chicken Lady10]

Mine do well in my cold Northern NY weather with out insulation or heat in the coop, I do not let them out if its raining or snowing but have let them out this winter on mild days, they are not interested in staying out long though. In the summer I do start to see panting at around 80 degrees but I have never lost one to cold or heat.
Mine do not free range, I let them out if I'm home in my yard. They do not even use the whole acre they have available to them they stay in the 30 ft of yard that is between the coop and the house, though this my be different if they were in with different breed that does range farther. My first year with them I was letting them out while I was at work but within an few weeks we had a fox take out half my flock so I don't let them out unless I am there to hear the warning call. I have noticed that my silkie do not have a since of urgency even if the rooster gives the warning for the cat in the yard they just kind of all stand there and call out too but no one runs for cover.

Thank you this was very helpful!

 

[Crazy Chicken Lady10]

Welcome!
All good advice here already.
I do think that they are more fragile, and they are small, can't really fly, and have poor vision because of those cute topknots. Often they end up in separate housing for those reasons, so be ready for that if you get any. Broodiness is a good thing!
Straight run chicks will certainly include cockerels! They are hard to sex, so it may take a while to decide which chicks are male too. Some roosters are nice, and some aren't, and you find this out as they grow up. Have a plan for extra or nasty cockerels!
You do have many different predators in mid-Michigan! Sooner or later they will all turn up...
Mary

Thank you, your response was very helpful