Should I get silkies?

[nuget102]

Me and my fiancee are moving to our property in Elko, NV in a month or two. We plan to have chickens on this property, I'm hoping by next spring or fall at the latest. We have nearly two acres so we should have plenty of room.

My question is should we get silkies? She's dead set on them but I'm not so sure. Ideally i would taste every bird I could to find which I liked most, but that would be time consuming. I understand home raised are supposed to taste better, I only ever had store chicken.

I noticed they weigh less than five pounds, but we're okay with that since we would only eat one bird a week, if i averaged it out. I also noticed the lay something like 3-5 eggs a week, which is okay for us too. There's just the two of us and our son. We'll be having a garden and I hear chickens help keep gardens pest free?

Is there any reason we shouldn't get silkies? And please don't say something like "Because they're pets and just SOOO cute!"

 

[keesmom]

First thing, you wouldn't want chickens in a garden from which you are harvesting food. You don't want contamination from chicken droppings. Chickens also love to scratch and will destroy your plants. Letting them clean up at season's end is good though.

Do you plan to free range? Silkies are vulnerable to predators due to their crest.

They are also bantams, so are well below 5 lbs. Dressed they are small. Plus they are black skinned/fleshed. Would both of you be okay with eating black meat? It is a delicacy in some cultures.

Oh, and silkies are prone to going broody. Great for hatching more chickens but not so much for eggs. Silkies are often poor layers.

 

[nuget102]

I intended to have the plants fenced off from them, so they could get around the garden but not in.

I was going to have them free range to a degree, they'd have a fenced in area in the back yard fairly close to the house. I'm also thinking of getting a larger dog, hopefully to deter coyotes and wolves.

I'm okay with them being black fleshed, in fact that is why my fiancee wants them specifically. She says they taste better.

I did read up on them being broody, I'm debating on if I should get a silkie crossed with something else for that reason, but I'll still likely stick with the pure silkies.

 

[snow5164]

I wouldn't get silkies, I have a few and they are sensitive to noise and don't free range well.
I would suggest another breed because I've had more silkies die then any other breed.

I call mine " princess" because they can't have wet feet, or get caught in the rain, they can die from heart issues .....need a haircut so they can see predators..

Just my experience I'm sure someone will disagree

 

[nuget102]

The predator thing would be a huge issue... Upon feedback, they seem to be more pet... What about Araucana. Haha, I'd love some blue eggs.

 

[snow5164]

I've never had those , but I'd look into the different breeds, how many eggs you want and if you ant them to lay for 2 or more years? Hybrids only lay well for 2 years...
Rhode Island Red lay for 4-6 years ....

Just read all you can find ,
Have fun.

Ps I like my heritage Rhode Island reds a lot ,
Very friendly , xl brown eggs and they are very talkative , these are 4 month old hens