Silkie questions!

[FamilyOfChickens]

We want to get a silkie hen (preferably grey!

), but need some more information. We've never had them before, and know very little about them. We want to get a 4 or 5 month old hen so that we'll be able to introduce her in with our Americaunas. I have a couple questions for all you Silkie experts.

First of all, should she and the Americaunas get along after a week or so of indirect contact in the coop?

Is there anything about them that will require special upkeep or anything like that?

Would she go broody on the other hens' eggs? We'd love for her to hatch a clutch of Americauna or gold sex link eggs.

I know they don't lay very often, but how many eggs do you guys usually get? One or two a week? Or less than that?

If they will hatch eggs, would they mother the chicks?

If she were to go broody, what would we have to do for her?

Are they generally friendly and docile?

Any other information you feel we ough to know

I'd really appreciate answers to some of these questions!

I think a Silkie would be great fun, but I just wanted to get a little more background info before we jump into anything.

Thanks guys!

 

[Julie in Al]

Silkies are great Brooders. They will set on any type egg but due to their size it has to be taken into consideration how many eggs they can cover if they are larger than silkie eggs. Silkies lay well if they are not sitting on eggs. I get an egg a day usually until they go broody, then it takes around 4 weeks after the chicks hatch before they will start to lay again. If you get a 4 to 5 month old silkie don't expect her to start laying till around 7 months old. If she doesn't lay until then then she is not going to go broody for a while so it might be next spring before you have a egg hatcher.
As far as putting her in with Americanas it will depend on how agressive they are towards other chickens. I mix mine in with Orpingtons until they get a certain age with no problems but they are in a large space and i provide areas they can get away from larger chickens.

 

[silkiechicken]

First of all, should she and the Americaunas get along after a week or so of indirect contact in the coop?

* There will always be some squabble over pecking order but once they figure it out they will get along just fine.

Is there anything about them that will require special upkeep or anything like that?

* If you get one with a big crest, some trimming may be helpful. If you get a pet quality bird, this inability to see is unlikley to be an issue.

Would she go broody on the other hens' eggs? We'd love for her to hatch a clutch of Americauna or gold sex link eggs.

* They can go broody on air. So they will hatch others eggs. My hen though... Has never gone broody... Remember though. Sexlink offspring will not be as proliferative as the parents, as they are crosses and second gen crosses don't breed true.

I know they don't lay very often, but how many eggs do you guys usually get? One or two a week? Or less than that?

Well, this is highly variable. I have pet quality birds, and I get 6 eggs a week from my girl if she is not in molt, sometimes 7. She lays just as good as everyone else her age. She is one year old. Low times was the winter where I got about 3 a week.

If they will hatch eggs, would they mother the chicks?

As with all broody hens, if they hatch chicks, they will generally try to take care of them. There is a such thing as a bad mom though so keep an eye on her.

If she were to go broody, what would we have to do for her?

Ideally, you could isolate her with her own food and water in a private run/coop so nobody can hurt her or her chicks.

Are they generally friendly and docile?

Generally yes... but I have had the mean rooster and the skittish hen syndrome with some of them. I find that if they can't see they are calmer... One poof went through molt, could all the sudden see, and flipped out left and right... then her fuzz grew back and she calmed down again.

Good luck!

 

[FamilyOfChickens]

Okay, thanks for that info, Julie! We'd love for her to hatch some eggs, as we love chicks but don't want to go through the process of raising them up, etc. And, it'd be really fun to have babies of our guys and gals running around.

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They do have quite a few roosts in there, but I wouldn't really know of their agressive tendencies towards new chickens. With our gold sex links, they're terrified of them!

We will definetely be watching them very closely for a while.

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I think my brain was taking a break when I said that. We don't even have a roo for those gals!

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Thank you! Now all we have to do is find a hen. Don't seem to be to many around here, but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed.

Thanks a lot for the answers, you two!