Silkie Roo x Olive Egger hen

[tjkdlhb]

I have 4 girls and 5 boys. I'm not keeping all of the Roos....but I am hoping to get more hens/ attempt to hatch out some eggs. My Olive Egger seems to be my best layer at this point. Big green egg almost every day. The eggs seem to be fertile from one of my Roos. All of my Roos are silkies, one being a Silkie Cross. My non Silkie chickens seem to be the best suited for our area. The silkies are the only ones that seem bothered at all by the cold (small amount of frostbite). I want dual purpose birds that are cold hardy. What would the OE crossed with a Silkie (or the Silkie cross) be like? Or am I better off getting rid of the silkies altogether and trying for another breed of Roo? My other 3 hens are a Silkie, a black star and a barred rock.

 

[tjkdlhb]

If this is not the best place to post this question, please delete/let me know where to post! Thanks!

 

[donrae]

What do you want from your chicks? What is your goal for your flock?

If it's egg production, ditch the Silkie roosters and go for a production based male instead. A Leghorn, Rock, Australorp, hatchery Red, something that's bred to lay a ton of eggs.

If it's broodiness you're wanting to breed into your flock, hatch out some from the Silkie roosters.

If it's just cute mixes to be pet with benefits so to speak, go with the silkies. they cross well with other breeds and make absolutely adorable offspring.

You say you want dual purpose birds, does that mean you intend to butcher? If so, silkies aren't really the way to go. Not much meat there, and lots of folks are put off by the black skin and darker meat. If that's the case, you'll want to pick a meatier rooster. The breeds I mentioned above will all work for that, except the Leghorn. Not much meat there.

 

[tjkdlhb]

Thanks Donrae! I'm keeping the Silkie hen....hoping she'll raise a few clutches for me. So primarily I want cold hardy birds that lay well, and then any extra roosters would be meat. Im thinking getting rid of the silkie Roos and getting a new roo is the best way to go!

 

[donrae]

Sounds like. Silkies are wonderful at being pets and raising babies. But as layers or meat birds, not so much.

 

[worldbiker]

I have 4 girls and 5 boys. I'm not keeping all of the Roos....but I am hoping to get more hens/ attempt to hatch out some eggs. My Olive Egger seems to be my best layer at this point. Big green egg almost every day. The eggs seem to be fertile from one of my Roos. All of my Roos are silkies, one being a Silkie Cross. My non Silkie chickens seem to be the best suited for our area. The silkies are the only ones that seem bothered at all by the cold (small amount of frostbite). I want dual purpose birds that are cold hardy. What would the OE crossed with a Silkie (or the Silkie cross) be like? Or am I better off getting rid of the silkies altogether and trying for another breed of Roo? My other 3 hens are a Silkie, a black star and a barred rock.

how did this cross turn out? Just hatched a surprise one. The Silkie roo got in ther when the Cuckoo Maran Roo wasn't looking.