Silkies or Cochins?? Help, my brain is going in circles!

[lizareny]

I want a broody breed for hatching eggs next year. I've got some 1 month old guineas and will raise the chickens and guineas together later.....got goslings and duckings due to arrive in 2 weeks...

OK, so...I've used silkies in the past and they did great. Raised some bantam cochins last year, but a bobcat got to them before I could figure out what was going on, and before I could try them out.

It seemed when full grown, the bantam cochins were a little smaller than the silkies??? I've not had standard cochins ever. I'm leaning toward those silkies!!! Help!

I plan on ordering 25 chicks , and using them to hatch the guinea eggs and their own, of course. Will a bantam breed hatch a duck egg or 3? The geese can do their own. I mainly want to keep babies hatching to add and/or replace what I might lose over a years time, and sell the rest or give them away to family.

 

[Newbean]

silkies.

I have both. The silkie goes broody easier. With good timing, you will get 2 hatches for sure, and possibly a 3rd. And thats with her raising them. With my cochins, I'm lucky to get 2 hatches...

 

[Elite Silkies]

I guess I would have to say Silkies since I have 2 broodies right now. I think when a Silkie sees another broody, she just automatically has to go broody.

 

[FenDruadin]

I asked the same thing a while back and didn't really get much response. I haven't ever had either but in the end I've decided on silkies (don't have them yet though) for a couple reasons: Seems like everyone agrees that they brood like crazy. I've even read about a silkie ROO that brooded some eggs. Everyone also agrees that they are really kid-friendly and sweet. Plus, they're fluffy. Oh, and I can't resist the comparison to kittens--every time someone says it's like having a flock of kittens in the backyard, my heart goes pitta-pat. So I'm going with silkies.

You could also give it a go with a few of each and see what you like. I'd try that too, but I don't want more than about five birds, so I'm going to stick with silkies to start with.

Have fun.

 

[lizareny]

Grrrrr...now I've got hubby-man back peddling on me a bit....don't get so much, just wait......WAIT??? What's that!?

I'm doing brooder batches NOW...why wait? I'll keep ya'll posted if I get a bantam order in....looking like silkies win....I'm thinking Buff color.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I say get which ever you prefer as the chicken. I have had both.

I have a Silkie hen that is broody 90% of the time, but I also had a Bantam Cochin that was broody a lot also.

I have a Silkie and had a bantam cochin that never went broody.

so which do you like best? Which is prettiest? You decide and go with that..

 

[lishah2000]

My silkie always went broody at the same time as the banty cochins. The cochins are smaller, but fierce moms. One is better than the other and she has a pattern. Sit and hatch, raise the babies. Start laying about the time she weans them. About a week or two later she is ready to sit again.

The last time she weaned the babies and stole a nest from the other one. About a week later they hatched. Now the one that lost her nest, she went broody again a few days ago and got into the nest with another hen. One of those eggs hatched a few days later and she is treating it like her own. I think the two hens are going to team raise those babies.

The nest thief is currently pacing the coop wanting to get to the other babies that are hatching. She just weaned her chicks a few days ago.

All the hens from these girls are also very broody and they are mixes. They are impossible to break.

The silkie was just as broody, but she kept her babies for a long time. She would be in the nest laying an egg and all her babies would be in there with her. She was a very caring mom. Broke my heart when we lost her.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I've had silkies and cochins (both sizes) and I have to say that the silkies were kind of dingy. Seems like the Cochins are so much smarter.

 

[lizareny]

Dingy! love it!......