Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Nicks_Chicks]

Idk if I would ever breed true silkies and stuff. But I definitely see myself doing sizzles and stuff like that

 

[chickengr]

I find chickens to be very intelligent. All mine know their names, and the roos know who I'm referring to when I talk about their wives.

I have 16 coops in a row, all looking the same. my chickens always find their way home.

 

[Hinotori]

Huge amount of my birds are currently sporting dreadlocks. Stupid hen started it and had huge amount of mud dreads on her head. Washed her crest but she'd taught the teens to do it. Most of them now have some mud in their crests.

The pen next saw what she was doing and copied her. So on down the line. Time for straw in the pens, at least where the door is as thats the muddy spot.

 

[CSolis]

Huge amount of my birds are currently sporting dreadlocks. Stupid hen started it and had huge amount of mud dreads on her head. Washed her crest but she'd taught the teens to do it. Most of them now have some mud in their crests.

The pen next saw what she was doing and copied her. So on down the line. Time for straw in the pens, at least where the door is as thats the muddy spot.

Oh no, don't take photos! If my kids see them, they'll do it too..

 

[TeePants]

Hey, sorry to interrupt - my kids want silkies, and I see the opening post indicates that theirs laid 5 eggs a week…did they mean 5 eggs total between the 9 hens?! Or each hen laid five (seems significantly less likely, haha).

For context, I had silkies before; two roosters, a splash and a red, but they both passed away. They weren’t terribly loud, and were very sweet. I want to support my kids’ interest in poultry, but we live in the PNW, so we do get some snow and lower temps, and a ton of rain. I worry that on top of not really being productive, they wouldn’t fare well in the weather here.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Hey, sorry to interrupt - my kids want silkies, and I see the opening post indicates that theirs laid 5 eggs a week…did they mean 5 eggs total between the 9 hens?! Or each hen laid five (seems significantly less likely, haha).

For context, I had silkies before; two roosters, a splash and a red, but they both passed away. They weren’t terribly loud, and were very sweet. I want to support my kids’ interest in poultry, but we live in the PNW, so we do get some snow and lower temps, and a ton of rain. I worry that on top of not really being productive, they wouldn’t fare well in the weather here.

My Silkie hens lay an egg about every day each in the summer time. Here in MO we get can get tons of rain and some snow. Mine have done just fine in rain, snow, sleet and negative temps.

 

[CSolis]

Hey, sorry to interrupt - my kids want silkies, and I see the opening post indicates that theirs laid 5 eggs a week…did they mean 5 eggs total between the 9 hens?! Or each hen laid five (seems significantly less likely, haha).

For context, I had silkies before; two roosters, a splash and a red, but they both passed away. They weren’t terribly loud, and were very sweet. I want to support my kids’ interest in poultry, but we live in the PNW, so we do get some snow and lower temps, and a ton of rain. I worry that on top of not really being productive, they wouldn’t fare well in the weather here.

My silkie girls lay 3 weeks, then sit about that long, then raise chicks for 4 weeks, then the cycle begins anew. As for weather, I think Hinotori can answer that question as she's in the same region iirc.

 

[TeePants]

My Silkie hens lay an egg about every day each in the summer time. Here in MO we get can get tons of rain and some snow. Mine have done just fine in rain, snow, sleet and negative temps.

Holy cannoli. That’s impressive. Dang, that was my main reason not to get them - I think they’re delightful, and while I’d love an fancy rare breed or a bigger layer, we are urban and a smaller breed of chicken makes more sense…

Where did you get your silkies from?

My silkie girls lay 3 weeks, then sit about that long, then raise chicks for 4 weeks, then the cycle begins anew. As for weather, I think Hinotori can answer that question as she's in the same region iirc.

Ah, yeah; that would be an issue for us. We can’t keep roosters so broody hens won’t do us any good. We are looking for pets who also happen to lay eggs, and are hoping for the egg laying to be passably decent.

Honestly happened upon this thread on a lark, and was so surprised by the laying rate I had to investigate!

 

[Hinotori]

Hey, sorry to interrupt - my kids want silkies, and I see the opening post indicates that theirs laid 5 eggs a week…did they mean 5 eggs total between the 9 hens?! Or each hen laid five (seems significantly less likely, haha).

For context, I had silkies before; two roosters, a splash and a red, but they both passed away. They weren’t terribly loud, and were very sweet. I want to support my kids’ interest in poultry, but we live in the PNW, so we do get some snow and lower temps, and a ton of rain. I worry that on top of not really being productive, they wouldn’t fare well in the weather here.

I'd say 3-4 eggs a week when laying. They officially average 100 eggs a year which is about 2 a week. But you have to take into account that that is with broodiness. They are my reliable layers in winter.

Need covered run for silkies here in PNW. They absolutely will stand in the rain because they learn really quick that wetting their crests lets them see better.

Im near Tacoma. I greenhouse tarp around the whole run for winter to keep the rain out. Keeps it a little warmer in there so water doesn't freeze as easily.

Silkies go broody a ton. My record for a hen was 5 times in one year. I've had pullets go broody before even laying an egg. Just need a swinging cage for broody jail to break them from it.

 

[TeePants]

I'd say 3-4 eggs a week when laying. They officially average 100 eggs a year which is about 2 a week. But you have to take into account that that is with broodiness. They are my reliable layers in winter.

Need covered run for silkies here in PNW. They absolutely will stand in the rain because they learn really quick that wetting their crests lets them see better.

Im near Tacoma. I greenhouse tarp around the whole run for winter to keep the rain out. Keeps it a little warmer in there so water doesn't freeze as easily.

Silkies go broody a ton. My record for a hen was 5 times in one year. I've had pullets go broody before even laying an egg. Just need a swinging cage for broody jail to break them from it.

Yeah, our run would be up against our back fence and due to how bad the avian flu has been, for biosecurity purposes we intend to build a roof with an overhang and panel in at least one side.

Well, the kids will be delighted to know that silkies may be back under consideration. When I said I wanted chickens again they both insisted - I have no idea where they’ve even seen any! Maybe at the state fair in Puyallup? I don’t remember if there were any silkies in the poultry show but I imagine there must have been.