Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[cece_chickens]

I love silkies!! It’s my first time owing them and I am in LOVE with my little silkie babies. They are so sweet and fluffy

First and foremost - ABSOLUTELY NO HATING ON SILKIES ALLOWED!!! If you aren’t here to support our fuzzy friends, don’t respond.

Silkies get a bad rap for the following:
"Looks like a dust mop"
"Too hard to maintain"
"Poor immune system"
"Dumber than rocks"
"0 predator awareness"
And oh, so much more.

Well my friends - I thought so too, until I actually got silkies for myself. These are some of the most wonderful birds out there.

I’ve found them to be highly heat tolerant, wonderful mothers, having the strongest immune systems in my Bantam flock, GREAT LAYERS (that’s right folks), adorable as all get out, and more.

I currently have 9 silkies - and my rooster has been nothing but a gentleman to his ladies. They free range daily and I’ve not had a silkie get killed by a predator yet. My hens average 5 eggs a week - not too bad for a silkie, eh?


Most of the time, these silkie haters haven’t even owned the breed, but rather pretend they know everything.


So... let the fun begin! Support our silkies!

Pictures always welcome.

Be mindful, and respect others...

Off-topic discussions are allowed, though try to maintain the subject of silkies.

-Kayla-

Here’s some photos of a few of my silkie babies!!

 

[FredHill]

Question: can I go with smaller than recommended dimensions for roost bars if I only have silkies?
Standard width per chicken 12"
Standard horizontal separation 15"
Standard vertical separation 12"
Minimum height 24" I think I got these right.
I want them to have the necessary room but I'm cramped on space for roost bars

 

[LadiesAndJane]

She is beautiful!! So you think, even with that bright red face, that she's a polkie? And yes, her feathers are soo so soft.

Sorry for the delay. Off the site for several days. Yes, I think she is a Polkie.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Another question... if i breed Betty to Barney (well, they've already bonded as a pair).. does that retain the satin feathering?

Sorry for the delay!
Since Barney is a Silkie, then half the chicks will be smooth feathered (satin) and half will be silkie feathered.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Sorry it too a while to get back to you.

I'm not sure about the parents as I got them from a breeder selling hatching eggs.

Luna looks likes she's whiter / greyer on the head and wings.

Sorry for the delay, off the site for a few days. Not sure of her coloring. I think she will be mixed color. Will be interesting to see how she feathers out

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Question: can I go with smaller than recommended dimensions for roost bars if I only have silkies?
Standard width per chicken 12"
Standard horizontal separation 15"
Standard vertical separation 12"
Minimum height 24" I think I got these right.
I want them to have the necessary room but I'm cramped on space for roost bars

Low roosts work well for Silkies. Even two feet may be too high for some. Most of mine prefer to sleep on a shelf. How much room do you have?

 

[FredHill]

Low roosts work well for Silkies. Even two feet may be too high for some. Most of mine prefer to sleep on a shelf. How much room do you have?

I'm probably only gonna start with 4 silkies. I'm having to scale back.
I only have about 26" width in the coop..very limited. But I have a good 8'6" length. I was running roost bars lengthwise but I'm gonna run them width-wise (26") long each roost bar in one end of coop. Maybe just 2 roost bars?
Now I'm worried my nest boxes are too high. The bottoms are 17" off floor. When I put in litter that might make them more like 14" to bottom. What do u think?

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I'm probably only gonna start with 4 silkies. I'm having to scale back.
I only have about 26" width in the coop..very limited. But I have a good 8'6" length. I was running roost bars lengthwise but I'm gonna run them width-wise (26") long each roost bar in one end of coop. Maybe just 2 roost bars?
Now I'm worried my nest boxes are too high. The bottoms are 17" off floor. When I put in litter that might make them more like 14" to bottom. What do u think?

Your dimensions sound like the mini coop i had for my 4 bantams. They were just fine.. 2 preferred to "roost", 2 cuddled on the floor. The roost was just a 2"x18" flat piece of wood, set about 2" from the floor. Just enough space so they wouldn't sit in their poop at night. I think a roo would be a bit much to house in it though.. they get too large.

 

[FredHill]

It's a little hard to tell scale. I think mine may be a little bigger than yours. I also will have a very good size (20'x20' at least) outdoor run that I think they'll spend most of their time in.(?) I'm hoping they just sleep and lay eggs in the coop.

 

[chickengr]

I like my chickens more

they don't talk about problems, lol.