Silkies

[joshbparker]

I have recently gotten 4 Silkie chicks all very loving and sweet!! I am loving them so much. But this is my first set of Silkies and I was wondering about there behavior/personality? Are the roosters calm or aggressive/ Hens lay what color eggs, how many eggs a year? Thanks for any answers that you might have!!!!

Josh

 

[sourland]

In my experience silkies are generally mellow and easy going. I have never had a bad silky rooster, but they do exist. Silkies generally lay a light beige to light brown egg. Again in my experience egg production is limited because they generally go broody after laying 10 to 12 eggs.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Mine are very easy going. All the roosters I've had have been big babies. Mine lay very well (3-5 eggs each/week), but, they do eventually go broody and stop. Everyone of them has raised chicks for me. They're great mothers! Good luck with yours!

 

[Buffalosilkie]

I just started with them too and am loving it. I first started with sugar and spice

She lays aegg a day that's off white... But if you don't collect they will go broody. But once you take the eggs away after about a week she should lay again. I bought an incubator as an experience for my kids. We hatched five chicks on the fourth...

[/IMG]

today was their first day outside now sugar is broody again but I'm gonna let the kids see that now

 

[joshbparker]

Mine are very easy going. All the roosters I've had have been big babies. Mine lay very well (3-5 eggs each/week), but, they do eventually go broody and stop. Everyone of them has raised chicks for me. They're great mothers! Good luck with yours!

Thanks, but I have a question.... this may sound a little stupid but I am new at this what dose "Go broody" mean????

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Go broody means they set on the nest and stop laying eggs. They will set there on a rock or even nothing at all.

That is when it is good to give them some fertile eggs to set on if you want chicks. They will hatch them out and raise them.

Silkie roosters are variable. I would say that generally they are nice but we did have one that would chase my youngest child around. Like any breed there are individuals within the breed that show aggression. But overall I LOVE silkies and silkie roosters too!

I have read they are supposed to lay maybe 100 eggs a year...but honestly if you have silkies the best way to approach it is to not demand eggs of them and enjoy them as pets. They will not give you lots of eggs like the "layer" breeds, and thus it is good to have some of those too. From my experience silkies take longer to start laying and really stop laying at the drop of a hat.

But silkies shouldn't be bullied, so it is good to try to plan accordingly if you are constantly getting new layer chickens...you don't want them to beat up your silkies and you might keep them separate in that case.

 

[joshbparker]

What other breeds get along with silkies??? What is a general age that they start laying??? Where should their nesting box be in the coop??? Are roosters nice to chicks or do I need to separate them from the roo???? So many questions!!!!!

 

[CindyMichelle3]

Our silkies (who all ended up to be Roos). Are very sweet and love to follow us around the yard. However, out Legjorn, BSL and Jersey Giant DO NOT like them and we keep them separate because we were never able to integrate them. Out Barred Rock does seem to flutter back and forth between the two flocks but I think it's because she's at the bottom of the pecking order with the big girls and she can be at the top with the silkies.

 

[joshbparker]

Any other breeds????? I don't want beaten up Silkies!!!!!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What other breeds get along with silkies??? What is a general age that they start laying??? Where should their nesting box be in the coop??? Are roosters nice to chicks or do I need to separate them from the roo???? So many questions!!!!!

If chickens are raised together from my experience it works out better. However, the more aggressive breeds can "turn on" their friends and start being ornery. Such as not letting them get near the food when they are around, chasing them, etc.

It is best to visit Henderson's chicken chart (google to find it) or the breeds section of BYC to start getting ideas if you are looking for different breeds. Chickens are individuals and thus it is really impossible for anyone to say which chickens will definitely get along with silkies.

They generally start laying anywhere from the typical 5-6 months that other chickens do, to much later, as in 8-9 months according to some people posting on BYC. I think my silkies I had in the past laid around 6-7 months. But the ones I have now are maybe 6-7 months old and aren't laying yet. Then I have chicks which aren't laying of course.

I use covered kitty litter pans for nest boxes. They can't fly but can hop up maybe one foot up (6 inches is easier for them of course) so you can give them steps or ramps (they don't like ramps or roosts sometimes) to get up to a nest box if needed.

The mother hen will be the protector of the chicks and will either be a good mama or not. I like to separate my broody hens for a week or so (and also before when they are setting so they don't get on the wrong nest).

BTW I have Buff Orpingtons and one Easter Egger (oh and one Black Australorp) and they are fine with my two adult silkies but the Orps don't let the silkies eat. So they have to wait until the Orps are gone to eat. That is why I have baby silkies...they are going to be a separate flock for my two adult silkies when they grow up. I wanted them to have some friends. They will move in with the babies when they are old enough. I have lots of other breeds too that are still chicks.

So I recommend Black Australorps, Easter Eggers, and Cochins for docility. But if you get them when they are grown up and put them in a pen with silkies they don't know there will be feathers flying most likely. They have to get used to each other slowly through the fence or grow up together.