EmmaRainboe
🙄🤚💙Duckie💜😩🤚
I agree with everything you just said.I see there's a lot of Silkie hate going on in this thread. Makes me wonder how many of you have actually had Silkies.
I think a lot depends on where you get them. If you are getting Silkies for show, then yeah, all of this applies (except ugly, maybe), but there are Silkies that have not been ruined by being exclusively bred for appearance. Silkies were raised in Asia for a long time (they are one of the oldest chicken breeds) for meat and eggs, and they did it well. Full size ones dress out at a decent weight (the Silkie cockerels I've processed weighed heavier than Wyandottes of the same age), and hens not bred for looks lay just as well as most breeds. My three pullets give me roughly 2-3 eggs a day (most days I get three eggs, some days I only get two), and their eggs are interesting because the yolk is as big as a regular chicken's egg, but there's less white. AND they all have gone broody. Heck, one adopted some chicks randomly. They can be big, as I mentioned above, and I've seen no difference in their speed vs the others in my flock. As for not seeing predators, if you don't get ones with vaulted skulls and insane crests, they can see fine with their little puff balls. Or you can get some crestless "wild" types. If you know a Silkie breeder sometimes these pop up and they're happy to be rid of them. Honestly, their highest merit (besides being bonkers broodies) is their docility. They handle confinement better than most chickens--not an excuse to mistreat them of course--and are not known to be bullies.
I can't argue with aesthetics, though. Beauty (and ugly) is in the eye of the beholder.
My Australorps are A-holes. They're the only pullets I've had to put in The Bully Cage. More than once. They are pretty though, with their iridescent feathers. But not really worth it. And mine aren't great layers either, so I'm probably gonna get rid of both of them when I downsize my flock.
I agree about Turkens, especially Showgirls. I shudder every time. More power to people who like them though.
My unpopular opinion is that roosters should be allowed as long as reasonable efforts are made to keep them quiet during times when people are normally asleep, and they aren't incessant crowers. If they're not, it makes it pretty much impossible to sustainably raise chickens yourself...you'll always have to get fresh stock from elsewhere.
Silkies are awesome.
Naked Necks suck.
Australorps are overrated.
And roosters should be allowed if they don't cause any problems.
