Silkie chickens, why you should raise this adorable breed!

Today I'd like to discuss the silkie chicken and why you should raise them. I started raising silkies about 8 years ago. I think they are the darn cutest thing ever that look like fluffy muppets, and I just adore the dozen or so I always have. I've always raised bearded silkies and I think that extra fluff under their beaks just adds to their adorableness!

Raising silkie chickens

How silkies are different than regular chickens


I started raising silkie chickens because I thought they were super cute. With their fluffy feathers, they almost resemble rabbits more than chickens. They are very soft and have the sweetest temperament of any chicken I've raised. 

Silkies also won the hearts of all the children that visited, letting themselves be carried around and petted for hours...and you'll want to pet them when you feel how soft their unique feathers are!

Though they are small in stature, silkies are big on personality! My silkies especially are total characters and are actually pretty smart. A silkie roo was the first chicken I trained to walk on a leash and I often took him to events to teach people about raising backyard chickens for eggs. 

all about silkie chickens

Silkie Chickens

  • The earliest mention of silkies is in the writings of Marco Polo from his travels to Asia during the 13th century.
  • Because of their unique feathers, silkies can not fly at all.
  • Silkie chickens have a mild temperament and especially good pets for children. 
  • They are only available as a bantam in the United States, but other countries do have standard size silkies.

What makes Silkie chickens so fluffy?


  • Silkie feathers lack barbicles which are the tiny hooks that keep feathers attached to each other, so they are not smooth but rather fluffy in appearance. 
  • Silkies have crests which is just a way to say 'big poof of feathers on the head'.
  • They come in both bearded and non bearded varieties.
  • Silkies have bluish colored earlobes, which have an iridescent sheen to them.
  • They have a mulberry colored walnut comb and very small or no wattles.
  • Silkies have heavily feathered legs and feet.
  • They have 5 toes on each foot, with the extra toe coming out below the 'thumb' area.
  • Silkies have black colored skin and the meat of a silkie chicken is also black. 
  • In the American Standard of Perfection, the weight of a hen is 32 oz and the rooster is 36oz. Unlike many breeds, the silkie standard varies in other countries.
  • Silkies are available in many recognized colors including: blue, black, grey, white, partridge and buff and several newer colors: cuckoo, paint, lavender, red, splash and more.

Silkie hens: eggs and hatching chicks


  • Silkie hens lay a small cream colored egg. They are very broody, often hatching several clutches of chicks a year. 
  • A hen will only produce about 100 eggs a year because  of their tendency to go broody.
  • Silkies are very devoted mothers. They will often raise other hens chicks, accepting them days or weeks after hatch. 
  • Silkies start laying eggs at roughly 7 months old. Though it's not uncommon for them not to lay for 9 months. 

silkie chicks are kid friendly

Are all silkies friendly?


Though silkies are known for their sweet temperament, the roosters are fiercely protective of the hens especially from any threat. Whether it be a bear (rest in peace Rusty roo) or my ankles, silkie roosters will do their best to defend themselves and their ladies against anything that may perceive as a threat. 

They are also quite vocal, but thankfully don't sound as much like a squeaky toy as other bantam breeds!

Related reading: Best chicken breeds for beginners.

Can you eat silkie chicken meat?


Adding to the uniqueness of silkie chickens, their meat is considered a gourmet food in certain countries. Silkie chicken meat has been eaten as a soup for it's believed medicinal qualities since the 7th century. It looks more like dark meat than they typical white meat we're used to from meat breed chickens, which can take some getting used to. 

Many recipes are available for it, often calling it black chicken soup in reference to its colored meat. I've never tried it, but if you have I'm very interested in hearing your opinion!

black silkie chicken hen

Are all Silkie chickens bantam?


Here in the US only the bantam Silkie is available, but in other countries a much larger, standard sized Silkie is more common. In fact, they are closer in size to a large breed leghorn than a bantam.

Interestingly enough, both the British and Australian poultry standards call for their bantam silkie to be even smaller than here in the US. Around a full pound smaller in fact! So other countries have smaller and larger versions of the silkies. 

Hey, no fair! I want all the sizes too! lol

What do you think? Are silkie chickens too cute for words or just plain weird looking?

Related reading: Health problems when raising silkie chickens.

~L

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21 comments:

  1. Is it hard to break a broody silkie? I can't have roosters so I have no need for a broody hen.

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    1. No harder than a regular chicken....you just might have to do it more often! lol

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  2. How are they with cleanliness with those cute feathers?

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    1. They're actually not too bad! The feet do get a little muddy from time to time, but they manage to keep themselves surprisingly clean!

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  3. I think they are adorable, too. however: the small size isn't what I'm looking for in a chicken. I am looking for them to have eggs and meat. The eggs are so small, that they wouldn't be much use, and not laying many a year, well.....Also, as much as I'd like to try the meat, lets face it, a quail might be cute, but try cooking a quail and not burning it to a char and then ...well, you'd have to eat about a dozen of them or cook a dozen .5 in order to have a meal...Same with Silkies, I'd imagine. On a working farm, you need livestock that can WORK or 'pay their way', something these really can't do.
    But they ARE cute!
    Carol L

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    1. Oh, I agree! I have some standard sized chickens too for eggs and meat. These guys are fun to have around though.

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  4. Are speckled sussex godd layers or decent

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    1. Hello! I have never raised speckled sussex so I don't know from experience....but i hear they lay well even in winter!

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  5. I totally agree with you. We started raising chickens last spring and got a few silkies as well. They are so cute and enjoyable to watch. They help me decompress after work.

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    1. They really do make a great pet, don't they?

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  6. How do Silkies do in the winter? Since they don't have standard feathers, how do they stay warm?

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    1. I haven't had any problems with silkies in winter. I've been raising them about 9 years and never lost one to the cold yet. I believe their fluff traps the heat next to their bodies.

      Lisa

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  7. I have 20 regular varieties of hen's and 2 roosters of course separated and I have 2 bantam one is a hen and 1 a rooster. I am looking to add 6 to 8 silkies; females of course. But I am having trouble locating them; where do I purchase these adorable babies?

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    1. I hatched a lot of my Silkies from eggs that were shopped to me. I bought them online from breeders. I've also had good luck finding breeders at poultry swaps and on Facebook. I hope you find some!

      Lisa

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  8. Do you have any tips on raising silkies to adulthood? My mom and I have only been able to successfully raise one, our lovely white and broody Yeti. All others haven't made it past a week or two and we'd really like to add some more silkie variety to our flock. Any help would be greatly appreciated! :)

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    1. If they are all dying within a few weeks of hatch it could be something genetic. Is your broody hen raising your silkie chicks for you or are you using a brooder?

      Lisa

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  9. I have 4 Silkie girls and they are my sweet loves!!! They have such personality, my big girls do too, but they are just so soft and cuddly. They follow me around begging to be picked up and held. They are actually really good egg layers too. This winter they are out laying my big girls. I hard boiled those little eggs for the perfect bite sized snack. This allows me to save the large eggs for cooking or selling.

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    1. Yes! My silkies lay all winter long too. They do slow down a little, but they still keep laying...and trying to brood! lol Your silkies sound like absolute sweethearts!

      Lisa

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  10. I have two silkie hens, one is broody and smart and bold! My other is really quite strange. She does not follow the flock when they are out in the yard...she always is in her own world finding bugs on her own. When in the coop/run she does not like the ramp to get into the coop. She will stay outside in the run before she tries to walk up the ramp. She does not walk down it either, rather she kind of hurls herself off the ramp and crashes to the ground. I go out each night and put her in the coop myself so she doesn't freeze. I wonder if anyone else has experienced similar behavior. Oh also I trim her feathers around her eyes because I thought it was because she couldn't see.

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    1. Hi! I do have a few silkies that are always off on their own, but I have not had this happen with them not going in the coop, but my Silkies do not have a ramp. I had one for awhile that would get herself lost in the garden, I had to take down a fence so she could figure it out. Is there some other way you can set things up to make it easier for her to get in and out of the coop at night? Or maybe a nightlight will help, if it's happening when everyone else is going in at night? Walmart sells solar walkway lights for just a few dollars each that you can put by the ramp so she can see it better. Hope that helps!

      Lisa

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