When we first got chickens, we got two Silkie chickens and instantly fell in love. They were so friendly and let my then 3-year-old catch them, squeeze them, cuddle them, and love on them. Our black Silkie chicken is still alive and we continue to just love her so much more every year.
This Silkie is Duke. Sadly he is no longer with us.
Facts about Silkie Chickens:
They are considered a bantam breed. The females only weigh about 1.5-2 pounds whereas the males weigh 2-3 pounds.
Their skin and bones are black.
They have blue earlobes.
They lay 2-4 small eggs a week. Although, our Silkie at her prime was laying 3-5 days a week!
Their eggs are small. We call our eggs "Kiki eggs." My daughter specifically requests "Kiki eggs" whenever we make fried or scrambled eggs.
The color of their eggs can be cream or tinted. Kiki's eggs are cream.
They are prone to broodiness. Sometimes they are so good at their job that they will forgo eating and drinking. We always make sure to check on Kiki when she's broody to make sure she's getting the food and water she needs. Our Kiki girl, if we don't pick up eggs regularly, she will go broody and pluck all her feathers out from her breast. If we let her have a clutch of chicks, she would be the best mother.
They are very motherly.
Silkies are very docile and friendly. They are considered the dogs of the chicken world. We can attest to this, as Quinn, to this day can hold Kiki and Kiki just chills in her arms and hangs out.
Silkies aren't considered cold-hardy. We have pretty cold winters here in North Idaho sometimes getting down into the negatives. Kiki has been totally fine and we have a covered run where we also have perches for the chickens and we find Kiki out there sometimes during the winter! She's of course in between other chickens but she has done well every winter.
They have 5 toes!
Silkies are very fun to have in a backyard flock. They take up less room than regular-sized chickens, eat less, and get along with other chickens. They can get picked on because of their small size, but I have found they are tough and can handle it. Silkies are a great addition to any backyard flock, but I would recommend a couple of silkies if you have kids. Kiki continues to be our favorite chicken year after year.