Silkie Chickens: The Australian Keeper’s Guide
~100 cream or tinted eggs a year · Bantam (600g-1.4kg) · typically $30-80 per bird
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The Silkie is the most pet-like chicken in the world: fur-like feathers, black skin and bones, a pom-pom crest and a temperament so gentle that kids carry them around like cats. They lay modestly, but nobody buys a Silkie for the eggs.
Eggs and laying
Expect around 100 small cream eggs a year, with long pauses, because Silkies are the most determined brooders in chickendom. Many keepers run one Silkie purely as a living incubator: she will happily hatch any eggs you slip under her, including duck eggs.
Temperament
The gentlest breed there is. Silkies tolerate handling, bond with children, and sit calmly in laps. Roosters are even comparatively quiet. The flip side: they sit at the bottom of mixed-flock pecking orders, so pair them with other gentle breeds (Pekins, Orpingtons) rather than assertive layers.
Australian climate fit
Fine in most of Australia with one caveat: those silky feathers are not waterproof and insulate poorly when wet. A dry, draught-free coop is non-negotiable, and in cold wet winters (Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra) they need genuinely weatherproof shelter. Crests can block vision, trim or clip if they bump into things.
Care notes
Check the crest and fluffy vent area regularly: both attract mites and lice. They cannot fly at all, so low perches (20-30cm) and ramps everywhere. Because they go broody constantly, lift them off the nest daily for food and water during sits you have not sanctioned.
Common questions
Yes, with the dry-housing caveat. They are friendly, quiet and small, ideal for families and suburban blocks. Just do not expect many eggs.
She is broody, it is what Silkies do. Either give her fertile eggs to hatch or lift her off daily; a persistent broody stops laying entirely.
Yes, but watch the pecking order. Pair them with gentle breeds and avoid mixing with assertive commercial layers in tight spaces.
More breeds
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