Silkie chickens: Fluffy, sassy, and full of charm
Leghorns are known for their eggs. Cornish are known for their meat. And Silkies are known for their charm.
These little chickens are adored for their teddy bear looks and their delightful personalities.
One chicken keeper put it like this: “I love how fluffy and friendly they are!... Cuddle them, hug them, make them your favorite. They are amazing.”
Another said, “Such sass and silliness in one bird, it’s straight out of a Doctor Seuss book!”
And another, “There is nothing better than watching them run around their yard with their fluffy butts and legs.”
There’s no doubt about it—Silkie chickens are wildly popular among backyard chicken owners who care more about pets than they do about eggs. But are these sweet little birds right for you?
Silkies do come with some challenges and require some extra care. They are a bit of a commitment.
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about keeping Silkies, so you can decide if they’re a good fit for your flock. You’ll learn:
What Silkie chickens look like in their many different colors and patterns
Climate considerations for Silkie chickens (are they a good fit for your region?)
Silkie temperament (are they right for you and your family?)
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Have Silkie chickens?
Silkie chicken facts
Category: Pet
Origin: China
Egg-laying ability: Moderate
Broodiness: High
Meat production: Poor quantity but valued in Chinese medicine
Cold tolerance: Poor
Heat tolerance: Moderate
Predator evasion: Poor
Foraging ability: Poor
Toleration for confinement: Good
Temperament: Docile
Aggression toward flock members: Low
Noise level: Moderate-high
Origin of Silkie chickens
The first known description of Silkie chickens (or their ancestors) is likely this one from Marco Polo. Silkies are an ancient Asian breed of chicken. They probably originated in China, although some scholars have suggested India or Java as other possibilities.
Silkies were imported into the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1800s.
Silkies have been kept as pets, show birds, and as incubators. Yep, incubators. Silkies love to sit on eggs and raise chicks.
Many chicken breeds that have been bred for production (for eggs or meat) don’t like to hatch or raise chicks. But Silkies will eagerly hatch and raise chicks of all breeds and even other species, including pheasants, partridges, and ducks. They don’t care whose egg it is—as long as there’s an egg, they’ll take care of it.
What do Silkie chickens look like?
Silkies differ from all other chicken breeds in that they look, well, silky. This is because their feathers don’t have barbicels, the miniscule hooks in feathers that hold the vanes together.
In the United States, Silkies are considered bantam chickens, which are very small breeds. However, in Europe, Silkies come in both ‘large’ (i.e., regular-sized) and ‘bantam’ types.
Silkie feather colors and patterns
Silkies come in 7 official varieties. “Official” means they are recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) and/or the American Bantam Association (ABA).
These varieties are:
Black
Blue
Buff
Gray
Partridge
Splash
White
Below you can see a video featuring a few of the most popular Silkie varieties—Black, White, and Buff:
Silkies have also been bred in many other feather colors and patterns not recognized by the APA or ABA, such as:
Cuckoo
Red-buff
Lavender
What is notable about the Silkie chicken’s appearance?
Aside from their fur-like feathers, Silkies have a number of unusual physical traits, such as:
Feather crests
Black eyes
Dark mulberry-colored combs and wattles
Walnut combs (also called ‘mulberry’ combs)
Bright turquoise earlobes
Bluish beaks
Bluish black skin (and meat and bones)
Bluish black shanks
Feathered shanks
5 toes (most breeds have only 4)
Some Silkies also have beards and muffs.
How big do Silkie chickens get?
Roosters: 2.25 lbs (36 oz)
Hens: 2 lbs (32 oz)
In America, all Silkies are classified as bantams, but these American Silkies would be considered ‘large fowl’ overseas.
In the UK and Europe, an even smaller Silkie, weighing just over 1 lb (~500 g) is what’s considered the Silkie bantam.
What do Silkie chicks look like?
Different varieties of Silkie chicks can have very different colors and patterns, but they all have feathers on their legs and toes.
Below, you can see videos of several different varieties of Silkie chicks.
White Silkie chicks
Black Silkie chicks
Blue Silkie chicks
Partridge Silkie chicks
Below you can see a video of 5-week old Silkie chickens. At this age, they already have their long, poofy, silky feathers and little feather crests atop their heads. So cute!
Silkie chicken growth
Because of the Silkie breed’s unusual feathering, chicken keepers can have a hard time telling their growing Silkie females from their growing Silkie males.
Below is a video showing one breeder’s criteria for telling males from females at a couple of months of age.
Are you getting Silkie chicks?
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Silkie chickens and egg laying
Egg color: White or light brown
Egg size: Small
Age of lay: 7-9 months
Eggs/week: 2
Eggs/year: 100
Silkies aren’t prolific layers, and they tend to lay a little later than most other breeds. However, Silkies do tend to lay into the winter months, unlike many breeds.
If you’d like to see what Silkie eggs look like in comparison to regular-sized chicken eggs, check out the video below. The 3 eggs on the left are Silkie eggs and the 2 large eggs in the middle are regular-sized chicken eggs. (The 2 eggs on the right are duck eggs.)
Broodiness: Do Silkie hens want to hatch their eggs?
Silkies can be obsessed with trying to hatch their eggs (or anybody else’s, for that matter) and raising hatchlings. They are incredibly broody.
This means Silkies will require some extra care. When they go broody, you’ll need to interfere for their own health and wellness. Broody hens barely eat or drink. They lose muscle tone and they can even molt. Not a good condition for your hens to be in if they’re not actually going to hatch eggs.
But if you ever want to hatch your chicks, forget the artificial incubators. Use your Silkies. Putting your eggs under a Silkie hen is probably the best thing you can do for those unborn babies. And your Silkie will never be happier.
As veteran chicken-keeper and author, Carol Ekarius, puts it in Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds:
“They are also excellent moms and they happily raise the kids no matter what they look like, from other breeds of chickens to quail, pheasants, ducks, or geese.”
Below, you can see a video of a Silkie mom with her growing duckling.
Silkies absolutely adore their babies. Some Silkie keepers have said their Silkies love their babies so much that they don’t know when to stop mothering. You can find some hilarious photos online of Silkies trying to spread their wings over older chicks of other breeds that are just as big as they are.
One Silkie chicken keeper told a story of how her month old Silkie hen tried to mother slightly younger chicks. And stories abound about Silkie roosters caring for chicks as well.
If you have 10 minutes to spare and you want your heart melted, check out the video below. This excerpt comes from an old television show on chickens, and it tells the story of Liza, a Silkie hen who is the epitome of the devoted mother.
This will pull your heart strings and is definitely worth a watch.
Meat production of Silkie chickens
You may be surprised to learn that Silkies have been valued for their meat for over a millennium. How much meat is one of these little birds? Not very much.
However, Chinese healers prescribe Silkie chicken meat, often eaten in soup, for a number of ailments, including diabetes, anemia, menstrual cramps, and postpartum disorders. They attribute healing power to the black-colored meat.
Food science researcher, Ying-gang Tian, had this to say about Silkie meat and its role in China:
"As a kind of folk invigorant and a source of traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to reinforce body immunity and protect from emaciation and feebleness."
Is there any truth to these claims? Maybe.
In 2006, food scientists from China presented a study at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society (you can see a summary here). The scientists analyzed both black Silkie meat and white Plymouth Rock chicken meat.
The scientists found that the Silkie meat had twice as much of the peptide, carnosine, as did the Plymouth rock meat (0.45 % vs. 0.22%, respectively).
In the United States, carnosine is used as a dietary supplement to increase muscle strength, improve exercise performance, and slow down the effects of aging. It’s also been used in diabetes treatment to help treat kidney problems, cataracts, and nerve damage.
Silkie chickens: Not a hardy breed
Silkie chickens are not very hardy birds. They struggle in the heat, the cold, the damp, and the wet. They don’t fare well against predators. And they’re not particularly good at foraging.
How do Silkie chickens do in hot, cold, or wet weather?
Silkies’ hair-like feathers don’t have the same insulating properties as regular chicken feathers. Therefore, Silkies don’t do as well in any extreme weather.
Silkies can tolerate some heat, but they can’t tolerate extreme heat. Some chicken keepers said that their Silkies get stressed when the temperatures raise over 80 degrees.
So, if you have Silkies, you’ll definitely want to keep them in an insulated coop, and consider using fans or even an air conditioner. Like all chickens, they will always need access to shade and to fresh, cold water.
And Silkies will definitely need some extra help to keep warm in the cold months. Not only do their feathers not insulate as well, but if their feathers get wet, Silkies can suffer serious frostbite or even death.
Because Silkies have feathers on their legs and feet, shank frostbite is a significant risk. Even a small amount of feather dampness in the winter can cause these birds to lose their legs to frostbite.
You will need to take extra measures to keep your coop warm enough for your Silkies, and, most importantly, to ensure that your Silkies are always, always, always dry.
And even when it’s not freezing outside, you will need to keep your Silkies out of the rain. Their feathers don’t repel water. They can chill and die or, at the very least, be incredibly uncomfortable.
If your Silkie chickens do get wet, bring them in the house to warm them up or blow dry them immediately. Below is a video of a Silkie chicken getting blow dried—many chickens enjoy the spa treatment.
Silkie chickens vs. predators
Silkies do very poorly in predator-rich areas for a few reasons.
First, Silkies are smaller than most chicken breeds and this makes them potential prey to a larger variety of animals. Small hawks that may never attempt to strike a larger chicken, for example, will readily go for a Silkie. In fact, hawk attacks on Silkies are sadly common.
Second, Silkies have fluffy crests that block their vision. They just can’t see as well as non-crested breeds so it’s much easier for something to sneak up on them. This problem is magnified for the bearded and muffed varieties of Silkies. These cute features impede their vision even more.
However, there are a couple of things you can do. See the section below on Silkie health problems to learn how to trim or tape your Silkies’ head feathers so they can see better.
And the third reason Silkies don’t have a chance against predators is because they can’t fly. Although many chicken breeds don’t fly well, they can at least fly short distances. But because of the nature of Silkies’ feathers, they can’t fly at all.
Silkie chickens: To confine or not to confine?
Silkie chickens handle confinement well. However, like all chickens, they like to be chickens, so confining them in cages isn’t a kind thing to do to this breed.
Your Silkies will appreciate a yard or run that gives them plenty of space to explore and to scratch around in. If you have predators in your area, a fully enclosed run is a must, including a cover to the run. Additionally, a covered run provides added protection to your Silkies from both rain and sun.
If you aren’t worried about predators in your area, you can let Silkies run freely around your yard. Because they can’t fly, you don’t have to worry about them scaling your fences.
If you do have too many predators in your area for your Silkies to roam free, you can always let your Silkies out of their covered run and into your yard with supervision. Below is a video of Silkies who have access to a run and yard.
Silkie chickens and roosting: Not quite like other birds
If you get Silkie chickens, here’s something you should know: they can have a difficult time roosting. There are 3 different reasons for this:
Silkies can’t get onto high roosting bars
Some Silkies can’t see the roosting bars
Some Silkies are bullied off the roosting bars
The problem with high roosting bars and Silkies
Because Silkie chickens can’t fly, they may have a hard time getting up on some roosting bars.
Make sure your roosting bars aren’t too high for your Silkies. Some Silkie keepers have even reported their chickens getting leg injuries from jumping off of high roosts. They can’t flap their wings to cushion the jump, so they end up just plummeting onto the ground.
Silkie sight and roosting problems
Some Silkie chickens have crests, muffs, and/or beards that are so large and poofy that they can’t see the roosting bars. These Silkies will tend to huddle together on the ground at night the way that chicks do.
And some Silkie chicken keepers have reported that their Silkies are afraid of coming back off of their roosts because they can’t see. Consider trimming or taping your Silkies’ face feathers if you think they may be preventing your birds from roosting (learn how to do this below in the Silkie health problems section).
Silkie bullying problems on the roosting bars
Some Silkie chickens are bullied off the roosting bars.
Silkies are tiny chickens and frequently the victims of bullying by larger breeds. If your other chickens won’t let your Silkies roost, consider increasing the size of your coop, adding more roosting bars, or moving your Silkies to a separate coop.
Teaching your Silkies to roost
Some Silkie chicken keepers have said that their Silkies just took a really long time to learn to roost. One keeper said her Silkies huddled together on the floor for over a year, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, decided they were ready to use the roosting bars.
You can either help teach your Silkies to roost or you can leave them on the floor. I prefer to teach them. If you leave them on the floor, they’re sleeping in bedding that’s covered in poop. That’s just not that sanitary.
And, if you have a lot of Silkies, you do run the risk of suffocation if they’re all piling up on the floor. If you have just a few Silkies, suffocation is very unlikely.
If you want to help your Silkies learn to roost, go into their coop after dark and put each one on the roosting bars. Eventually, they’ll start jumping up there themselves.
One chicken keeper took a different approach. She made a roosting table, rather than roosting bars. The Silkies liked to pile up on the table. This is better than letting your Silkies stay on the floor, but still not as good as roosting bars.
Roosting bars keep Silkies away from their poop—it falls to the floor (or trays) below. On a roosting table, Silkies are laying on their poop—not ideal in the long run.
And if you want to see two delightfully spoiled Silkie roosters, Moose and Mumble, check out the video of their “rooster apartment” below. No roosting bars needed (apparently) when you have a chicken keeper to personally pamper you all day.
Silkie chicken temperament: Just what kind of birds are they?
Silkies are sweet, docile, and friendly. They tend to be calm, like to be handled, and can make excellent pets for both adults and children.
Silkies are very trusting chickens and enjoy attention. Some Silkies follow their keepers everywhere. Many chicken keepers develop very strong bonds with these birds.
“Temperament-wise, you couldn’t ask for a better bird,” said one Silkie chicken keeper. “Even the roosters are very kind and patient with hens, children, and other pets.”
Another said of her Silkie hen, “She is the biggest snuggle bug I have ever owned. She loves snuggling more than she loves to eat…”
Another said, “She spends a lot of her time on my shoulder.”
Silkies can also be very easy to train. Below is a video of a Silkie who’s been trained to jump on his keeper’s lap:
How are Silkie chickens around children?
Silkie chickens tend to be excellent pets for children. They are calm and put up with (and even enjoy) a lot of handling.
One Silkie chicken keeper said, “Silkies are the ideal pet for children. They tend to be very calm, non-aggressive, and vocal… they can take a lot of handling without stress… They love people and to be showered with attention.”
Some chicken keepers have said that Silkies have made perfect pets for their toddlers. “My 2 year-old son is absolutely enamored,” said one.
Are Silkie roosters aggressive to people?
Because Silkies are generally a gentle breed, many roosters are incredibly sweet and loving with people. However, as is the case with all breeds, some roosters may be aggressive, particularly if they’re concerned about protecting their hens.
You can always work with aggressive roosters to change their behavior through positive training methods if you’re open to that.
How well do Silkie chickens get along with other chickens?
Silkies tend to be incredibly sweet and gentle chickens, so you won’t see them being aggressive to others. However, other chicken breeds may be extremely aggressive to your Silkies.
Silkies look very different and act very differently from other chickens, and your other chickens will notice this. Most chickens will be curious about Silkies’ strange feathers and won’t be able to help themselves from plucking them out (which can be incredibly painful).
And because Silkies are tiny and don’t stick up for themselves, other chickens are prone to pick on them, sometimes brutally. Silkies kept with other breeds of chickens can be seriously injured, cannibalized, or even killed.
“The other chickens sit on them and chase them away from the food,” said one chicken keeper who tried to house her Silkies with her other breeds. “I think that may be why the one froze to death… they either wouldn’t let her walk up the walk to the roosting shelf where the heat was or she was just too weak.”
If you want Silkies, make sure that you have a place to house them that’s separate from your other breeds. You can try, very carefully, to integrate your Silkies in with your other chickens, but make sure you have a backup plan in case this fails.
Most people don’t want to have house chickens, but if you’re open to that, these birds do make excellent indoor pets. You can even potty train them to use a litter box.
Just make sure that if you have only one house chicken, your bird has other companionship if you’re not always home. Silkies can become friends with any number of animals.
Below is a video of a Silkie house chicken, Penny, who lives a very happy life with a handicapped chihuahua, Roo.
Silkie chickens: Are they noisy?
Silkie chickens, while not particularly loud, are more talkative than your average chicken. Their chatty nature is one of the many things that makes them so endearing.
Want to hear some Silkie noises?
Below is a young Silkie rooster, singing his first crow.
Below is a full-grown Silkie rooster, Big Red, crowing for all the world to hear.
Below is a little Silkie rooster with an adorable crow and a cute little hen talking. Towards the end of the video, they seem to be playing together—so cute!
Below is a Silkie chick making chick calling sounds. This is typically the sound they make when they’re alone and trying to find other chicks or their mama.
And, finally, below is a video of a little Silkie rooster who “barks” during his car trips.
Silkie chicken health problems and life expectancy
Silkie chickens are highly susceptible to Marek’s disease, an illness that can be debilitating and can cause death. In its most common form, Marek’s disease attacks the nerves, spinal cords, and brains of chickens, resulting in paralysis and tremors.
“Affected birds eventually die of starvation or are trampled or get severe sores on their body,” say scientists at Penn State University. “They almost never recover from this.”
You’ll definitely want to consider getting your Silkie chicks vaccinated for Marek’s. Many hatcheries offer this service.
Silkies can also be more susceptible to overgrown toenails and to leg mites than other breeds (thanks to the feathered feet and legs), so you’ll want to keep an eye out for that.
And you may need to trim the toenail of your Silkie’s unusual fifth toe from time to time. The fifth toe grows in an upward direction, and so the birds don’t walk on it like they do their other toes. This means the nail on that fifth toe never gets worn down, and thus will likely require trimming.
And Silkies, along with Easter Eggers and Polish chickens, tend to have a higher incidence of cross beak than most breeds. Cross beak is a condition where the upper and lower beaks don’t line up due to a skull that’s slightly squished.
Chickens with cross beaks struggle to pick up food and can starve to death. The condition can’t be fixed, but many cross beaks still live full lives if they’re given extra care. Depending on the severity of the misalignment, some cross beaks will require very little interference from you, but others will require significant assistance with eating.
Silkie chickens face a variety of challenges because they can’t see beyond their crests, muffs, and/or beards. They may not be able to get on or off roosting bars. They may run into things and even injure themselves. And they may not be able to get away from aggressive flock mates.
These problems can be solved, or at least helped, if you trim or tape your Silkies’ face feathers.
Below is a video that shows you how to trim a Silkie. You’ll need to be very careful not to accidentally cut your chicken’s comb or any blood feathers.
Below is a video that shows you how to tape a Silkie with painter’s tape, step-by-step. If you’re keeping your Silkies as show birds, taping is a good alternative to trimming.
And below is a video of a flock of Silkies with taped feather crests that is just too cute not to watch! The bare-necked chicken in this video is a Showgirl (more on this breed in the Silkie hybrid section below).
Another thing you need to be aware of with Silkies is that their feathers have a tendency to get dirty, particularly their foot and leg feathers. You may need to schedule in baths for Silkies as you definitely want their feathers to stay in good condition to maintain good health. Don’t let them get muddy or matted.
One chicken keeper said she likes bathing her Silkies because it’s really the only time she gets to see their beautiful black skin.
Below is a video of how to bathe a Silkie—make sure you use a shampoo that’s approved for poultry. I use Vetericyn FoamCare Medicated Pet Shampoo for my chickens.
Breeds you may want instead of Silkies
Silkie crosses
Silkie feathers are a recessive trait, so if you cross them with another breed, none of the chicks will have Silkie feathers. However, if you breed those chicks, some of the next generation may have Silkie feathers.
The best known Silkie cross is likely the Showgirl chicken. This chicken is created by crossing a Silkie with a Turken (also known as a Naked Neck) in the first generation, and then breeding back to Silkies over subsequent generations.
The result is a chicken that looks like a Silkie (and acts like a Silkie) with no neck feathers. Showgirls are definitely a niche chicken, and you either love them or you don’t. I, of course, love them.
Below is a video of showgirl chicken, Erni, with some of her flock mates:
Other breeds
Other docile, ornamental breeds you may be interested in are Sultans, Cochin Bantams, and Polish. To learn more about these breeds, check out my articles:
Sultan chickens: Beautiful and exotic pets who require royal treatment
The Cochin Bantam chicken: A sweet-hearted ball of feathers with feet
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Silkie sources
Bassom, Frances. Mini Encyclopedia: Chicken Breeds and Care. Dorking: Interpet Publishing, 2011.
Damerow, Gail. Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2017.
Damerow, Gail. The Chicken Health Handbook. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2015.
Ekarius, Carol. Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2007.
Science Daily. “Black-Bone Silky Fowl: An Odd Bird With Meat To Crow About.” 15 September 2006.
Verhoef, Esther and Rijs, Aad. The Complete Encyclopedia of Chickens. Lisse: Rebo Publishers, 2005.
Wallner-Pendleton, Eva and Martin, Gregory P. “Marek’s Disease in Chickens.” Penn State Extension.