Silkie is a breed characterized by several unique characteristics, starting with its beautiful appearance, as its body is covered with soft feathers that resemble fur. They are also decorated with high crests of this fur.
In addition, it is one of the kindest and most deposited chicken breeds. They are very docile and friendly birds, both with their members in the flock and with humans. Many take it as a pet, as it is friendly with humans and plays with them, and it is completely non-aggressive, which makes it safe and suitable for children.
But since it is peaceful, and the tops of the feathers hinder her vision and reduce her field of vision (her field of vision is under her head only) it makes her vulnerable to bullying by the dominant strains. A dominant or aggressive bird may harm Silkie, injure, or even kill her.
Therefore, a peaceful breed close to the Silkie breed must be chosen so that they can get along with each other without harming the gentle Silkie chicken. There are many chicken breeds that are characterized by adaptive and peaceful characteristics.
Below we are listing the most important and famous ones of these breeds, in to addition an overview and the most important features of each one of them.
What Chickens Can Live With Silkies?
There are 7 main breeds of chicken that we recommend getting them with silkies:
- Orpingtons
- Easter Egger
- Salmon Faverolles
- Polish
- Wyandotte
- Cochins
- Bantam breeds
Below is some information about each one of them that will help you pick a suitable one for you:
1. Orpingtons
A very warm and friendly breed. They get along well with other breeds because they have a docile and non-violent nature. It is also very gentle and affectionate and non-aggressive, which makes it a candidate breed for beginners and those who have children and want to take it as a pet. So, it will be a suitable choice to be paired with Silkie Chicken.
Features
They come in medium to large. Roosters weigh 8-10 pounds while hens weigh about 6-8 pounds. They are very adaptable to the cold, thanks to their thin feathers that help keep them warm.
Good egg layers, laying 150 to 250 light brown eggs of medium size. It is a dual-purpose breed that produces a good amount of meat as well. One of the long-lived breeds, reaching 8-9 years old.
Its most important disadvantage may be that it is slow in growth, as it takes about 6-12 months to reach its full weight, which increases the cost of feed, and it is difficult to differentiate between sex in chicks. It is also prone to obesity and can sometimes negatively affects Egg production.
2. Easter Egger
It’s not a standard breed per se, but rather a diverse group of chickens that have certain traits of their own, the most important of which is that they lay large to very large colored eggs that come in beautiful colors ranging from blue, green, olive, aqua, pink, sage, and yellow!
This makes many farmers rushes to buy them to get a basket of eggs decorated with colors that bring joy and happiness to them. [1]
The second distinctive thing is their friendly and entertaining nature which has made the Easter Egger one of the most sought-after backyard chickens around the world. Since they are usually friendly with humans and friendly to children, that is they make them a great choice for a family herd.
It is also completely non-aggressive towards other chicken breeds, as it adapts and gets along with any breed, so it would be a good option to combine it with the Silkie breed.
Features
Small breeds where the male weighs about 5 pounds while the female weighs about 4 pounds. It has a crested pea-comb and feathered legs.
Easter eggs are good egg layers that lay at least four eggs per week. It adapts to an excellent degree to the cold, and in general, it is super hardy, so it does not usually suffer from diseases or health problems. It loves to roam and adapts to confinement as well and is well suited to life in the backyard.
3. Salmon Faverolles
It is a good friendly bird that is an ideal choice to farm with Silkie birds. They are easy to manage and have very laid-back personalities which make them get along with other breeds without problems.
It is also an ideal bird for breeding in a small house as a pet because it is a good family bird as it is easy to deal with. Also, children love to take them and play with them because they are comical, curious, and very entertaining.
Features
They are distinguished by their unique appearance, as a result of having beards, and feathered legs, which adds a kind of strangeness and comedy to their personality, which is characterized by humor, curiosity, and talkativeness.
The rooster weighs about 8 pounds, and the hen weighs about 6.5 pounds. Its color is like the color of salmon.
Good egg layers, As you can expect your hen to lay 3-4 medium-sized brown-colored eggs per week. Lives about 5-7 years.
4. Polish
It is a unique and beautiful breed that is distinguished by a large crest on top of its head that resembles a hat.
The Polish chicken is a very calm, gentle, friendly, and active bird at the same time. It is easy to intimidate them and be bullied by other breeds.
They have high crests of feathers that hinder and limit their vision, which makes them surprised or afraid, so they should not be placed with quarrelsome breeds so as not to harass them.
They would certainly be an ideal choice to pair with Silkie Chicken as their personalities and characteristics are very similar.
Features
A small and light breed only about 12 to 15 inches in length and cocks weigh about 6 pounds while hens weigh about 4.5 pounds.
It comes in a wide range of colors like black, blue, gold, white, orange, and silver. They come with different crests, you may find some have crests but with curly feathers. Also, some varieties have beards and some do not.
They have a small red V-shaped comb, but it is covered with feathers. They have white skin and gray legs without feathers, each containing four toes on each foot.
They start laying eggs late in the season, but fortunately, they continue without stopping, often once they start. They are good egg layers
Your Polish hen will lay about 150 to 200 medium to large white eggs per year. She usually doesn’t go broody to incubate the chicks so they rarely hatch. Their light weight makes them active and energetic, as you find them moving around on tree branches while perching or sleeping.
5. Wyandotte
A breed known for being quiet and reserved, it does not mix well with other breeds and prefers company with chickens of its own kind or peaceful breeds like it. So Silkie chicken will be a good choice to combine with it.
Wyandottes tend to gather together in groups where they avoid being bullied by other breeds. Whereas, because they are calm and gentle, other birds try to catch them, but if this happens, they defend themselves and put the bullies in their place.
Wyandotte chickens are not overly friendly with humans, but they interact with humans reasonably well. They will respond if you invite them to eat candy or play with them and share what you do.
Features
Wyandotte Large-bodied chickens have a lot of feathers, roosters weigh about 8 to 9 pounds, and chickens 5 to 6 pounds. The guides and earlobes are red. It has a wide and short head, and its beak is solid and strong in structure. Wyandotte has clean yellow feathered legs that contain four toes on each foot.
Wyandotte has a red rose comb that makes it better tolerate the cold and avoids harmful frostbite during the winter. Wyandotte is good layers, laying 3-4 large cream or light brown eggs per week.
They are known for their liveliness and despite being a large bird, they often like to roam and forage. You will find them hunting insects, seeds, larvae, worms, and other tasty things from the grounds. But they will be good mothers when they decide to sit on the eggs.
As for the Wyandottes’ health problems, you won’t find significant problems there. They are usually healthy, strong, and disease-free birds, except for some of the usual problems caused by parasites such as mites and lice.
6. Cochins
Cochins are known for their peaceful personality and very gentle disposition. They are non-aggressive and easily tamed and get along with gentle breeds such as Slikie. Even their roosters are non-aggressive and rarely fight.
It has a high foraging capacity, which gives it the ability to eat enough to produce enough energy to lay eggs. Its abundant plumage also makes it an ideal choice for acclimatization in colder climates. They are very suitable for homes where they acclimatize in any space and do not tend to wander, and do not scratch profusely like other chicken breeds.
Features
Large chickens have full, soft, not tight feathers. If you look at them from the side, they look like a heart-shaped fluff ball. They are born with feathers on their feet as their feathers extend down the legs to the feet and toes.
This cover of feathers makes them tolerant of the cold, but it also causes them some suffering in hot weather, but this can be overcome by providing shaded places for them. Their earlobes are red, cocks weigh about 11 pounds, and hens about 8.5 pounds.
Although it grows slowly, it is strong and very hardy and can thrive in cold climates in which other strains perish.
You can expect to lay 150-200 medium/large brown eggs per year, but since they are slow growing they start laying eggs as late as 8 months old. They have a high maternal instinct as they show good performance in incubating and raising chicks.
They do not fly, so they do not require high perches, and you do not need a high fence to protect them. A fence just two feet high will keep them contained and they will accept confinement easily.
Unfortunately, Cochins are prone to obesity, which can lead to a halt in egg production, liver failure, and even death.
7. Bantam breeds
Many of the bantam breeds are known for their good nature and easy docility, but there are other breeds that are not so meek.
The breed that we just mentioned in the previous paragraph Cochins Bantam is not so meek and calm, but there are other breeds that can adapt to the Silki breed easily without quarrels or problems, such as the Breed, Brahma bantam, Ameraucana bantam, Sussex Bantams.
These breeds are famous for their small eggs. You can learn more about them by reading our blog post about Chicken Breeds That Lay Small Eggs.
