# Silkies for eggs?



## TriWinkle (Oct 2, 2011)

I know most don't consider them layers, but mine are actually out producing my "layers."

Anyone ever use their eggs...or use them as their layers?


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## Buckhuntr (Oct 4, 2012)

Yes, and yes. Silkie eggs taste like, well, eggs, albeit small. Mine will lay for a few weeks, then go broody, so total yearly production isn't great, but boy, are the hens great incubators! That's enough reason to keep our nine girls.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

all chicken eggs get eaten here regardless who layed it, so yes silkie eggs have been eaten here when we had silkies, they are just not as economical layers but awesome broodys


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

I use silkies for nothing but eggs. For us, its economics. Silkies eat less than big breeds and give enough eggs for my family of 4. I also have bantam cochins/silkie crosses in my mix of 13 hens. Those small chickens eat 1/4 of what my old full size chickens ate. We want chickens just for eggs for us so I figured why raise food hogs when bantams can provide enough eggs and cost a lot less to keep.
Our feed went up to 17 bucks a bag since the drought. I had to come up with a solution and bantam chickens was the ticket. Plenty of eggs year round for less feed.
Silkie meat is excellent too when its time to let them raise some replacements.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

RiverPines said:


> I use silkies for nothing but eggs. For us, its economics. Silkies eat less than big breeds and give enough eggs for my family of 4. I also have bantam cochins/silkie crosses in my mix of 13 hens. Those small chickens eat 1/4 of what my old full size chickens ate. We want chickens just for eggs for us so I figured why raise food hogs when bantams can provide enough eggs and cost a lot less to keep.
> Our feed went up to 17 bucks a bag since the drought. I had to come up with a solution and bantam chickens was the ticket. Plenty of eggs year round for less feed.
> Silkie meat is excellent too when its time to let them raise some replacements.


I have a line of bantams I have been raising for many years.
They are great layers. The eggs are small but so is the feed bill for them.
The roosters have a nice breast and are very good split down the back and put on the grill.


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

Our silky wants to set on duck eggs. To funny, we just take them from her every morning. We don't have a silky roo, so I can't really breed them. We might have a silky x EE in the yard. 

As for eggs we were getting them, not as many as the others, but a couple of small ones a week. 

We will just use them with duck eggs. One duck egg and one silky works out to two normall eggs.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

TriWinkle said:


> I know most don't consider them layers, but mine are actually out producing my "layers."
> 
> Anyone ever use their eggs...or use them as their layers?


They lay well, but the eggs are small. 
But their beauty makes up for the small eggs, plus they have such sweet personalities. Much nicer than leghorns.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

DYngbld said:


> Our silky wants to set on duck eggs.


Our khaki cambells outlaid every chicken on the place. Those things lay almost every day. They just stink because they are ducks.


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## Mickey (Aug 28, 2002)

How many full size eggs can a silky cover?


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## hippygirl (Apr 3, 2010)

My first chicks on this place were silkies I got for free on CL...3 hens and a rooster. Once they started laying, I'd get three eggs a day for a few days, then none for a day or two, then they'd start all over again. Small eggs, but eggs just the same.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

It all depends on what kind of nest you have her in. If she has a shallow flat nest a good silky can coverup to 6. If she has a nice deep bowl nest she can cover more


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## bricned (Jul 3, 2006)

I would like to know which breed of bantams would be the best egg producer


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

If you think silkie eggs are small try raising seramas. I have one that just went broody so I brought her into the porch and gave her a clutch of 7 eggs. Shaking my head about this but I've lost 2 little roos the past 2 years and this would be the first serama chicks to hatch.
Then to still go down in egg size from the silkie and the serama there's the quail. They lay such cute little eggs, one per day, that are bite size and they make good pickled eggs.

On a good note I find the bantam eggs just perfect when I'm cutting a recipe in half.


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## DYngbld (Jun 16, 2009)

> On a good note I find the bantam eggs just perfect when I'm cutting a recipe in half.


You can do that???

I don't think we have ever cut a recipe in half! More like double or triple it.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

I have had a trio of Silkies for about 1 month. I have only seen maybe 1 egg per week. Maybe because they are out of show lines? No idea...


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Sanza said:


> If you think silkie eggs are small try raising seramas. I have one that just went broody so I brought her into the porch and gave her a clutch of 7 eggs. Shaking my head about this but I've lost 2 little roos the past 2 years and this would be the first serama chicks to hatch.
> Then to still go down in egg size from the silkie and the serama there's the quail. They lay such cute little eggs, one per day, that are bite size and they make good pickled eggs.
> 
> On a good note I find the bantam eggs just perfect when I'm cutting a recipe in half.


When I raised seramas I had better luck with the hens who sat in nest that were as high as they could get.


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## Mickey (Aug 28, 2002)

Sanza, it sounds as though those quail eggs are not much bigger than my cockatiel's eggs


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

I have both show lines and hatchery silkies, show line eggs are a bit larger, and lighter in color. Many of my silkies are 4 to 6 years old and still laying, they do stop but start right back up. They lay pretty good for such a broody breed. Bantam Cochins are good little layers too, I like banties, economical to feed and their sweet little birds.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Yep quail and cockatiel eggs are about the same size Mickey.

And yes, sometimes when the grandkids are cooking they make a 1/2 recipe. A good recipe to use a small egg is when we're making microwave cake in a mug.

My silkies came from Ideal quite a few years ago and I have some lay pure white and some lay a cream color egg, and they're all the same size. Once the pullets reach maturity they lay eggs all winter until they go broody in the spring. 
The older 2 or 3 yr olds will lay about 10 and then go broody even in winter. 

This new serama that's broody lays bigger eggs then my older serama hen does.


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