Why do some people ONLY keep Silkies?

Delphene

Chirping
Jul 11, 2024
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This is out of curiosity because I've seen flocks with only Silkie chickens and no other chickens, which is odd to me because I love all chicken breeds and I'm wondering why people only keep Silkies. But I haven't seen someone Only keep another breed like easter eggers. No offense just wondering why, I like Silkies, I have one.
2024_12_20_0re_Kleki.png
 
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This is out of curiosity because I've seen flocks with only Silkie chickens and no other chickens, which is odd to me because I love all chicken breeds and I'm wondering why people only keep Silkies. But I haven't seen someone Only keep another breed like easter eggers. No offense just wondering why, I like Silkies, I have one.
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Looking at picture of your Silkies make me laugh and warm my heart. I think that could be one of the reasons people only keep silkies. I like them, I will have 2 in the distance future.
 
@Debbie292d
I’m not really sure, some probably for breeding, as you need a flock of only those birds for a pure bred breeding pen. Another reason could be because they are often freindly and funny. Idk though, I’m not really the biggest silkie fan, I’ve had bad experience/not really what I want in a chicken. Such a cute bird you have there by the way💕
 
@Debbie292d
I’m not really sure, some probably for breeding, as you need a flock of only those birds for a pure bred breeding pen. Another reason could be because they are often freindly and funny. Idk though, I’m not really the biggest silkie fan, I’ve had bad experience/not really what I want in a chicken. Such a cute bird you have there by the way💕
Oh, huh haven't thought of that, thank you. That's what I heard, but mine's kind of skittish, she's very sweet though. Ah, that's actually just a reference, but she is very cute!
2024_12_20_0re_Kleki.png

(This is my Silkie, I was going to put her but it had a girls face in it, I cut it off now though)
 
My mum only keeps Silkies. She moved into town and wanted some hens but only kept red sex-links while I was growing up, so I wanted to gift her something a little more different that wouldn't dig up her small vegetable garden. She absolutely loved them and her garden is safe so shes happy to keep just them, plus she only needs a few eggs for herself and my grandad and I'm happy to supply some of mine when she has to break their broodiness.

I know some people that keep single breed flocks, one has only Rhode Island and another Brahma for example
 
Some people may want only one breed because they want to breed them and keep a purebred line, for showing them, for example.
Some people may like the temperament and/or appearance of a particular breed and want only that one. Silkies are pretty unique: they are friendly, pretty peaceful, cute, soft, they can't fly well, they have a singular appearance (beard, crest, feather-legged, fur-like feathers) and they come in lots of colors. So I think people who just want a cute pet to keep in their garden (especially if they live in a town and don't have a very big one) think at them first: they won't destroy their garden as much as other breeds, they are less likely to escape and are usually happy to interact with people.
 
Some breeds aren't easily compatible with others. With Silkies, their smaller size, Crests, Muffs & Beards, and docility combined together can lead to other chicken breeds picking on them.
Of course there are always exceptions, and some breeds do get along.
But I'd hazard a guess that most people who've kept Silkies in a mixed flock have encountered issues and had to rehome / cull chickens to get it to stop.

Also, once people decide what they want out of a flock from experience, it's easier to narrow down to just one breed.
We started out with Silkies for the unchicken'ness, but wanted bigger eggs and changed to chickeny chickens.
 

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