Minor fighting among the males starts at an early age, and while it looks fierce, it does not usually result in injuries. In the Zoo they are fed Triple Duty, a poultry mash, and scratch feed containing oat and cracked corn. Male and female silkies are sexually mature at about five months of age. Their eggs are a brownish color and a female lays between 90 and 120 eggs per year. The hen takes about two hours from sitting to leaving the nest.
Most hens prefer to brood in the same place where they are used to laying eggs.
Eggs hatch in about 21 days. Chicks are covered with soft down at birth. During the first 24 hours after hatching, the chicks consume the remainder of the yolk.