Breeds
» Bantams » Silkies
Silkies or silkens or "Black Boned Chickens" are one
of the most popular breeds despite not being acceptable
meat or egg laying chickens in the United States. Observing
them one can see why as they are one of the most strikingly
beautiful and unique looking breeds. Records on silkies
date back before the first century but the most famous
one was made in 1200 AD when Marco polo wrote about white
fur covered fowl in the orient. Like most fowl the silkies
of old do not look exactly like their modern counterparts.
Modern silkies are bigger, have more colors (white was
once the only color of silkie), have more leg feathers,
and (quite recently) some have been bred with single combs
and clearer skin. Silkies now come in many colors like
White, Black, Buff, Partridge, Grey, Silver, Red, Cuckoo
(barred), Blue, and even Lavender (!?). Black and whites
have better body development then most of the colored.
 Silkies
are used as broodies and surrogate mothers in the United
States. The Chinese believe silkies have healing powers
and is claimed to have "peculiar effectiveness in treating
women's sickness, sterility, menoxenia (abnormal menstruation),
habitual abortion, blood leucorrhoea, metrorrhagia, and
sickness after parturition, and also aids in curing pulmonary
problems - tuberculosis (TB), heart diseases, neurasthenia,
and chidren's osteomalacia." Eggs are said to have less
cholesterol content and are able to treat "severe headaches,
headache after parturition, faintness, asthma and nephritis."
I'm quite surprised they weren't given the effectiveness
of viagra and I have my doubts about the medical benefits
of silkies. Silkies lay between 50 and 120 cream to brown
colored eggs (there is some work done to breed silkies
that lay blue colored eggs) a year. Silkie get broody
often (which is the main reason for poor egg production)
and make great mothers. Silkie Roosters are even said
to make good mothers (as chickens have little use for
a father).
Silkies have walnut combs although I've seen single and pea combs on them.
Walnut combs are the most desired and any other type would
probably get the bird disqualified as a show bird. Silkies
have many qualities that make them unique in the poultry
world. Most notably their feathers lack webs making the
feathers look like down or silkie fur. Their earlobes
are a blue/turquoise color and they have black skin and
bones. They have feathered legs, crests, bearded and non-bearded,
and they have 5 toes. Silkies do not fly very well and
wing clipping will probably not be needed. In the US silkies
are seen as banties but they mostly are an intermediate
size between large fowl and bantam. The UK and other countries
list them as large fowl and banties.
Silkies are not the most hardy of birds and their lack of flying ability along
with docile nature are more susceptible to predators.
They make decent foragers and handle confinement quite
well. Silkies do not like high roosts and prefer them
no more then 4 feet off the ground. Given the choice of
sleeping in a corner and roosting in a tree, silkies will
take the corner. Silkies are friendly, quiet, tame birds
that make great pets for just about everyone and have
turned more then one person into a chicken lover.
-- Daniel M. Garcia
[ click any image to enlarge ]
Silkie Links:
Hat
Trick Silkie Hatchery
Surfing
with Silkies (info site, lots of links)
Marti's
Poulty
American
Silkie Bantam Club
Silkie
Creek Farm
Feathersite's
Silkie Page (LOTS of links here)
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