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Silkie

The silkie chicken was developed in the southeast asian countries or china.It was valued as a medicinal food item because of its black skin and bones
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Ornamental
Comb
Walnut
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
Medium
Egg Size
Medium
Egg Color
Light Brown/ white
Breed Temperament
Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Quiet, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties
Grey, Blue, Splash, Partridge, Buff, Black, White are the standard colors with many off standard & derivative colors in existance today.
Breed Size
Bantam
APA/ABA Class
Feather Legged
Color
Grey, Blue, Splash, Partridge, Buff, Black, White are the standard colors with many off standard & derivative colors in existance today
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The Silkie breed was developed in the southeast Asian countries or China. It's named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most other chickens only have four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows and come in various colors. It was valued as a medicinal food item in Asia, because of its black skin and bones, and was thought to be particularly good to reinforce body immunity and protect from emaciation and feebleness. It also is reported to treat diabetes, anemia, female reproductive functioning and postpartum disorders. Marco Polo gave the first accounts of Silkie chickens in the late 13th century. As trade route between East and West were established, the Silkie was brought to Europe. Records have shown that in the Netherlands, they were sold as the product of crossing a rabbit and a chicken!

Nowadays the breed is very popular for the purpose of pet chickens as well as exhibition. They are not good layers, averaging 3 eggs per week, but are known and valued for their exceptional broodiness and are often used for hatching eggs from other breeds. They are also considered very good pet chickens, especially for children and are known for their friendliness and docile temperaments.

The breed was officially recognized in North America by acceptance into the Standard of Perfection in the first year of publication which was 1874.

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Silkie juvenile

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Silkie chick

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Silkie rooster

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Silkie hen

For more information on Silkies and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-silkie.1048544/
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Latest reviews

ella2025
so cute and fluffy
Pros: Roosters are friendly!!
Fluffy and cute
very laid back
Love the crest and beard!
Cons: I don't like that they're usually sold as straight run, with sexed females being very expensive
My hen with a big crest and beard can't see, at all. Sometimes gets picked on. When i have treats she wobbles over and circles around, not being able to get to the treats because she can't see properly.
I love this breed, I just wish they were more often sold as sexed females.
Purchase Price
6$ but straight run
Purchase Date
april 2
Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies
Nicest, cutest, and fluffiest babies ever.
Pros: Amazing pets, great hatchers, sweet, can be kept in a smaller space.
Cons: Low egg production and eggs are small. Also take up to a year of age to start laying.
I have a few and I love them to death. Got to say that they're my fav breed. They take a long, long time to lay though.
Addicted To Chickens
Pros: Super sweet
fluffy
Delighting to the eye
Cons: Can get picked on easily
Broody
I have one of my own and she is super sweet I would highly recommend one if your looking to naturally hatch out some eggs.
Read more…

Comments

CrazyChookLady5
one of your pros says "great ester present" well this year for easter i gave my self 8 silkies!! it was the best easter present EVER!! :D:D
 
drumstick diva
You've been very lucky if predators haven't taken your other birds. Silkies have their vision obscured by beards and crests which is why predators get them so easily. If you aren't going to show them cut the crests and beards back and you will see how much more alert they are.

The silkie type feathering doesn't make proper wings for flying. It isn't their fault - that's the way silkie founders want the breed to be.

If the predators didn't nab the silkies for lunch- they would have gone after you other birds.
It's not fair to assume your other breeds could avoid predator attack. Just read thru the posts on all threads and find out that all breeds get eaten. If you don't close or lock a door - it's not the bird's fault. If your coop and run aren't up to snuff - birds will suffer attacks again.
Predators are always looking for loopholes, flimsy chicken wire, openings around gates or posts. Places they can dig under - wide mesh that allows them to shove their muzzle thru a fence.

To expect any breed of chicken to fight off or outsmart fox, raccoons, coyotes, possums, rats, what have you, is wishful thinking. The only good thing about predator attacks is they show you where the WEAK spots are in your coop or run. Once they get lunch easily they will keep coming back and bring family and friends.

The safeguards that should have been in effect are the same for all breeds not just silkies.
With the silkies gone - you will find your other birds will be in peril.
 
Stiggy
My White Silkies tend to be the Matriarchs and keep everyone in line. its funny to watch them play when they are young as they charge around the yard all puffed up heads down and wings out haha :) mine have a perch its 20 cm off the ground ( the house wasn't designed for little birds and is a tempory thing since moving and having to leave their old house behind). however although they can't fly they can climb which I have witnessed ( one would sleep on a bean/pea growing frame that was 6ft high). Have you noticed that when they fight they use their 5th toe like a spur? mine do that when jousting with other mothers/ hens who get close to their babies. btw your splash is a cutie
 
chix88
I am incubating 6 red partridge silkies eggs ..my first attempt at incubation ..interesting that your rooster is not noisy ..might be inclined to keep one if I get a hatchling ..so far I only have 4 hybrid s which I bought as 12 week olds
 
Sylvester017
To DuckRaiser - "no cougars will go after 'em" if you plan a good security environment - which also means not integrating 2.5-lb bantams with heavy LF that are 6-lbs or over. Heavy LF chicken breeds are okay as pullets but once they reach full maturity at 1.5 to 2 years old they start to bully smaller breeds and Silkies.

If you free-range then you'll lose all your poultry if there's no security. We free-range but in a backyard yet still supply the fowl with a lot of coverage - a popup canopy, low lean-to's scattered about against buildings and fences, recycled doghouse (once all 4 of our hens dove for cover in it from a chicken hawk), lots of chicken-friendly plants, shrubs, and stickery plants like boysenberries or rosebushes to snooze/hide under. They don't like to forage in the open for long and know how to dive for cover when the hawk alarm is sounded by the alpha chicken but we have to do our part and provide those various covers. If you have chicks in the yard then the crows and hawks will definitely target them so best not to free-range chicks and wait until they are 5-6 months old outdoors to learn from the seasoned older chickens where to forage and where to hide.

Good luck with your Silkies, enjoy them, and remember they are surprisingly hardy but we have to use good sense in giving them some protection as well. With a lot of face fluff they are naturally skittish from not seeing very well but mine have whittled down a lot of their face fluff and leg fluff because of free-ranging and are quite predator savvy. Love watching the barnyard alarm from one of the hens to watch how they all dive for cover - even if it's only a floating mylar balloon in the sky!
 
HorseMadWhovian
Sylvester- I free range mine during the day, we've never had any troubles with that :)
My rooster silkie protects all his hens and one of my hens is so fussy over new chickens, gotta love them ;)
 
Sylvester017
To HorseMadWhovian - we've never had troubles with aerial predators because we are security conscious to provide a LOT of shelters and cover plants for the flock to snooze/hide under which was my point to be responsible with a free-range flock and provide those extra precautions. We have a Cooper's Hawk (chicken hawk) that regularly visits my outdoor flock but because we don't tempt him or the crows with easy-picking chicks they move onto the birds at the wildbird feeder which distracts him/her from the chickens. I wouldn't want to lose a roo defending his flock but much prefer to set up a lot of hiding places instead to have all of them protected - including the roo. Friend of mine came home to his yard to find his ducks and chickens missing and some scattered feathers and thought the worst. He found both flocks sitting under his tow-trailer on the axle and not one bird was missing. Ducks and chickens aren't normal bosom buddies but they were THAT day obviously hiding from an aerial attack. His experience prompted me to set up a lot of cover in the yard. Nothing wrong with extra security precautions to save those fluffy Silkies.
 
HorseMadWhovian
Sylvester017- Yeah, mine have lots of trees in their area, we often have crows hanging around, but never any trouble from them. We occasionally get eagles but I've never seen them try to swoop :)
 
Bogtown Chick
I just had my first silkie momma hatch this spring. She locked on the nest. She forages minimally but I agree with you, she likes the cover of the run and the coop. I call her institutionalized. LOL . She is feisty and will put up a fight to protect the chicks. Got her with another silkie that was complete opposite and super docile. That one is dead ...this one is still living. So there are different personalities in them...but in general I think they lean toward the docile. One thing I'll say about this feisty one is that her crest is not full on top and she can SEE. and WELL. I think this is the difference. The fuller crested sister I lost couldn't see past her beak and didn't have a chance and stood in place most of the day. Long nails, the works.... Good, honest review.
 
kmollyhughes
I free range my silkies and they are great with their babies. We have hawks and once they learn the babies are targets they do what they have to and go where it is safe for them until the babies are big enough. I use all my silkies and sizzles to raise chicks anytime they go broody. I think they're amazing and they protect their young even from my husband and me. They raise bantams, LF, and our turkeys for us. They are small, yes, but if you don't use them to show, then trim their crest so they can see and they do fine. Show birds aren't free range birds. As to predators....what hen or pullet can fight off hawks, coons, or coyotes? That's why we have dependable large roosters. They guard everyone, even the bantam roosters in the yard.
 
Chicken 3033
I had it rated 5 stars, it just went to four after I posted it, no edit button, so just in case you were wondering why it was rated 4 stars
 
ZuZuLove
I have Some Silkies and they are AMAZING Birds. We Just Love them! I have a Little Roo, he is the Sweetest Little thing, He is So Cute and Super Brave.
 
speedbird
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww They are so cute! Great and comprehensive review but ease off on the caps ;)
 
Sylvester017
Hi speedbird - I'll ease off on the CAPS if you ease up on the wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww LOL !!
Yes, Silkies are just indescribible - you gotta have some to understand their appeal.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
Super Admin
Views
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Watchers
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Comments
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Reviews
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Last update
Rating
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