Hi honora
I breed and show chickens here in Ireland
There is a poultry standards but there different
To USA.
In Ireland we have the British poultry standards
As we share the same standards with Britain
There is a book but it does cost a lot.
Here's the standard for a silkie
THE SILKIE STANDARD
Classification: Light Breed
Egg Colour: Tinted to cream
Large Fowl
Origin: Asia
Authorities have mentioned Silkie fowl for several hundred years. Some think that they originated in India, whilst others favour China and Japan. The Silkie is regarded as a light breed, and as such it must be exhibited. Its persistent broodiness is a breed characteristic, and either pure or crossed, the breed provides reliable broodies
for the eggs of large fowl or bantams
WEIGHTS
LARGE FOWL: Male 1.8 1kg (4lbs) Female 1.36kg (3lbs)
BANTAM SILKIES: Male 600g (22ozs) Female 500g (l8ozs)
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MALE:
Carriage:
Stylish, compact and lively
Type:
Body broad and stout looking. Back short, saddle silky and rising to the tail. Stern broad and abundantly covered with fine fluff, saddle hackles soft, abundant and flowing. Breast broad and full, shoulders stout, square, and fairly covered with neck hackle. Wings soft and fluffy at the shoulders, with the ends of the flights ragged and ‘Osprey plumage; (i.e. some strands of the flights hang loosely downwards). Tail short and very ragged at the end of the harder feathers of the tail proper. It should not be flowing, but forming a short round curve.
Head:
Short and neat, with good crest, soft and full, and as upright as the comb will permit, and having a six to twelve soft silky feathers streaming gracefully backwards from the lower back part of the crest to a length of 3.75cm (1½ ins). The crest proper should not show any hardness of feather. A short beak, that is broad at the base. Eyes brilliant black, and not too prominent. Comb almost circular in shape, preferably broader than long, with a number of small prominences over it, and having a slight indentation or furrow transversely across the middle. Face smooth. Wattles concave, nearly semi-circular, and not long or pendant.
Ear lobes more oval than round. Neck short or medium length, broad and full at the base, with the hackles abundant and flowing.
Legs and feet:
Free from scaliness. Thighs wide apart and legs short. No hard feather on the hocks, but a profusion of soft silky plumage is permissible. Thighs covered with abundant fluff. The feathers on the legs should be moderate in quantity. Toes five in number, with the fifth toe diverging from the fourth. The middle and the outer toes feathered, but these feathers should not be too hard.
Plumage: Very silky and fluffy, with a profusion of hair like feathers
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEMALE
Carriage: Stylish, squat, fluffy and compact
The saddle is broad and well cushioned, with the silkiest of plumage, which should nearly smother the small tail, the ragged ends alone protruding and inclined to be ‘Cochiny’ in appearance. The legs are particularly short in the female, and the under and thigh fluff should nearly meet the ground. The head crest is short and neat, like a powder puff, with no hard feathers, and the eye should not be hidden by the crest, which should stand up and out, not split be the comb. Ear lobes small and oval. Wattles either absent, or very small and oval in shape. Comb small. Other characteristics are as in the male, allowing for sexual differences.
SHOW STANDARDS
REGARDLESS OF COLOUR
The beak should be slate blue, however in the black, the beak should be dark slate. Eyes black. Comb, face and wattles mulberry. earlobes turquoise blue or mulberry, the former being preferable. Legs and feet lead, Nails blue / white. Skin mulberry.
THE WHITE: Male and female plumage snow white
THE BLACK: Both male and female plumage is black all over, with a green sheen in the male. A minimal amount of colour in the hackle is permissible, but not desirable
THE BLUE: Male and female plumage an even shade of blue from head to tail
THE GOLD: Male and female plumage a bright even shade of gold throughout, with darker feathers in the tail of both sexes permissible.
THE PARTRIDGE:
Male: Head and crest dark orange. Hackles orange/yellow, free from washiness, each feather having a clear black strip down the centre. Breast and fluff black. Back and shoulders dark orange. Wing bar solid black. Primaries black and free from any white. Secondary, outer web dark orange, inner web black, the dark orange alone showing when the wing is closed. Tail and sickles black. Leg and foot feather black. Under colour slate grey, free from white.
Female: Neck and breast lemon striped black. Hackle feathers black centre with lemon edge. Chest, lemon and black mingling. Body, including wings and cushion, black barring on soft partridge brown. Under colour slate grey. Leg and foot feather colour as body. Black permissible in the tail
THE BEARDED SILKIE
As standard Silkie, but with clearly defined earmuffs and beard
OTHER COLOURS = NOT SHOW STANDARDS
More recently 2 other colours of silkies have popped up around the country. The most recent new colour known as RED is (if breed correctly) a stunning deep mahongany colour once it reaches 24 weeks, The cockerel distinctive my a wide silver strip running sideways across the tail, The chicks when hatched appear similiar to the partridge only wih a wide verticial brown line running along the back.
The second colour which has been around a little longer is the CUCKOO, a mottled (some say stripped) colouring to the feathers, generally deep grey though more recently also in blue. If breed correctly these are easier to sex than the silkies, the cockerels remaining lighter in colour than the hens. As chicks all cuckoo hatch black with the cuckoo lines appearing across the wing feathers around 4 weeks of age
SHOWING SILKIES
SCALE OF POINTS:
Type - 20
Head - 30
Legs - 10
Colour - 10
Plumage - 30
SERIOUS DEFECTS:
Hard feathers. Green beak or tip to the beak. Horns protruding from the comb, Ruddy comb wattles or face. Eye other than black. Incorrect colour in plumage or skin. Plumage is not silky. Want of crest ‘Polish’ or split crest - the crest should not hang over the eyes. Green soles to the feet. Any other deformities as listed in the Poultry Club Book of Standards that include crooked or turned toes and uneven wattles.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Single comb. Toes other than five in number. Green legs. Featherless legs or feet and vulture like hocks
The weights are different for silkies
Here there heavier and there is
Afew different things.
Hope this helps