Bantam chickens.. a friendly discussion about all pure and mixed breeds.

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Interesting conversation about Silkies..
I'm waiting for a call back from a Silkie breeder for confirmation about this topic of standard and Bantam Silkies. What I was originally told and understood is that Silkie should not be a standard size and that the bigger ones are a result of poor breeding. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing back though with the results..

Yes, usually large fowl Silkies in North America are the result of poor selection practices in breeding stock, particularly with hatcheries. Bantams have been the standard for well over a century here in the U.S., anyway. However, some smaller breeders have worked with larger Silkies to give them the appearance of show quality Silkies (huge crest and beard, small comb, etc.) with the large size of a large fowl bird, more like the large fowls of Europe. I know there's a farm over in Cali that was working with them, not sure how many others off the top of my head.

I'm curious to see what your Silkie breeder contact has to say, too!

 

[chickens really]

Yes, usually large fowl Silkies in North America are the result of poor selection practices in breeding stock, particularly with hatcheries. Bantams have been the standard for well over a century here in the U.S., anyway. However, some smaller breeders have worked with larger Silkies to give them the appearance of show quality Silkies (huge crest and beard, small comb, etc.) with the large size of a large fowl bird, more like the large fowls of Europe. I know there's a farm over in Cali that was working with them, not sure how many others off the top of my head.

I'm curious to see what your Silkie breeder contact has to say, too!

Yes..I'm very interested in hearing back too. Not to start arguing or anything but I'm very curious..

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hmm, what's your source for this image? With the larger crest, smaller comb, and thinner build on that dude, he doesn't really look much like the other original bloodline Silkies (the NZ ones) you posted...







Interesting on the broiler Silkies! And WOW, that's a crazy comb on that guy!! I love that hen with her li'l tuft crest! I see she's 2 years old. I'm assuming they don't suffer from shortened lifespans like most Cornish X broilers do? How meaty do they feel? Did they fill in fast like CX broilers do?







Yup, and I believe that's why Rubysword hasn't been able to get bantams; she's not allowed to have roosters where she lives.

I'll find the source for the photo soon. I just got up. The combs are actually pretty large. Larger then the standard of perfection would like. Comb sizes vary from Silkie to silkie, but don't get any smaller then that unless the larger comb genes are bred out.
Broiler silkies fill out nicely for meat, not as meaty as a Cornish X but more meat then the average silkie, or chicken. They're like the New Hampshire chicken, in meatiness terms.

 

[MysteryChicken]

This is Poof, standing next too her father. She's the biggest Silkie pullet we have. Her mother was the broiler silkie hen in the previous picture.

Poof by herself in the coop.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Good morning!

Interesting on the Silkie broilers. I wondered about that, as it seems like my Silkies took a while to fill in as they grew, but they're not broilers, of course. I know there's a market for it because I've seen images of carcasses and such. Not sure I'd ever be able to stomach it, myself, just because of how odd it looks. I have a Silkie mix cockerel going to process next week, so I may have to get over that soon.

Not sure I'd even be able to send them to be processed if they were anywhere near as cute as your Silkie broiler hen is! Goodness, I can't get over how adorable she is!

I'm really surprised at how big Poof's crest is, looking at her parents! Looks like you have a good base stock for breeding some fairly nice LF Silkies if that's what you wanted to do!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Good morning!

Interesting on the Silkie broilers. I wondered about that, as it seems like my Silkies took a while to fill in as they grew, but they're not broilers, of course. I know there's a market for it because I've seen images of carcasses and such. Not sure I'd ever be able to stomach it, myself, just because of how odd it looks. I have a Silkie mix cockerel going to process next week, so I may have to get over that soon.

Not sure I'd even be able to send them to be processed if they were anywhere near as cute as your Silkie broiler hen is! Goodness, I can't get over how adorable she is!

I'm really surprised at how big Poof's crest is, looking at her parents! Looks like you have a good base stock for breeding some fairly nice LF Silkies if that's what you wanted to do!

Thank you. I like the large Silkies. My silkie cockerel named Scaredy is larger then the other two cockerels I posted. The silkies I've got from a SQ silkie breeder are various sizes. My black Silkie, & Blue Partridge Silkie are medium-sized, my Partridge silkie is bantam sized.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Scaredy is this boy here.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Link to the photo.
It's a study, & history from an institute in Oregon.
www.itmonline.org/arts

 

[chickens really]

Well I found out we all are right in a sense about the Silkie.
Two varieties of Silkies. Standard and Bantam. Most standard come from hatchery stock without beards. Bantam are generally bearded with excessive soft fluffy feathers and small with compact bodies. Ornamental Silkie are small. Meat Silkies are larger but should still have many of the traits of the Bantams.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Well I found out we all are right in a sense about the Silkie.
Two varieties of Silkies. Standard and Bantam. Most standard come from hatchery stock without beards. Bantam are generally bearded with excessive soft fluffy feathers and small with compact bodies. Ornamental Silkie are small. Meat Silkies are larger but should still have many of the traits of the Bantams.