OK.... I'm loving all the Silkies pics on here! They are adorable. But they have me wondering about my own. We were told they are silkie bantams, but mine aren't near as fluffy as the ones I am seeing. Could they be a mix? I don't really care because I wasn't planning on showing or breeding. Just kind of wondering. They are only 4 months old, but one doesn't even have a poof at all (didn't make it all the way into the picture).
Also worried we may have more than the one rooster. He is significantly bigger than the rest, so hoping he's the only one. Thoughts??
Silkies in the USA are considered bantams anywhere from 2 to 2.5-lb range. There are large fowl Silkies as can be seen on feathersite.com but they mostly are in the U.K. Also, Silkies come in both bearded and non-bearded and both are SOP accepted by the ABA. The fluffiness you are mentioning is probably the fuller bearded-type Silkies with a full crest and full bearded chin making their heads look like one big round furball. The non-bearded Silkies don't have the full roundness of the bearded Silkies and the non-bearded will have wattles. Looking at your photo you have one non-bearded Silkie with a very nice poufy crest (middle of the photo). Unfortunately not every Silkie will be show-stoppers and may never have the kind of fur seen in show quality birds but the sweet personality of these bantams is all the same! If you want to see a variety of bearded, non-bearded, bantam, and large fowl Silkies go to feathersite.com -- lots of photos of the different ways Silkies can grow out.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Silkies/BRKSilkies.html