Goodbye, dream of Silkies... not kosher, sorry. :-(

[RoosterCogburn7]

I understand. I use Leviticus 11 to determine what is clean and unclean to eat. However, I don't eat a lot of meat these days.

 

[Bubamum]

I have wanted Silkies for ages, but my husband had a nagging doubt about their kosher status (we are Orthodox Jews). I sort of laughed it off; a chicken is a chicken, I said. But he still wanted to make sure, so I contacted Rabbi Chaim Loike from the Orthodox Union, and also other experts, and got a very unpleasant surprise as an answer: the kashrut status of the Silkie is dubious, both because of the extra toe and the exotic appearance which means there is no tradition of eating the bird or its eggs. So, bottom line: should not be eaten.

I realize Orthodox Jews are a probably very small minority here, so the rest of you guys will continue keeping Silkies and eating their eggs, but for the Orthodox Jewish Silkie lovers, those are bad news. I suppose you can say we might keep them as pets, not for their eggs, but then we might get confused between eggs of our other chickens, and we might also have accidental extra-toed progeny (as the extra toe gene is dominant) we wouldn't know where to place.

So, just wanted to post here just in case some Orthodox Jew is thinking about getting Silkies and reads this. It would be very disappointing to invest time and money, and to bond with these charming birds, only to find out later you have to get rid of your beloved Silkies.

Sigh. I suppose I should be content with Cochins.

Hi .
I too am a Silkie lover, and discovered that a chicken is not a chicken, is not a chicken. Like you, I initially made the assumption that all chickens are kosher, but had a niggling feeling that I had heard something about Silkies not being kosher. I have move on from there, and we, our kids and our grandchildren all enjoy our chooks (and their eggs). I am actually looking into the Polish chicken breed and am hoping they will be considered kosher. I have my doubts because of their exotic appearance but still hoping till I hear from the Rabbi at the OU.
Enjoy your chooks.
Stay safe and well.
Gail
(from Melbourne, Australia)

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I understand it is that pesky extra toe issue with them.

 

[Naytz]

hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!.............ROFLMAO..... yes!!!... harav ovadia.... with his turban...

actually, in the shtetle the chickens free ranged? so im not sure , but also here in israel everyone has baladai chickens that free range and they are people who keep kosher... everywhere. i would think that the problem with wild vx domestic is that there is no way to check who the eggs came from and how many toes the wild goose or duck has? or its just a 'minhag' (practice) but not a law. like not eating giraffe although techinically speaking a giraffe is kosher (that is always the example used for all thise type of questions...)...

do you have a 'piska' from some where with the 'eisor' (forbidden)///?

but since u are here, tell me, how does one make a chicken kosher for pesach. here, the milk from cows kosher for pesach are fed from prior to pesach with feed that is kosher for pesach. the cows hate it (its drier for some reason). also, i have to buy feed ahead of time cause all the feed stores close, and people who own birds indoors feed millet only for the week, but what is done with layer feed mash? (the pellets are kosher for pesach but the layer feed mash has corn, and wheat and whatever else in it.).
i want to give a chicken for slaughter to a friend , and they will take it to be slaughtered, i want to give it to them as a pesach present since they aer in bad financial shape (as am i) and they could use a chicken on the table for the holiday. but they want to know if it will be kosher as usually they buy kosher for pesach.../// any ideas?

The OU in united states allows wild ducks (mallard) but not with all black beak, others forbid it. It is discussed in many poskim for example see Kaf Hachaim (Yoreh Deah 82:23) and Tzemach Tzedek responsa # 29 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/110548/is-there-a-list-of-kosher-duck-species

 

[featherhead007]

I have wanted Silkies for ages, but my husband had a nagging doubt about their kosher status (we are Orthodox Jews). I sort of laughed it off; a chicken is a chicken, I said. But he still wanted to make sure, so I contacted Rabbi Chaim Loike from the Orthodox Union, and also other experts, and got a very unpleasant surprise as an answer: the kashrut status of the Silkie is dubious, both because of the extra toe and the exotic appearance which means there is no tradition of eating the bird or its eggs. So, bottom line: should not be eaten.

I realize Orthodox Jews are a probably very small minority here, so the rest of you guys will continue keeping Silkies and eating their eggs, but for the Orthodox Jewish Silkie lovers, those are bad news. I suppose you can say we might keep them as pets, not for their eggs, but then we might get confused between eggs of our other chickens, and we might also have accidental extra-toed progeny (as the extra toe gene is dominant) we wouldn't know where to place.

So, just wanted to post here just in case some Orthodox Jew is thinking about getting Silkies and reads this. It would be very disappointing to invest time and money, and to bond with these charming birds, only to find out later you have to get rid of your beloved Silkies.

Sigh. I suppose I should be content with Cochins.

Cochins are Kosher! Shalom

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I am new to this whole thought process, but if cochins are indeed okay to eat, what about silkied cochins? It wasn't bred in, it was a mutation that happened in the breed, so there shouldn't be anything wrong and it would maybe provide the option of those fluffy feathers while being okay to eat?

 

[Naytz]

Cochins are Kosher! Shalom View attachment 3692024

I wouldn't be so sure. If you have a family tradition or a ruling from your rabbi allowing Cochin as kosher by all means follow this, but it was a huge controversy in the 19th century. In fact, this is likely the first chicken breed to have its kosher status questioned since the time of the Talmud. Many responsa were written on the topic and even an entire book. (link https://hebrewbooks.org/65094 ). See Divrei Chaim vol. 2 (Y"D, Siman 46-48) and Darchei Teshuva 82. A large part of the question centered on whether this bird (or a similar one) was eaten in the Land of Israel. It apparently arrived via Cyprus, hence it was referred to as the "Cypritzer Hen" קיברצייר, or sometimes "Cochin-china" קוחינחינה

The OU (largest U.S. kosher certifier) does not certify Cochin chickens as far as I understand.

 

[featherhead007]

I wouldn't be so sure. If you have a family tradition or a ruling from your rabbi allowing Cochin as kosher by all means follow this, but it was a huge controversy in the 19th century. In fact, this is likely the first chicken breed to have its kosher status questioned since the time of the Talmud. Many responsa were written on the topic and even an entire book. (link https://hebrewbooks.org/65094 ). See Divrei Chaim vol. 2 (Y"D, Siman 46-48) and Darchei Teshuva 82. A large part of the question centered on whether this bird (or a similar one) was eaten in the Land of Israel. It apparently arrived via Cyprus, hence it was referred to as the "Cypritzer Hen" קיברצייר, or sometimes "Cochin-china" קוחינחינה

The OU (largest U.S. kosher certifier) does not certify Cochin chickens as far as I understand.

Bummer!

 

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

I don't see why this is an issue. If you look at silkie toes, the second back toe is clearly a case of polydactyly. My cousin was born with 6 fingers, that doesn't make him a different species. Yes, there are two toes on the back, however, if you look at the feet of parrots, the two toes on the back are separate and on opposite sides of the foot. As far as I know, silkies don't lift their foot to their beaks, but act like regular chickens pecking at their food. They are exotic looking and their meat is a different color, but they easily mate and produce viable offspring with other chickens, so they should be considered the same species. They are not nearly as different as turkeys, which are pretty much universally accepted and a new world bird.