Silkies: The Furry Chickens

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

Silkies' Crests

Silkies have a fun little tuff of feathers on the top of their heads. This small clump of feathers will eventually grow out and just barely start curling around their faces. The little mound of feathers on top of the Silkies' heads hide a secret though. Below the feathers, Silkies have something called a vaulted skull. Good show chickens and some pet quality Silkies have skulls that are actually arched up at the top of their heads. This leaves a vulnerable spot on top of their heads though. A good, strong peck on the top of a Silkie's head by another chicken can actually cause neurological damage or even kill them.

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Silkie Eyesight

Silkies often have difficult seeing. Their puffy feathery crest and other facial feathers will occasionally completely obscure their eyes. Silkie breeders handle this one of two ways. They trim or pluck the feathers away from the Silkie's faces if the Silkie do not need to be in top shape for a show. Or the other thing they may do is pin the crest back using a hair tie. Done gently, this does not harm the feathers but still allows the chickens to see.

Picture by AlishaV

Silkies Have Feathered Feet

Silkies even have feathers growing from their feet. Though this adds to the overall cuteness of the Silkies' being covered in fur, it can be a problem if they regularly go in muddy areas or have a non-wire cage bottom. They will clean these feathers as they do all their feathers, but show birds need to have their foot feathers kept clean and out of the muck. It's best to keep Silkies in a somewhat clean area and for them to be given a perch to sleep on at night so their feathers stay a bit cleaner even if they aren't going to be shown.

Picture by AlishaV

Silkies Have Five Toes

Unlike most chickens which have four, Silkies have five toes on each foot. This Silkie has proper toes, but the genes for toes is very confused and some Silkies will be born with less toes, or, as is often the case, fused or partial toes. For a pet, this doesn't mean much, but Silkie breeders have to work hard to make sure their Silkies have the right number of toes to prevent disqualifications if they will be going to chicken shows. Most hatchery breed Silkies are lower-quality and the majority have improper toes.

Picture via Creative Commons from Danny Doxtator

Silkies Are Very Broody

Silkie hens are often wonderful mothers, loving to sit on eggs, even ones that aren't fertile or that are fake (this is called broodiness or being broody). This can be a problem if you learn to expect a lot of eggs from your Silkie since she will stop laying when she is being broody. There are various ways to break this broodiness, one being to place the hen in a wire-bottomed cage away from the flock for several days, but often it is better to just let her be broody and give her some eggs to hatch. The eggs can be from her, other chickens, or even other poultry. Those fluffy bottoms make great egg-sitters and in a little less than a month, you'll have cute little chicks with a beaming mama leading them around and showing them the world.

Picture by AlishaV

Though occasionally it can be a bit difficult telling them apart ;-) bunnies and Silkies are great together. These little Silkies, another bantam, and their rabbit pals are enjoying the nice spring weather with a short visit outside to play in the sunshine. If keeping Silkies and bunnies together, care must be taken to prevent the bunnies from having to hop through the chicken poo, a wire base on the cage usually helps, and care also needs to be taken to ensure that everyone will get along. Pregnant bunnies or brooding hens can be aggressive, and both will become territorial when raising young.

Picture by AlishaV

Silkies In the Sunshine

Silkies enjoy a bit of time in the sunshine. Silkies like all chickens need some time outdoors where they can soak up the sun and eat bugs and grass. Though their little bodies are fairly resistant to the cold, Silkies are sensitive to high temperatures, so care needs to be taken to ensure they enough cool water to drink and that they can retreat to shade if need be. Also in extreme heat, about 100 degrees or above, Silkies, like most chickens, need extra cooling. This is usually in the form of a mister and fan, though some people even provide air conditioning in the chicken house. Chickens pant to cool off, they don't sweat, so they can't always cool themselves enough.

Picture via Creative Commons from becstarr

Silkies lay eggs that are slightly tinted with brown and that are on the small side since Silkies are bantams, but the eggs taste just as good. Due to Silkies' tendency to go broody and want to hatch eggs, there may be interruptions in egg-laying, so if the only reason you want to get a Silkie is just for eggs, it may be better to get an egg-production breed such as a White Leghorn.

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

These Silkie chicks just hatched and are drying off in the incubator. Silkies take 21 days to hatch after an egg has started to be incubated, though there are reports of some taking a few extra days due to uneven incubator temperatures. The chicks hatch out of their eggs slowly, pecking at the eggshell from inside using a small attachment on their beak called an egg-tooth that falls off a few days later. It is important not to help them at this point since doing so can cause them to bleed to death. Hatching is a very long process, often taking an entire day for the little one to peck a crack and then break out of the shell.

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

When the chicks are finally out of their shells they are then left in the incubator until dry and fluffy to avoid them getting chilled as they are moved to a warm box where they have chick feed, water, and a heat lamp to keep them warm.

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

The Silkie chicks live in the new box for about 6 weeks until they have lots of feathers and can handle cooler temperatures.

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

The chicks are usually then moved to their new home in the coop, though depending on the outside temperature this may be delayed until spring. In the coop, the Silkie chicks grow and grow, reaching adult size at about 3-4 months. Along the way they get tons of new feathers and will shed their old ones as well as leave tons of bird dander (dust from the sheaths around the new feathers) all over.

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

You can't usually tell whether Silkies are male or female until they start laying eggs or crowing at about 6-7 months. And then the entire egg-to chicken cycle may start over again. Or not ;-)

Picture via Creative Commons from raindog

Picture via Creative Commons from sandyseek

Silkie Living Quarters

Silkies need about 10 square feet each in their run area and about 4 square feet inside their coop. More space leads to less problems, as cramped birds will pick on each other.

Rabbit hutches make adequate enclosures for a couple of birds, though it is a good idea to build an attached run onto them as well as making sure the bottom of the cage is not completely wire as that can irritate the birds' feet after a while. I even added a perch and a door to a dog house and placed that inside a chain link dog kennel for a quick and easy chicken coop. Just remember to consider predators whatever you do. There are far more predators around your house than you think.

Another idea that works well is to just have the Silkies as house pets. Silkies are the perfect chicken to have as a house pet and it is much easier to really bond with them when you live together. They are truly surprising sometimes. For more information about having chickens as house pets check out: House Chickens

Otherwise, if you already have chickens or are planning to get a flock, Silkies can simply live in the coop with everyone else. They do just fine.

Picture from Me, AlishaV

Silkies and Other Animals

Silkies, due to the fluffiness of their crest can have a difficult time in the world. With a limit range of vision, it's very easy for them to roam too close to predators and be surprised by an attack. Since the most common predator that attacks chickens is our own pets, care needs to be taken to protect Silkies even more than other chickens.

Silkies' mellow personalities and odd looks work in their favor though. Since they act so unafraid of other animals, they may not get attacked. Their non-prey like behavior doesn't make many other animals view them as prey, thus not being sure enough to attack. Silkies can also get along well with other animals used to chickens, often becoming fast friends.

Picture by AlishaV

Always be cautious when your Silkie might be exposed to other animals. In moments, this seemingly friendly puppy could be over that fence and "playing" with this Silkie. Don't loose a bird or get mad at your beloved dog, always keep everyone safe and never allow them together unsupervised. Even nice dogs want to play with chickens, and one playful bite can kill that bird in an instant. Remember, it's your job to protect them.

Picture by AlishaV

Silkies with Other Chicken Breeds

There's a lot of debate over whether to have Silkies with other chickens. Silkies, with their mild personalities, passive attitudes, and impeded vision, are extremely vulnerable to bullying from the other chickens. That being said, I really think whether or not to have Silkies with other chicken breeds depends on a lot of variables. Things like how aggressive the other breeds are, the birds' individual personalities, and how much room the birds will have, all influence whether or not it will be a good situation. Most breeds do fine with Silkies if given enough room to avoid each other if need be. Also, raising the other breeds with the Silkies will definitely help. The little ones in this picture have all been raised together and are the best of friends. I have never had any problems with Silkies and other breeds getting along, and have had a great many breeds with them, but if you're worried, having adult or half-grown Silkies and then introducing young chicks of the other breeds is the way to go, though you may have to protect the chicks from the Silkies for a while until they're accepted as part of the flock.

Picture via Creative Commons from avlxyz

Silkies come in several feather patterns besides the regular solid colors. There are cuckoos, partridge, and splash, as well as some other feather patterns.

Picture via Creative Commons from Snapper

Picture via Creative Commons from Joe Shlabotnik

Picture via Creative Commons from avlxyz

I'm not going to go into using Silkies as meat too much on this lens, but if you want to know more check out one of these sites:

Health Benefits of Eating Silkies

A Simple Explanation of the Health Benefits of Silkies
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/280962/what_is_a_black_chicken_the_new_superfood.html

A traditional and thorough description of the Taihe Black-Bone Chicken or Silkie
http://www.e2121.com/food_db/viewherb.php3?viewid=218

EmaxHealth Short Blurb About Silkie Meat
http://www.emaxhealth.com/74/12982.html

Science Daily article about the possible health benefits of eating Silkie meat, and perhaps the reason they have been important for centuries in Chinese medicine.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914153621.htm

The Mystical Taihe Black-Boned Chicken
http://silkiefowl.9.forumer.com/a/the-mystical-taihe-blackboned-chicken_post7.html

Another Chinese Medicine Page on Taihe or Silkie Chickens
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/wuchi.htm

Silkie Recipes

Recipe for Braised Silkie Chicken with Shallot and Onion
http://www.helium.com/items/944193-recipes-braised-silkie-chicken-with-shallot-and-onion

Recipe for Sesame-Ginger-Soy-Braised Silkie
http://www.eatingclubvancouver.com/2008/10/mamas-silkie-chicken-dyong-kwe.html

Recipe for Black Chicken Soup
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/08/28/features/story1.html

Recipe for a Chinese Medicine Meal
http://dailybreadjournal.blogspot.com/2009/06/black-chicken-chinese-medicine-meal.html

Getting Silkies to Eat

Buy Silkie meat from the Exotic Meat Market
http://1-800-exoticmeats.com/silkiechicken.html

Bella Bella Gourmet Foods page selling Silkie meat
http://www.shop.bellabellagourmet.com/product.sc?productId=12

Squab Producers of California
http://www.squab.com/product/poultry.htm