The Silkie breed of Chicken

Oct. 7, 2010 - PRLog -- The silkie chicken has been around for hundreds of years although it is difficult to establish exactly how they originated but it is believed that they originated from India, China or Japan.  They are an unusual but pretty breed of bird. They surfaced in Europe about 150-200 years ago and were described as a cross between a chicken and a Rabbit.  They have a broad stout body but are small chickens with lots of soft feathers.  They have a small head with upright crests and their tails of rather short.  Their legs are purplish blue in colour and they have a fifth toe.
Silkies are not known to be excellent layers but are known to be broody birds and are one of the most successful breeds in natural hatching.  They are rather lively in nature but equally calm and friendly, they are not able to fly and so are ideal to be kept in a pen with low fencing, alternatively they will also do very little damage to the garden should you want your chickens to roam free.  Because silkies make good mothers they are often used to sit on other eggs. Silkies will begin to lay their own eggs in December and will almost certainly become broody even if the eggs are removed.  Silkies will stop laying altogether in the summer months which is quite a contrast to other chicken breeds.
Silkies are robust strong chickens but they are not waterproof and will require shelter when the weather is wet. They can also be susceptible to scaly legs which you can treat easily; it is always a good idea to keep a close eye on them as they will become miserable should they develop scaly legs.
The Silkie is quite a friendly chicken which interacts well with humans and this is why they are often kept as pets, especially for children and they will readily recognise individuals from their behaviour. The Silkie comes in the white, gold, partridge, blue, triple laced partridge, grey, cuckoo, red, black, buff  and triple laced partridge varieties.
Silkies are not particularly more expensive than the other breeds of chickens and if you are intending on breeding, you will need a cockerel, however they are not normally a bird  that is kept for their egg laying capabilities and instead are more popular as pets.

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