Silkie

The Silkie is a small ornamental chook, first developed in China, best known for plumage that feels more like fur than feather. Each feather lacks the barbicels that normally zip the barbs together, so the strands stay loose and silky rather than lying flat. That loose structure is what gives the bird its soft look and its name.

Most Silkies kept in New Zealand are bantam sized, although larger standard birds turn up in parts of Asia. The breed carries a handful of unusual traits alongside the coat: black skin and bones, turquoise earlobes, and five toes on each foot instead of the usual four. Together these features make the Silkie easy to pick out from any other chook in the run.

Keepers mostly go for Silkies as ornamental or companion birds, and for their rock-solid broodiness. A Silkie hen will sit on eggs without much encouragement, and plenty of keepers let her hatch and raise eggs from ducks or other game birds as well as her own. They fly poorly and stay near ground level, so containing them on a home section is straightforward compared with flightier breeds.

Who it suits

The Silkie suits keepers after a docile, low-flying chook that puts up with handling and doesn't mind human contact. That easy-going nature is a big reason it turns up so often in family backyards and is a common pick for anyone starting out with poultry. Keepers who need a dependable broody hen to hatch eggs also rate the breed highly. Egg numbers are modest and the eggs are small, so it is not the bird to choose if meat or a steady egg supply is the goal.

The Silkie's history runs back to ancient China, where birds with fur-like feathers were kept for centuries before anyone wrote them down. It ranks among the oldest recognised chicken types, and the earliest accounts place its likely home in the south and east of the country.

Marco Polo is usually credited with the first European record of a furry hen, noted during his travels through Asia in the late thirteenth century. He described a bird covered in hair rather than feathers, an account most historians link to the Silkie or a close relative.

From there the breed moved west over the following centuries, carried along sea trade routes and overland caravans. Once it reached Europe, the odd plumage gave rise to tall tales from some sellers, who claimed the birds were a cross between a chicken and a rabbit. That story has no basis in fact, but it says something about how unfamiliar the coat looked to European eyes at the time.

The American Poultry Association recognised the Silkie in 1874, giving the breed its first formal standard. These days the Silkie is bred and exhibited worldwide, including on the New Zealand show circuit, and remains a popular choice both as an exhibition bird and a backyard companion.

The Silkie has a rounded, compact frame covered in plumage that reads as fur or down rather than feather. Because the barbs lack the hooks that would normally lock them together, the coat stays loose and puffed out over the whole bird. A rounded crest sits on top of the head, and many birds also grow a small beard and muffs around the face.

The legs are short and feathered down to the toes, and each foot carries five toes rather than the standard four. Under the white or coloured plumage, the skin, bones, and flesh are dark grey to black, caused by extra pigment in the tissue. Earlobes are a distinctive turquoise blue, and the comb is dark and broad rather than the typical red single comb seen on most breeds.

Coat and colours

White is the most familiar shade, but the breed also comes in black, blue, buff, partridge, grey, and splash. Keeping the plumage dry and clean matters more than with an ordinary chook, since the loose feathers do not shed water the way normal ones do. On some birds the crest grows long enough to block vision, so a trim around the eyes helps the bird see where it is going.

Few chicken breeds are as docile as the Silkie. Birds stay calm, friendly, and slow to spook, and most will happily be picked up and carried around. That steady temperament is the main reason the breed gets recommended to households with children and to keepers who want a chook that tolerates close handling.

Around people, Silkies are trusting and will often trail their keeper about the section. Around other chickens, they tend to sit near the bottom of the pecking order, since they are gentle by nature and won't flap up to defend a spot. For that reason they do best in a calm, mixed flock rather than penned with large or pushy breeds that might bully them.

Hens go broody hard and will sit on a clutch for long stretches, sometimes needing to be lifted off the nest to eat and drink. That devotion makes them first-rate natural mothers, though it cuts into how many eggs they lay across the year. Cocks are generally mild mannered, though as with any breed, individuals vary.

Silkies are not a difficult bird to keep, but that loose plumage asks for more attention than a standard chook needs. The feathers do not shed water, so birds get soaked and chilled fast in the rain and should always have a dry spot to shelter in.

Grooming

• Check the crest and trim feathers around the eyes if vision is blocked
• Keep the vent area clean, as droppings cake easily in the fluffy feathers
• Check feathered feet for mud balls and mites
• Bathe only when needed, and dry the bird right through before it goes back outside
• Watch for external parasites, which hide easily in the dense plumage

Exercise

• Give the flock a secure run for daily foraging and scratching
• Keep perches low, since Silkies can't fly and don't take to high roosts
• Allow supervised free-ranging where predators can be kept out
• Provide a dust-bathing spot to support feather and skin condition

Environment

A dry, draft-free coop with low perches or floor bedding suits the breed well. Since Silkies can't fly, fencing doesn't need much height, but it has to be predator-proof, as the birds are easy targets and have no way to escape upward. Wet, muddy ground is the main risk in a New Zealand backyard, so good drainage and a covered run go a long way toward keeping the plumage in good nick.

Silkies eat much the same diet as any other chook, built around a complete commercial feed. Chicks need a starter crumble, growers move onto a grower feed, and laying hens need a layer ration with extra calcium for shell strength. Insoluble grit should always be on hand so the gizzard can grind feed properly, and fresh water needs to be available at all times. Since the facial feathers can get damp at the feeder and drinker, a shallow or nipple-style waterer helps keep the crest dry.

Treats and supplements

Treats should stay a small part of the diet, no more than about a tenth of what the bird eats. Leafy greens, mealworms, and small amounts of fruit or vegetable all work well as extras. Crushed oyster shell offered on the side helps laying hens keep their shell quality up. Introduce any new food gradually, since a sudden change can upset the gut.

Silkies are a fairly hardy bird, typically living 7 to 9 years when well housed and fed. A few health risks come straight from their unusual build. The crest sits over the skull and can hide an eye injury, and in some lines there is a small gap in the skull under the crest that leaves the brain a bit more exposed to knocks. The dense, fur-like plumage and feathered feet also give parasites plenty of places to hide.

Preventive care

• Vaccinate chicks against Marek's disease where it's available
• Check skin, feet, and vent for parasites on a regular schedule
• Keep the housing dry to head off chilling and respiratory illness
• Trim crest feathers so the bird can see clearly and avoid running into things
• Provide clean water, grit, and a balanced feed all year round

Silkies are kept as backyard poultry, and their housing needs to work around two facts: they can't fly, and their feathers don't keep out water. A dry, draft-free coop with decent ventilation keeps the chill off, while a covered or well-drained run keeps the plumage clean. Perches should sit low or be swapped for deep floor bedding, since these birds struggle to reach high roosts and can hurt themselves jumping down.

Setup checklist

• Dry, ventilated coop with low perches or deep bedding
• Covered section of run to keep rain off the birds
• Secure fencing and a closing pop-hole to keep predators out
• Nest boxes at or near floor level for broody hens
• A dry, loose dust-bathing patch
• Easy-clean feeders and waterers that keep the crest dry

Silkie eggs are small and tinted cream to light brown, and they hatch on the same 21-day timeline as any other chicken egg. The breed has a strong reputation for natural incubation: Silkie hens go broody without much prompting and sit reliably, so plenty of keepers let them hatch their own eggs plus eggs from other birds. An incubator works just as well, run on standard chicken settings.

Hatching steps

1. Collect clean eggs and store them pointed end down for no more than about a week
2. Set the eggs and let the incubator settle at a stable temperature and humidity
3. Turn the eggs several times a day through day 18
4. Candle around day 7 to 10 to check on development
5. Stop turning at day 18 and lift humidity for lockdown
6. Leave hatched chicks in the incubator until dry, then shift them to a warm brooder