SILKIES

Cloud, my former Splash rooster

I had enjoyed keeping chickens for about a year and a half, when I was bitten by the Silkie bug. When I first got into poultry, I swore up & down that Silkies were not "real" chickens. How could they be? They didn't have "real" feathers! However, the more I heard my poultry friends rave about them, the more my curiosity was aroused. In October of 1999, I acquired my first Silkies. It's been a love affair ever since!

It is thought that Silkies were discovered by Marco Polo in China back in the 13th century. It is probable that Silkies have been around for some time before that. News of this fluffy little wonder was brought back to Europe by Polo. Back then the breed was quite a bit different in appearance than the Silkies of today. They didn't have the many wonderful colors now accepted by the Breed Standard, they only had Whites. Also, they probably didn't have the leg and foot feathering and no crest. Once Silkies were imported to Europe, some time later, the breed underwent several changes and eventually became the wonderful bird we know today.

Silkies in the USA are a bantam breed that are known mainly for their silky feathering. Their feathers have a hair-like quality, similar to a Persian cat, because they lack the tiny barbicels (hook-like features) that hold a feather together. They sport a fluffy crest atop their heads, 5 toes on each foot, and turquoise ear lobes. Silkies are also known for their unique black skin, muscling, and bones. This breed is usually very calm and laid back. It's popular with beginners because of this, and Silkies seem to enjoy the attention from their human companions, noticeably more so than most other breeds of chickens.

For more information on this unique breed, please visit the official club website, The American Silkie Bantam Club. Their link is found below.

I regret to say that I won't be able to sell any more Silkies for the time being, due to some differences of opinion among the local possum population and myself. There was also a scrap involving a fox. Sadly, I lost the few Silkies I had left. I would love to rebuild my flock of Silkies, but not sure just when that will be possible. Current living arrangements are not conducive to keeping and raising chickens, unfortunately. I hope to resume raising Silkies in the near future, and whenever that becomes possible, I will update this page. Please contact the Silkie club or one of the other Silkie links below if you're in need of some Silkies, as they will help if they are able. Thanks!



The Splashes & Blues

This is Misty, the older, Campbell-bred Splash hen, a sweet, pretty gal


Here are a couple pics of Kahiki (my Ladd-bred hen) with her brood of chicks. These hatched the beginning of June'01 and all were Blues. I believe these babies were actually out of one of my Black hens, but Kahiki was more dominant and took over full motherhood responsibilities.

Poor Kahiki passed away unexpectedly 8/28/01, of unknown causes. She had gone broody again and was sitting on 5 Silkie eggs. Kahiki had been setting for about a week and a half. You'll be missed, Kahiki.

Here's a pic of the Splash roo, Tiki, who was the sire of the above chicks.


This is my June '01 hatch Blue pullet by Tiki out of Puka, a Black show hen:


Here are two of my male cockerels from the June '01 hatch, full brothers to the pullet above:


Due to a prior change in my living arrangements, I had to thin out some of the flock, so Tiki went to live with my dear friend Liz on May 9,2002. For some odd reason, though, through emails with Liz, Tiki never sired any chicks with Liz's hens. Pretty unfortunate, that, since Tik was a great bird and sired some wonderful Blues for me.

A sad update on Tiki... Liz emailed to tell me that poor Tiki passed away on Nov. 13, 2004 of unknown causes. He had been just fine the day before, no injuries or anything could be found on him. You will be missed, Tiki.



The Blacks

This is one of the Black pullets, Flopsy, my older son's favorite Silkie. Not the best of pics, unfortunately.




The Grays

This was my Gray pair, Mr Gray on the left, Stormy on the right. Mr Gray was my roo from Kyle Van Horn and you can just see Stormy behind the roo. I was really happy with this male. Stormy, although a bit dark according to the Standard, was pretty nice otherwise. Unfortunately, I never got better pics of either of them.


Mr & Mrs Gray hatched their first (and only) chick! It was hatched on 8/13/01, and was a beautiful light gray color.

I sadly lost the whole Gray family to a predator or something, when the chick was only 3 wks old. One day I went to feed them and their pen was empty. No feathers, no holes dug under fence, no signs of a struggle, nothing. It was a sad day.



Past Hatches

The following 5 pics are from Julie Jesiolowski. She received 4 hatching eggs from me in the Spring of 2002 and her 2 broody hens hatched out these 4 adorable fluffballs, all pullets. Two of these chicks, the Black and a Blue, later went to live with another dear friend of mine, "Bones," out in California.

A little Black chick	A little Blue chick
Another little Blue chick	A nearly white Splash chick (it'll get it's spots later)

And the whole family together


These are 6 of 8 Blue Silkie chicks that I hatched the summer of 2000, sold to Kati Balyint in Ohio.


A special Thank You to all those who have bought Silkies from me.