Among the huge variety of representatives of the chicken family, there are some very exotic individuals. These are Chinese silk chickens. There are many different legends and facts associated with them and their origin. And their appearance itself is far from ordinary.
Origin characteristics of the Chinese Silkie breed of chickens
This is a very ancient breed, the first representatives of which were bred in China. The famous traveler Marco Polo already in the 13th century in his notes about China described these amazing birds in sufficient detail.
Initially, these birds were bred in China as ornamental birds, as well as for medical purposes. Chinese Silkie chickens entered Russia at the end of the 18th century through Siberia and Astrakhan, thanks to connections with Persia. And at the end of the 19th century, this standard of bird was officially recognized in America.
After the first representatives of Chinese silky chickens appeared in Europe, legends and myths began to be composed about them, most of which have no basis.
Description of the breed
Even if you have never seen a Chinese silkie chicken in person or a photo, you will never confuse it with any other breed. There are such unique features that make these chickens absolutely special creatures.
- In China, these birds are called “chickens with crow bones.” They have black bones, brownish-black skin, and grayish-black muscle mass. This is due to the penetration of the natural pigment eumelanin into the bone and muscle tissue.
- Chickens of this breed have five separated toes.
- The plumage of these birds is soft and silky, more reminiscent of the wool or hair of fur animals. This feature is because the feather shaft is very fragile.
After the first chickens of this breed appeared in Europe, there was a long-standing belief that they were the result of crossing chickens and rabbits. Of course, this myth is beautiful, but it has no basis whatsoever.
Most often, modern poultry farmers breed the Chinese Silkie breed of chickens for decorative purposes, since it has an amazing appearance.
These birds have a strong, dense body, which is abundantly covered with fine feathers and down. The plumage also goes to the legs and metatarsus. Roosters have an elegant small head with a short bluish beak and a pink warty comb. The crest on the head is thrown back. The eyes are black-brown, quite deep-set, and the earlobes are bluish and smoothly rounded. The earrings are red-blue, in some subspecies – underdeveloped. Their neck is short and stocky, which gives the bird a proud look. The short and wide back rises very steeply upward. The tail is short, fluffy, almost invisible under the long plumage on the back. The general impression that this bird creates is a rounded fluffy cube.
The hens of this breed have a smaller constitution than the cockerels, but look just as fluffy and proud as they do. The body of the hens is slightly tilted forward, and the head is proportionally smaller than that of the cockerels.
Unacceptable breed characteristics include coarse feathers, sparse plumage, underdeveloped or missing fifth toe, long tail, different skin color, comb, or earlobes.
There are several subspecies of decorative Chinese chickens, depending on the color of the plumage: white, black, blue, wild, red, yellow, and others. The name of the subspecies indicates the main color that must be present in the chicken’s coloring. Birds that have other colors, shades, or spots in the coloring are rejected from the pure breed. However, amateur poultry farmers must remember that the main breed characteristic of these chickens is not the color of the plumage, but its silkiness.
Characteristics of Silkie Chickens
Silkie chickens are quite small. Cockerels reach 1.5 kg of live weight, and hens – 0.8-1.1 kg. The Chinese Silkie chicken is capable of laying about 100 eggs per year, each of which weighs an average of 35 g.
The hens of this breed have a very strong brooding instinct. They are very attentive mothers and cope with this role perfectly not only in relation to their own chicks but also to foundlings. These hens have long been used to nurse quail and pheasant chicks.
Representatives of this breed are very affectionate and friendly. Perhaps, it is difficult to find another bird that you would like to caress and stroke as much as a silk hen. But the most surprising thing is that these birds like this kind of treatment, and they willingly go into the hands of the owner.
The meat of Chinese silk chickens is highly valued for its taste, as well as for its unusually large content of useful and rare amino acids and vitamins. In China and the countries of Southeast Asia, this product is considered a delicacy. The pharmacology of these countries is engaged in the development of drugs from the meat of chickens of this breed.
They also found a use for the extraordinary fluff of these hens. They shear them. Two shearings yield approximately 150 grams of fluff, which is used for the same purposes as animal fluff. Such shearing can be done once a month.
Advantages:
- beautiful decorative appearance;
- frost resistance, easy maintenance;
- Meat and eggs are very healthy.
Flaws:
- low productivity;
- high cost of acquisition (a hatching egg costs 4-7 USD, and an adult bird costs about 50 USD)
Maintenance and care
Keeping Chinese silk hens at home is not particularly difficult. They are fed the same feed mixtures as regular hens and are kept in the same rooms. These hens cannot fly at all, so they do not need a perch. The hygienic and sanitary requirements for keeping this bird are no different from the standard ones for all hens. However, if you want to get eggs from silk hens in winter, provide them with warmth and the necessary daylight hours. If you do not set such a task for your pets, then Chinese hens tolerate winter very well even in an unheated room.
Representatives of this breed feel good without walking. But if you are going to let them out for walks, take care to protect your birds from predators. The walking yard should be well-fenced, preferably with a chain-link fence on top.
Breeding
If you have decided that Chinese silk hens should live on your poultry farm, then breeding representatives of this breed will not be difficult, as it is carried out in the usual ways. You can buy an egg and hatch chicks using an incubator or a hen, or buy adult individuals right away. The advantages and disadvantages of both methods are obvious, so each poultry farmer determines for himself the best option for purchasing birds.
Breeding Chinese silk chickens using an incubator has several features that should be prepared for in advance. The chicks of this breed are half the size of ordinary ones, which makes them especially vulnerable to temperature changes in the first days of life. At first, the chicks should be kept at 30° C. After a week, you can begin to lower the temperature by no more than 3° per week. At the age of one month, the chicks already feel comfortable at 18°.
Feeding of small chicks also needs to be done according to a schedule. Up to a month, they are fed every two hours, and then the intervals between feedings are increased to three hours.
This whole process is made easier by having a silkie broody hen. They take good care of the chicks, who get enough warmth under the hen.
Silky chickens are becoming increasingly popular among modern poultry farmers. It is also certain that they will soon receive a ticket for industrial breeding since the value of the products of this breed far outweighs the efforts and costs of keeping these birds.
