A very old breed, there descriptions of Silkies going back several hundred years. Marco Polo described similar birds in the C13th and they were described as having 'fur like cats' in 1645. It is thought that they originated in Asia, possibly China or even Japan. The first birds to arrive in the UK came from India in 1850 when their unusual looks won love and admiration which has continued to this day.

They are unique. Their fluffy appearance is due to their feathers not having the small barbs that keep other feathers together and consequently they are soft and silky to handle. Silkies are no fliers and can be kept within a low fence. They are renowned for their broodiness and their calm, friendly and trusting nature. Their skin is dark purple, sometimes appearing black, this pigmentation being carried into the meat & bones and the Chinese regard them as a delicacy with medicinal properties.

Silkies are a large breed but there is a lot of variety in size & weight. The body is broad and round with a short back and saddle rising to the tail whick is plentiful, fluffy and raggy looking in the cock. The heads are quite different in the male & female. The cock has a pronounced purple comb and a crest of longer feathers swept back towards the neck hackles. The hen has a short, neat pom-pom like a powder puff. On both sexes, the wattles & face are purple with black eyes and bright blue ear lobes. Legs are short, grey blue, lightly feathered with a fifth toe.

The hens do make wonderful broodies and are used widely as natural incubators by breeders of pheasants, partridges and ducks as well as chickens. Although they might lay up to about 150 pale tinted eggs a year, which tend to be a bit smaller than average, this number can be much lower if they sit a lot. Chicks are difficult to sex with any accuracy before about 15 weeks because of their peculiar feathers.

We have four of the five colours: black, blue, gold and white. There is also a partridge variety.

There is not much to say about these colours except that the colours are uniform all over the bird. The black cocks have a green sheen, the gold may have some darker feathers in the tail of both cocks & hens. The white is snow white.

Bantam forms do exist, though we do not have any. There is wide variation in size so some 'large' birds appear small.