Porcelain Silkie (Breed Information)

Last Updated on July 23, 2023

The porcelain silkie is the most popular ornamental breed in the chicken world. It is a beautiful mixture of buff and lavender colours. The wings and back are buff coloured while the base is lavender coloured.

In some parts of the world, they are known as blue-cream silkies. Known for their atypically fluffy feathers, silkies make for a delightful breed of chicken to watch and hold.

Silkies are named for their silky plumage, which is similar to silk and satin. Silkies have many unique characteristics, including:

Black skin and bones
Blue earlobes,
Five toes on each foot instead of the usual four

It is commonly seen in poultry shows and comes in a variety of colours. Besides these exceptional qualities, Silkies are also good-natured. Generally, they’re friendly and calm. In poultry farming, it is the most obedient breed.

Silkie chickens make excellent brooders and mothers. They provide good care for their chicks. In a week, they lay three to four eggs. As good brooders, they are commonly used for hatching eggs of other breeds and birds.

The Silkie chicken is one of the best ornamental breeds for gardens, as well as a good pet bird. With kids, they behave well since they can withstand rough handling. Overall, this breed can be called the little kittens of the chicken world.

Table of Contents

Porcelain Silkie Breed Overview

Origin: China.
Egg Number: 80-120 eggs annually
Egg color: Tinted or Cream
Weight: Cock: 1.8 Kg. Hen: 1.36 Kg
Personality: Docile

History

Certainly, silkie chickens are ancient breeds, probably Chinese in origin. Silkie chickens are believed to date back to the Chinese Han Dynasty, circa 206BC. Silkie chickens are known in Chinese as Wu-gu-Ji, which means black-boned.

This bird is also known as the Chinese Silk Chicken. Several signs point to a Chinese origin, but the conclusion cannot be made definitively. On his remarkable journey across Europe and the Far East, Marco Polo (around 1290-1300) mentioned it for the first time.

Despite not seeing the bird, a fellow traveller reported it to him, and he described it as “a furry chicken. Silkie chickens made their way westward either along the Silk Road or by sea.

Next, we have Aldrovandi, writing in 1598, who talks about a chicken with “black cat-like fur. During the 1800s, when the Silkie chicken was first introduced to the European public, it was said to be the offspring of chickens and rabbits.

Several greedy sellers sold Silkies to innocent people for curiosity, and they exhibited silkies as a ‘bird mammal’ in travelling sideshows.

Appearance

The feathers of these birds appear to be silky or furry. Their bodies are broad and plump, with short backs and large chests. Surprisingly these little furry chickens’ legs are wide apart with a grey colour. A Silkie’s head is shaped like a pointed pom.

Rooster combs look like walnuts and are often hidden by feathers. Ideally, a purebred silkie’s comb should be mulberry (deep red). They can have bearded or non-bearded faces, and their eyes are black like coal.

The colour of the Earlobes is unusually light blue. It may surprise you to learn that their skin is black underneath all their feathers.

The Silkie bird is completely black, from its skin to its muscles to its bones. Everything else remains the same except for the blood (it remains red).

Size and Weight

Compared to their European counterparts, US silkies are slightly smaller.

In the United States, roosters weigh 2-3 pounds, and hens weigh 1-5-2 pounds.
They are also available in bantam size, weighing 36oz and 32oz, respectively.

Color Varieties

Silkies are available in many different colours. APA recognizes eight colours:

Black
Splash
White
Gray
Buff
Partridge
Self-blue (lavender)
Blue

A lot of other colour varieties have been developed because of huge demand and are waiting for APA approval.

Personality

You’ll find silkie chickens to be one of the sweetest-natured, docile, and most charming breeds of chicken. It will entice you to cuddle it at first glance. It is an excellent pet for children since they are docile, friendly, and calm.

Without hesitation, they’ll sit in your child’s lap, enjoying every bit of attention. When it comes to handling (and hugging) silkies, they are very friendly and do not get flighty around humans unlike some types of chickens.

Do you have neighbours nearby? Does Silkie’s noise worry you? Well, you don’t need to. Silkie is a very quiet breed that only speaks when laying an egg or when danger is imminent.

The beautiful personality of these hens is attributed to their ability to be excellent mothers and to adopt others as their own. In the world of silkies, there’s no foul play!

Silkie eggs Behavior

Because Silkies make such great brooders, some breeders often opt for Mother Nature over conventional incubation equipment. It’s worth hatching some. The Silkie is not the chicken for you if you want lots of eggs.

They lay an average of two or three small eggs per week, which equals 100 to 120 eggs per year. However, they are excellent mothers and brooders.

Porcelain Silkie Chicken Care Guide

Silkies are generally low-maintenance chickens. If they have enough space and perches, they will tolerate confinement well. It is important to note that their feathers do not have barbicels. It causes some problems for Silkies.

The feathers are not made to protect the silkies from bad weather. They may get soaked to their skin in wet weather.

Therefore, they should have access to a dry, secure area away from the rain. When they get wet, make sure they are dry and warm so their body temperature can return to normal.

Health Issues

Various strains of Silkies have a higher risk of Marek’s disease. You can get vaccinations at the source but ask about this disease when buying from a breeder. Other than that, Silkies are healthy.

Although silkies are cute, docile cuties, they are also highly resilient and hardy! In cold and warm climates, their plumage provides them with a relatively high degree of insulation.

However, silkies cannot be kept in a tropical climate because their feathers are not waterproof. Since they are smaller and can’t fly, they tolerate confinement well.

However, they are excellent foragers and can make good use of large spaces if given the opportunity. It is usual for silkies to live for between 7-8 years, but they can live for much longer if they are well cared for.

Feeding

A silkie will consume about 1/4 pound of feed per day. It’s okay to use 16% layer feed. The occasional treat and fresh greens will help keep them healthy, happy, and active.

Coop Setup

It is recommended that you provide your Silkies with at least 4 square feet of space in their coop. The unusual thing about them is that they don’t like to sleep at night. To sleep, they like to pile up on the floor together.

If you want to protect them from rodents and insects at night, consider building a raised platform. Let’s move on to nesting boxes. The nesting boxes need to be accessible since Silkies cannot fly.

You can place the nests on the ground, raise them a few inches, and provide them with an access platform. As silkies cannot fly, they are easy targets for predators when they are free ranging outside the coop.

It would be a good idea to enclose and protect an outside area. In addition, you would need to keep hawks and owls away from the roof.

Conclusion

Silkies are one of the gentlest chickens on the planet. When it comes to laying eggs, other breeds are better. However, they also have several other characteristics that make them popular with poultry keepers worldwide.

The perfect family pet, they enjoy human company and like to be pampered. In addition, she makes a great broody hen and sits on anything and everything. Moreover, they make excellent mothers, so make sure you get one if you hope to hatch chicks.

Shoaib Azeem

I am a Veterinarian by profession having 3 years of experience in raising poultry flocks. So far my number of successful flocks is 9. I am sharing all my experience about poultry farming with you so that you can make this profession your bread and butter. Stay Tuned with my latest post.