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Of all the ornamental chicken breeds, the Silkie Bantam is one of the most popular and beloved, and surely one of the most entertaining to watch. To me they are like fluffy kittens.
Silkies most likely originated in China, but Southeast Asia is also sometimes proposed, where they are still kept (and their meat is used) today. The first western account of the breed comes from Marco Polo, who mentioned chickens with fur-like plumage in his Asian travelogues in the 13th century. Today, the breed is recognized for exhibition, and is fairly common in the poultry world.
The Silkie (sometimes incorrectly spelled Silky) is a breed of chicken named for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as dark blue "black" flesh and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot (most chickens only have four). They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and come in several colors (red, buff, blue, black, white, and partridge).

In addition to their distinctive physical characteristics, Silkies are well known for their calm, friendly temperament. Among the most docile of poultry. Silkies are considered an ideal pet. For this reason, Silkies are also prime targets to predators and must be protected from them. Hens are also exceptionally broody, and make good mothers. Though they are fair layers themselves, laying about three eggs a week, they are commonly used to hatch eggs from other breeds and bird species. Our Silkies compete regularly at shows in Oregon and always do very well!

While Silkies are our favorite breed of chicken and we always have a very strong market for hens, chicks and fertile eggs, there is sometimes an abundance of "extra males". Most people want hens and never really want to think about what happens to all the extra males that nobody wants. Since our budget does not allow us to keep unproductive, extra males for extended periods of time, we are now using our "extra (usually aggresive or not what we feel would be good breeding quality) males" for use as meat and medicinal cooking. If you are interested in learning more about using Silkies for meat production, click here. Warning, this is graphic and some people may find this information offensive, so do not click on this link if you feel that you are one of those people, and while we love our Silkies, keeping non productive or aggresive poultry is not an option for us.