The Silkie (sometimes spelled Silky ) is a type of chicken named for feathery atypical hair, which is said to feel like silk and satin. This breed has some other unusual qualities, such as skin and black bones, blue ears, and five fingers on each leg, whereas most chickens have only four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and appear in various colors. In addition to its distinctive physical characteristics, Silkies is known for its calm and friendly temperament. This is one of the most benign birds. The females are also very contemplative, and care for the baby well. Although they have a fair layer, only lay around three eggs a week, they are usually used to incubate eggs of other species and species of birds because of their reflective nature. Silkie chicken is very easy to store as a pet. They are suitable for children, as they can easily be handled roughly handled.
Video Silkie
Histori
It is not known exactly where or when these birds with their first combination of attributes appeared, but the originally well-documented origin is ancient China (hence the other common name for the bird, Chinese silk chickens ). Other places in Southeast Asia have been referred to as possibilities, such as India and Java. The earliest surviving written account of Silkies comes from Marco Polo, who wrote about the 13th-century "hairy cock" during his travels in Asia. In 1598, Ulisse Aldrovandi, a writer and naturalist at the University of Bologna, Italy, published a comprehensive treatise on chickens that are still being read and admired today. In it, he talks about "wool-bearing cock" and who "dressed with hair like that of a black cat".
Silkies most likely travel to the West via the Silk Road and maritime trade. This breed was officially recognized in North America by acceptance into the Standards of Perfection in 1874. After the Silkies became more common in the West, many myths were perpetuated about them. Early Dutch breeders told the buyers that they were descendants of chickens and rabbits, while small performances promoted them as having real mammal fur.
In the 21st century, Silkies is one of the most popular and ubiquitous chicken breed breeds. They are often kept as poultry or poultry by backyard guards, and are also commonly used to incubate and raise chicks and other waterfowls such as ducks and geese and game birds such as quails and pheasants.
Maps Silkie
Characteristics
Silkies are considered to be banted breeds in some countries, but these vary by region and many of their class breed standards are officially poultry; The bantam Silkie is actually a separate variation most of the time. Almost all North American strains breed is bantam size, but in Europe the standard size is the original version. However, even standard Silkies are relatively small chickens, with men weighing only four pounds (1.8 kg), and women weighing three pounds (1.36 kg). The American Standard of Perfection calls for men who are 36 ounces (1 kg), and women who are 32 ounces (910 grams).
Silk feathers have been unique among chickens, but in recent years silk feathers have been developed in several breeds, especially Chabo, which is now standardized in England and the Netherlands. It has been compared with silk, and for fur. The overall result is a soft and smooth appearance. Their feathers do not have functioning barbicels, and therefore are similar to other birds. This characteristic makes Silkie unable to fly.
Silk appears in two different varieties: bearded and beardless. Bearded Silkies have additional feathers under the area of ​​the beak that covers the ears. They are also separated by color. Silkie colors are recognized for competitive displays including black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, and white. Alternative colors, such as cuckoo, lavender, red, and splash are also present. The standard of perfection calls all Silkies to have a small walnut-shaped comb, darkened shell, and greenish-green ears. In addition to these decisive characteristics, Silkies have five fingers on each leg. Other breeds that exhibit this rare nature include Dorking, Faverolles, and Sultan.
All Silkies have black or bluish skin or bones and gray-black flesh; their Chinese name is wu gu ji (???), which means 'black-boned cock'. Melanism that extends beyond the skin into animal connective tissue is a rare trait, and in chickens it is caused by fibromelanosis, which is a rare mutation believed to have begun in Asia. The Silkie and some other descendants of Asian descendants have mutations. Regardless of color, breeds generally do not produce as much as a more common chicken breed.
Silkies have a sufficient number of eggs, creamy in color, but production is often disrupted because of their extreme tendency to go groan; a hen will produce 100 eggs in an ideal year. Their capacity for incubation, which has been selectively cultured from most of the birds raised mainly for egg production, is often exploited by poultry keepers by allowing Silkies to raise other birds. In addition to being a good mother, Silkies are universally famous for their calm and friendly temperaments. They do well in confinement, and interact very well with children. This precision can cause Silkies to be disturbed by more active or aggressive birds when stored in mixed groups.
Bantams
In the American Standard of Perfection, the standard weight for Silkie Bantam is 1 kg (36 oz) and for women, 907 g (32 oz). The Australian Poultry Standard and The English Poultry Standard calls for Silkie bantams are much smaller; in Australia, the standard weight is 680 g (25 oz) for men and 570 g (20 oz) for women. The British standard weight for Bantams Silkies is 600 g (22 oz) for men, and 500 g for women (18 oz).
Polydactyly
Silkies are also known for their polydactyly, usually manifesting as an additional 1-2 digits in the legs. The genetic cause of this additional digit formation has been shown to be the SNP in the gene regulator SHH , called the ZPA Ordering Order (ZRS). This results in ectopic expression of SHH in anterior developing limb buds, leading to increased growth and tissue digits. Interestingly, while Silkie's foot looks polydactyly, the wings have a standard tridactyly (triple digit) setting. The Japanese Silkie originally developed an additional figure on the wings as an embryo, but this was lost before hatching. The genetic cause behind Silkie polydactyly differs from that which causes polydactyly in the type of Dorking chickens, caused by ectopic expression FGF4 in AER, with an ectopic SHH secondary effect.
In cooking
Black meat from Silkie is generally regarded as an unusual attribute in European and American cuisine. In contrast, some Asian dishes consider Silkie meat as gourmet food. Chinese cuisine especially appreciates the breed, but it is also a common ingredient in some Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Korean dishes. The area where Chinese cuisine has become a powerful influence, such as Malaysia, may also cook Silkie. At the beginning of the 7th century, Chinese traditional medicine has stated that chicken soup made with Silkie meat is a curative food. The usual cooking methods include using Silkie to make broth, stew, and curry. Traditional Chinese soup made with Silkie also uses ingredients such as wolfberries, Dioscorea polystachya (mountain yam), orange peel, and fresh ginger. Several fusion restaurants in the metropolitan area of ​​the West have also cooked it as part of traditional American or French cuisine, as in confit.
References
Further reading
- Staples, Tamara (2001). The Fairest Fowl . San Francisco: The Chronicle Book. ISBNÃ, 0-8118-3137-X.
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Faraco, Cloris D.; Vaz, SA; PÃÆ'¡stor, M. V.; Erickson, C. A. (2001). "Hyperpigmentation in Silkie poultry correlates with abnormal migration of melanoblast displaced fate and loss of environmental barrier molecules". Developmental Dynamics . 220 (3): 212-225. doi: 10.1002/1097-0177 (20010301) 220: 3 & lt; 212 :: AID-DVDY1105 & gt; 3.0.CO; 2-9. PMID 11241830.
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