Silkie Sites on the Internet

Introduction

A few years ago, seeing all of the sites mentioning Silkies on the Internet amazed me and prompted me to develop this site. I named the site, "Surfing With Silkies," but I've renamed the site recently. I optimistically tried to link every Silkie site in the world! Reality finally arrived. I cannot link every site that mentions Silkies but I can certainly try to link the BEST Silkie sites on the Internet. I am still a bit shocked by the number of sites devoted to Silkie fowl. Research indicates that these gentle little Silkie chickens were probably developed somewhere in Asia several thousand years ago.  Silkies frequently are called Japanese Silkies or Chinese Silkies by those unfamiliar with the breed.  Both names are technically incorrect in my opinion. Another common mistake (if you are writing in English) is changing the spelling of "Silkie" to "silky" - a spelling found in older writings about the breed. The breed of fowl referred to by the various names remains basically the same. Today, among English speakers, the name of the breed is simply "Silkies" for standard or large-sized fowl or "Silkie Bantams" for small or miniature fowl. In Europe and Australia, one may find both large and bantam Silkies. In the United States and Canada, the only Silkies are bantams - but the size is oddly between the two sizes of large ones and small ones found outside North America.  Where will Silkies go from here? I cannot say. The trip should be interesting!

If I've missed one of your favorite Silkies sites, drop me a line at my e-mail address at the bottom of this page. However,if you are looking for a Silkie to add to your flock, please DO NOT EMAIL ME DIRECTLY!!! I really am not in a position where I can direct people to breeders on a worldwide scale any longer. The obligations of going to work, of caring for my two young children and of caring for a large flock of Silkies are overwhelming right now. The amount of email that this page generates is just incredible! Instead of emailing me directly, I can offer this suggestion. Please post your inquiry on the American Silkie Bantam Club's email discussion group which is a free email message board. There are many Silkie breeders on the email list. Most breeders are located in the USA.  However, the list includes members from Europe and Australia and a few other places.  Your question will almost certainly be answered promptly by one of the members. The list address is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/americansilkiebantamclub

For long-term help, if you are in the United States or Canada, you might consider joining the American Silkie Bantam Club. Members receive a copy of our Breeder's Directory with names, addresses and telephone numbers of Silkie breeder's all around the United States. (We even claim a small handful of Canadian members.) The newsletters are full of useful information. The application is on our Club web page at:

http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.org

Silkie Clubs exist in several countries.  If you share my fascination with these fluffy chickens, join a Club!  Join us on the American Silkie Bantam Club email list on Yahoo. Get involved in a Club. You won't be disappointed.

 

THE LINKS

SILKIE CLUBS . . .

The American Silkie Bantam Club -- The original Silkie Club here in the United States, the ASBC, is a large group devoted to raising and breeding Silkies. Show breeders and pet breeders both find a place in this organization. You will find a link to an application for Club membership and some other useful information. http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.org

Silkie Exhibitors and Breeders of America, Inc. -- A new Silkie Club has formed in the USA which is exclusively dedicated to encouraging the breeding and exhibiting of show quality Silkies. http://www.sebaclub.com/about.htm

The Silkie Club of Great Britain -- One of my personal favorites! Our friends from the U.K. have a web page of their own with some VERY nice photos.    http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Clubs/SilkieUK/SilkieUK.html

Specialklubben for Silkehøns -- Visit the home page of the Danish Silkie Club! More very nice photos!!! Updated Link! http://www.silkehoenseklubben.subnet.dk/ 

Silkie Club of Australia, Inc.
c/o Secretary, Sue Scott
6 Colville Rd
Yellow Rock
Australia 2777
silkieclub@optusnet.com.au New Contact Information!
 The Silkie Club of Australia doesn't have an official web page.  However, here is a link to an "unofficial" page with some useful information about Silkie Breeders in Australia and the Silkie Club of Australia: http://featherfootelite.tripod.com/silkiesdownunder

The Silkie Club of New Zealand  --  This lovely page includes the Silkie standards for New Zealand from the New Zealand Poultry Standards.  The page is located at MSN and includes a list of New Zealand Silkie breeders.     http://communities.msn.co.nz/SilkieClubofNZ/  

The Swiss Silkie and Poland Breeders Club (Schweizerischer Siedenhuhn- und HaubenhŸhner-ZŸchterclub) - Contact information for the Swiss Club and a few photos.  Nice logo!http://www.tierisch.ch/Vereine/CH_shhzk/index.htm  

The Silkie and Poland Club of Germany (Sonderverein der Züchter der Seidenhühner und Zwerghaubenhühner) - Good photos, breeders list, contact information and lovely sketches. . . Be sure to check out the web site of the Club secretary,  Friedel Schwager, which is listed farther down the page under "Great Silkie Sites from Around the World"http://www.silkies-polands.de/

The Dutch Silky Fowl Club - Seidenhühnerclub in Holland  - Take a look at this one!  It is even in English for those Silkie breeders who are linguistically challenged like myself.  There are some lovely photos and a copy of the Dutch Standard for Silkies.  Be sure to look at Photopage 3 for a picture of a rare and beautiful Cuckoo Silkie cockerel.     http://go.to/silkies

 

Have I missed your Club?  Please let me know! 

 

SILKIE DISCUSSION GROUPS ON THE WEB. . .

The American Silkie Bantam Club's Yahoo Discussion Group -- Email with dozens of Silkie breeders from around the world on this free email list.  Learn a lot about Silkies and feel free to ask questions.  Most breeders are located in the USA.  However, the list includes members from Europe and Australia and a few other places. Participation in the discussion group is free to any Silkie fancier registered with the discussion group, not just American Silkie Bantam Club members.  Silkie fanciers of all degrees of knowledge and expertise are welcome.  The list includes a large number of show breeders as well as many breeders who love their Silkies as pampered pets only.    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/americansilkiebantamclub

SilkieBreeders Yahoo Group -- Silkie Breeders and Exhibitors - This new list states that it is for serious Silkie breeders and those persons interested in the exhibition of Silkies.  Like the ASBC List, it is free.  It is a smaller group but it is certain to be a friendly one! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SilkieBreeders/ 

The Silkie Bantam Standard Forum -- Silkie Breeders and Exhibitors - I formed this new group on MSN which is devoted to systematically analyzing the Silkie Bantam Standard in the USA with an eventual goal of submitting suggestions to the ABA and APA to assist poultry judges in evaluating Silkie Bantams. This group is for serious and experienced show breeders of Silkie Bantams. Interested observers (aka lurkers) are very welcome but questions relating to showing, breeding, genetics and general Silkie care should be directed to one of the other groups. http://groups.msn.com/SilkieBantamStandard/ 

The Awesome Silkie Bantam Chat -- A large friendly list with an extensive archive, this group is a good source of information for beginners to the Silkie breed.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asbc


GREAT SILKIE SITES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. . .

The Poultry Page's Silkie Site -- A virtual Silkie showcase! The largest collection of Silkie photos on the web (apart from my site) is on this site. Also on the site are links to some of the other Silkie sites listed here.http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Silkies/BRKSilkies.html

The Chook Shed -- This site contains some nice photos of and information about Australian Silkies. The best find on the site is the reproduction of Hashime Murayama's painting of white Silkies from the April 1927 issue of National Geographic -- truly a work of art. http://www.webone.com.au/~greggles/se_asia.html

Friedel's Silkie Page -- Silkies from Germany! This page is the personal homepage of the secretary of the Silkie Club in Germany (also one of the A.S.B.C. Onelist members) and it gives a rare insight into the quality of Silkies in Germany.  http://silkies.cjb.net/


Silkies in the Netherlands! -- Visit Joke Osinga and her Silkies! Find some excellent tips in English(!) on caring for Silkies and be sure to look at all the Silkie pictures... Joke has move some of her Silkie information over to the Dutch Silky Fowl Club's page but her own pages are still very nice. Be sure to look at both links!   http://home.wanadoo.nl/gjosinga/page1.htm and http://home.hetnet.nl/~kippenrassen/engels/indexe.htm
Pamela's Silkie Chickens-- This page just has a wealth of useful information for the beginner. . .  http://www.olypen.com/pcpets/silkiechk.htm


Fowl Play -- This UK based web page of chickens, bantams and waterfowl shows a photo of a nice pair of large white Silkies. You will also find some Silkie history here!  http://www.chickens.net/

Silkies at the Zoo -- Would you believe that the Honolulu Zoo had a pair of white Silkies on exhibit?  http://www.hawaii.rr.com/zoo/bantam_chicken.htm

James Vincent's Silkie Page -- Mr. Vincent politely pleads for information on the Silkie on his page. If anyone out there knows of articles or books about Silkie Bantams that might be of interest, please let Mr. Vincent AND ME know!    http://members.tripod.com/JLVINCENT/index.html

Chickscope: Silky Fowls -- Another site with very useful information and some more nice photos. . .    http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/resources/standard_varieties/silky_fowls.html

Poultry Breeds - Silkie Bantam Chicken -- This good information source describes the standard for the Silkie bantam in America. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens/silkieb/

Why the best-looking chicks don't go home with you...Feathered Flights of Fancy-- This online article from Smithsonian Magazine shows an interesting photo of Silkies.http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues97/jan97/chickens.html

Tommy Andersen´s Hjemmeside -- Look to this page to give you insight into Silkies in Denmark! Nice photos!!! (Hint: Check out the link on the page to "Billeder" to get to the photos...)   http://hjem.get2net.dk/andersen_silke/ 

Flower's Hen Web -- Go over and meet Jen's Silkies! She even has one that is a "mystery" color...     http://members.tripod.com/~rizzratz/henweb.html

The 4S Bar Silkies! -- See some nice photos of some Silkies over on Jennifer's homepage!    http://www.angelfire.com/nj/foursbar/silkies.html

Little Rooster -- A site from the UK with some lovely photographs!http://www.littlerooster.co.uk/silkie.html 

Silkie Hens at Kintaline Farm in Scotland --  The first Scotish Silkie site that I have found. . .   http://www.silkiehens.co.uk/ 

HatTrick Silkies - Hockey fans and Silkie fans rolled into one!  Kidding aside, look at this great page for step by step instruction on how to pack eggs for shipping.  There is also a useful discussion of netting pens to protect Silkies from overhead attacks from hawks. This site is a combination of Featherfoot Farm and Stetson Farm. http://www.hattricksilkies.homestead.com/ 

Maravelis Exotic Animals - This site includes an interesting bit of history.  The author states that he believes that the first Silkie color was black and that white followed as a mutation.  If anyone has seen an old article or manuscript verifying this information, please pass along the reference to me for my Silkie library!http://maravelisexoticanimals.homestead.com/SILKIE.html 

Earth Spirit Preserve - Another site with some cute Silkie photos! http://www.oocities.org/hulkoi/pageb.html 

Pet Info For You - Go look at the darling photos of the Silkie chicks.  This web page also sports a nice care sheet for Silkies.http://www.petinfo4u.com/chickens.htm

Pocket Flocks - "If everyone kept a few banties in their backyard, there would be no wars."  This site is not exclusively "Silkie" related but the quote was so good that I just had to include it!  http://www.angelfire.com/de/pocketflocks/ 

Tim Burke's Pigeons and Bantams - This site is one of my favorites!  Take a look at the prize winning photo of the handful of Silkie Chicks.  Tim had to keep nudging them because they kept falling asleep and closing their eyes. He sneezed and all of them looked up just in time for his son to snap the picture!  Beautiful!  http://www.angelfire.com/ia/npcc/TB3.html

Chicken Brains:  True Stories - No photos . . . but take time to read about "Super Silkie Mom" and Big Rooster.  It is why I love the breed. The Silkie part is deeply metaphorical and the article is good on many levels. http://www.womenwriters.net/archives/simmerman1.htm 

French Silkie Standard -- The French name for the Silkie is the Nègre soie.  Go to this page to see the standard in French.  This link will bring you to the "species" homepage.  Find the "S" menu and click on Silkie Bantam to get to the good stuff! There is also a nice bit of history under the "history" link. http://poulesnaines.free.fr/Anglais/the_species_homepage.htm 

COMANCHE MOON FARM -- Raynell Key's Silkie place out West http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Oaks/1465

Aristosoie - A French page devoted to the Silkie . . . http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aristosoie/ 

Some Things I Want My Granddaughters To Know by Renie Szilak Burghardt - Just read it!  Silkies are in the story. http://ltta.tripod.com/stiwmgtrsb.html 

"Hen Pen" -- Home of the Woodpightel Cottage Poultry -- Nice little information page on the Silkie and a few other breeds.  The real find is a LOVELY water color banner of buff and blue Silkies! http://freespace.virgin.net/a.wood/Silkie.htm 

Anna's Chicken Farm - A nice page.  Love the animation... http://annaschickenfarm.tripod.com/ 

One Strange Bird! -- A beautiful and chatty page with a bit of folk lore about the healing powers of Silkie soup from an American point of view. . . http://home.att.net/~Myakka2/Silkies.htm 

Fluff 'N Strut Silkie Bantams -- Visit this lovely page to see some "different" Silkie colors!    http://www.krollmark.com/~twarab/fluffnstrut.htm 

CentralPets.com's Silkie Fact Sheet -- Excellent information source! http://centralpets.com/pages/critterpages/birds/domestic_birds/DBD4791.shtml 

Backyard Chickens' Silkie Page -- Really a very nice article on the current status of Silkies in the USA these days. . .    http://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/bantams_silkies.html 

Hans L. Schippers's Silkie Page - Read a little more history from the Dutch point of view. . . This page is in English and is definitely worth a visit!    http://home.hetnet.nl/~kippenrassen/engels/silky3.htm 

The Pearson Zoo -- Visit the Pearson Zoo's picture-trail to see some stunning photos!    http://www.picturetrail.com/pearsonzoo 

INFORMATION ABOUT SILKIES IN THE ORIENT. . .

China Taihe Original Silkie Fowl Ecological Protection Area - Since Silkies originated in Asia, this site deserves a place at the top of the list of Silkie sites in the Orient.  Take a look at the article "The Original Silkie Fowl" on this site for a bit of Silkie legend that you will not find anywhere else.  WONDERFUL PAGE!!! http://www.hjxwth.com/eindex.htm 

Interested in Silkies in China? "The Mystical Taihe Black-Boned Chicken" is a translation of an article about Silkies from a Chinese newspaper.http://www.cvm.umn.edu/avian/SFPC/TaiheBlackBoned.html

The Ominous Black Chicken - Read a synopsis of a play about the healing power of that famous sacred bird, the Silkie . . . http://members.fortunecity.com/sqylogin/e20.htm 

Silkies in Korea  In Korea, Silkies are a designated endangered  domestic specics.  Read more about this situation here...http://menic.utexas.edu/asnic/countries/korea/Koreaflorafauna.html

Asahi Ukokkei Research Centre: See a Research Center in Japan dedicated to investigating the curative powers of Silkie eggs! http://www.optic.or.jp/com/asahi_ukk/asahi_ukk_e.html 

Silky Fowl -- More testimony to the healing power of the Silkie egg . . .http://www.les.metro.tokyo.jp/English/ukokkei1.htm 

MIMASAKA UKOKKEI CHICKEN --  "How about running your own store that sells Ukokkei yolk oil?" http://www.optic.or.jp/companies/mimasaka_ukk/mimasaka_ukk_e.html

"The Animals of My Home" -- A homepage of a gentleman in Japan who has some pet  Silkies  . . .  http://www.minc.ne.jp/~jf6dfn/animal.html

Japan Poultry Science Association -- Read the article on Japanese Native Fowl from people who should know.  Silkies or Ukokkei do not originate in Japan! I think the confusion comes from the silky-feathered Chabo or Japanese Bantam which is a uniquely Japanese creation.http://kakin.ac.affrc.go.jp/poultry.html 


Interested in more information about Silkies in Japan?   The pictures of the "Ukokkei" (a Japanese word for Silkie) are great but I wish I could read Japanese!!!  If you read Japanese, love Silkies, and could assist in translating these pages, PLEASE email me! By the way, if your browser prompts you to download some Japanese text support, feel free to click "no" to the download. You DON'T need it to view the pictures!

Ukokkei I Ukokkei V Ukokkei IX
Ukokkei II Ukokkei VI Ukokkei X
Ukokkei III Ukokkei VII Ukokkei XI
Ukokkei IV Ukokkei VIII Ukokkei XII
 
Ukokkei XIII  Ukokkei XVII Ukokkei XXI
Ukokkei XIV Ukokkei XVIII Ukokkei XXII
Ukokkei XV Ukokkei XVIX Ukokkei XXIII
Ukokkei XVI Ukokkei XX Ukokkei XXIV

 

SOME VERY INTERESTING SILKIE CROSSES . . .

David's Blue Egg Page-- Another favorite of mine! This unusual page discusses an experiment where an Australian poultry breeder used the Turken breed(similar to a Naked Neck) to introduce the blue egg shell gene into the Silkie breed. Incredible photos and an interesting discussion of the genetics involved.  http://www.oocities.org/Petsburgh/6624/index.html

PromisedLand Silkies, Showgirls and Nigerian Dwarf Goats -- Keith is doing a great job improving the Showgirls.  Check out the photos! http://www.oocities.org/Eureka/9926/chickens.htm 

Stoneberg's Home Page -- "Showgirl Silkies" -- This page shows some very interesting photos of an experiment to create a "Showgirl" variety of Silkie. The cross, again, is between Naked Necks and this time, a Blue Silkie!  To my knowledge, George is no longer breeding Showgirls.  I was lucky enough to inherit his flock.   http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Bluffs/4134/index.html

Exotica Farm's -- History of the "Showgirl Silkie" -- This page at one time gave  a bit of background on the movement to create the "Showgirl" variety here in the United States.  Any know where the page went? Question???  http://www.exotica-farms.com/

The Poultry Page's Showgirl Site -- A nice collection of photos! I need to send a few new ones to Feathersite.  The Showgirls have really improved since these individuals! http://cyborganic.com/People/feathersite/Poultry/CGP/ShowGirls/BRKShowGirl.html

SHOPPING FOR SILKIE THINGS 

Silkie Stuff - I believe these folks have the FIRST online store for Silkie collectables on the Internet.  Purchase your Silkie buttons, magnets, key chains and sCented candles here!  Excellent references and good quality merchandise.    http://www.silkiestuff.homestead.com/ 

The Fairest Fowl - An excerpt from a lovely book by Ira Glass with photographs by Tamara Staples sporting Silkie photos - among other breeds.  A "must" for any Silkie fancier...  http://www.raincoast.com/titles/excerpts/fairest_fowlX.html 

This site gives a serious review of the film, NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHICKEN.  It was a great film.  I take issue with the term "Japanese Silkie" but it is still well worth watching and adding to your video collection. http://www.brainybirds.com/article1009.html

Extraordinary Chickens - A beautiful book by Stephen Green-Armytage with incredible photos. There are only a few Silkies but this book is also a "must" for any Silkie fancier . . . http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/01/21/bib/010121.rvchic.html 

Aristosoie - "Mon amie la Nègre-Soie"  - A French CD rom (at a cost of approximately 36 Euros in May 2002) with information about many aspects of the Silkie . . . http://perso.wanadoo.fr/aristosoie/ 

Diane Jacky Art Gallery  -- Nearly every Silkie fan in the world recognizes the tiny color pictures of the different Silkie varieties that adorn most poultry catalogs.  Diane is the artist!  Visit her web page were you can see her work and order VERY nice reprints of her Silkie paintings. She also sells T-shirts.   I ordered a Blue Silkie print and several calendars showing Silkies.  The Blue Silkie print was simply stunning in its detail - much better than the tiny catalog image.  The prices are very reasonable and the quality is superb! http://www.dianejacky.com/ 

SOURCES OF SILKIE CHICKS OR EGGS IN THE USA . . .

MOST SILKIE SHOW BREEDERS IN THE USA DO NOT SELL CHICKS OR EGGS.   SILKIES AS A BREED ARE SO DIFFICULT TO BREED IN SHOW QUALITY THAT IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL IF A PARTICULAR SILKIE CHICK WILL BE SHOW QUALITY UNTIL IT IS SEVERAL MONTHS OLD.  HOWEVER, A HATCHERY CAN BE A GREAT SOURCE OF PET QUALITY SILKIES FOR A BACKYARD FLOCK OR FOR A BEGINNER TO THE BREED.    AS FOR HATCHING EGGS, I HAVE NEVER HAD ANY LUCK ORDERING OR SENDING SILKIE EGGS BY MAIL.  UNLESS EXTREMELY FRESH EGGS ARE SENT IN A HORIZON LIVE BIRD SHIPPING BOX AND SHIPPED BY UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE EXPRESS MAIL OVERNIGHT, THE EGGS USUALLY SUFFER AIR CELL DAMAGE AND DO NOT HATCH.  SILKIE EGGS SEEM MORE FRAGILE THAN EGGS OF OTHER BREEDS IN MY OPINION.   HAVING STATED MY OPINION, HERE ARE SOME LINKS:

Eggbid -- The web's largest poultry auction!http://www.eggbid.com/ 

Murray McMurray - My favorite hatchery!  My very first Silkie chicks came from Murray McMurray when I was new to Silkies.  The company is very reputable for healthy and beautiful pet-quality Silkies. http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ 

SILKIE BREEDERS IN THE UNITED STATES . . .

BROWN EGG BLUE EGG -- Alice Stanford of Wisconsin raises show quality Bearded White Silkies. Her sister, Kate Stanford, raises show quality Bantam Araucanas. http://www.ameritech.net/users/rasillon/BrownEggBlueEgg.html

EZRAH'S POULTRY PALACE -- Valerie Hirvela's Silkie haven in central Florida http://www.oocities.org/Petsburgh/Zoo/5613/

LADD'S FARM -- Inga Ladd's refuge for "all silky-feathered things" in southeastern Missouri.  This one is my personal web page.  *http://www.oocities.org/Petsburgh/Park/3826/Laddsfarm.html

PATTY'S GREEN ACRES -- Formerly SOUTH FORK RANCH SILKIE BANTAMS and still a good page to visit. http://www.oocities.org/southforksilkies/index.html

ERIC KUTCH -- Visit the site of one of the leading breeder's of Bearded White Silkies on the West Coast! Broken Link! http://user.cavenet.com/bluerib/kutchsilk.html 

WINDRIFT RANCH SILKIES - Lovely pictures! http://www.windriftranch.homestead.com/ 

THE SILKIE SHACK - Meryl Lechner's page . . . Meryl is a breeder of some beautiful Blue and Splash Silkie Bantams.. Be sure to follow her link to Salmon Silkies, an exciting new color! http://hometown.aol.com/Lilrasc01/ 

Other items of interest:

Silkies: Telling the Pullets from the Cockerels   Please read before emailing me with a gender question!

What are Silkies?

The Blue Hen - A True Silkie Story

Silkies in Color

Other Silky-feathered Things

 

My little boy and one of my favorite Blue Silkie hens . . .

(Summer 1999)

 

 

My little boy and a Silkie friend...

(Summer 2001)

 

 

My daughter in the Silkie yard...

(Spring 2002)


You are probably visitor number Counter since June 29, 1999! I believe I've gotten many more hits but my counter stopped working for several months... This page was last updated on April 7, 2004 by silkiechickens@earthlink.net.