{"id":19583,"date":"2018-02-21T00:06:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T06:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=19583"},"modified":"2025-08-14T22:36:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T03:36:43","slug":"meet-silkie-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Silkie Chicken"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"white
Photo by RJA1988\/Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not too long ago, we found an unusual parakeet with a fluffy plumage. They are called Feather Dusters.\u00a0The overgrowth of feathers is caused by a mutation that is rare but it does occur frequently enough to\u00a0be notable. Overgrowth of feathers and plumage is not unique to the parakeet, however. There is a\u00a0chicken that shares that overabundant trait as well \u2014 the Silkie.<\/p>\n

The Silkie chicken has a plumage that is characterized as silky soft and furry to the touch with an\u00a0extreme amount of feathers that might throw you off if you were to see one. It\u2019s uncommon for farmers\u00a0to raise these creatures, although a role is often employed as a main focus for their being in a farmyard.\u00a0This bird is labeled by professional designation as ornamental.\u00a0Little is known about the origin of the Silkie chicken, but they are thought to have originated in China\u00a0many centuries ago. There is documentation of mention concerning \u201cfurry chickens\u201d as early as the 14 the\u00a0century.<\/p>\n

Distinguishing Features<\/h3>\n

Their physical makeup is an incredible mix of odd. Not only do they possess the fluffy feather covering\u00a0all the way to their feet, they also sport black combs, have fluffy crests (like pom-poms), and, amazingly,\u00a0have black skin (and it\u2019s said, black bones), as well as striking blue ear lobes. But there are other\u00a0anomalies present. The Silkie chicken has five toes as opposed to the four toes typical of most chickens.<\/p>\n

Weight-wise, the male Silkie often weighs in at 4 pounds, while the female is just 3 pounds. Silkies are\u00a0found in a variety of visually pleasing colors, even orange-red.<\/p>\n

Silkie Behavior<\/h3>\n

Silkie chickens have a soft demeanor that distinguishes them from other chickens. They are noted as\u00a0being lovable, calm, and friendly, both male and female. For this reason, although not advised, the Silkie\u00a0chicken has been adopted as an inside pet by some. Because they thrive in flocks, this practice is often\u00a0discouraged by many pet proponents.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, along with a unique appearance, the Silkie chicken is susceptible to a malady called\u00a0Marek\u2019s Disease, a viral attack that affects the chicken in multiple ways, including neurological\u00a0impacting. It\u2019s so contagious that if one in the flock contracts the disease, it can be assumed that the\u00a0entire flock has been infected by the untreatable virus. Diseases and abrupt deaths aside, the average\u00a0life-span of Silkie chickens is seven to nine years.<\/p>\n

Backyard keepers like to have these beautiful and unusual creatures walking about as they easily add a\u00a0visual touch of class to otherwise common chicken. The female of these beautiful chickens are\u00a0considered brood friendly. They often fawn over eggs that are not their own and bring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it’s easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8046,"featured_media":44604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday","bird-type-non-parrot"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Rowe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Rowe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt Rowe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\"},\"headline\":\"Meet The Silkie Chicken\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":467,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Everyday\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/\",\"name\":\"Meet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\"},\"description\":\"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Photo by RJA1988\\\/Pixabay\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/meet-silkie-chicken\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet The Silkie Chicken\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\",\"description\":\"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\",\"name\":\"Matt Rowe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Matt Rowe\"},\"description\":\"Matt Rowe is a writer who frequently covers various areas of interests. And while he is a lover of the arts, he is equally enamored of animals, especially birds in all of their various species. His love of pets and wildlife, and the many ways they interact with humans reveals his deep fascination for them. Matt writes for various publications that include MusicTAP, The Morton Report, and The Pontiac Daily Leader.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/matt-rowe\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/author\\\/mattr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","description":"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","og_description":"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.","og_url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/","og_site_name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","article_published_time":"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matt Rowe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Rowe","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/"},"author":{"name":"Matt Rowe","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573"},"headline":"Meet The Silkie Chicken","datePublished":"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/"},"wordCount":467,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg","articleSection":["Everyday"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/","name":"Meet The Silkie Chicken – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-21T06:06:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-15T03:36:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573"},"description":"The Silkie chicken is known for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. Add together its other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot\u2014 not to mention a friendly temperament \u2014 and it's easy to see why the Silkie chicken wins the hearts of many.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/silkie-chicken-px-5256232.jpg","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"Photo by RJA1988\/Pixabay"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/meet-silkie-chicken\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet The Silkie Chicken"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/","name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","description":"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573","name":"Matt Rowe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","caption":"Matt Rowe"},"description":"Matt Rowe is a writer who frequently covers various areas of interests. And while he is a lover of the arts, he is equally enamored of animals, especially birds in all of their various species. His love of pets and wildlife, and the many ways they interact with humans reveals his deep fascination for them. Matt writes for various publications that include MusicTAP, The Morton Report, and The Pontiac Daily Leader.","sameAs":["http:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/matt-rowe\/"],"url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/author\/mattr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19583"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44605,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19583\/revisions\/44605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}