Blue Cochins aren’t reliable layers, although hens lay between 80 and 100 eggs yearly. Their large bodies make them poor flyers and an easy target for predators.īlue Cochins have a calm temperament, making them extraordinary chickens to raise as bird pets for kids. Blue Cochins have short wings, so these chickens cannot fly. Overall, Blue Cochin chickens are large fowl compared to the average breeds.įemales weigh around 8 ½ pounds, while roosters weigh approximately 12 pounds. However, full-grown Blue Cochins are hefty. Their heavy feathering makes them look bigger than their actual size. These chickens have feathered feet and legs. They have an elegant and eye-catching blue plumage. Blue Cochinīlue Cochin chickens are attractive birds, thanks to their heavy, soft, fluffy feathers. These are the ten popular chicken breeds to raise if you consider adding gorgeous colored fowl to your flock. These chickens look majestic, especially when sunlight hits their remarkable feathers.īlue chickens are attractive birds to add to any backyard flock, thanks to their mesmerizing beauty. No wonder the popularity of these birds keeps soaring each year. Their great flavour and strange look is sure to generate some conversation if you serve it up at your next big meal, and with winter setting in they’re the ideal bird to make delicious soups and broths with.Blue chickens are a true marvel and a sight to behold. Silkie chickens are harder to come by than the regular variety, but there’s plenty of specialty poultry shops and Asian butchers that may stock them or will order them in for you. They’re considered a real delicacy in China especially and have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, as they’re high in antioxidants, protein and Vitamin B. It also means it’s carcass makes amazing stocks and bone broths. This makes Silkie chickens perfect for soups and hot pots. There’s very little factory farming of Silkies, they’re naturally raised free-range and often organically, which gives their meat a little more flavour. Despite the flesh being a different colour, the flesh tastes very much like their paler skinned cousins. The Silkie is slightly smaller than a regular chicken, with the males rarely getting bigger than 2 kilos.
Dutch merchants claimed they were the offspring of chickens and rabbits, while some others suggested they were covered in cat hair. The traders selling these birds made sure to surround them in myth and mystery.
Marco Polo wrote about encountering “furry chickens” back in the 13th century, but it would be another 200 years before the Silkie started making it west to Europe. These days they’re found throughout Asia and even as far west as India. The origins of the Silkie are unknown, but they’re thought to originate from China, where they’re known as wu gu ji, or “black chicken”. Though they’re not prolific layers (about 3 eggs a week), their super broody nature makes them ideal surrogate mums, so they’re often used to raise other species of chicken and bird. They make excellent pets and are often exhibited at poultry shows. Silkie chickens are incredibly docile and broody. The thing that really sets them apart is their bluish/black flesh and bones. They also have strikingly blue earlobes that protrude from their plumage. Because they don’t have feathers that hold together, the Silkie cannot fly, but they have five toes instead of a regular chicken’s 4, so there’s that. They’re covered in downy, fluffy plumage which is very soft to the touch and often likened to silk or satin (hence the name). They’re pretty different, and that may be an understatement.įor a start, they don’t really have feathers. I’d be willing to bet you’ve never even heard of a Silkie chicken, let alone seen one. You know what a chicken is.īut here’s the thing: You don’t know what chickens look like. They’ve been domesticated for thousands of years. You can fry them roast them, poach them and barbecue them.
#Silkie chicken blue skin
You know what a chicken looks like right? Feathers, red comb, 4 toes, white skin and bones.
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