# Miniture silkie



## sideways

I also bought this amongst some normal sized silkies. The lady I bought her from didn't know how a miniature got in there.
She is a bit bigger now but still tries to get under the other chicks.....
Is she a miniature?
Also, I'm a bit worried for when she is older ( if she is a she) will she get totally squashed but my rather fast growing cuckoo maran cockerel ?!!
Gulp.....


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## sideways

Ps she is over a week old in this picture!


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## 7chicks

I'll let one of the pro's answer your questions. I know there's quite a few that have silkies on here. I just have to say, that is just such a cute picture! What an adorable little ball of fluff!!!


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## Kimquat

My silkies were never that small! Serama, maybe? Gosh it's cute.


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## Diana

I would keep her and a few other small ones in a cage in my house to keep her safe. I love Silkies, and have always had to give them extra care to keep them safe. When they are older i keep them in there own small yard if necessary.


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## goatgirl1173

If it IS a Silkie...it is very poor quality/mixed breed. It has some Silkie characteristics....the blue feet and beak, but the top hat is nearly non-existent and it doesn't look bearded either. I also don't see any feathering on it's feet. Bantam bloodlines could be running thru the parent birds the chicks came from (but I'm not an expert). We raise Silkies more for fun, but we have the Bantam sized Silkies. I've seen layer sized Silkies as well. As far as her being squashed...I don't think there is anything to worry about. If you have any Silkie questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected]


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## sideways

Well it looks a bit more like a silkie now but still very tiny and I think you are right about the poor quality mix etc. It stands around not really knowing that it is a chicken and is generally a bit thick! 
It's still inside with lots of others so hopefully will be ok!
Thanks for all the advice!


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## adorson

I am not sure where you are located but there are only bantam silkies here in the US. There are standard size in Europe. Different lines do differ in size so some silkies are smaller or larger than others. I have both lines here but both are considered bantam. Just because the little one was not born with a topknot does not mean it is of poor quality. It means it does not have the vaulted skull. Now the vaulted skull does give the silkie a larger, fuller crest. However some judges DQ for too full of a crest if it obstructs their vision and will choose a smaller crested bird over a larger crested bird. 
There have been super small silkies some people have hatched out kind of like "dwarfs" I am not sure why or how but there are some out there. You just might have one of these! Sometimes you just have to wait and see how they grow out to be able to see their full potential of their quality. I have had some pretty homely chicks end up being my best looking adults! 
I forgot to add that there are also non-bearded silkies. They tend to have larger combs & wattles than the bearded.


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## robopetz

Our lil Sophie was the runt of the bunch, she was getting stepped on and buried under the rest. Way tinier than all of them hatchlings. So I chose her to help the poor lil thing out... Now, she's a spoil rotten runt! Lol


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## OlyChickenGuy

Does she actually have five toes? The blue beak looks promissing, but her feet look greenish where they should be blue like her beak - and her skin should be blue, too, if she's a purebred silkie.

Chickens can and do often lay eggs with multiple fathers, cacheing the sperm away in "sperm pouches" along the oviduct that, as an egg is laid, it squeezes these pouches and releases more sperm to go up the oviduct and fertilise new eggs in development. If the mother silkie had access to a non-silkie male at any time within the past three weeks ( and some will even say in extreme cases sperm can survive in the oviduct for over three months! ), this chick could be a product of that.

In the US silkies are simply put, a "medium sized" chicken. They're neither bantams nor standards, just somewhere in between like Campines and Hamburgs. However, outside of the US there IS a distinction between bantam and standard silkies, with bantam silkies being a little smaller than a US silkie, and standard silkies being a little larger than US silkies, so if the breeder acquired their breeding stock from outside of the US, or if the lineage can be traced to coming from outside of the US in the past twenty years or so, this little one might be a "throwback". A throwback happens when ancient genetics that have otherwise been covered up by modern breeding just so happen to line up to create something looking like its ancient counterparts. This is most obvious with German Shepherd Dogs ( also known as "GSD"s ), so if you're interested in how throwbacks work, do some reseach with them.

Sometimes an egg is laid with less neutrients than other eggs, so embryonic development is stunted, resulting in a smaller chick. These chicks, if they survive hatching, usually catch up to their siblings size within a few months, if not a few weeks.

As for bantam-standard relations, so long as your standard-sized chicken is gentle with the hens, he shouldn't be "too big" for her. Roosters do not have penises, so penetration isn't an issue, and seldom is the size difference so great that the mounting male will cause any harm to the female, other than the typical scratching of the back and biting of the comb - things the male needs to do in order to stay on through the whole ride.

I hope this has helped you solve some inquiries. Good luck with your brood!


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## sideways

Ah thanks guys that's all really helpful.. I'm in England so don't know if they have different breeds etc...
I'll post a picture when she gets a bit bigger and I'll have a look at her toes!


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## Energyvet

... Just stands around...is a bit thick.... Very small size.... Hate to ruin the party but this sounds like a congenital malformation like hole in the heart or something along those lines.


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## TheGarryFarm

Silkies are little when first born! and it takes them quite a while to develop. It may well be an egg from a mother that just started laying, that can cause initial smaller size. If she's eating well, I would just observe and look out for her. She's cute!!!


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## robopetz

Hi sideways, hows the little silkie doing now?


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## sideways

Well I haven't seen her in a little while as she ha been staying with the grandparents. Apparently she is still the smallest by a long way but is now quite bossy!!
I'll post some pictures when I see her next!


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## robopetz

A bossy little one, cute!


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## sideways

I haven't seen the miniature silkie for a good while and am surprised to see it has grown. Not as much as the others but think its going to be ok.
Next to it is Boris my cuckoo marans chick that at 7 weeks is a week younger than the silkies!!


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## sideways

Miniature silkie


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## EmmaJB

Aww I love the colouring! Have you counted her toes yet? 

X


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## sideways

Yes just the 5!


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## EmmaJB

So more on the silkie side then if nothing else  the pullet in my profile pic was suggested as silkie, but she must be a cross as she only has 4 toes. She's still gorgeous though  

I do love the colouring in yours though, I've not come across one coloured like that before, so pretty 

X


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## Diana

I love her!! I am so glad she is doing so well.


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## sideways

Yes she is an odd colour. Maybe she is a mix of red and black?!


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## kaufranc

I also love her coloring! She looks like a healthy Silkie to me! Glad she is doing good. Keep us posted!


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## carolyn28

I have begun breeding miniature silkies after hatching some abnormally small ones. I am currently looking for the tiniest rooster I can find. take good care of this one as they can be vulnerable to cold.


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## sideways

Ah I think the miniature silkie ( who is not so miniature anymore ) is nearly blind.
She has to get up very close when she eats etc... Her head tilts and she has to look very closely.
Poor thing!


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## ChicksNHerps

sideways said:


> Ah I think the miniature silkie ( who is not so miniature anymore ) is nearly blind.
> She has to get up very close when she eats etc... Her head tilts and she has to look very closely.
> Poor thing!


That is typical of silkies. Is she supposed to be a bantam? She is very cute, looks calico to me.


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## adorson

She is adorable! She looks like a partridge to me. My smallest silkie girls tend to be the most bossy also!


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## kaufranc

This is my Silkie rooster Oscar. He is kinda Cailco colored.


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## robopetz

Very nice! Never seen one like that.


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## Treehouse

kaufranc said:


> This is my Silkie rooster Oscar. He is kinda Cailco colored.


what a cool bird!


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## piglett

kaufranc said:


> This is my Silkie rooster Oscar. He is kinda Cailco colored.
> 
> View attachment 3867


he is a good looking boy !!


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## BuckeyeChickens

kaufranc said:


> This is my Silkie rooster Oscar. He is kinda Cailco colored.
> 
> View attachment 3867


nice color....looks like silkies are popular around here!!!


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## sideways

BuckeyeChickens said:


> nice color....looks like silkies are popular around here!!!


Wow amazing colours... Did you breed him yourself? What mix has he come from?


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## kaufranc

I have no idea how he was breed . We bought him at a poultry swap last year. He was hanging out on the end of a truck tailgate. Just hanging out , not caring about anything! Loved his color asked the lady how much and she said $10. I said Sold! He is the most sweetest, mellowest, rooster I have ever had. He loves being cuddled and has slept by my bedside a few cold nights!


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## Energyvet

I think he might be a grey or blue splash.


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## ChicksNHerps

Energyvet said:


> I think he might be a grey or blue splash.


He's a calico. Blue splash is light blue with dark blue spots, grey is a silver partridge color.


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## Energyvet

I thought calico had to have white.


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