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Promoting
Silkies in Canada
By
Tania McGuire
Peers,
Alberta, Canada
I've been raising
chickens coming up almost twenty years now! I fell in love with Silkies as soon
as I met and purchased my first ones ten years ago. I'm really doing my best
to promote them as THE CHICKEN!!
People here are
looking at them wrong... They come to see birds to purchase and look at the
Silkies verses my Cochins. Most think the Silkies are beautiful, some think
they are comical, and some think they are strictly to look at (ornamental).
Quite a few say they
look too much like show birds so they purchase Cochins instead. There are a few
people who say they don't like them because they had some before and they
died. Just to remind people, a disease
on your farm may weaken one breed, and another (breed) chicken could have
genetic resistance to that disease.
For example I raise
Black and also Red Cochins: Same breed but different varieties. My blacks and
mostly just the cockerels get Mareks, yet none of the reds do. I was sure it
was Mareks and took one in for posting. The veterinarian didn't think that it
was Mareks yet sent the bird away for me. $60.00 later the results of the
posting came back: “Mareks".
So the only thing I
have done is to breed for resistance, and or to raise the birds until
approximately six months of age away from the flock. It has worked very well!
When I sell a Silkie I always put myself on call; I'm here to help at the first sign of trouble. I don’t know it all, but I'm gathering a fine line of friends who can help and give good advice.
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