Silkies are an ancient, Asiatic breed of poultry, most notably known for their fur like feathers. While the structure of a Silkies feather is much like other birds, they lack barbicels between each strand of ‘hair’ on the feathers shaft. These barbicels are tiny, cartilage hooks, that act like Velcro and give a feather its […]
Farm Animals
Barnevelder
Barnevelders are named after the Dutch town of Barnevelder. They were developed through the crossing of chickens from Asia with local Dutch breeds. Barnevelders lay a fair amount of brown eggs. Recently, breeders have focused on this breed as a show breeder, ignoring the quality of the eggs. Now many Barnevelders lay light brown eggs. […]
Pekin Bantams
The first Pekins are said to have been stolen from a private collection held by the emperor of China in Peking around 1860. According to another story, they were imported from China around 1830-1840 and presented to Queen Victoria. They were then crossed with other breeds and are know today as Pekin Bantams. Pekin Bantams […]