Before I start I want to say that I mean absolutely no hate to USA type silkies or silkies in general. They are and likely always will be my favorite breed of chicken. I'm just sharing my opinion on USA silkies, as a person from Europe.
I'm having a hard time finding an official side by side comparison on the USA and the European standard, but the main difference that I see is in the crest, which is the main thing I'll be talking about.
European standard silkies here.
The first two photos are form the German standard book.
You can see how the crest leaves their eyes open for better quality of life.
USA silkies here.
You can see just how much their crests cover the eyes.
Credit to Diva Girl Silkies, Persnickety Poultry, and boxsbantams.
Please do not go hate on any of the breeders I have taken these photos from!! They're all great breeders and are just following their breed standard. I'm sure they're all doing everything to keep their birds happy and healthy.
I've had USA type silkies for about 1,5 years. Before then I had something closer to hatchery quality silkies, later something closer to the European standard and now I'd say I have some of both types.
As I mentioned above, my problem with the USA type are the crests. So far I have raised 2 generations of USA silkies and one thing I can say for sure is I do not recommend them for beginners in chicken keeping.
They don't do well in the heat, they don't do well in the cold, and they don't see food very well. Due to their poor sight, they have pretty much no predator awareness, though that goes for all the silkie types. Of course, I can't speak for every bird, but this is what I've personally observed in my flock, as well as what I've seen online posted by other silkie owners.
I don't know if this is just something that my birds have, but in the USA silkies specifically it is hard to keep my pullets alive. The cockerels, because of their generally smaller crests and more bold personalities have no issues finding food or getting around. Pullets are way less motivated to push their way to the feeder, if they can even locate it. They take longer to learn how to get around the coop comfortably and use the ramp/stairs to go outside.
Not to mention their eyes need to be checked for any problems every so often. You can't know what's going on under that fluff until you take a look.
I love the look of those fluffy crests, don't get me wrong, but now I definitely understand why the European standard asks for the eyes to be uncovered. I still think USA silkies can be bred responsibly. But I don't think the bird's crests should be bred to sort of hug the head all the way around. I just had to trim the crests of my girls because I got sick of sticking food in their faces and them still completely missing it and I saw just how much of the fluff is going in their eyes.
Once they make it to adulthood, they're fine for the most part, but raising them is a bit of a nightmare.
I might add something more on this topic later, but for now – what are your opinions on USA or European type silkies?
I'm having a hard time finding an official side by side comparison on the USA and the European standard, but the main difference that I see is in the crest, which is the main thing I'll be talking about.
European standard silkies here.
The first two photos are form the German standard book.
You can see how the crest leaves their eyes open for better quality of life.
USA silkies here.
You can see just how much their crests cover the eyes.
Credit to Diva Girl Silkies, Persnickety Poultry, and boxsbantams.
Please do not go hate on any of the breeders I have taken these photos from!! They're all great breeders and are just following their breed standard. I'm sure they're all doing everything to keep their birds happy and healthy.
I've had USA type silkies for about 1,5 years. Before then I had something closer to hatchery quality silkies, later something closer to the European standard and now I'd say I have some of both types.
As I mentioned above, my problem with the USA type are the crests. So far I have raised 2 generations of USA silkies and one thing I can say for sure is I do not recommend them for beginners in chicken keeping.
They don't do well in the heat, they don't do well in the cold, and they don't see food very well. Due to their poor sight, they have pretty much no predator awareness, though that goes for all the silkie types. Of course, I can't speak for every bird, but this is what I've personally observed in my flock, as well as what I've seen online posted by other silkie owners.
I don't know if this is just something that my birds have, but in the USA silkies specifically it is hard to keep my pullets alive. The cockerels, because of their generally smaller crests and more bold personalities have no issues finding food or getting around. Pullets are way less motivated to push their way to the feeder, if they can even locate it. They take longer to learn how to get around the coop comfortably and use the ramp/stairs to go outside.
Not to mention their eyes need to be checked for any problems every so often. You can't know what's going on under that fluff until you take a look.
I love the look of those fluffy crests, don't get me wrong, but now I definitely understand why the European standard asks for the eyes to be uncovered. I still think USA silkies can be bred responsibly. But I don't think the bird's crests should be bred to sort of hug the head all the way around. I just had to trim the crests of my girls because I got sick of sticking food in their faces and them still completely missing it and I saw just how much of the fluff is going in their eyes.
Once they make it to adulthood, they're fine for the most part, but raising them is a bit of a nightmare.
I might add something more on this topic later, but for now – what are your opinions on USA or European type silkies?
