China is an extraordinary country. It has a unique culture, unique architecture and amazing nature. It was from this country that an amazing bird originated - the Chinese silk chicken.
The origin of Chinese chickens
One of the earliest mentions of the Chinese silk chicken dates back to the 16th century. The bird was mentioned by the naturalist Zhesner in the book "History of Birds", the scientist called it "woolly". But in fact, the Chinese silk chicken is over 1000 years old. The homeland of this chicken is China, but later, thanks to traders and travelers, this chicken was brought to Europe and Russia.
This breed of chickens is more decorative than egg or meat. As soon as silk chickens gained popularity in the world, they were overgrown with legends about their origin. One of the legends says that birds appeared as a result of crossing a rabbit and an ordinary chicken. Some legends claim that instead of feathers, they have fur like mammals.
The appearance of Chinese chickens
All legends are based on the unusual appearance of chickens. Their plumage actually resembles hair. There is a crest on the head of these unusual birds. A feature of these chickens is that their skin, meat and bone tissue are blue-black in color. The crest, beak, "earrings" have the same color. In this case, the plumage of a bird can be any - white, brown, black.
The body structure of silk chickens also differs from the body structure of ordinary ones - they have not four, but five fingers on their paws. Feathers do not look like standard bird plumage. They do not have a solid shaft, so it seems that the bird is covered with hair or long fluffy fur. To the touch, this plumage resembles silk. The chicken's paws are also covered with feathers. The weight of an average silk rooster reaches 1.7 kg, and a silk chicken - 1.35 kg.
The use of silk chickens
Silk chickens have a friendly and calm nature. These are the most obedient of domestic birds, who are not afraid of humans and calmly let their plumage be touched.
Birds of this breed cannot fly, so they do not need roosts. The needs of chickens can be satisfied by placing any boxes or stands with a height of no more than 30 cm as a berth. Also, a simple dry bedding made of shavings or straw is suitable as a berth.
Silk chickens are caring mothers not only for their own chicks, but also for chicks of partridges or pheasants. In a year, these birds are capable of laying about a hundred eggs, quite edible. Silk chickens are sheared about 1 time per month. For a couple of months, chickens are able to give about 150 g of fluff.
Chicken meat is distinguished by good taste and high content of vitamins and amino acids. Chinese scientists use chicken meat for the production of certain medicines.
