My beautiful, fluffy Silkie chickens are thriving here at my Bedford, New York farm.
As some of you may know, earlier this year I incubated and hatched 11 Silkies. They joined four adolescent Silkies in a coop I designated just for them right outside my stable. The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy, satin-like plumage. This breed is very calm and friendly - everyone at the farm loves to stop by their enclosure and visit with them. The youngest are now about four months old and doing excellently.
Here are the latest photos, enjoy.
I acquired, refurbished, and repurposed this coop from a commercial shoot several months ago – it’s the perfect Silkie home here at my farm. It is located within the large goose enclosure outside my stable.
The coop has an indoor area and a ramp at each end that goes down to the outdoor enclosure, which is well-shaded and dry.
Silkies were originally bred in China. They are best known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel silk- or satin-like to the touch. Underneath all that feathering, they also have black skin and bones and five toes instead of the typical four on each foot.
Silkies are also adaptable and playful. And, they are naturally more calm than most other breeds.
Silkies also have black eyes, dark beaks, combs, and wattles.
This breed grows a bit slower than other chicken breeds. This one is growing a very fluffy head. The combs of Silkie chickens are very dark maroon red. Both male and female chickens have combs, but they’re larger in males. Baby chicks hatch with tiny combs that get larger as they mature.
It is believed that the Silkie was first mentioned by Marco Polo around 1290 to 1300 during his journey across Europe and the Far East. Although he did not see the bird, it was reported to him by a fellow traveler, and he wrote about it in his journal, describing it as “a furry chicken.” The Silkie chicken made its way westward either by the Silk Road or by the maritime routes, most likely both. Experts accepted the Silkie into the British Poultry Standard of Perfection in 1865 and the American Poultry Association standard in 1874.
There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
Here at the farm, there is always plenty of food and lots of fresh water for all my birds – everything is replenished or changed whenever needed.
Here is a black Silkie at the top of the ramp – these chickens love to watch all the activity from this opening.
Because the Silkie’s feathers lack functioning barbicels, similar to down on other birds, they are unable to fly, but they do flap and stretch their wings.
This also means that the feathering is not waterproofed, so they should never get too wet. If they do, they must be dried or they will likely get ill.
Here, one can see this Silkie’s grayish-blue beak, which is short and quite broad at the base.
Their bodies should be broad and stout, the back is short, and the breast is full.
This is a splash Silkie – its markings are so beautiful, like splashes of black ink on a light gray background.
Silkies weigh anywhere from 1.1 pounds for a female bantam variety, up to four pounds for a large breed Silkie.
The head on a Silkie should be crested, looking somewhat like a pompom. The head on the white Silkie is a good example.
In general, chickens are quite vocal. They make around 30 different calls to communicate with each other, expressing everything from “I am hungry” to “there’s a predator nearby.” While these birds are a bit quieter than others, they still peep and communicate within their flock.
Some characteristics between males and females – female Silkies will keep their bodies more horizontally positioned, while males will stand more upright, keeping their chests forward and their necks elongated. Males will also hold their tail more upright, where females will keep it horizontal or slightly dipped toward the ground.
Here are two more Silkies coming out through the ramp doorway to say hello.
And look, inside my stable feed room, an incubator with more Silkie eggs. All my Silkies and these eggs are from Stonebrook Silkies in Massachusetts. Once they arrived at my farm, the eggs are placed into the incubator where they are safe from other birds and closely monitored until they hatch. Chicken eggs take 21-days. While the eggs incubate, they are automatically turned once a day, 45-degrees each way, back and forth during this period.
My incubating and hatching equipment is from GQF Manufacturing, Inc. in Savannah, Georgia – a company that specializes in game bird and poultry supplies. There are several crucial conditions needed for proper embryo development in all birds. These factors include: proper temperature, controlled humidity, and sufficient air circulation. I can’t wait to see these babies hatch – stay tuned for more photos to come.
Here are some photos! And remember, if you didn't get to see the show, you can still stream the Great American Tag Sale on Hulu.
You can still find a great piece of furniture or rug that I’ve personally kept in one of my homes and have it for yourself. Here I am with Pam Stone, owner of The Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc. the organization hosting my auction next week. The auction is a great way for anyone from across the country, and around the world, to bid and purchase something left over from my Great American Tag Sale.
Some of the items on the auction block include this vintage painted wicker chair with decorative cushions. An auction is a sales event wherein potential buyers place competitive bids on the items they wish to purchase. The item is then sold to the highest bidder.
Remember these Martha by Mail lanterns? They’re also up for auction!
And so are these wicker side chairs – they come in sets of eight or sets of four.
This is an antique bamboo table with a woven rattan top… it’s up for auction. Online auctions allow participants to bid on items remotely. These auctions also include multiple photos, so pieces can be seen closely and in various views.
This is a Martha Stewart Bernhardt three-drawer sideboard. It’s also up for auction. I wonder how much it will fetch!
Here is a fun set of four mid-century modern gazelle chairs from Shelby Williams. Shelby Williams has been a leader in the commercial furniture industry for more that 70-years.
All the pieces headed for auction are gathered under the large tag sale tent ready to be loaded onto the trucks.
I also had lots of books up for auction…
… including encyclopedias! These books are still so useful and interesting!
Here is Pam sitting in my old makeup chair from my television studio. It’s a Takara Belmont leather chair – now up for auction.
Each piece is carefully loaded onto the truck. In all, there was enough for seven truckloads.
One truckload was just for chairs.
This is Irving Sanchez from The Benefit Shop Foundation helping to unload some of the bins of holiday decorations at the nearby Mt. Kisco gallery.
All the furniture was then safely grouped indoors.
Here is a stack of colorful vintage rag rugs… all up for auction.
Irving and Miranda Crifo start “lotting” the pieces from my collection. A “lot” is any item or group of items presented for bids.
This antique French tapestry fireplace screen is tagged for auction as one lot.
And so is this antique yellow two-piece cabinet hutch.
It took quite a bit of time to also work through all the books, but every single one was logged and photographed.
Here is the entire Benefit Shop Foundation Team – posing with their auction sign. For my auction, we have a total of 618 lots!
Be sure to go to the LIVEauctioneers web site to see what’s available and to start your bidding. All absentee and online bidding is also available through LIVEAuctioneers. Enjoy bidding!
This time of year, there is always so much to see around my Bedford, New York farm - everything is looking so lush and green.
As many of you know, I am a serious and very passionate gardener, and over the years have designed many gardens around my home. One area that is constantly evolving is my pinetum - an arboretum of pine trees and other conifers. I first planted it almost 15-years ago in a field behind my large Equipment Barn and near my weeping willow grove. This collection has grown extremely well, and I continue to add additional specimens every year.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
When I first bought my farm, I knew I wanted to plant many, many trees – young trees, to replace the older ones when their lives ended. I love all the different sizes and varieties. This collection includes pine trees, but I have also included many spruces, firs, and other evergreens.
Once trees are mature, they need little maintenance except for regular mulching and removal of dead or diseased branches. We also keep the ground well-mulched using material made right here at the farm.
Among the trees growing is this dwarf white pine tree. If you’re not sure how to tell some of these popular trees apart, here are some key tips: pines have needles that are arranged and attached to the branches in clusters of two, three or five. Spruce and fir trees have needles attached individually to the branches. Spruce needles are sharply pointed, square and easy to roll between the fingers. They’re attached to small, stalk-like woody projections, and when the needles fall, the branches feel rough. Fir needles are softer, flatter and cannot be easily rolled between the fingers. Fir needles are usually attached only on the upper side of the branch. Its branches lack projections, so the bark is smooth. And, a fir tree’s cones stand straight up on many species, or protrude outward on others.
The needles on this dwarf white pine are soft and blue-green in color.
I add more specimens to this collection every year – some are very rare and slow growing, but I love the variety of plantings I’ve amassed.
This Pinus resinosa is a dwarf red pine native to eastern North America. It is a compact bush with long, green needles.
Red-brown buds develop at the tips of branches. The decorative reddish cones of the dwarf red pine remain on the tree for several years.
This is Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’ – with beautiful short, tight, yellow foliage, and a graceful form. Oriental spruce is a slow-growing, upright tree that typically grows about eight to 10-feet tall over the first 10-years. The name ‘Skylands’ has no relation to my home in Maine, but I was attracted to it because it was called ‘Skylands.’ This tree was introduced by Skylands Botanical Garden in New Jersey, in 1979.
Picea glauca, the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. Picea glauca was originally native from central Alaska all through the east, across southern-central Canada to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. It typically grows up to 80 feet tall with a cone-shaped crown.
Pinus densiflora ‘Jane Kluis’ is a dwarf, globular form with a flat top. It typically grows to four feet tall and six feet wide over the first 10 years.
It has rigid green needles that radiate from around the stems. This cultivar was discovered in the mid-1970s by Rudolph Kluis of Marlboro, New Jersey.
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera’ is commonly known as Sawara cypress, a large, pyramidal, evergreen conifer that grows in the wild up to 70 feet tall with a trunk diameter to five feet. It is native to the Japanese islands of Honshu and Kyushu.
It is noted for its gracefully weeping golden-green foliage.
This is a Cedrus deodara ‘Wells Golden’ – an upright true cedar with rich, golden color, which is beautiful in winter. It can grow up to 30-feet tall.
Cedrus evergreen needles are borne primarily in dense clusters that arise from stout, woody pegs.
This tree is often seen at nurseries as Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’. At botanical gardens, it is also called Cupressus nootkatensis ‘Pendula’ or Callitropsis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’. It is commonly known as a weeping Alaskan cedar, a slender, strongly weeping form that grows to as much as 35 feet tall. It has widely spaced ascending to horizontal branches with flattened sprays of blue-green leaves.
Picea orientalis ‘Nigra Compacta’ or oriental spruce is a medium to large, densely branched evergreen.
On one side of this pinetum are the gorgeous weeping willows. Weeping willows are wide and tall with beautiful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground. I have several groves of weeping willow trees growing at my farm.
The leaves are long and narrow with a light green color and a finely toothed margin.
Over time, this area will fill out more and more. I am so pleased with how it looks, and so happy these trees are thriving here at the farm.
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