10/19/2026
As much as I enjoy her books and find them knowledgeable, I find it odd that she makes posts criticizing U.S. Silkie breeders while sharing information that, in my opinion, is often inaccurate. Now, she’s publicly calling out a specific breeder and quoting their post simply because they spoke up about what she’s been doing.
I can appreciate the knowledge and experience someone shares in their books while still disagreeing with how they choose to use their platform. I don’t agree with the posts targeting U.S. Silkie breeders, and I think there’s a difference between educating people and publicly criticizing others who disagree with you. 🙄
Current US politics poison even USA Silkie breeders’ minds
My post on the protuberance and blinding crests in US Silkies drew two types of breeders.
The first type talked about the birds. They pluck the down around the eyes so their Silkies can see. They breed against the vault and see the health difference. Others blame the judges who reward ever bigger crests. One described what the vault did to a breed it was crossed into. These breeders are mostly American and none of them took it as an attack.
The second type never got to the skull nor crest. For them the post was about America, Americans and American breeders. A hole in the skull and a vision impairing crest became a matter of national pride. I posted exactly the same post last year and none of these reactions came. The birds did not change, the mood in the USA did.
A breeding direction of chickens is not a nationality.
US Old English Game and Old English Game are the same breed and different breeding lines. Just look at those two and how they differ from each other.
US Silkies and Euro Silkies are also different lines of one breed. US Silkies live all over Europe for some two decades meanwhile.
A Swedish vet reported poor immune systems in US Silkies. Sweden is in Europe. That can be due to bad breeding practices, such as inbreeding of the US Silkies in Europe. There are bad breeders everywhere, just like there are breeders that breed for good health and welfare next to appearance as mentioned in the Standard.
Super large crests that impair vision are not about borders either.
Other crested breeds with smooth feathers like Polish, Padua, Sultans etc are also under the magnifying glass in Europe for freedom of vision. The crests are not allowed to cause a wrinkle above the eyes and should be located higher up the head so this doesn't happen. And they are allowed to be groomed.
There is a large difference between a Silkie skull and a Polish skull in regard to the protuberance or vault. The Polish have a protuberance of bone with holes. They are self-selecting for this since at least the 16th century in Europe that we know of, probably longer but not documented on paintings of that time.
The Silkie’s protuberance is a bony arch where much more sturdy bone should be, a ‘roll bar’ leaving the brain mostly unprotected.
In Europe the breed clubs decide what a breed should look like and instruct the judges accordingly.
Many breed clubs have 'club judges' who specialise in them.
I don’t know whether this happens in the USA.
If the breed club, ASBC, doesn't instruct the judges through the ABA, each judge judges on personal taste and interpretation of the Standard. A Silkie can get a good card in one state and a poorer one in the next, with the same Standard.
Two American breeders say that is how the oversized crests keep winning.
One commenter moved from the skull to police funding and the claim that nobody will ever govern how fluffy a chicken’s head is.
If no law will protect the Silkies’ wellbeing, the breeders are the only protection left. That is an argument for breeding against the vault and blinding large crests, to be promoted by the breed club if the welfare of Silkies is important to the club.
My post is directed at all breeders of US Silkies, wherever in the world they live. In Europe US Silkies will not be allowed at shows unless they lose the protuberance and have freedom of vision. They will then be a separate breed that doesn’t fit bantams or large fowl in the European standards. A protuberance and a massive crest hurt Silkies everywhere in the world.
A brain without protective skull bone over it doesn’t care about borders, nor does a massive crest that hinders vision, regardless of the breed
