Albany breeder has silkie touch

Barbara Blechynden is passionate about white silkie chickens.

The life-long love began when she received her first silkie chick as a five-year-old girl 60 years ago.

“There is no other bird like them,” she said. “They are very unique and unlike other chickens they can’t fly.

“They are very quiet and so docile that little children can handle them, and they will never peck you.”

Mrs Blechynden is arguably WA’s most successful silkie breeder, selling her chickens across Australia from her Upper Kalgan farm.

She competes in poultry competitions at the Albany Poultry Club Show, Albany Agricultural Show, Katanning Agricultural Show and Perth Royal Show each year.

This year marks her 30th year at the Albany Agricultural Show, and she has won the coveted grand champion award six times.

“I did my first show in Perth when I was 15 and have just kept going,” she said.

“I won the grand champion at the Perth Royal Show in 1992, which was a pretty big honour … but just showing my birds is the highlight for me.”

Mrs Blechynden is excited to put 10 of her best white silkie hens and roosters under the eyes of the poultry judges, following on from claiming the champion pair and reserve champion light breed ribbons at the Perth Royal Show, and champion bird at last year’s Albany Poultry Club Show.

She said white silkies took a lot of work to prepare for the show.

“I use a wool mix with eucalyptus to shampoo them because they have different feathers to ordinary chickens that you need to get soft and fluffy,” she said.

“Then I rinse them to make the white feathers come up well and then blow-dry them.”

Mrs Blechynden said she would be thrilled to win grand champion at the Albany Agricultural Show, but competition would be stiff.

The show is on this Friday and Saturday.