Silkie (烏骨雞), meaning 'black-boned chicken'. Melanism which extends beyond the skin into an animal's connective tissue is a rare trait, and in chickens it is caused by fibromelanosis, which is a rare mutation believed to have begun in Asia. The Silkie and several other breeds descended from Asian stock possess the mutation. Disregarding color, the breed does not generally produce as much as the more common meat breeds of chicken. Silkies lay a fair number of eggs, of a cream color, but production is often interrupted due to their extreme tendency to go broody; a hen will produce 100 eggs in
Blue Bird Micro Bird of a passenger van to a school bus. In another departure from precedent, the MB-series buses utilized aluminum body panels in place of steel. The MB-II was offered with two different entry door configurations: a standard bus door (standard on Ford-chassis buses) and a van-style door (standard on Chevrolet/GMC G-van prior to 1997). In 2009, Girardin Minibus entered its second joint venture with Blue Bird. The partnership, named Micro Bird, Inc., consolidated all Type A school bus production at the Girardin facilities in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada. Under the agreement, Blue Bird shifted production of van-based buses to Girardin (to again