AlphaRooster
In the Brooder
Hope you enjoy your chickens as much as you enjoy the cape!
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I do not know much about Silkies, but other members have remarked that they are more cold-hardy than you would think. As far as the bantams- my sister has them (pets/eggs for her toddler son). She ordered the bantam assortment from Chickens for Backyards. She got a beautiful assortment of different hens. They did great (other than hawk attacks because she abuts conservation land). I also ordered from CFB (standard size) because I liked that you could place a small order. I LOVE my hens. I know that my sister sort of wishes she got full-size chickens, but the bantams are super cute. I do not think they are as cold hardy- so she moves them into her garage during bitter-cold weather. My hens are great with my nieces and nephews- I would recommend Barred Rock (my favorite girls) and Buff Orpingtons. I love the buff Brahmas too - hoping to get a couple in the future.
As far as vacationing- My sister has her babysitter come check on hers every other day. You can setup waterers/feeders to last a little bit (lots of threads on how to DIY- I made a feeder out of 4" PVC). I could not do that because of my 2 ducks that make a mess out of everything, so I had relatives check in daily when I was away for a week this past winter. Ensure that your enclosure is Fort Knox to keep out predators while you are away since no one would be around to monitor.
And because you are in MA- check out coopsforacause.net for a coop/run- they custom make them...seems pricey but when you price out supplies/time- it is well worth it. You have to go pick it up so make a day trip out of it to NH. I have pics on my profile page.