Eekgads...Chickens!
Yup, that's pretty much the reaction I get when I tell people we've started raising chickens in the 'burbs. But, the conversation usually turns to "Why?" (Which is interesting that BYC is doing their poll.) The answer is bug control, eggs, fertilizer & simply, they're really, really fun critters. We decided on Silkies because of their reputed temperament & their looks, frankly, made me laugh. Poufy chickens!
Now that we own some Silkies, they have proven to be a great addition to our family. Each chicken has its own personality & the colors are beautiful. We learn something new, whether it be about eggs, hatching, candling, color genetics, history, diseases, etc., just about every day. (If there are any home schoolers out there, hatching & raising chickens is a GREAT project. Of course, 4-H'ers have already figured that out!) And the folks that raise chickens are some of the nicest people...they're willing to share their knowledge & experiences. One of the nicest people out there is Bobbi Porto! (Check out her gorgeous flock at IndigoEgg.com.) Many thanks to her for her guidance & for letting me purchase a gorgeous partridge roo that we've named Matador. Also, thanks to Melissa whose handle is "muki1234" on eBay and CJExotics for selling me some of their eggs (fast shipping, eggs arrived intact and darn good hatch rate). Their chicks are gorgeous & robust. I highly recommend them!
Currently, we're starting to build a website but it's not up & running yet. It's going to be named "Poulet de Pouf" (translation fr French: poufy chicken). We came up with this name because "MarcoPollo" was taken, dang it. For those of you who don't know, Marco Polo was one of the early explorers to record & describe the Silkie chicken. The "Pollo" part is Spanish for "chicken".
Yup, that's pretty much the reaction I get when I tell people we've started raising chickens in the 'burbs. But, the conversation usually turns to "Why?" (Which is interesting that BYC is doing their poll.) The answer is bug control, eggs, fertilizer & simply, they're really, really fun critters. We decided on Silkies because of their reputed temperament & their looks, frankly, made me laugh. Poufy chickens!
Now that we own some Silkies, they have proven to be a great addition to our family. Each chicken has its own personality & the colors are beautiful. We learn something new, whether it be about eggs, hatching, candling, color genetics, history, diseases, etc., just about every day. (If there are any home schoolers out there, hatching & raising chickens is a GREAT project. Of course, 4-H'ers have already figured that out!) And the folks that raise chickens are some of the nicest people...they're willing to share their knowledge & experiences. One of the nicest people out there is Bobbi Porto! (Check out her gorgeous flock at IndigoEgg.com.) Many thanks to her for her guidance & for letting me purchase a gorgeous partridge roo that we've named Matador. Also, thanks to Melissa whose handle is "muki1234" on eBay and CJExotics for selling me some of their eggs (fast shipping, eggs arrived intact and darn good hatch rate). Their chicks are gorgeous & robust. I highly recommend them!
Currently, we're starting to build a website but it's not up & running yet. It's going to be named "Poulet de Pouf" (translation fr French: poufy chicken). We came up with this name because "MarcoPollo" was taken, dang it. For those of you who don't know, Marco Polo was one of the early explorers to record & describe the Silkie chicken. The "Pollo" part is Spanish for "chicken".