Okay. A little back story... Out of the blue a month or so ago, we had a black silkie chick hatch in the incubator. Nothing was supposed to hatch so I'm assuming the kids put the egg in there. The poor little thing imprinted on me, like most of the chickies do. But, she has been something different. She REFUSES to go with chicks a little older with her, and she REFUSES to go with chicks younger than her. Anytime I try to put her with other chicks, she runs to me and hides. I have NEVER had one do that, in all my 16 years of raising chickens. They have all imprinted on me, but they all know they are chickens, and all stay with their other chick buddies, except "Madea". It probably doesn't help that after the first night of her up screaming all night, I gave her a rubber ducky to sleep with. She's probably got a complex. (She even has a toy that she plays with, and gets fed on a plate. If she's not fed on the plate, she won't eat it!)
Anyway, she won't go outside with the other chicks, and when she does, it's a race to see who's going to get out of the pen faster, me or her. Last night, after much discussion, my usually stern and hard husband made the comment that "she's a silkie so she's going to be pretty docile, and she has a really nice cage in the house (it's a multi-layer ferret cage), and she REALLY likes it inside, and she DOES answer to her name..." yada yada. I'm assuming he means Madea is not to be an outside chicken, and that she will be our first indoor pet chicken.
The problem is, I do a lot of craft shows, and I would LOVE to take her with me. Yeah, I've gotten a little attached to the critter, too! I'm going to build a special cage for her to go with me in, but I would also love to be able to walk her around. What type of leash can I get her, or can I just make her one? What's your thoughts on having a pet chicken that you take to craft shows (that will allow pets, of course)? I think it's a neat idea, if nothing but to promote the silkie breed, and to show that chickens make good pets, and can be good for something other than meat and eggs. But what's your thoughts?
This is Madea, sporting her new mowhawk.
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Anyway, she won't go outside with the other chicks, and when she does, it's a race to see who's going to get out of the pen faster, me or her. Last night, after much discussion, my usually stern and hard husband made the comment that "she's a silkie so she's going to be pretty docile, and she has a really nice cage in the house (it's a multi-layer ferret cage), and she REALLY likes it inside, and she DOES answer to her name..." yada yada. I'm assuming he means Madea is not to be an outside chicken, and that she will be our first indoor pet chicken.
The problem is, I do a lot of craft shows, and I would LOVE to take her with me. Yeah, I've gotten a little attached to the critter, too! I'm going to build a special cage for her to go with me in, but I would also love to be able to walk her around. What type of leash can I get her, or can I just make her one? What's your thoughts on having a pet chicken that you take to craft shows (that will allow pets, of course)? I think it's a neat idea, if nothing but to promote the silkie breed, and to show that chickens make good pets, and can be good for something other than meat and eggs. But what's your thoughts?
This is Madea, sporting her new mowhawk.
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