So, i did a "thing"....

[Nyhillbillies]

Okay, I have 3 special needs chicks.. Two are from a bad incubator hatching, (Picasso & VanGogh) one is from a newly hatched egg that fell out of the nest and wasnt discovered for hours (Korn, backwards R).
Yesterday afternoon, I was visiting a friend who raises Silkies and sells the chicks she dont want for her flock.
She was showing me all of her coops, adults and chicks... except for this one small coop/brooder...
I asked to see it.
She laughed and said "okay".
She had 6 very UGLY black chicks in there...

Seriously. U.G.L.Y.

These chicks were going to be culled, because they were ugly.
By now, some of you already know where this is going...

These chicks were neglected. And would have been very cold last night without a mama or house/shelter. It dropped in the 40s, from the 80s yesterDAY.
I believe something may be wrong with 3, possibly 4 of these chicks.. 2 are just ugly.
Anyway...
I brought them home with me yesterday afternoon.
They got some very special attention, fresh water w/acv, fresh starter, nice warm shelter with fresh clean hay and a roost...
This morning they got a very special (and needed) breakfast.
And are now on the ground for the first time ever, in a secure tractor.
Im making a whole BRAND NEW coop today...
Just for "special" silkies...
Because I now own 9... yes, NINE... special silkie chicks...
I am gonna call it
JERRYS KIDS...
I love them.

THANK YOU for stepping up to the plate & saving their lives!! You will be blessed for your efforts and love. We are commanded by the Creator to care for the animals, no matter what they look like to humans!

 

[GingerRose]

THANK YOU for stepping up to the plate & saving their lives!! You will be blessed for your efforts and love. We are commanded by the Creator to care for the animals, no matter what they look like to humans!

I strongly believe if they have the will to live, they deserve it.
I commited to Picasso 100%, these other guys are a cake walk...
Picasso is getting easier..
I dont know if its me getting easier or he is adapting more...
Either way, im blessed to have them all.
I need them as much as they need me...

 

[GingerRose]

This is another of ZipTie bunch, a sibling actually.
I call him/her Left Eye Lopez, TLC hip hop group from the 90s..
The left eye is much smaller than the right.
There is vision in that left eye, i have checked it often.
The skull also feels a little vaulted, not like ZipTie though...

 

[CrspyChkn]

They are so ugly but so cute. I love them. It was very kind of you to take them in. Good luck with them.

 

[GingerRose]

They are so ugly but so cute. I love them. It was very kind of you to take them in. Good luck with them.

Thank you.
I know how it could end..
I want them to live their best life as long as they can...
I hate to cull, but i will with a compassionate heart if any one of them begins to not be able to live that best life..

I could have been culled many times..

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

You are very kind and honestly they're all so ugly they're cute!! I love this story.

 

[samanthaoverton]

I wonder if this was like from things going wrong during incubation or like inbreeding

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Well at least they won't be very attractive to hawks! I understand that hawks HATE crows and tend to avoid them at all costs. Your adorable ugly little babies might have an edge in the circle of life!
Maybe they'll be like the 'Ugly Duckling' and turn out to be beautiful when grown. Who knows? Those faces, though.

 

[K0k0shka]

I wonder if this was like from things going wrong during incubation or like inbreeding

Those are genetic problems. Silkies have a lot of genetic problems. Some of them stem from the breed being very popular - like popular breeds of dogs and cats, which get bred carelessly by all kinds of inexperienced people to sell, because there’s a lot of demand, so you end up with inbreeding and issues. But with silkies, there’s also the extra element of intentionally breeding for defects, because people think it’s “cute” - like the vaulted incomplete skulls, or the extra toes. The extra toes are a problem, too - often they point in the wrong direction and get caught on things and ripped, or the nail grows into the flesh of the neighboring toe or the foot… They weren’t meant to be there. But somebody decided they were “cute”, and now they are in the breed standard

 

[GingerRose]

Those are genetic problems. Silkies have a lot of genetic problems. Some of them stem from the breed being very popular - like popular breeds of dogs and cats, which get bred carelessly by all kinds of inexperienced people to sell, because there’s a lot of demand, so you end up with inbreeding and issues. But with silkies, there’s also the extra element of intentionally breeding for defects, because people think it’s “cute” - like the vaulted incomplete skulls, or the extra toes. The extra toes are a problem, too - often they point in the wrong direction and get caught on things and ripped, or the nail grows into the flesh of the neighboring toe or the foot… They weren’t meant to be there. But somebody decided they were “cute”, and now they are in the breed standard

LoL...
I have a history of wanting the underdogs..
My cat is a pure Angora. 4 years old now.
Inbred also.
Many bad genetic conditions.
She is also healthy and a brat.