Wyoming Unite!!!!

[N F C]

Bob's future chicken ranch


Be careful where you step!

 

[R2elk]

Bob's future chicken ranch


Be careful where you step!

 

[N F C]

By the time Bob finishes hatching, there will be more chicks in WY than people or antelope!

 

[Blooie]

By the time Bob finishes hatching, there will be more chicks in WY than people or antelope!

No kidding......they may even outnumber the teeth-with-wings!

 

[R2elk]

By the time Bob finishes hatching, there will be more chicks in WY than people or antelope!

That is a gross exaggeration especially since these are likely the only chicks that I will hatch this year. I will however be hatching turkey poults and guinea keets later.

Fortunately at least some of these are already spoken for. As soon as they start hatching I will be posting an ad on craigslist.

 

[R2elk]

No kidding......they may even outnumber the teeth-with-wings!

They might outnumber the male Jackalopes but not the females since they are indistinguishable from Jackrabbits.

 

[N F C]

They might outnumber the male Jackalopes but not the females since they are indistinguishable from Jackrabbits.

 

[R2elk]

No kidding......they may even outnumber the teeth-with-wings!

You might find the following post very informative about silkies.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1052702/surviving-minnesota/21550#post_18272076

 

[Blooie]

You might find the following post very informative about silkies.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1052702/surviving-minnesota/21550#post_18272076

Thanks, Bob...already knew all of that but nice to read it in one place and so clearly. She really did a good job of describing the difficulties of raising Silkies for some people. So why do I like the Silkies I have and want a few more? In two words, Katie and Kendra.
\
Katie is an openly unabashed Silkie fan, and started this whole thing, Since she does so much of the work of taking care of the chickens, even though she's still pretty young and has mild Autism, I figure if having a few of her favorites out there makes her happy and boosts her confidence, I'm all over that! She has been our "chicken sitter" since she was 8 years old, and when Ken and I are out of town for 4 or 5 days there is nobody I'd trust more out there with the chickens.

And Kendra. She's 5, has Spina Bifida and has been in her wheelchair since she was 9 months old. She has more severe Autism and is mostly non-verbal, although she's starting now to talk a little more. She also enjoys the chickens - loves to go out with us and gather eggs, and flaps her little arms in excitement saying, "Chickens, chickens!" But when the Silkies are close to her, she calms down fpr some reason and just dotes on them. In her mind they don't LOOK like chickens so they must not BE chickens. They're "Birds!" They're small, non-intimidating to her, and she likes the different feel of their feathers. She will look out the window at the chickens free-ranging in the yard for an hour or so. But as soon as she spots a Silkie among them, she comes alive and wants to get down and go see.

I don't house them separately from the other chickens. They don't get a special roost, pens, or heaters or any other different treatment. When the people door is open to to let the chickens out, they come right outside too, even if it's 9 degrees with snow on the ground. They don't mind a bit. They stand their ground with the bigger chickens quite well.

So, funky feathers, low egg production, slow maturity, and all, I'll take a little "pocket lint with legs" out there anytime to see the smiles on the girls' faces. And in a few more years, when Ken and I are long gone from this planet, they'll look at each other and say, "Remember when Gramma and Grampa......"


Katie and her "bucket of chicken" - the Silkies we hatched out here - the day we took them out to live in the brooder in the run.


Kendra and Smudge, a little Silkie roo, sharing a moment...

 

[N F C]

Blooie, you've given the very best reason of all for silkies.