December is such a fun time of year. It's filled with celebration, excitement, surprise, and sheer joy. This year my sister and her boyfriend gave Tim and I our Christmas gift a week early. I generally can pick up on what I am getting, but this year caught me by complete surprise. Although they had received approval for one chicken, they ended up bringing home 3 Silkie chicks. I thought it was a bread machine. :)
Silkies are unique in many ways:
1. The love to sit on their eggs, although not great for egg production, they make for very good mommas.
2. Their skin and bones are black. Chinese use them for medical purposes.
3. They are cute looking birds. Click here for pictures.
4. A very friendly breed, so the girls will enjoy them. Our current hens aren't as social, in fact they have been known to harass the little ones.
5. They live 15 years!!!!! That's a long time for a chicken.
They came to me 1.5 weeks old, and have grown so much in the past couple of weeks. My dad tried to name them the worst names possible, and since Isabella couldn't remember them we have since renamed them Marissa, Piper, and Natalie (all friends from school).
So that they get use to human contact, we play with them every day. Isabella has the petting technique down, petting them with two finger knuckles facing down. Abigail on the other hand could unknowingly kill one in a blink, so we have to keep an good eye on her.
They live in a plastic Rubbermaid container in our empty dinning room, and will remain here for the next couple of months. Tim, as my Christmas present, has committed to building me my dream coop so they will move there once completed. We are scheduling chicken play dates as we speak. :) Come one..come all, these chicks are growing fast.
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