Please don't eat the Silkie and more...

Silkies aren't that popular when it comes to raising chickens for eggs or meat so they are not often found at feed stores. The Silkie's meat has long been believed to be a gourmet curative in Asian cuisine.  This idea of Silkie chickens  harboring special nutrients and esoteric health benefits stems from their skin and bones being completely blue black in color. This has often been debated and I tend to agree with it having nothing more than a placebo effect. They are just too darn cute and special to kill, butcher and consume. The very thought of it just makes me seriously ill. Chicken is not something I generally crave very often. I actually find myself craving eggs, oysters and fresh fish so much more but eating a Silkie is really tabu for me.

Recently I spotted this wonderful Silkie roo on Craigslist. The post was titled World's Best Silkie Rooster. After reading the posting it was evident that this lil guy's owner was someone I could talk to for hours:

The most handsome Silkie roo ever! I have attached the professional photo of this little guy's show parents as well. All my chickens, including this one named Boo, were recently featured in Austin Pets Magazine so he may grow up to demand special star treatment like Perrier water since he is famous. Boo is almost 5 months old with show quality parents and he is the best of both. He was incubated healthy and naturally under his mom (Cream Puff, white hen in the photo) and raised indoors in a brooder tent with constant people contact with his sisters until he was old enough to go outside. He has been raised on organic developer and organic treats like fresh spinach and blueberries so he comes in top form. He adores people and will be the first to greet you, will pull on your shirt sleeves if you sit down and don't talk to him, and will follow you everywhere. He is an amazing protector of his hens and a perfect gentleman and protector...even ran after a large dog who got into the run yet he is sweet and kind. Unfortunately, we already have a roo (his daddy in the photo) so we cannot keep Boo.

Due to his show stock you can see how stunning he is...look at the uber fluffy feet!!! He has a perfect raspberry comb and great disposition. He is one of the fluffiest silkies I've seen. If you sit down, he will hop in your lap if you let him. He has been hand fed treats since birth so he is friendly. Great with people and hens but also will chase after predators...He actually gets along well with our dogs, but he will warn them bravely to be nice and keeps an eye on all of them so they cannot hurt a hen.

Our chickens reside in chicken utopia in a huge covered run and large coop with great care and constant attention. They are beloved pets and it's very important he goes to an equal loving home so I really need to choose carefully as we love Boo very much. I am happy to bring him to you if you wish. He has never fought with our other rooster, his daddy.
And he has only crowed in the morning...silkies have a softer crow than other roosters.

Visiting Feed Stores

There they were, chickies at the feed store, all chirping under the heat lamps awaiting homes. It still warms my heart to see these curious lil girls, with their heads slightly tilted to get a better view. I was able to spot a few sweethearts that I could tell would make pleasant lil friends. I'll be sleeping well tonight, not just because of chickies but got to hug a baby bunny and hold him close to my cheek. Spring babies!

Are they dead or alive?

It is quickly approaching a year that I had to give away my backyard flock and I have wondered if they survived. How many are alive, who died, when and how? Is it crazy to say, to first admit, that they have not been too far from my thoughts. My memories of these feathered females have not been clouded or grown hazy under a new year and new life. I often find myself referring back to those lessons observed and learned.

So then, does it matter if they live or die, does it really matter if they died this past year? Tears were already shed last year and I still get misty. A piece of my heart broken. They are no longer in my life as they once were and it is something I have struggled with. A whole year later and I don't love them any less and would love to see them again.

In the meantime, they live as they always have in photos and memories. In the middle of Central Austin, near the Honda dealership sits a sad backyard, no longer loved or cared for and full of life the way it was last year. Do me a favor, if you have the time and the space and are in as safe and secure a place as you can be in your life,  just take that plunge and get the chickies.  It was April of 2007 that I got six, cute lil silkies.  A much nicer anniversary.

To be continued...