These adorable little chickens are called Silkies. Oh, come here. Calm down. It's okay.
The reason they're called Silkies is that their feathers are like silk. In fact, you
can see that they can't fly very well because they're feather, their wing feathers, are
shredded like this. One of the great things about Silkies is that they make excellent
pets. They have a really mild and easy going disposition, so that makes them perfect for
kids. Kids just love them because they're so whacky looking. Look at their little crest
or top hats. And they have beards. And look at those turquoise earlobes -- they almost
look like really fancy ear rings. And they have five toes. You can see their five toes
here. Most chickens only have four. Silky has five. And they have purple skin. Yep,
show a little skin here. See? It's purple. They also have feathers on their legs, which
make them look like they're walking around in their pajamas. They hardly even look like
chickens, but they are. They'll actually lay more eggs than you might think. These don't
really get that large. They're Bantam forms of Silkies that are really small, but Silkies
are considered just a small chicken. They came from China, and they were first introduced
to Europe by Marco Polo in the 13th Century. That's the first Western account we have of
them, and they've been popular ever since. Now these five chicks, we hatched about a
month and a half or two months ago. And you can see, they're coming along nicely. We started
them with chick starter. Now they're eating a starter-grower, which has a high protein
content in it. And these little hens will begin to lay eggs at about 10 to 11 months.
Here you go. See how easy going they are? You can name them. You can give them wacky
names. They'll actually become a pet, and they'll come running up to you and want you
to hold them. Come here. You'll find with Silkies, like with so many other domestic
animals, the more you play with them and spend time with them the more they'll become socialized.
That's what's going on with these. Every other day or so, I try and spend a little time with
them, which is a lot fun. Now Silkies make great mothers. Some people who raise pheasants
and rare birds, they'll actually have Silkies to sit on the eggs and hatch them for them.
Event the males are very paternal and tend to take care of the chicks. They're easy to
care for. They don't make a lot of noise. So if you live in the city, you might have
a grumpy neighbor, but you want chickens, you might try Silkies. So you may be asking:
"Where can you find these fuzzy little fowl?" Well, there are breeders of Silkies just about
everywhere. One of the best places to go is just to attend a poultry show. You'll find
a lot of them on exhibition. There, you'll meet a breeder, and you can find out where
you can buy some, whether they're the baby chicks or the adult birds, or you can hatch
your own. If you're enjoying these Farm Raised Segments, tell a friend about them. Check
in with us regularly and subscribe to Farm Raised. Oh, yeah, go on. Get you some water.
You need a haircut.
