Chickens!!! So we had plans to get 5-6 week old chickens at around the beginning of June since raising chicks and a baby seemed pretty daunting. Well on Sunday we went into the feed store to buy the feeders, waters and door so that we can get the coop finished and we walked out with chicks! Opps! Our new babies are Buff Silkie Bantams and they are so stinking cute. They will grow up to be about 2 pounds and produce smaller eggs, but they are considered to be the lapdog of the chicken world which is perfect with a little one around. Our original plan was to get some Australorps which are champion egg producers but I was nervous about getting an older bird and not being as friendly. My new plan will be to keep these guys for 18 months after they start laying and then get a few Australorps, since little man isn’t really supposed to be eating eggs for the first year or so anyway.
However we do have one tiny little issue. Bantams are so little they only sell them straight run, which in the chicken world means both boys and girls. We picked out three of the smallish chicks but I may very well be raising three roosters, which I’m not allowed to keep, nor would I want to since the primary reason for keeping chickens is for yummy eggs. So here’s hoping for 2 or 3 hens in my guest bedroom brooder, otherwise we may very well end up with the Austrolorps at the beginning of June.
Oh and below is a picture of a white silkie. my little hens (hopefully) will look like this but miniature and tan. Too cute and what a great lawn ornament, much better than some plastic pink flamingos!
A White Silkie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Awww, they are so cute. We are also on a chicken excursion, but not quite ready for peeps. We still have the coop to put together and a run to assemble. We haven’t chosen the breed of chickens we will get yet. I have read Silkies aren’t the greatest egg layers, but they sure make up for it with cuteness. I bet we will end up with a few of them in time.
I appreciate that we each do what is best for our babies. Of course, we know our children best. I have been feeding my 9 month old egg since he was about 6 months. He absolutely loves it and hasn’t had any negative reaction. We eat towards the Paleo/ancestral way in general and there are a few source which suggest egg being one of a baby’s first foods. What are your thoughts? All the best to you and your baby and Silkie babies.
We are trying to eat towards the paleo way as well, with BLW I find it just makes more sense. I’ve read conflicting stuff about eggs so we’ve held off, it’s actually a question I have on my list for the pediatrician this week.
Good luck in your chicken journey as well!