Oct 21, 2014

Fur, Feathers & Scales - Silkie Chickens


Some of you may know I have my own little flock of chickens in my backyard, but I also work with chickens at my zoo job!  We have two silkie chickens--one hen and one rooster.  Their names are Diana and Red, and they are hilarious!  Red crows all the time, and always lets Diana eat first and steal his food.  If we leave the back door open, they willingly stroll inside looking for someone to toss them a handful of mealworms.


Silkie chickens get their names from their soft, fluffy feathers and  are much smaller than most other chickens.
They have dark skin and even dark grey muscles and bones (so I've read.).  Weird, right?




Chickens are so much fun to watch because they have such goofy movements. I mean, just look at this guy:



Even weirder is that they have more toes than other kinds of chickens. These guys have five per foot!. 
 

I didn't photograph Diana much, but I did get this gem...



And here's a behind-the-scenes peek at our set-up.  It's pretty entertaining to have chickens pecking around your classroom!
















If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out my other Fur, Feathers & Scales posts!

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