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My Little White Cock Died
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My Little White Cock Died I know this is a sex site but I find it hard to discuss sex with strangers. Sorry, maybe next time. Besides there are plenty of sexy blogs to choose from. This one is a change of pace. A rest stop if you will. Well, just around Thanksgiving Day (11-24-2015) a possum got my little Silky rooster, Salt. In the USA Silkies are considered to be Bantams. They are about one third the size of full sized chickens and lay eggs a little larger than a ping pong ball I trapped the murderous critter the next day and released it at a local wildlife preserve. I thought about shooting it with a large caliber air rifle, but decided against that course of action. I really don't like to kill animals anymore, preferring instead to shoot at them with a camera. Except for rats, I am sorry but I just do not like rats. Any of them, whatever the species. Salt was a good little bird. He stood about 18 inches high and weighed just under 3 pounds when he was killed in his prime. Maybe before his prime since he was only a little over 1 year old. He fathered over 100 Silky chicks. I made quite a few new friends this past summer distributing the fuzzy little birds. They make excellent pets. They are very adorable and have engaging personalities. There are photos in my profile albums. Silkies do not have feathers like regular chickens. Their feathers are like hair or fur. They have 5 or 6 toes instead of the 4 regular chickens have. Also they have black skin and meat. Some Asian markets have them cleaned and prepared same as the yellow skinned and white skinned birds. Silkies also have beards and crests. The males have punk or Mohawk hair styles. The females have fluffy makeup brush looking crests. They have feathered legs and feet. They look really cute. Salt guarded his family. He always cackled to let them know where tasty morsels were and did not eat for himself until all the others were at the trough. Not actually a trough, since chickens scratch and peck around on the ground for sustenance. He considered the whole flock to be his charge. About an hour before dark he would stand by his house and call everyone to bed and then would sleep in the doorway all night. The big birds, of which I have 9 have their own house and they sleep in or on it. (In cold or wet weather in it.) I have 1 white Silky hen that is the same size as the Easter Eggers and sleeps in the Big House with them. I also have another Silky hen that sleeps on top of or in her own little A-frame coop. Pecker is already sleeping upstairs in the Silky House with the hens. He started out sleeping downstairs with the youngsters. The way I came to have the Silkies is through my sister, who received an e-mail with a video of a white Silky and she thought it was so cute. She had to have some for her own enjoyment. She got tired of tending them shortly after Salt began to crow at 6 months of age. She gave Salt, and his harem, consisting of Pepper and Buffy to me, since I already had 7 hens that lay assorted colored eggs. Some have double yolks or are extra Jumbo sized.There are 9 of the regular hens now. Since Salt died I bought a new white rooster. His death worked out to be not devastating, still very sad, and since Pecker (I thought that was a good name for him, a friend suggested it to me) is not related to any of the others. No worries over inbreeding this year. Pecker is about 3 months old and has not started to crow yet. He is very friendly and I think he will be a good cock. He will have about 6-10 hens in his harem. The Silky population has grown to 15. I bought 3 to<b> upgrade </font></b>and have 10 of the young descendants of Salt. I hope in the spring to sell pairs at a swap meet or online. I also plan to keep 2 or 3 of the youngsters for breeding purposes. I get a decent number of eggs because I have 13 hens laying up to an egg a day. This spring I will have 3 or 4 more online and cranking out baby chicks as well. Which pays for the chicken feed and mealworms. Salt stuck strictly to his own variety of hens. He had no interest in the regular girls other than as being in his care. Pecker may be different and jump on anything that does not move out of the way. Hens will not accept a rooster lover unless he is the same or higher status in the group. That may explain Salt's devotion to his girls. The older hens did not think he was good enough for them. Pecker may have the same situation when he starts his family next spring. I have 2 incubators and hatch most of my chicks in them. Raising babies is hard on hens. They spend all but about 20 minutes a day on the eggs and eat barely enough to survive. I let the mothers sit on a brood now and then. Motherhood is tough , too, Mom has to protect, keep warm, dry , fed and still maintain a survivalist diet for 6 to 8 weeks. Laying eggs is a byproduct of good health and a decent diet and doesn't harm Mama. Silkies make great mothers. They will sit on any kind of eggs. I have a friend who raises and shows turkeys. He wanted a Silky to hatch his eggs because turkeys as a rule are not especially good parents. I have met several folks who show these adorable birds. love them. Who would think a chicken could be personable? I am going to miss Salt. He was a friend, one of the few I have. He was a good bird, with a lot of personality. My little avian buddy.  |
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I am so sorry to hear about Salt all life is precious and those of our animals (pets) especially    je ne regrette rien
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