Girl Stumbled Across Prize Silkies

Girl Stumbled Across Prize Silkies LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Amanda Samuelson was stuck on Silkies from the time she first saw them on the internet Although one of the oldest of chicken breeds the bantam-size chickens are far from common with their hair-like feathers and fluffy heads With eggs the size of ping pong balls they are prized only as ornamental pets or as brooding hens for difficult-to-hatch eggs     The 17-year-old had raised other breeds of chickens in the past The look and temperament of the Silkie caught the teenager s attention      We heard about a guy in a neighboring town that might have some recalls Samuelson He had found a breeding pair at an auction and got 7 chicks from them     Samuelson raised 4 of the chicks and exhibited them at her county fair She won a trip to the Minnesota State Fair where she won reserve champion Bystanders urged her to enter them in an open show so she went to the Eastern National Silkie Show held in Menominee Wis One of her hens won grand champion out of 1 000 birds at the show      We got lucky when we found these birds says Samuelson s mother Lorrie The mother and daughter have made the most of their luck They have built the flock from 7 to 28 and hatched out more than 80 chicks this winter     Baby chicks sell for $5 each with the price increasing with age of the bird They sold adults at the Minnesota State Fair for $25 each and were told the national champion was worth $200     The birds may be white partridge gray splash black or buff and bearded or non-bearded Only white or black have been bred for showing All have black skin and black bones and are used for black bone soup in their native China     The birds are fed a high protein game bird diet Full grown hens average about 27 oz while the roosters are about 32 oz Samuelson keeps show birds in a cage prior to shows to keep them clean She shampoos them and blow-dries them for each show      They are really gentle perhaps because they can t really see you when you come into their pen says Samuelson All they can do is look down at your feet     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Amanda Samuelson 33320 County 8 Blvd Cannon Falls Minn 55009 ph 651 258-4348

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