Hi i'm new to chicken keeping, i've been reading posts on this site since I got my chicks just over a month ago. Lots of useful and amusing info here. I've fancied keeping chickens for a while now and when I found out there were some chickens going free to a good home then I took the plunge (the Yorkshire in me couldn't resist it owt for nowt tha knows) . Used the excuse that they'd make good and different pets for my two young daughters. So we got a buff Silkie, a black Silkie (although she's got a lot of brown in looks like partridge silkie) and a Sultan. Presently in temporary accomadation in a rabbit hutch & 6' sq run. I think the chicken keeping rules have gone out the window with these chucks. They get fed treats from the breakfast table, my daughter lets them out of their run on a morning and they hang around the french windows at breakfast time like greedy labradors. They are really cheeky chucks they have destroyed a window box I had prepared for the front garden, and I caught them attacking my chilli plants just in time (now back safely ensconsed in greenhouse. My daughters have fed them chips (chicken & chips) which they really enjoyed but their favourite snack/treat by far is meal worms as soon as they here the tub rattle they come running. They also appear to like human company they'll sit in the hen house (rabbit hutch) until you start pottering around in the garden then they come out and follow you around. They come in the house regularly jumping over our old german shepherd dog (one of two that we have) in the process. No eggs as yet but not really surprised I believe silkies not good layers and daughters don't help. The only thing i'm dissapointed about is that they don't appear to like slugs with which we are plagued. Though they make up for this by keeping my grass short no need for lawnmower now.