Silkies: Fuzzy Chickens!

A few weeks ago I visited the Maplewood Farm in North Vancouver, which is also a petting zoo! There were a lot of super cute animals there, but one in particular caught my attention because I have never seen it before. This animal is a Silkie Chicken, and in my words, a fuzzy Chicken!

Silkie Chickens are really fuzzy and soft, but despite their fluffiness, these birds cannot fly. These fuzzy Chickens have five toes, just like us humans, which is strange for a Chicken as most have only four toes. This little guy is so fluffy that you can barely see its face!

Silkie Chickens are said to be very friendly and also very good mothers. They will even take care of other birds' babies! 

No one is quite sure where the Silkie Chicken originally lived, but it was probably China. When people first encountered these fuzzy Chickens they thought they might have been the babies of Chickens and Rabbits! 

Llama Llama!

 A few weeks ago I visited a petting zoo at Lester's Farm! There were a bunch of adorable animals such as, bunnies, baby goats, sheep, cows, baby chicks, a pig, but my favorite of all was the baby Llama!

Baby Llama!

A baby Llama is also called a "cria", which is the Spanish word for "baby". Llama moms are pregnant for about 11 months and stand up while giving birth. The baby Llama can usually walk and eat within an hour of being born!

I was very excited to meet this baby Llama! I pet him and his fur was super fuzzy and soft. I also fed him some grass, which is one of their favourite snacks.



Mommy and Baby Llama!

Llamas like to be around lots of other Llamas! These animals are domesticated, meaning there are no wild Llamas. They are related to camels and were domesticated from a wild camel called a "Guanaco".

Baby Pygmy Animals!

Since I've become unemployed, I have so much more time to update my blog! 

Today's post is about pygmy animals, which are tiny versions of big animals, making them extra cute!

Maybe one day I'll pet a baby pygmy hippo!

A baby pygmy hippo! 

These hippos live in Africa in forests and swamps. They mostly keep to themselves and are more active in the night (nocturnal). Like bigger hippos, they like living in the water, and will sometimes give birth there. 


These adorable little hippos love munching on grass and fruit. They sneak out of their river hiding spot around dusk to eat. Sometimes pygmy hippos sleep in dens or burrows in the river bank. Although, no one knows if the hippos actually make these homes themselves.

So tiny!

A baby pygmy tarsier!

Pygmy tarsiers were thought to be extinct since the 1920's until recently in 2008 when these cute little animals were rediscovered. 

They are nocturnal primates who live in Indonesia and are only about 9 to 10 cm long!

They have long tails and nails on their teensy hands for gripping onto trees. Tarsiers nibble on insects and sleep vertically in trees during the day.

Pygmy Marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world (although pygmy tarsiers are tinier, but are not monkeys, just primates). They are abut 14 to 16 cm in length! These tiny monkeys makes their homes in the rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.


Pygmy marmosets use different whistles and calls to talk to family members. Sometimes these calls give warnings of approaching danger.


These super adorable monkeys eat insects, fruit, tree sap, and leaves.

Pygmy goats are originally from West Africa and have since been domesticated. 


These mini goats like chewing on grains and grasses. 


They live for about 10-15 years and are very popular as household pets or in petting zoos.