Growing (Size and Friendliness)- 5 1/2 weeks old

Coby is holding the Silver Laced Wyandotte. Notice the coloring in the feathers. This is our biggest chick.
















Remi enjoys feeding the chicks from his hand.
















While we were out of town for a long weekend, our neighbors cared for the chicks (and did a great job!). During that time, they made a roosting bar for the girls and we've seen several of them enjoying it. They also try to roost on the framing of the coop, so we will need to provide a couple more roosting options soon.
















Here is an up-close photo of one of the Buff Opingtons. She's got just a little bit of fuzz left on her head, but otherwise fully feathered.

Having chicks is a bit like having a baby around the house. We get lots of visitors who come by to see them, hold them, and check out the great coop! So fun-- we welcome more visitors!

Holly Oak Hen Haven Completed!

The Holly Oak Hen Haven has been completed! While the boys and I were in Oklahoma, Damon finished the coop and the Holly Oak Hens moved in. By day, the chicks are outside enjoying the dirt and fresh air, scratching away to their hearts' content. And at night, the girls move back into their cage and condo attachment with the security of their heat lamp. A few finishing touches still need to be made on the coop, like hanging the waterer and feeder, adding nesting boxes and roosting bars, and somehow sealing the space above the door so rats don't get in. The coop is awesome-- thank you Dad and Damon for your fine workmanship and all the time you spent designing and constructing the coop of my dreams! Oh, and I'll need to decorate the coop a bit as well.

It has been a week since we've seen the chicks and my have they grown! The Silver Laced Wyandotte has grown white feathers on her head! All the birds look bigger and covered in more feathers. And when I got home late last night and saw them, a couple had learned to roost on their bamboo perches for sleeping!

Feature Breed: Red Sex Link

Here is a picture of my Red Sex Link (also called a Red Star) chick. This one is supposed to be guaranteed to be female because the coloration is linked to the sex chromosome. However, this one is not looking so red. If she is indeed female, she is supposed to be a stellar egg layer! She is supposed to be rather un-phased by cold or hot weather and should just keep laying. You can see her feathers have been coming in on her wings, back, and tail. Her head is still mostly fluffy. She has been getting her feathers before the Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks. I do think she's older than the others, maybe as much as a week older.

Damon continues to work on the coop. Here you can see most of the hardware cloth up. Soon the chicks will be able to spend their days out in their coop!

For the past couple of days, I have put the chicks in their cage out on the front patio. But today, I put the cage down on some dirt. The girls spent a lot of time pecking in the dirt from their cage. In fact, their poop turned dark today, most likely from the dirt. It seems as though the chicks don't rest when they are outside. They are busy pecking, chasing each other around, etc. So when I do bring them back inside around dinner time and refill their food/water, they eat and drink for a few minutes and then fall alseep for a while. They always look so wiped out!

This picture of the chicks in their cage was taken after they had a couple hours of rest this evening. On the top bar are the Red Sex Link and one Barred Rock. In the middle of the photo are the Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Buff Orpington. Front left is another Buff Orpington and front right is the other Barred Rock. They got quite curious tonight. A couple ventured out of their cage and came to perch on my fingers.

Australorp, No More

The Black Australorp was going to be my favorite hen because of the pretty green/purple iridescence on the black feathers. Also, this bird is supposed to lay an average of 5 eggs per week AND she was supposed to have a sweet and shy temperament. Unfortunately, the chick we thought was a Black Australorp developed stripes and looks just like the Barred Rock, so I guess we have two Barred Rocks. Oh well, at least she is still alive and hasn't ended up a rooster (yet)!


The coop is looking nice. Damon has been working hard putting up the hardware cloth, and it looks really nice! He has the right side of the coop mostly done. It would be nice to get these stinky chicks outside during the day. They eat and poop so much and I'm sure they'd like to have some more space. I clean their cage every 24 hours and I think I need to start doing it twice/day because it is so stinky by the next day. But the more they eat, the faster they grow, and the sooner we get eggs.


The "girls" have been losing their fluff and new feathers have been growing in. It is hard to sweep up the fluff because it flies across the kitchen so easily. Imagine sweeping dandilion puff balls and that's what it is like.




Here is a picture of the curious girls when I opened their cage. The Buff Orpintons (yellow chicks) like to come out and visit with me, but the other birds need some coaxing.

Perching

The birds have been looking for new places to perch. I added some bamboo bars to serve as practice roosting bars. While the various chicks have been standing on them for a couple of days, today I saw the Barred Rock sitting down on the bar.

In the next photo, the Silver Laced Wyandotte is perched on the feeder. Incidentally, the birds seem to be eating constantly. In 10 days, I've gone through 5 pounds of chick food. And how do they eat and chirp at the same time? It seems that every waking moment, the birds are chirping. The chirp is pleasant, not loud.

This weekend Damon was at the Maker Faire, so he didn't work on the coop. Today he started nailing up the hardware cloth (with smaller holes than chicken wire so rats can't get in the coop). I will post a picture of it next time.


And here is what the Silver Laced Wyandotte should look like (top) and the Barred Rock (bottom). Both hens should lay an average of 4 brown eggs per week. While the Barred Rock is "calm, plucky, and docile" the Wyandotte is generally easy-going with a tendency towards domination. In fact, even as a chick, this bird seems to be in charge of the rabbit cage. But look how pretty she'll become!