Diana's Desginer Hens
May 27, 2008
Chick update...The Girls (and two Boys) are now 5 1/2 weeks old. They have really grown and as you can see they have most of their feathers now. Doug finished the chicken run, but there is no roof yet, so when they go out to play I stay in with them to ward off hungry hawks and crows.
Mazzi the cattle dog loves that the chicks are now out where she can get a good look at them. Either she is helping me protect them or she thinks they might taste like chicken!
They all LOVE getting outside in the sun. One of their favorite things to do is take group dust (sawdust in this case) baths. They get in some really goofy positions and sometimes look like they are dead!
I pull grass for them to eat and they find worms in the dirt from the grass. I am amazed at the bugs they find while they are outside! They find ants, little flying things...they jump in the air to catch them...and dig under the shavings and dig for worms. When one catches a bug or digs up a worm they run screaming, "I have a bug!!! Don't chase me!! Don't chase me!!" And of course six or seven other chick go chasing after the lucky one...kind of looks like football to me!
You can see in the picture below that they are getting really sassy! Look at that pretty Gold Laced Wyandotte running with her wings spread! They are starting to figure out their pecking order now. They will get in a turf war and one will literally peck the other one on the head once or twice!
The goofiest looking chicks are the Golden Polish. They lay very small white eggs if and when they lay, but they are great comic relief!
After a busy day outside everyone flies up on the top "bunk" and gets ready for some shut-eye. It's hard work being a chick!
More later!!!
Diana