Chicks Update

The chicks are now about 13 days old, and as their appetites increase, so have their feathers. The wings are the most apparent. They can now fly over their feeder, and seem to do it as a bit of a competition sometimes. They line up and each give it a shot, much like a diving board at a public pool. If they don't get a good start they end up landing on it, instead of over it. Also, at night, as their light attracts flying insects, they have begun flying a bit to catch them. Its more like fly-jumping, but it makes for good chick exercise if you ask me, and not to mention putting a small dent in the flying insect population.

In most recent days, the chicks have started sprouting little tail feathers. They are showing signs of combs on the tops of their beaks, and their beaks themselves have grown a bit...but the rest of their body is still covered with fuzz, and they still cuddle together when it gets cold. We put grass clippings in the enclosure about every other day to keep them busy, and feed them worms from our yard. They enjoy the smaller worms right now, as they are easier to gulp down while the other chicks are trying to steal it. The larger worms just last longer in the pen, and gives the less aggressive birds in the pen a chance at a treat.

I am trying to hand tame them as well. I try and hold a few chicks a day, and put my hand inside their dwelling whenever I'm checking up on them, just so they are used to me. So far they have been easy to care for, lots of fixing the water dispenser as they kick litter into it when they scratch, but nothing major. I cleaned the litter out of the whole pen while the chicks were in it one day, and they were pretty traumatized. They were standing in the corner all bunched up with their necks stretched upwards, chirping violently. I'm hoping the next time I clean it, they will be large enough to go into their coop and explore for a while.