Chicks - Catching Up

I haven't kept up with 'baby pictures' of the chicks. It's amazing to us how big they're getting -- it seems like you could watch them grow before your eyes!

Here they are at 6 days old:

and here they are at 2 weeks.
They're starting to look less chick-like and more chicken-like.
They're already getting their adult feathers:

Today I picked up 6 new chicks...oops, make that 7! There was one little girl (I hope) I just couldn't resist. More on her in a minute. The six new girls are Red Stars. 3 are 1 week old and 3 are newborns.

Here are the newest chicks (the video is whacked and they look like they're doing head-bobs or something):

You'll notice that there's one very tiny brown chick. She's a Mille Fleur bantam -- she'll be very small and lay tiny eggs. The Red Stars will weigh about 7 lbs. as adults, but she'll only weigh about 1 1/2 lbs. She's so tiny and so sweet, I just couldn't pass her up! Here's a picture of Jim holding her in one hand a large egg in the other.
Oh, did I keep referring to her as 'her'? Well, there's a chance that she might be a he...the hatchery tries to make sure that they ship hens if you want hens, but there's always a chance you'll get a rooster. I want to name her Precious, but may end up calling her Elvis...

Here's what she'll look like grown:

And now, on to the housing problem! How do you put newborns in with 2 week old chicks? We didn't want the bigger chicks to overrun or pick on the tinies. We tried an apartment:
A problem arose, though, when the little ones stuck their heads through the chicken wire (that's why chickens don't rule the world).

So, we ended up with condos:

Now we have 13 chicks in the guest bathroom, and there are constant little 'peeps'. Lucky Charlie and Sarah get to share that bathroom with the girls when they come next month!

Here are Laverne, Belle & Thelma just waiting for their 13 little sisters to come out and play!

It's a girl...and a girl, and a girl...

I picked up the first six of our new chicks today.  Here's a slideshow (including videos)!

Customize your own digital slideshow

An Easter Memory

Happy Easter!  I've always loved this picture -- taken in 1987 (our first Easter in Columbus, Ohio).  The guys were 7, 4 & less than a year old.  Good times!

Happy Hens

I don't collect chickens, but I tend to pick up interesting vintage chicken items.  I spent the remainder of my Christmas money (thanks, Aunt Gene!) on this gem -- a large square chicken  tablecloth.   I especially like the hens on their nests in the corners and the circle of eggs around the center.

Then there's this little hen toy -- when you turn the crank it makes a sound like a hen clucking.  It drives Turner crazy, which is a bonus to an otherwise cool old toy!

Happy hens make a happy coop!