Our chicks are 10 days old, and have changed so much from the little fluffballs we brought home. After 10 days, chicks have grown ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) They are beginning to look more like chickens, and are hoovering up food like crazy! You'll see in this photo that they have definite beaks, and are developing the characteristic "beady eye" of chickens. A bird in hand . . . . ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden ) This coming week they will be venturing outside in their enclosed temporary coop with me hovering over them. They will discover grass, bugs, and dirt. Chicken heaven!
When I was young my mother let me outside and I too discovered grass, bugs and dirt. But I had to wash it off when I came inside. :-( Cute chicks, do they follow you around? Jerry
Healthy looking chicks!,..what a great big world they are about to enter,..bugs, worms,dust to scratch about in,strange noises and THINGS to investigate,..that might be food.
They are healthy and cute-looking chicks. What type of chicken are they? When you let them out will it be with a surrogate mum...or will they just sort of discover things for themselves? Do you plan to get more later on?
Jerry, no they don't follow me around--that will come when they are free-ranging as teenagers, and I train them to come and follow with a plate of treats. Sojerd, they come with an inborn ability to find food--insects, seeds, grass. I am their surrogate mama, in that I provide food and protection. They will learn to follow me and run to me when they feel threatened. They are Black Australorps, which is a croos of an Australian chicken and Buff Orpingtons. They can tolerate our Texas heat, lay large brown eggs all year around (some breeds shut down in cold or hot weather) and are very docile. We have six mature hens, and with these, we'll have a flock of about a dozen hens. As our older hens start laying less, we'll depend on the younger ones to produce eggs. However, the older hens are going to stay with us as long as possible. Think of our farm as a rest home for geriatric hens!
Well, they are a lot cuter than weeds but maybe not much more work than pulling weeds. I'd take them over weeds any day. Weeds don't give you eggs or anything but grief. dooley
They're certainly growing quickly but still look like cut little bundles to me. I hope they go on to produce lots of eggs for you.
