Day 7 - Here Come the Tail Feathers

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his. 

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his. 

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his.