The chicks have been growing well. They ae now awake for longer than they are asleep. They have real feather (albeit tiny ones) on their wings, and they are starting to lose down from the rest of their bodies.
They are interested in their surroundings, and each other, and spend a lot of time jumping on and off the Electric Hen. yesterday a couple o fthem were trying to dustbathe in the Aubiose, so I'll bemaking up a seed-tray dustbath soon for them to use.
One of the Exchequer Leghorns has a deformed toe. S/he seems completely oblivious to it, and is running around and jumping up and down as much as all the others. We'll keep an eye on himher and see what how things progress. If s/he's a she, she's destined for my Garden Girls; I don't mind having a disabled chook, as long as she's not in any discomfort.
The others are all gorgeous fluffy black balls of fur. We'll need to put leg rings on soon, so that we can tell them apart. We try and pick them up each day. but after a while it's hard to keep track of who's been handled and who hasn't.
I love watching them. We have a camera in the shed so we can watch them at any time. They have the heat lamp on, raised up very high now, as well as the Electric Hen. This makes sure that the area outside the Hen is warm all the time, and the light means that we can see them on the camera.
They are interested in their surroundings, and each other, and spend a lot of time jumping on and off the Electric Hen. yesterday a couple o fthem were trying to dustbathe in the Aubiose, so I'll bemaking up a seed-tray dustbath soon for them to use.
One of the Exchequer Leghorns has a deformed toe. S/he seems completely oblivious to it, and is running around and jumping up and down as much as all the others. We'll keep an eye on himher and see what how things progress. If s/he's a she, she's destined for my Garden Girls; I don't mind having a disabled chook, as long as she's not in any discomfort.
The others are all gorgeous fluffy black balls of fur. We'll need to put leg rings on soon, so that we can tell them apart. We try and pick them up each day. but after a while it's hard to keep track of who's been handled and who hasn't.
I love watching them. We have a camera in the shed so we can watch them at any time. They have the heat lamp on, raised up very high now, as well as the Electric Hen. This makes sure that the area outside the Hen is warm all the time, and the light means that we can see them on the camera.
