Growing My Olive Eggers

[Alex15]

the chickies are two weeks old today! Photo shoots are getting a little harder!

Bluey

Queenie

Goldie:

Splodge:

Sparkles:

Bear:

Everyone’s feathering out nicely except Sparkles who is still tiny and feels so soft still! Based on him feathering so slowly I’m wondering if he is a little boy. I’m pretty sure him and splodge are siblings so I’m sure at least one of them is a boy. I’m a little suspicious of Queenie and Goldie being boys too. I had them all out for a play earlier and there was a bit of flying about and chest bumping . I do remember my original chicks doing this too and they were 7 girls and 1 boy, so not worrying too much yet. All my chipmunks do seem very similar with feather growth and size, so maybe they are all boys or all girls!

 

[Alex15]

The chicks are now 3 weeks old! I left them with their grandparents for 5 nights while I went camping and I came back to some huge chicks! I can barely pick them up with one hand anymore.
Bluey is a sweet little chick and appears to be getting a little crest ()

Queenie is getting lots of salmon chest feathers and is the first to get some neck/shoulder feathers!

Goldie loses her sh** every time I take her out fir photos. Poor little thing. Also looks like she’s getting a little crest.

Splodge is feathering nicely with a little barring above her tail. She () is also a sweet little chick

Sparkles is still feathering in SO slow and is still really tiny, but seems happy and healthy otherwise. Clearly barred with lots of white coming through, wondering if this might indicate boy?

Bear is my little cuddle pie, so I’m really hoping she’s a girl. Maybe showing a little crest too!

Haven’t seen any crazy comb or waddle growth since last week and all still yellow. Wondering if Goldie is a roo maybe. Just a feeling, curious to see when I might see some more clues!

 

[BleuSaphir]

All are super adorable! I want some chicks now!

 

[Stefrrr]

The chicks are now 3 weeks old! I left them with their grandparents for 5 nights while I went camping and I came back to some huge chicks! I can barely pick them up with one hand anymore.
Bluey
View attachment 2371268

Queenie is getting lots of salmo
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Goldie loses her sh** every time I take her out fir photos. Poor little thing. Also looks like she’s getting a little crest.
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Splodge is feathering nicely with a little barring above her tail. She () is also a sweet little chick
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Sparkles is still feathering in SO slow and is still really tiny, but seems happy and healthy otherwise. Clearly barred with lots of white coming through, wondering if this might indicate boy?
View attachment 2371274

Bear is my little cuddle pie, so I’m really hoping she’s a girl. Maybe showing a little crest too!
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Haven’t seen any crazy comb or waddle growth since last week and all still yellow. Wondering if Goldie is a roo maybe. Just a feeling, curious to see when I might see some more clues!

I that awkward partially feathered stage!

 

[Alex15]

All are super adorable! I want some chicks now!

I want more

 

[Alex15]

A couple days late but these are the chicks at 4 weeks. Their 4th week of life has been exciting, they’ve moved into a mansion brooder with perches, they’ve had their first visit outside with dirt baths and enjoyed their first treats of cooked egg, yoghurt, lettuce and pear! They’re all getting their own little personalities which I’m loving!

Bluey: I’ve actually started to think Bluey is a girl based on genetics...her mum is a CCL and her dad a welsummer, so if she was a boy she’d be barred I think? Acts rooish sometimes though!

Queenie: I’m on the fence if boy or girl, feathering seems girlyish

Queenie seems to have a girlyish stance in this pic.

Goldie: I’m now fairly sure is a boy with the comb staring to pink up and some pink wattles coming in! He’s the one always starting chest bumps and looking up the most. I also read the incessant chirping. At about 3.5 wks I also started to notice possible fancy rooish feathering in the brighter orange strips that are at the end of some duller patterned feathers.

check out the wattle action!

Splodge: is fast becoming one of my favourites. I’m fairly certain she’s a girl, just the way she carries herself and her feathering. She’s pretty funny and loves the perches and antagonising her broodmates, seems her favourite game is to jump on them!

Sparkles: I also love Sparkles so much. I’m pretty sure he’s a boy from the slow feathering, he’s also the only one that I’ve seen really have a go back at chest bumping Goldie when he’s half his size, only reason I could think why he’d scruff back is if he was also a roo! He loves jumping and finding the highest spots to perch. Reminds me a lot of my old Wyandotte girl Pattie who spent the first 7 weeks of her life as Patrick as I was sure she was a boy because she was always perching high and observing! Sparkles actually slept on the perch overnight which was really cute!

also seems to have a rooish stance and also chirps a lot when I separate him for photo shoot!

Bear: I’m also on the fence of boy or girl. Still a sweetie that likes to cuddle with me, sometimes struts around rooish sometimes girlyish. Bit of a comb which now at 4.5 wks MAY be getting a pink tinge. Lovely grey feathering.

so that’s 4 weeks! I’ll put some miscellaneous pics below of our week!

 

[Alex15]

So just separating from progress and thoughts, here’s some snaps from our week. I love how quickly they adapt to chicken nature, eg. I pop them down onto the grass at 3.5 wks and they start dust bathing! I’ve also seen them do the chirp and run thing when they find a treat, it’s just so cute. So here’s a few more miscellaneous pics:
Cuddles with Bear

Hard to tell but Bear having a dust bath on their first trip outside (Splodge keeping an eye on me!)

Sparkles finding the high point:

The chicks enjoying their perches in their brooder mansion (L-R: Bear, Queenie, Splodge & Sparkles):

I also enjoy spying on them after It’s gone dark! This is the night Sparkles perched all night (saw him still there when I got up in the dark at 530am):

and this was just today at play time. They all kept jumping up on me, particularly Sparkles and Splodge!

 

[Alex15]

So the chicks are now five weeks! I’m playing with them almost every day and they’re getting a lot more interactive and love jumping up on me. Im watching them a lot for roo signs. I’m sure Bluey, Queenie and Splodge are girls. Goldie surely is a rooster with her comb and pink wattles, but then I’m like, maybe it’s her crossbreed that has a bigger comb (which is probably me being in denial ). He/she does biff on a lot, sometimes with the ones I’m sure are girls and they do a lot of head pecking which I’m not sure if that’s a rooster thing! Will post pics in gender forum for opinions next week!
Bluey (loving her crest!):

Queenie:

she brought the feather she was chewing to the photo shoot

Goldie:

Getting a bit of black on his chest and wings and prob a rooish stance!

Splodge:

Sparkles (still a pretty little comb and no real wattles but I’m still wondering about him/her)

and lastly Bear (I’m probably leaning more towards roo with Bear, his comb is popping up and pink wattles are starting to become visible! He’s also started to get nice barring on his neck !)

I think this is a rooish stance

A close up of wattles and comb, still pale, so not convinced but concerned

just ignore my stupid focussing face!

 

[Alex15]

These are the chicks at 6 weeks. Just about fully feathered and ready to move outside! I’m now certain of my boys and girls!

Bluey: my pretty girl with her cute little crest!

Queenie: also certain she’s a girl:

Goldie: by far my biggest boy, while he protests when I seperate him, he doesn’t mind me holding him when he can see everyone

Splodge: another cutie girl

Sparkles, my slow featherer who has finally caught up and also sprouted his comb and wattles. Still a very friendly bird.

and lastly Bear, who was my biggest cuddly chick, but now won’t let me hold him at all

I’m also starting to see some pretty intense fights and stand offs between Bear and Sparkles! Then Sparkles backs down and scampers away, he’s still so tiny!

 

[Mebrou]

Update?