Getting more friendly - no full on cuddling yet, and that may never come, and Brooke still hides a lot of the time, but they are clearly feeling like it's home. I wear shoes inside (because I have off and on plantar fasciitis), but occasionally am barefoot. I have definitely noticed that when I'm walking near her, she really watches my feet when I'm wearing shoes, and will look at my shoes warily even across the room, but she will approach and sniff my bare toes. I'm suspecting that at some point in her life she was kicked enough to fear shoes.
Here too - my car is BRIGHT yellow. (cough, cough, sniff, sniff).
Believe it or not, I did! And this morning they seem none the worse for wear. I've been cleaning brooders this AM, took a break for lunch, heading over to clean theirs in a minute.
I was weighing and cleaning and looking over the chicks and unfortunately, the super small S&G NNs that I've been worried about (who are so so small and not growing well) are starting to act unwell (well, two of them). I already knew that I was going to cull these, but was going to give them a shot of growing up with the rest, but if they're going to be ill as well, I'm afraid I'll need to cull this weekend. (Looking for strong resistant breeding stock from this group - so not going to keep any unwell birds.) All other chicks in that brooder are hale and hardy, and all other chicks in the other groups also are. I had some Speckled Sussex (hatchery) who were super susceptible to cocci, and were very hard to keep treated. I got them through it and into adulthood just fine, but later decided to give them away as backyard layers, because I don't want disease-susceptible genetics in any of my future chicks.
I put some probiotics in their water (which could help them and couldn't hurt the group), and will give them a day to perk up, then will decide. One of the more unpleasant aspects of chicken breeding...
OK, off to do more brooder cleaning...
- Ant Farm
me with snow! 
