Illinois...

So our little chicks are going to be two weeks old tomorrow. I have one in particular that seems very curious. In the last few days, often when I put my hand in the brooder, Sweat Pea will climb up my arm! Today when she did it, Charlotte followed and they both sat on my shoulders. I was just curious (as first time chicken mama) if these are signs that they're going to be friendly, or if they're just trying to be dominant, etc... Sweet Pea is an easter egger and Charlotte is a Black laced silver wyandotte.
Hens get friendlier with age, so if they are already running up to you now, I'm sure they'll be very friendly with regular handling. Each will have her own personality. Some of mine love to cuddle and follow me around whining .... until I pick them up. Others will run to greet me but prefer not to be held.

My EEs have always had unique personalities. One was beautiful - but dumb. Another loved to chase animals from the yard. She would literally sit on the fence and swoop down to scare off unsuspecting squirrels. (We think she learned this behavior because of our dogs' passionate obsession with chasing rabbits & squirrels.)

Then there's my intelligent & fearless 8-yr-old Easter Egger, Tyrion. (Thought Tyrion was a rooster for 5 months) She was the smallest & a week younger than the others, but held her own. At 2 weeks old she sent my 100 lb dog running after a peck on the nose. Tyrion was a problem-solver and always figured out ways to enter & exit the garden. While having a backyard summer science camp, Tyrion decided to steal my students' sandwiches. All the other birds were wary of strangers and stayed near the coop, but not Tyrion! Imagine girl in chair eating a sandwich - then an uninvited chicken lands in her lap and starts eating the opposite end of her sandwich. All of a sudden the other kids wanted to feed their lunches to the chicken too.

Tyrion's now the old matriarch of the flock. She no longer gets into as much mischief, but she's still in charge. She won't let the roosters mate her. She also won't allow any hen to use HER nest box on a day she plans to lay an egg.
 
Okay I did the best I could. The Andalusian boy was literally trying to attack my phone. The silked white girl decided to dunk her head in the water as I was filling it so forgive her funky look. It’s not as upright for sure as the Andalusian. And it’s tail looks like almost nonexistent. And I think it lol is less red than yesterday so maybe it was just worked up? And a pic of the Andalusian dude just cuz he’s pretty.
The lav orp looks a bit male-ish, but I would expect to see more wattles by 10 weeks. I would not make any decision on his/her fate at this point. If there's a chance of a female, then it's best to wait.

The good news is that Orpingtons are generally slow to mature (means you probably have 4-6 months before crowing & mating) You'll know the gender before that.

Yes, the comb can turn more pink when excited or on a hot day.
 
Look! Look! Look! A puppy!!!
20210316_155203.jpg


I just put the deposit down on this little guy. He's a 4 month old French Bulldog. Bringing him home on the way back from vacation likely.
 
Hens get friendlier with age, so if they are already running up to you now, I'm sure they'll be very friendly with regular handling. Each will have her own personality. Some of mine love to cuddle and follow me around whining .... until I pick them up. Others will run to greet me but prefer not to be held.

My EEs have always had unique personalities. One was beautiful - but dumb. Another loved to chase animals from the yard. She would literally sit on the fence and swoop down to scare off unsuspecting squirrels. (We think she learned this behavior because of our dogs' passionate obsession with chasing rabbits & squirrels.)

Then there's my intelligent & fearless 8-yr-old Easter Egger, Tyrion. (Thought Tyrion was a rooster for 5 months) She was the smallest & a week younger than the others, but held her own. At 2 weeks old she sent my 100 lb dog running after a peck on the nose. Tyrion was a problem-solver and always figured out ways to enter & exit the garden. While having a backyard summer science camp, Tyrion decided to steal my students' sandwiches. All the other birds were wary of strangers and stayed near the coop, but not Tyrion! Imagine girl in chair eating a sandwich - then an uninvited chicken lands in her lap and starts eating the opposite end of her sandwich. All of a sudden the other kids wanted to feed their lunches to the chicken too.

Tyrion's now the old matriarch of the flock. She no longer gets into as much mischief, but she's still in charge. She won't let the roosters mate her. She also won't allow any hen to use HER nest box on a day she plans to lay an egg.
Thanks so much for sharing! That is just too funny! I can't wait; I already want more :oops:
 
The lav orp looks a bit male-ish, but I would expect to see more wattles by 10 weeks. I would not make any decision on his/her fate at this point. If there's a chance of a female, then it's best to wait.

The good news is that Orpingtons are generally slow to mature (means you probably have 4-6 months before crowing & mating) You'll know the gender before that.

Yes, the comb can turn more pink when excited or on a hot day.
I know our buff Orpington was the last of my original girls to lay. I was just looking back at pictures and she had less going on at 17 weeks 😬 I definitely won’t rehome until I know for sure.
This is miss cinnamon at 17 weeks. She’s a sweet girl. But this definitely makes me more concerned.
 

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Look! Look! Look! A puppy!!!
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I just put the deposit down on this little guy. He's a 4 month old French Bulldog. Bringing him home on the way back from vacation likely.


So cute!!!!!!! I forgot how much energy puppies have until we brought 2 of them home a couple of weeks ago. My huskies are high energy anyway well into their old age so I thought I'd be prepared but since my last additions have all been rescues, the last actual puppy I had was in 2009. So much energy!!!!! But the puppy breath, kisses and sweet noses are so worth it!!
 

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