New Chicks in the Flock (pic heavy!)

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Guess who turned a week old today...

Hard to believe they're already a week old. Look at all the feathers we've accumulated:

Sassy Marans has feathers coming out everywhere...

...Even on her feet!

(Which still amazes and intrigues me... )


Pip has big wings already, and a tail opening out.

SWSSU is finally getting her wings in fully:

Even though her sister, Little Miss Lungs, is now getting shoulder pins (which aren't easy to see in this pic):

Cute little Iddy Biddy is behind in feather growth, but she's catching up quickly!

It's incredible how much they can grow in just one week.

Sassy Marans likes to try to fly already.

Pip is preening all the time (that's my girl!).

And, well, we know how Little Miss Lungs is, so I sat down and had a serious talk with her about the big, handsome roosters always singing outside the window.

 

[Fluffballs]

Love the stories! Keep 'em coming!

 

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Little Miss Lungs is looking more and more like a Freema Jr. That's a good thing, by the way.

Little Miss Lungs now perches on my hand when I put it in the brooder.

She will also sit on my wrist and surf around BYC with me.

In case you wondered, Freema is a barred rock I got last year. She perches on my lap whenever possible and even gets jealous if I'm holding another chicken. When she was a chick, I would hardly have the chance to get seated beside the brooder before she was flying all over me. If I can find my favorite chick picture of her, I'll add it to this post.

EDIT: Here's sweet Freema as a baby, snuggled up in my hand. This is from last year, when Freema was about a week old. (The quality of the picture isn't great because it was before I got my camera and the picture was taken instead on my cell phone.)

 

[Fluffballs]

So cute!!!

She's surfs BYC with you!!!

 

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A small entry from Little Miss Lungs' point of view.


Surfing the web is fun, and it's so nice to be snuggled up with the person.

At least until all the pictures go away and the person starts reading. Then it gets boring.

So... So boring...

...Zzzz...

When I'm not surfing the web, my friends and I practice our flying with some laps back and forth through the brooder.

I can allllmost fly!

Well, at least if Sassy Marans stays out of the way... CRASH LANDING!!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Fluffballs]

The sleeping pictures were so cute and funny!!!

Thanks for sharing again! Keep it coming!

 

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Busy, busy day... I'm just now getting some time to spend with the babies and it won't be much time because I'll have to go tend to the older gals before long. :/

So the only picture I have to offer is this:

Yes, the babies have discovered their wings. As a matter of fact, they find it quite unfair that I'm keeping them from exploring my room!


No pictures for this next bit, but apparently Iddy Biddy isn't out of the woods yet as far as her health goes. She's still behind in feather growth, though she's catching up in overall growth. Now, the outer toes on her feet are curling outward. The babies are receiving a vitamin/electrolyte supplement now and if I don't see signs of it slowing, I may just splint her toes.

Anyone know how old is too old to splint a chick's toes? Like, at what age will the bones set to the point where I can't fix her toes by splinting them? The babies are 11 days old now.

 

[Fluffballs]

Oh dear! I hope Iddy Biddy will be OK! I'll be praying!

 

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I think Iddy Biddy will survive, I'm just concerned that she may have problems scratching or perching later in life. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about when I say her outer toes are curling outward:

Her toes have curled even a bit more since I first noticed this. I might make a post over at the Raising Chicks or Emergencies / Diseases board for her...



In other news, it would appear someone got jealous of her sister; SWSSU now wrestles with Little Miss Lungs for a spot on my hand. Here's SWSSU on her turn in the hand:

I will make an effort to get a picture of both SWSSU and Little Miss Lungs sitting in my hand side-by-side as they sometimes like to do.


Sassy Marans is finally starting to get some 'splash' in her feathers, which you can kind of see in this pic:

I am considering her grown-up name as of now. I like Ashy or Jayjay (as in blue jay), but I'm not totally sure yet.


And finally, some pictures that were too cute to pass up sharing:

Pip and all her beautiful feathers:

Front to back, this is Little Miss Lungs, SWSSU, and Iddy Biddy falling asleep for a nap:

This was so adorable! Sassy Marans tucked her little beak behind her wing for a nap!

 

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The brooder was cleaned today. That means the chicks were moved to a scary new place with a strange floor and dumped there while their person did the work:

After getting used to their new surroundings, the chicks did some exploring:

(Anyone else notice Iddy Biddy eying that male model in one of the ads? )


But before long, they were scooped up and returned to their fresh, clean brooder.

This whole ordeal left the chicks needing some time to recover:

But soon, they were back at their usual antics:

These shavings were just not arranged properly. Pip was determined to fix that:

(Aren't her little wings just so pretty? )


Iddy Biddy joined in the effort to properly arrange the shavings:

Iddy Biddy's got some kick!

When they were finished, they left many pits like this all over the area under the heat lamp:

And as for me, well, I get to dig through dirty shavings because I forgot to remove Mr. Thermometer before I cleaned the brooder out.


EDIT: As a side note, because Little Miss Lungs and SWSSU are growing so fast and don't seem to fit in my hand next to each other anymore, and they both want all the attention, I had to sit them on my lap to make them both happy. (SWSSU is the one that's standing, of course.)

Goodness, I just love Plymouth Rocks.