Tuesday, August 31st I received 11 BBS English Orpington chicks from Joy Adkins (justuschickens59). I was privleged enough to have 1 splash chick in my hatch, this thread will record the chicks growth and development. I plan on posting at least 1 picture every day (or so... ) until the chick reaches a year old, hopefully my camera will last that long! We'll all get to see the how chick feathers in, grows up, develops a personality, eventually reveals the mystery of it's gender and either lays an egg, or crows. The chick has no name at this point, I refer to all of the chicks as "my little chunkers" right now, you should be able to see why. I would love suggestions along the way as what to call it. We'll start with the day the chicks were shipped - here we go! 8/30/2010 The chicks made it all the way across the United States, from Virginia to California, completely unharmed and healthy as can be. When my post office called me to come pick them up I raced right down, as soon as I walked through the door I could hear them peeping from the back room! There obviously wasn't anything wrong with their lungs. Joy did a terrific job making sure they made it to me safe and sound, the entire time they were in transit we corresponded. I think she helped to calm my nerves more than she knows! I was so happy when I finally arrived home and opened the box to find... (These pictures were taken by Joy the day of shipping.) The following pictures are of the previous week and a half of the chicks life, not much development visually at this point can be seen though it's temperament has changed some from when it first arrived. The chick is more alert and active now, it's one of the more curious babies and isn't too afraid of the camera. I can't wait to see how it continues to develop it's personality, I hope you enjoy watching my Orp chick grow as much as I do. 8/31/2010
9/5/2010 Little white wing tips are starting to show through now. Look how brave the little chunker is! Can you find me?
9/7/2010 You can really see feathers growing in on it's tiny wings now, only white ones though, no splashes of color yet.
Another photo update of pictures taken today (day 12) will be posted later this evening. Stay tuned for more!