Weekly Updates (31 chicks!)

[CalicoMoonFarm]

These pictures were snagged from video (because these babies just don't stand still) last night at about one week old. Some were braver than others about their mugshots being taken, lol. Most of the chicks are actually a day or two older than a week, but close enough! They are all barnyard crosses, test subjects for their lovely breeder who needed to try out her incubator before she starts breeding in earnest. There's possibly Marans (FBC, Wheaten, and Birchen), easter eggers, Crested Cream Legbars, olive eggers, California Whites, and Wyndottes in the mix!

I think it'll be fun trying to guess who's going to wake us up in the morning, who's going to be helping with breakfast, and who's going to be dinner.


#1, Riker, is staying with us no matter what; my husband laid a claim to this baby before he even got all the way home with them. They were hatched from a FBCM egg, and pipped out the wrong end! There was a lot of blood lost and they had an open navel, spraddle legs, and curled toes when they got home at slightly less than 24 hours old. I've spent the past week hand feeding this baby water, then egg yolk, then feed+yolk mash, then finely chopped scrambled eggs until finally they found and ate chick feed without any help yesterday! NutriDrench picked this baby up while they figured out the food situation. Now they're straight-legged, straight-toed, closed-naveled and running with the other chicks full time.
This baby has fluffy cheeks, feathered legs, and is rumpless!

#2 is almost voiceless! Their voice is very quiet and they don't peep at all unless worried. This chick is also the smallest, even smaller than Riker!

#3 is possibly my favorite, they might become my chicken. Very curious and friendly, even from day 1. This chick is the largest of the bunch.

#4 is very bold, I already strongly suspect this one to be a cockerel. Always first to come running to see what I'm up to, always watching me closely, has even jumped at my hand a few times as if to spur when I reached to pick up the other babies! Very swept-back fluffy cheeks and lovely dark green legs.

#5 has the fluffiest cheeks of all and beautiful green legs

#6 has just the prettiest copper-speckled wings

#7 has a white spot on the top of it's head

#8 also has a white head spot


#10 has fluffy cheeks and beautiful feathered yellow legs speckled with slate, looks like a baby penguin


#12 has a white head spot



#15 might be rumpless (I have to check again, they didn't appreciate me touching their booty!)

#16 has a white head spot

#17 has a white head spot




#21 has a white head spot

#22 has a white head spot



#25 has a white head spot


#27 has a white head spot


#29 is rumpless!


#31 has a white head spot

 

[Pretty Birds]

Interesting combinations! Please post more pictures as they grow.

 

[drumstick diva]

some really nice chickens, will love to see photos as they grow.

 

[N F C]

Very cute chicks...have fun!

 

[CalicoMoonFarm]

2 week update!
Most of the babies are getting shoulder feathers, and several are getting body feathers now as well, so they are starting to look a little like scraggly pre-teens. There has only been a single minor injury (a pecked tail feather from #4 to #30) and not a single instance of pasty butt or any other malady! *knocks on all the wood within reach*

I'm always trying to guess who's a cockerel and who's a pullet, though I know it's still probably way too early.

#1 Riker is doing fantastic, though I do consider them to be ~a week behind developmentally due to their rough start. Still spoiled and snuggly and opinionated!


#3 is officially my chicken. I have named them Ghoti, pronounced "fish". This baby is the largest and most feathered of them all, I suspect pullet?

#4 still super fuzzy and a poor attitude, still suspect cockerel. This baby may be a chronic feather-pecker, he's the one that pecked #30's tail bloody the other day and has been seen intently pecking at other tails and shoulders. 24 hours in the "time-out" crate as well as a slight dimming of the lights and addition of more enrichment items has lessened his pecking to some degree, but if the behavior continues this one might need a peeper or even to be raised adjacently. Certainly not a keeper if it continues!

#5 I really hope this one's a pullet, such fluffy cheeks and the most beautiful light green legs!

#6

#7 (white spot on head) has a large comb and is still very downy, cockerel maybe?

#8 (white spot on head) has a large comb and is still very downy, cockerel maybe?


#10 is still definitely a favorite because of the penguin-like baby fluff, and will likely be named Mumble if it turns out to be a pullet. Large and lots of body feathers, pullet maybe?


#12 (white spot on head)


#14 is large and has a fair amount of body feathers, pullet maybe?

#15 (white spot on head) I had thought this one was also rumpless, but now there are tiny little pin feathers back there, so I don't know Also this baby is very fuzzy, has a large pink comb already, and seems to have wide white bars so cockerel maybe?

#16 (white spot on head)

#17 (white spot on head) has large comb, is very fuzzy, and has absolute tree trunks for legs, cockerel maybe?




#21 (white spot on head)

#22 (white spot on head) has a large pink comb, is still very downy, and seems to have defined white bars, cockerel maybe?


#24 is large and has a fair amount of body feathers, pullet maybe? (I hope so, this one is such an interesting color)

#25 (white spot on head)


#27 (white spot on head)

#28 is large and has a fair amount of body feathers, pullet maybe?

#29 I was absolutely certain that this baby was rumpless, I didn't feel the tail bone at the week 1 check, but there are now tiny little pin feathers sprouting back there! I suspect this one to be a cockerel because not only is it very fuzzy (not even a hint at shoulder feathers yet!) but also it's usual posture is very upright and I frequently see it squaring up with the chicks with white spots on their heads as well as a couple others I also suspect to be cockerels.

#30 is large and has almost as many body feathers as #3, pullet maybe?

#31 (white spot on head) has a pink comb and is still very downy, cockerel maybe?




The things I'm loosely looking at as far as trying to guess sex are combinations of leg size, how quickly they're feathering, and how quickly they're growing, as well as the white head spots on dark chicks(which I believe all may be cockerels even just based on behavior). I know it's not exactly reliable but it sure is fun!

 

[TwoCrows]

They sure grow fast! Cutie pies!

 

[Nats Chickens]

I love the ones with the chipmunk eyeliner and whiteish-silver-brown feathers!!

 

[Fatimetta]

They are so cute! I can't wait to see what they look like grown up. I love barnyard mixes and seeing all the varieties and personalities that come out. Keep us updated!

 

[CalicoMoonFarm]

Week 3 (and a half) update!

I had planned to do this on Saturday... but other things kept coming up. So instead I spent Wednesday/Thursday replacing bands and bribing the squirrelly feral ones with scrambled eggs. This weekend is supposed to be in the mid 60's, so they'll finally have a chance to get out of the brooder room and play outside! I hope to have them out in the coop within a few weeks, depending on how well Riker feathers out.

Nobody likes picture day but Ghoti (#3) was a great calming influence on the others since she's so chill and brave. However, I had to photoshop her butt out of so many of these screen grabs; she kept hopping between napping on my shoulder and scavenging treat scraps from the photo booth.

I've also color-coded them by my guesses on their gender. Pink bands are ones I think are pullets, blues I think are cockerels, and green I just really don't have a confident guess yet.



#1 Riker is growing like a weed! Although I have noticed that their right leg has seemed a little stiff the past few days, as if some tendons aren't working quite right? It bears weight fine and has full range of motion and the toes grip correctly around my finger when I hold them, but the toes don't fold/curl when the foot is lifted to take a step, so Riker walks and runs kind of like they've lost a shoe. It doesn't hinder them at all, and there are no other symptoms so I'm keeping a close eye on it.

#2 will be named Ravenna if she's a she

#3 Ghoti, comes flying and running and peeping at the gate when I visit, likes to peck just one of my two dogs on the nose when they're allowed to directly00 sniff her (the shepherd she likes, the boxer/beagle not so much), and loves napping on my shoulder while we watch Star Trek on the couch. ❤

#4 has calmed down a LOT but has been seen scavenging down feathers from the floor and occasionally plucking and eating feathers from the other chicks when the opportunity arises. I'll be adding scrambled eggs to their diet for a while in hopes that they're just a little protein deficient and not a problematic brat.






#10 will be named Mumble if she's a she








#18 will be named Jadzia if she's a she or Joxer the Mighty if he's a friendly he. Literal bottom of the pecking order, slightly bullied by the spicier chicks so I give this baby extra treats/attention when I can.



#21 did NOT want to participate in picture day, poor little feral child



#24 just keeps getting prettier every day! Is this pattern/color recognizable to anybody? I've always thought it looked a bit like vitiligo, the way it's been progressing, but I doubt that's actually what it is. If she is a she, her name will be Monet.




#28 will be named Lady Amalthea if she's a she

#29 is an absolute dinosaur. He (I'll be so shocked if he's not a he) is SO big and gangly, the picture really doesn't do him justice. He's also the brooder sheriff, always running around policing all the squabbles and keeping everybody in line. Because of this, if he turns out to be a gentle roo then he'll be kept and named Odo.

#30 will be named Clarice if she's a she

#31 is such an attention hog! Always flying up on my arm and trying to get to my hands to see if I have snacks.