Chicks, the Fourth Week

Rhode Island Red and Golden Comet chicks at 4 weeks old.

This is our curious one.

The differences in these photos from week to week are fun to see, though now that the chicks are nearly feathered, the main difference will be weight gain.  They still look thin and scrawny, maybe that's why they're such good flyers.  Each Golden Comet chick is developing a honey-brown ring of feathers around its neck.  With temperatures in the 70's F over the weekend, we didn't feel badly about moving them to their outdoor coop, though we take them back to the brooder at night.

Fruit trees are looking great; we have a great cherry set and are still waiting to see about peaches.  Strawberries and blueberries are just beginning to bloom, while apples and raspberries are finally breaking dormancy.  The garden is in good shape, just a few weeks behind with this cool spring.

Enjoying a warm afternoon outdoors.

Chicks, the Third Week

I should take bids on a good caption for this photo.  

Really getting into that dust bath.

Just shy of three weeks, we enjoyed some warmer weather and let the chicks outside in their coop and enclosed run for an entire afternoon.  The first item of business on their agenda was to take a whopping dust bath; once we saw what they were up to, we added some wood ash to the mix (a little bit more "dusty" than the mulch they were trying to use).  After they unearthed a worm, it was hilarious watching them play a game of keep away.  They are terrifyingly good at flying.  As you can see from the photos, they're looking more like chickens now, with only a little down left on their heads.

Exploring the run.

Dust bathing all those new feathers.

Rhode Island Red chick three weeks old.