Chick Update

The chicken nuggets are growing quickly!

They now have all of the feathers on their wing tips and are starting to get their shoulder and tail feathers. And they are only two weeks old!

I am trying to enjoy them in all of their glorious cuteness while I can. As chicks grow into chickens, they go through an awkward teenage-chicken phase. It's pretty hilarious.

They are already beginning to develop little chicken personalities. Though you can never tell for sure until they are almost adults, we can start guessing which ones are hens and which are roosters.

The hens tend to be more of the quiet timid sort and the roosters tend to have a macho ego that is certainly bigger than they are!

Face Off!

"Oh man, I wish I hadn't kicked a bunch of wood chips into my water!"

This is Firefly.

We think that Firefly will be a rooster someday, he likes to peck at the other chicks and let them know who is boss. But like I said, it can be difficult to tell at this stage.

Over the past week, it has been Firefly's mission to use those wings of his to FLY!

Usually things went a little like this:

RUN around the brooder (aka runway)!

JUMP and flap wings! ...then hit the heat lamp and fall, flailing back to the ground.

Sad, but certainly entertaining.


However, today....right in front of my eyes...he made it!!!
Firefly flapped his little wings and made it out of the brooder box.

Victory!

He was finally able to fly up and land on the broomstick that keeps the heat lamp suspended above the flock.

Firefly sat there for a while, taking it all in, looking at the big world that is our living room.

Then he saw the dog-beast.

And returned promptly to the brooder to be with his chicken family.