July 1, 2009

• You know, chicks are just amazing creatures.

  It is always interesting to see how much of a chicken's behavior is hardwired into their brains vs. learned from their mother.  Preening, pecking, scratching on the ground....All behaviors that we see in the chicks starting on day one.  And since these chicks were hatched in some giant incubator somewhere and then shipped in trucks to the feed store, I can safely say they had no opportunities to see a mother hen to learn how to be a chicken.

  A just plain amazing thing about chicks is how fast they grow.  Really, their whole purpose in life right now is to grow bigger and so they are growing exponentially  Not only do they get physically bigger, but their feathers come in super fast too.  When we got the chicks last Friday, they were little balls of downy fluff.  Now their wing feathers are coming in and you can just see the start of tail feathers.

  Here is a chick two days ago....And honestly, the wing feathers have grown even bigger since I took that picture!

  

  And compare that to when we got them Friday!

  

  Mind you, feathers are imperative for the chicks' survival.  Feathers keep them warm so they can regulate their body heat and without them they would die.  I suppose then, it's no wonder that they grow so quickly!

  We are very much enjoying our chicks (hard not to since they are smack dab in our living room!) and have been handling them a lot so that they will be tame and friendly.  It is fun sitting and watching them and listening to their little peeps and whistles and to watch the occasional bouts of wild chick antics!

  So...That is the official chick update.  Hard to believe they haven't even been here a week.... it feels like they fit right in to our family!

   

   

  • 6:25 am
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