My 5 chicks are 3 weeks old today and tomorrow. The one that was born first is now almost the smallest. Here is Link (in front) and Joey (other gray one) and Matilda.
3 weeks old and so big!
Joey was next and he's very big. Looks like he's getting a comb and wattles.
Then came Pern. He is everyone's favorite. (I'm using he generically, not a clue what sex they are as yet.)
Pern doesn't mind being held at all.
My son let Pern walk up his arm.
And onto his shoulder, where he stayed until he saw the other chicks in the cage.
I believe Link is a girl.. Joey is appropriately named.. got a pic of Matilda?
They are growing so fast.. 3 weeks already? Geez wow! Seems like last week!
They are darling..
Matilda's feathers are coming in white mostly.
She is probably the smallest.
Hi ZZ, here's another of Matilda. She doesn't like being held at all, so no closeups.
We crossed...
And last Johnny5 or Emo as DGD calls him. I hope he's not a he.
Last pic, Johnny5 scratching his new feathers. They make me feel itchy just looking at all the pin feathers.
We really need to get the coop done so they can be outside more. I had them on the back porch the other day between rain showers. They really liked it. If the ground dries out a little, I'll put them on the grass for an hour or so this week. DH just finished a top for the cage.
ZZ - I hope Link isn't the only girl, but I'm not optimistic.
Great Pic's Bec! Love those big beautiful eyes. Pern on your son's shoulder looks like he found a friend. Is the gentleman, your DH? He looks so interested.
Thanks for sharing your great birds with us. Haystack
Hi Haystack, Yes, he's my DH of 40 years last week. He does all the building for me. Made the 2nd brooder and coop plans are formulating in his head.
Matilda might be an appropriate name.. Looks like a she to me. They are too old for me to guess gender.. LOL Really, I'm better with like 3 days to one week old.
They are darling.. and I love it when they climb!
That's interesting ZZ. I would think it would be harder to guess sex when they are younger.
Great pics Becky.
Heyl Bronxboy, good to hear from you, it's been a long time. How are you birds comming along? Don't be such a stranger! Haystack
Hey Haystack:
Doing well. My small dog tried to murder me over the weekend. Went to chase a chicken and I slipped onm some wet ground and sprained my knee.
Girls are doing good. Getting about 18 eggs a day which means I have a few slackers.
BB
That comb on Pern is what throws me off.. has it got 3 rows? If so, it's a roo. Looks like a pea comb.. I keep looking at it.. just can't tell for sure. Being so friendly is a roo trait.. the girls KNOW they are safe, they don't have to be friendly! LOL The roos always steal our hearts.. early on too.. they are not stupid!!
Great looking birds! I am so not good at picking sexes. And yes ZZ I always fall in love with the roos. My kids joke about it. If mom loves it it will crow. :( *Kids*
Hey BronxBoy. Hope all is going good with you. Did you ever place those peafowl? They sure were purdy.
ZZ, I've been trying to get a closer pic of Pern's head. Every one I took was very blurry. They move so fast! Anyway I finally got one today. I still can't tell how many rows there are. Sometimes I see 3, sometimes 2, sometimes one. I'm not even sure what type of comb these will have.
Here's a pic of the reconfigured brooder. Hanging water bottle (they were dumping it constantly trying to perch on top.) and new roost pole.
They love the new roost. But now I have to keep the lid on all the time or they can hop out. I thought the roost would be too high for them, but noooooooooooo. They took to it immediately.
Uh oh.. Pern is probably a roo.. In the Post #6559990 above.. I stand corrected.
There are 4 in that pic and a lot of pink comb action! One not.. it looks like the one standing on the feeder that has NO pink is your pullet.. I think one is hiding in that pic..
Yeah, I think you are right. Pern is very rooish. The white one is hiding under the waterer. Johnny5/Emo just pecked at me when I was changing the litter. That got him picked up and sternly talked to. Even Matilda may be a roo. Her comb looks pretty pink now too. Link is the only one without some pink. I wish there was a better way to tell. Waiting is making me crazier than normally.
Very cute! Taking mental notes on Pern! I think I've got it.... Going out to play with chicks now...
Yeah.. Matilda does have some pink..
Silkiechick was telling us about temps in the bator and roo to pullet ratio. I believe she said to lower the temp a bit.
Catscan found info saying the pullets are less able to tolerate temp fluctuations... so if you can lower the temp in the bator a degree.. and keep it constant, your pullet to roo ratio will improve. (my thoughts anyway)
I've started getting much better hatches.. The Lavenders were 4 Roos to 6 pullets.. (after loosing 2 chicks) and the Dutch Bantams were all pullets I think..
I dropped the temp to 98.5 to 99 degrees and don't open unless I have to water.. or a quick candling.. I can't say if that has changed my hatch, but that's all I've done different.
None of mine have any pink on their heads... They are all so cute. Be sure to let me know if you get an extra roo! I'll trade ya for a pullet if mine are all pullets....er something! ;)
Jenks, I'll be sure to contact you about a roo if you don't have one. They are about the same age as yours, so it should be a good fit. If ZZ is right, I'll only have one pullet and she will be very lonely. I wasn't planning on keeping any roos, since we're in a subdivision. I probably will keep one, but choosing will be very difficult. I'll be glad to see one going to a good home.
ZZ, my temp was fairly high I guess. About 100.1 most of the time after the 1st couple days. And I didn't do any adjustments. Next time I'll make sure it stays around 99 or so. I guess once the eggs warmed up, the temp went up. It was a steady 99.5 for 2 days before I put the eggs in. What's the minimum without killing them all? Humidity stayed between 40 and 45 % until I raised it the last few days. That Brinsea bator is sure easy to use. Great for 1st timers. I want to hatch again, but not until August. Summer is just too busy.
That is interesting! Maby there is something to that lower temp thing! I kinda thought I had the temps too high before.. and I had a LOT of roos! I like these kinds of things.. very interesting to me.
So it wouldn't have been fluctuations, but high temps then.. I'm guessing that Brinsea is quite dependable and stable..
Nice Becky:
One question though: How are you going to eat them if you've given them names? :-)
BB
BB - If they are mean ones, I'll have no trouble at all putting them in freezer camp. But I'll probably give them away to someone else instead. My granddaughter would stop speaking to me. Becky