Sturdy Chicks

It's amazing how much those little fluff balls have changed in less than two weeks. They've gone from looking like cottonballs on forks to sturdy little chicks. They feel quite substantial when I pick them up now, it's not like holding dandelion fluff anymore. They are all getting feathers and 'tude. Individual personalities are emerging. When they stretch their wings and necks, I can see the chickens they will become. The 'peeps' are turning into chirps and squawks and a pecking order seems to be emerging. One will budge another, the other might just move away or it might budge back. Then they stand tall, beak to beak, wings spread each daring the other to blink. Finally one wanders off pretending he'd rather find something to eat and the other one smirks. I find the Chanteclers are more timid than the Buff Orpingtons. There's one little Buff, I think a roo, that is always the first one investigating anything new and I'm pretty sure he's been practicing his strut because he's got it down pat. He walks around like he owns the brooder.

I lost one Chantecler two days after getting them to the famed pasty butt. I don't know why they call it 'pasty butt', 'granite butt' would be more appropriate. By the time I realized there was something wrong with him, his rear was stuck solid with poo. It looked like cement. I isolated him and cleaned his little bum by gently soaking his rear in warm water until the mess was soften enough to remove gently. I guess I was too late because he passed a little while later. I know there's an expected mortality rate with chicks but I do feel bad about it.

I put in a couple of sticks for them to practice roosting. I never knew how funny it is to watch a little chick fall on its butt. They get up and fluff themselves pretending it never happened. Yesterday, I put in a couple of bits of sod for them to investigate. They're going to be free-ranged so they might as well get used to it. At first, they all stayed away from it, then my little brave roo went over to check it out. He pecked at it a couple of times. When the other chicks saw that the sod wasn't going to eat him, some of them came over as well. They would look at it then quickly give it a swift peck and jump back. Soon they decided the sod was no threat at all and a game of peck and jump began. Then one genius in the bunch decided to grab it and run. All the other chicks wanted to try that too and started chasing the one with the sod. As I watched them, an old familiar saying came to mind, "Yeah, it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye." I must admit, I spend more time than necessary watching their antics.