Dough has had her chicks for a little over 4 weeks, now! Go here for the beginning of the story! It’s been so fun to watch them grow! I said I’d give you updates on them, so here goes!
We had them in our little brooder house for the first month, and Dough was getting antsy to get OUT of there, so, on warm days, we let them out to roam around the place with the other chickens. She only had to put a few of them in their place, for being TOO interested in her precious babies!
Moving Day
Last weekend we decided, that since Dough was seeming to be getting ready to push them out on their own, and I didn’t want them to lose their “place” with the other hens…. (she had made it clear that they were NOT to mess with her babies), my thinking was, that if I moved them into the big coop while that was still in their head, the chick integration would go smoother.
The little red-neck pen that I made is way taller than they need, but it allows them to see each other and to be close and yet, it’s a safe place if they need one. The chickie feed is also separate from the big hens. They can go in and out as they please, but the big ones can’t fit through the little opening.
I went to all the work to make their own little roost in their pen, and this is what I found when I went in there to check on them the first night in their new home! Mama might be wanting to be done, but maybe just a slow step at a time!
Here’s a close-up! 🙂
Rooster or Hen?
Here’s a little quandary I have….. Up until a month ago, I had never even heard of Partridge Chantecler chickens, so I was excited to get them. And even MORE exciting, was the fact that I THOUGHT I got a male and a female. I still have hope, but Pierre is VERY slow to mature, so I’m still not 100% sure! Has anyone raised Partridge Chantecler chickens? How early can you tell which is which?
Comparing the the two, Agatha and Pierre, he is growing faster, and his legs are thicker, and his tail is very upright compared to hers, so far, that’s all I have to go on! Those are all indicators of roosters. His little button comb may be turning pink in the last few days, but NOTHING like Samuels!
Usually, through the years, I have been able to tell within a few days of getting chicks, which are the roosters and which are the hens….but every now and then I can’t tell for quite a while, and this little guy is one of those hard ones!
Growing Up!
Here is Samuel, not even 5 weeks old, and already crowing!! Darling Boy! I’ve been raising chickens for a LONG time, and I have NEVER heard a rooster crow so early!! So cute!!
Well, that’s the latest on my chickie saga. They are just so fun! Are you raising chicks this year? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks for coming! Come again soon!
Good Thoughts
“I dream of a better tomorrow where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
How sweet to watch them grow. I feel like a doting great-granny :>)