Sunday, April 1, 2012

our homestead: chick feather development

I've been receiving a lot of requests from friends to post more photos of the chicks and ducklings. I've had them now for about two weeks. They are all a wee bit bigger and their true feathers are starting to come in. I'm still unsure about their genders...in a few more weeks I'll know what I have. Today, I was able to catch a few photos of my chicks but the ducklings were a little too squirrely  to get photos of. I was able to film them swimming in the tub though...perhaps I'll get that video up here soon. Anyway, here are some of my feather babies:
Buff Orpington
My Buff Orpington's are starting to sprout peach colored feathers. They are so pretty! So far these chicks really do have calm dispositions. They are very easy to pick up and pet. They are my little sweeties.
Speckled Sussex
The Speckled Sussex chicks are looking more like little eaglets. They can fly too! I found this out after coming downstairs to find one of the chicks had flown over to the duck's bin. I had to put a sheet of chicken wire over the top of their galvanized tub to keep them from escaping. They seem a bit more  active and can run faster than the Orpington chicks. 

As far as the Khaki Campbell ducklings are concerned, I ended up putting them in a separate container from the chicks as they love to splash and muddy up their water. I've been filling up the sink in the laundry room every couple of days to let them go for a swim. They are about three times as big as when I brought them home (it's amazing how fast they grow). I noticed one of the ducklings has developed a tufty ball on top of its head. I'm trying to figure out if this distinguishes its gender or represents a hybrid with a different kind of duck (such as a Crested duck). Time will tell. 

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