What a difference a week makes

The chicks are now one week old. (They were shipped last Wednesday). Wow, have they grown. They are visibly bigger. There is no way they would now fit in their shipping box. We had to go get another trough because they were getting too crowded in just one. They have also really quieted down. In fact, by the end of the first day, they were chirping happily, but it just was not so loud.

Their wing feathers have really started to come in as well. In fact, when they arrived, those feathers were just barely started, but now they feathers are about 2 inches long. And, they've begun to use them too! They can now jump/fly to roost on top of their waterer, which is about 10-12 inches off the ground. It won't be long, I'm thinking, before they'll be able to get out of their little brooder (trough).

Don has a little rehab work to do on the coop yet, though. All the windows need work, as most of the glass is gone. We'll need to get that done pronto. Unfortunately, he is having the parts to build his 2.5 car garage delivered on Friday, so the coop will NOT be what he WANTS to be working on this weekend.

Another little chick update...the kids have been catching grasshoppers to deliver to them. Caleb usually pulls off a back leg or two to keep the grasshopper from jumping out before he's attacked, but I'm not sure that's really necessary. Those chicks go absolutely crazy over the grasshoppers. It is quite hysterical to watch. A group will attack it and one manages to snatch it in her beak. Then, the chase begins, with her running wildly around in circles in the trough while 30 other chicks chase her. Oftentimes, she'll lose them, as they get confused with who still has the hopper. But, when she stops to put the hopper down to peck at him, they quickly realize who has it & the chase begins anew. The hopper changes beaks several times before he starts to get pulled apart. Then, there are several chases going on, as 3 or 4 run around with pieces of him.

We also tried putting a daddy long-legs into their trough, but they just looked at him. Maybe those long legs were intimidating. I don't know. But, I do know that they'll have a blast when they get to move outdoors!