Chicks - Grow With Me - The 4th Month

4 months old! And they grow so fast but at least they are still best friends!

They spend all day outside now and they return to their cage every night. They still stay away from the other hens and the hens stay away from them, so that's probably why they stick together so much.

Penguin's hackle feathers are starting to show the characteristic long and thin feather shape that roosters only have. No sign of saddle feathers yet. Buffy's feathers are a bit harder to see, but he's also showing signs of hackle feathers. Buffy isn't too interested in crowing much, Penguin is the one trying to perfect his crow. I think this crow is absolutely adorable. It now sounds like this:

The muffling around Penguin's head has grown quite a bit. I was a bit worried that he couldn't see properly, as he has missed pecking things on the ground before, but I think he has compensated for this feather obstruction and he's pecking away find now.

Buffy - "Looks like you need a haircut Penguin"

What I notice is that they like to find a sunny or shady (if it is hot) spot to lie down and take a nap. That's all they do all day, explore a little bit and then take a nap. They are not interested in digging or foraging. They still get their grower crumble in the morning and at night, but we are introducing some of the grain that the hens get. It's unbelievable how much they can sleep.

Snoozing in the shade

Both chicks LOVE human company. They like to be near you if you are in the garden, or even better, on your lap. Penguin especially loves cuddles, once he is on your lap, he falls asleep. Buffy on the other hand, being a bantam, likes to be up high. Likes to be carried above the other chickens and he can jump up onto your shoulder if he feels like it, so yes! Pekins can jump really, really high!

Aha! I am the tallest chicken now!

Word of advice for people that like to have chickens sit on their shoulder. They don't seem to realise that your pupils are part of your eyes. They WILL peck at it and at any other marks on your face, and they peck HARD!.

I was getting worried though, in a few weeks time we were due to fly to Japan for 3 weeks. This was planned way before Penguin hatched (and we were not expecting any eggs to hatch). So the planning for a chicken sitter begins. We wanted the roosters to be used to being handled so they wouldn't get territorial (and thus aggressive). We try to spend as much time as we can with the chicks, after all they are still very young.

I leave you with a picture of Penguin, I think in this shot he looks like an eagle. What do you think?