Baby Chick Update - 10 Days Old

The chicks turned 10 days old yesterday. Woohoo! Happy Birthday, lil birdies! They have lost much of their little chick fuzzy-wuzzy roly-poliness but they are still cute to me. They have adorable personalities. I think they are going to grow up to be very pretty chickens.

I chose 3 different breeds of chicks, each for their own special reasons. Three of the five chicks are White Crested Polish, two White Crested Blue and one White Crested Black. The blues aren't guaranteed to come out as true blue due to the genetics of chicken coloring. They have a 50% chance of being blue, 25% chance of being black and 25% chance of ending up splash, which is a mixture of blue, white and black. I was kind of hoping to get one blue and one splash, but it's still too early to tell.  I chose this breed because they look fancy and when I was doing my research, I read that they were a friendly breed and at this point, that's is what I'm looking for. After I ordered them, and upon further research, I read some conflicting information about them. Some books said they were skittish and flighty, others said they were friendly and funny. I guess we'll see. I'm trying to handle them frequently so they stay tame. Of all the chicks, the Polish like to be held the least. They complain loudly when you pick them up. I named them after my grandmother and her sisters because they are scrawny little loudmouths.


I got three of them because my research indicated that they might be picked on by the flock so I figured there would be safety in numbers although the Sisters (as I call them) are usually the ones doing the picking.  Polish aren't known for prolific laying, but hopefully between the five hens, we'll have enough eggs to keep us satisfied. This is Mary. It looks like she is going to turn out true blue.

The fourth chick is a Dominique. I chose her because she had all three of the attributes I was looking for in a hen: good looking, great personality and abundant layer. She makes the prettiest little peeping sounds, and she enjoys being held. The other chicks are sprouting feathers like mad, but darling Nickie is still a little black fluff ball. Even her new tail is fluffy! I'm pretty sure she is in charge of the brooder. Sometimes I offer the babies treat like roly-polies or pincher bugs, and Nickie is almost always the first in line.

The fifth little chicken is an Easter-Egger. Her name is Esther but I call her Kitten. She is the sweetest of the chicks. She loves to be held. She would probably sit in my hand and be petted all day long. She is the biggest chick by far and has the most feathers. I don't know if they are going to stay like this but I hope so. Her markings are absolutely beautiful! She was chosen because of her sweet disposition, dependable egg laying and beautiful egg colors. Easter-Eggers may lay eggs that are green, blue or even pink! We won't know until the first one appears in about 5 months.

For their 10-day Birthday the chicks went on a little field trip. Just to the backyard, but hey, they're only ten days old. I put them in a cage on the lawn while I cleaned out the brooder. At first they were nervous but after a minute or two they got into it and started pecking and scratching at the lawn.

So cute!