The Babies Go Outside

Today I took the babies (Cora, Gwen, and Heidi) out to play in the yard! After a few moments of huddling with me, they decided it was safe to venture out into the great unknown! I had an umbrella out for them to hide under because my other batch of babies seemed to feel safer under one when they were younger.

Nobody left the umbrella's protection except to dart in and out when being chased by another chick. I was sitting on a towel because the grass was a little itchy, but Cora stepped on the towel and decided it would make a nice dust bath.

Everyone snuggled up and started bathing with her! It was really funny because they all acted like they were kicking up dirt stuffing it in their feathers, but not one realized there was no dirt! After their scooting and scratching and rolling they all fell asleep.

They are very adorable. These girls had around 60 friends when I took them from their big brooder, so now with only three they have to determine who is boss. I have a feeling Heidi is going to be at the bottom of the pecking order - she is such a sweetheart but I think that makes her less dominant.

Gwen and Cora are both very active and both seem equally dominant. This similarity in temperament creates an tough situation when determining the pecking order, one that they choose to solve by little baby pecks and attempting to be taller than each other (leading to a hilarious stand-off).

At nine days old the babies can't do much of anything to each other - their beaks aren't sharp enough to do damage and they aren't able to fly so they can't pounce on each other. So instead of worrying about Cora hurting Gwen and likewise, I can enjoy the goofy entertainment they supply. I think I ought to make a reality TV show out of these chicks (though the older girls really have much more drama).

The babies have such adorable tail feathers!

Their wings are pretty well feathered, but they aren't strong enough to fly yet. It's funny because they think they can fly but all they can do is flap! Cora and Gwen are enthusiastically practicing; soon enough they'll be flying the brooder!

I carefully showed the flock Cora (I didn't let her on the ground unjust held her do don't worry about her!) and nobody except Shirley showed any interest. Shirley came trotting over and warily approached the chirping fluff-ball. She eyed Cora and hopped into my lap to get closer (to my concern) and I decided that Shirley was done looking at baby chicks for today. I don't know whether Shirley's interest was motherly or friendly or "Hi there, I'm going to peck you to pieces."

I intended to post on the older girls too, but I ended up building a dust bath for them instead. Carmen is getting along better, but Nellie still rejecting her. I will try to get to them tomorrow!