Bye Bye Birdies

Our twenty-two Bantam chicks are nearly 4 weeks old, and although they don't fully have their head feathers yet and still need to be in an environment of 70-75 degrees--off they went to the shed on Friday. Using a small space heater to ensure their warmth, we set them up in a refrigerator box in the shed. There's plenty of room--for now; however the chicks are growing at a rapid rate and will most certainly outgrow even this space within the next 2 weeks.

The "Red Old English Game" that Riley is holding has been his favorite since the beginning. She (at least we hope and think she's a pullet) started out looking like this: When fully grown, she will look like the sleek, colorful bird in this photo.

The chicks have been handled often since day one so that they will be used to people. This little beauty that Boston is holding is a "Buff Cochin" bantam. She is, so far, the friendliest of all the chicks and actually likes being handled. She started out looking like this and if we identified her correctly, she'll grow up to look like the plump, feathery-thighed hen pictured here.

Caden is the one who identified this curly feathered beauty. We know for certain that we have both a pullet and cockerel of this breed. They both started out looking like this, and each week their down became more reddish. As their feathers appeared, we discovered that they were incredibly curly! When they are full grown, they will look like the fluffy, frizzled feathered friends in this photo.

The boys and I are still trying to figure out how many pullets we have; I believe the pullets are outnumbering the cockerels by at least 6:1 (thank God!) We may be slow at knowing their gender, but my excellent "researchers" and have spent countless hours doing an amazing job at recognizing the varying breeds.


Early on, the boys identified the "Mottled Cochin" of which we definitely have a pullet and a cockerel. Just four weeks ago, the pair looked like this: From the start, they have been the bravest and most curious of all the chicks and will grow up to look like the fat, feather-footed speckled birds in this photo. Notice the beautiful green shiny feathers on them!

One of the most interesting and rare breeds of all is the "Sultan" bantam. I was really hoping that our "assorted pure breed" order would include at least one of these, as I have personally been most fascinated with them. To my delight, we've discovered that we have not one, but THREE! These little "feathered poodles" started out looking like this: and will grow up to look like the interesting, snow white birds in this photo. One of the most distinct ways that this bird can be accurately identified (as the boys' research taught us) is that this particular breed has five toes on each foot; their little faces have a vulture-like appearance, but they are very gentle and don't mind being handed at all. Quite honestly, I'm not certain if the Sultans are pullets or cockerels; they all look alike! I guess by July we'll know when each will either lay an egg or start to crow!

There are several other breeds we're still trying to identify. They resemble so many different breeds right now, that we're uncertain at this age. I've been really pleased with our vast assortment, and the boys and I are enjoying the journey. I loved hearing the new vocabulary of "chicken terminology" when Boston said "...we have a pullet and a cockerel mottled cochin..."

Dennis started building an 8' X 8' chicken house which will be completed soon if the weather allows. It'll have 8 nests which can hold 2-3 bantams each.
Before long, our once adorable little chicks will be crapping all over Dennis' hard work without so much as a thank you!