Oh Baby Baby!

I know baby humans grow fast, but baby chicks grow even faster! We've had them since Sunday and the changes since then have been incredible. Sometimes it looks like they've grown overnight; in fact, I think they have. Already they all have their first wing feathers, a few have their first tail feathers coming in and all of them are looking less fluffy and more sleek.

You can see the newly emerged wing feathers and tail feathers.

We've been trying not to stress out the chicks and hold them too much. So, we've been putting our hands into the brooder with some food crumbles on our palms. The chicks love to climb on our hands and peck at the food. Some of the chicks are really adventurous and they try to climb up your arm to perch. One of our New Hampshire chicks actually climbed into my palm, stretched out its wing and leg and curled up to sleep.

Our hands provide food and a place to perch.

Although they're young, the chicks have their adult instincts. It's hilarious to watch tiny chicks scratch and peck around their brooder! They'll even scratch and peck when visiting your hand.

We lowered our brooder temperature to around 90 degrees. The babies seemed a little hot when the temperature was higher. Immediately they were much more active and not hugging the sides of the brooder. It's one of those things where even though the guidelines call for them to have a higher temperature, it best to watch your chicks and follow your instincts within reason.
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