Saturday, August 1, 2009

Five Brand New Baby Chicks

Our new Chicks arrived on Wednesday, via express mail. We picked them up at the post office and immediately checked them out, with the heat on full blast (they need to be at 95F the first week!). All five were standing and moving, they had all survived the trip, which is really lucky since they are so tiny and could die easily in the first few hours. One chick, later identified as the "Bandit" tried to escape from the box, so we knew that all was well. As soon as we put them in their brooding box they started eating and drinking, what a relief. All looked healthy and active. The two older chicks, Speck and Cloudy, now 3 weeks old, were super nice and not aggressive at all, another big relief. We have been rewarding them with little insects, they love them!

Here are some photos of our new flock (photos were not edited at all, so some are too dark, but I've got to work on the coop!), they are totally adorable, who knew that I could have feelings for chickens.

Blondie
She is super calm and a beautiful red tint
She is a Red Star, a great layer supposedly.



Nella
She is also super calm, and totally fuzzy and round.
She is an "Easter Egger", and as the name implies she will lay colored eggs.

Coconut
a.k.a. The Bandit because she is an escapee and she has an eye mask. She is the most active and crazy of all. She is a Light Brown Leghorn, a breed originated in Italy, probably the most beautiful. We tried to switch her with another chick after hearing that Leghorns are nervous and not friendly, but we couldn't. Time will tell...



I think that she totally looks like a crook in this picture.


Stella
Another very active but beautiful chick.
She is a Black Australorp, supposedly very calm and a good layer.
She seems to be wearing make-up.


Martha
She is also very calm, not much of a personality yet, but cute as a button.
She is a Barred Plymouth Rock.


Napping in our friends' hands



One of the most amazing things is to hold a tiny chick in your hands and have her immediately fall asleep. They must feel like they are under their mother hen.

14 comments:

Simona Carini said...

Totally adorable. I like their different colors.

Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries said...

I love that your chicks have such great names. They are so cute!!

Lien said...

We all gathered around the laptop and "ohhh" and "ahhh"ed seeing these wonderful chicks (great pictures!)
We love their names too. How lovely to have different kind of chicks, you'll all have so much fun. And raising them by hand will make them so friendly too. Ah and the bandit... there's always one of them.. we have one like that too (called 'pietje' but mostly referred to as Houdini)

natalia said...

Cara Laura ...che meraviglie ! Il bandito è fantastico !! se li vede Anita iamo rovinati ! Noi stiamo covando un uovo di tartaruga !!!

lisaiscooking said...

They're adorable! I want some chicks now. Can't wait to hear updates about them.

enza said...

bellissime le diverse razze però spiegami ma hai anche il pollaio? sulla conservazione delle scorce ti ho risposto da me.

Lisa said...

Oh my god, I'm in love! Why can't they stay like that forever? Too cute and fluffy!! I want one for myself..but I know..not a good idea where I live..lol I'm 'coopless'!

Laura said...

Thanks everyone! We chose one of each for variety and didn't realize how different they would all be, and how beautiful and adorable. There is an expression in Italian: fare tenerezza, which is impossible to translate, but refers to the warm feeling you get when you look at a little defenseless being. Holding a little chick in your hands and having it fall instantly asleep is just priceless. Lisa Michelle, they don't stay this cute unfortunately, the older two look like awkward teenagers already. Sbarbatelli in Italian. Still fun though, and a pleasure to take them out for daily bug huntings.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

OMG, they look so adorable!

Cheers,

Rosa

Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries said...

Hi Laura,
I know you have been busy with those cute little chicks. :)

I have a little something for you over on my blog: http://jilliciousdiscoveries.blogspot.com/2009/08/nice-surprise.html

Have a great day!
Jill

Juliana said...

Oh! These little chicks are so cute! Great pictures!

Kitchenlander said...

I think I'm in love with Stella!

Laura said...

Anna, yes, Stella is adorable and super friendly. When we take the net off their box in the morning, she is the first one to jump up to the edge of the box and she loves to seat on people. She is also very beautiful.

Denise | Chez Danisse said...

You have a chick named Stella...precious.

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