My middle batch of chickens (the older chicks, that I got in the beginning of March) are enjoying their life out in the coop. They have grown a lot and some have changed quite a bit since I first got them – it’s really remarkable how much feather color and patterns can change. There is just not a good way to tell what they will look like as adults when you get them, unless you know the exact breed beforehand. They may change a lot more before they are full grown – they are maybe about half the size of my adult chickens now. I’ve done an update for their previous “update” pics that I posted in late March, so you can see the changes. I have one that was orange as a chick, then looked like they would be pale, and now is a dark brown color. Here are the updated pics to show you how they’ve grown, from 2 days old, to 3 weeks, to 9 weeks:
Here is my little rooster – he keeps trying to crow with my adult rooster – they call back and forth. He sounds pretty funny trying to do his cock-a-doodle-doo -he has a scratchy little crow. His comb is gigantic already, not sure how big it will actually get – hopefully not too big or he’ll be in danger of it getting frostbite in winter.Here’s my little yellow chick that turned into a larger white chicken with black feathers mixed in – still not sure if this one is male or female.Here is my little feathered leg guy (girl?) I like the coloring this one has – caramel colored with black. She looks a lot less like a tiny vulture now than she did at 3 weeks old. My suspicion is that this is a hen – I could be wrong, though.Here’s the orange one I spoke about in the paragraph above – she’s now a dark brown / reddish chicken. She’s very curious and friendly, where the rest are still pretty flighty.This one was showing the speckled feathers at three weeks. Today she did NOT want her picture taken – she tried to hide behind some boards and the other chickens.Here is my little black chick that turned into a white-headed chicken. His (her?) comb is very similar to my adult rooster’s – like a blob thing on their forehead. I’m still not sure the sex of this one.
They are definitely growing quickly. I read that around 10-12 weeks is when their full-on adult feathers come in, and roosters will get their fancy tail feathers around then. By then I should be able to tell for sure if they are hens or roosters.
My tiny u.p. farm 