Feathered Friday

I have several different chicken photos to share with you today.  First up is a group of baby chicks that were hatched in the incubator.  This past week we moved them from the brooder to the nursery pen.  They are enjoying being on the dirt.  One of their favorite things to do is dust.  Honestly they wallow like pigs but in dirt rather than mud.

 The black chick is covered in dirt and has a nice wallow hole for herself.

Several of the other chicks noticed her dusting hole and decided to join in.  

They seem to finally be getting the hang of roosting.  For the past two nights we have been putting each baby chick on the roost just after dusk.  It can be a tedious job as they are not good at balancing yet.  I often have to put them on the roost multiple times.

This mille fleur hen and her three chicks are in the old rabbit pen.  The wire along the floor keeps anything from digging in.  You can see two of her babies sitting in the feed pan.  We recycle any worn out cookie sheets or pans into feeders or water containers.

This is her third baby which wandered off into another part of the yard.  Sometimes I feel like I spend most of my time rounding up baby chicks and returning them to their proper place.

This is the rooster who used to live with the ducks.  These two hens decided to live with him.  He is very protective and is always close by when they are wandering around the yard.