August 12, 2012

Chicken Little

My lone baby chick has become a chicken little.


This chick is about 6 weeks old now. It's amazing how fast they grow, isn't it?


Mama is gradually expanding Chicken Little's territory.



Acceptance into the flock has been smoother than anticipated. Actually it's Mama that gets picked on. I think these are challenges from those lower in the pecking order, hoping to gain a higher spot. That's my theory anyway.

Boy or girl? I'm still not sure. This is our third time to have chicken babies and previously, it seemed the cockerels developed combs quicker than the girls. Can't make a generalization out of that, it was just a two time observation.

I have to say this mama (a Buff Orpington) has been a good one. Hopefully next year she can hatch out a bigger brood of chicks. :)


21 comments:

Lisa B. said...

Glad the chick has grown so well. Buffs are my absolute favorite.

Woolly Bits said...

it looks very cute how the small girl is running after mama:) I find it amazing how fast birds grow from naked little creatures to fully feathered adults, same in the garden with the wild birds! how slow humans are in contrast...

Anonymous said...

Chicken Little is a fine looking girl. Hopefully Mama will have a bigger flock of little ones next year.

Michelle said...

Such pretty chickens! Makes me excited, because I'm buying two Buff pullets (along with a golden Easter Egger) from a friend of mine as soon as we can get together. I've never had blonds in my small flock, and love to have variety.

Leigh said...

Lisa, we really like the Buffs too. They were my husbands pick and I'm so glad we got some.

Bettina, amazingly fast! I certainly hope this one is a girl.

Martha, I hope so too. We really weren't set up for chicks, but hopefully next year we will be.

Michelle, I love a variety of colors in my flock! I reckon though, we'll just stick with the Buffs from now on.

sista said...

I love my buffs. If I have a complaint it is that they go broody a lot which cuts down egg production and clogs up the nest boxes for those that want to lay. It also seems to be infectious. I have four girls that are broody right now and what a pain to kick them out every morning. The buffs are the hardest to break but they are the best moms. Black Australorpes are next but I think that is because that breed was derived from Orpingtons. Despite this I really want to get a couple of lavender Orpingtons next year.

Anonymous said...

Love the photos they are so cute. This is the first time we have raised a buff orpington and she is quite the nice lady and bigger than I had anticipated too.

CaliforniaGrammy said...

I've been amazed how fast the baby chicks grow up to be big girls too! We have eight in our flock, three of which are Buffs, one of those is broody. I mean all the time, it seems. We have two nest boxes, but do you think her sisters would use box number two? Not! They all seem to think that Miss Broody is there for a purpose . . . to snuggle up their eggs. What a pain it is to collect the eggs at the end of the day!

The problem we have with our flock is someone, or there could be a couple, seem to be plucking the feathers out of about four of the flock and it's become pretty serious. We don't know WHO it is since we're not outside when it happens. What to do . . . what to do?

Anonymous said...

So darn cute!

famousthecat said...

D'awwwww! What a sweetie. We have a very mixed flock currently and have been trying to pinpoint our littlest ones' age - I'm guessing Little Red might be right around the same age as your Chicken Little, if not a little older.

I've been amazed at how well she's integrated into the flock, too. It was kind of in shambles when she joined, and she does have to run from the biggest girls every once in a while. Otherwise, knock on wood, so far so good.

Unknown said...

How cute!

Leigh said...

Sista, it's tough when more than one goes broody at a time. I've been fortunate in that department, I admit. How fun to try some different kinds of Orpingtons!

Turningwheelfarm, it's true, they are bigger. Good eating too.

Janice, isn't it though! Buffs are a broody breed it seems. I finally had to give mine some eggs to hatch! Sorry to hear about the loss of feathers. Some birds can be really mean to one another.

Stephanie, thanks!

Famousthecat, isn't it a relief when they fit in easily? I worried about Chicken Little, but all is well.

Nancy, thanks!

Izzy said...

For what it's worth; I would agree with you on the cockerels getting their combs and waddles earlier than the hens. We just got some white orpingtons, a mixed range of ages too. One of my "middle" sized ones has a comb and waddle, but the other older ones do not, and I'm 99% that they are hens, as the rooster is starting to pay attention to them.

The Ebullient Gardener said...

Oh how cute! We have some baby chicks in a brooder right now. They are golden buffs. They are one week old! It is neat to see your post on Chicken Little to see what a six week old chick looks like. This is our first time with chicks, hopefully we have some luck! I enjoy your posts!
Happy Gardening and Farming! Mindy

SmithGang said...

It's a cutie.hope u have more next time.

Leigh said...

Izzy, I wish I had more chicks for comparison!

Mindy, congrats on your chicks! They are so cute and grow so quickly. Until you start waiting on those first eggs. That seems to take forever, LOL

SmithGang, thanks! And I hope you're right. :)

trump said...

I hope that your not going to eat these little guys Leigh,lol. Richard

Bernadine said...

Such an adorable picture of your hen and her chick. I'm eagerly looking forward to having my own chickens. But first, there's the acquiring or building a chicken coop! I hope this little chick is a female.

Cat Eye Cottage said...

Hey, Leigh! I don't mind at all if you use the photo. I'm honored you are imspired by the idea. Some specifics that might help: we used treated landscape timbers (termite heaven around here) for the vertical pieces and along the ground between the vertical posts to keep the wood off the ground, 2x4s across the top to connect the vertical pieces and corrogated tin for the roof. I can't remember the measurements of the tin, but we made the frame so that the width of one piece of tin would give decent coverage, and for the length we used two pieces of tin. I can't wait to see what you do!

Unknown said...

chicken little sure is getting big fast. Happy to hear the flock is accepting him/her i have been dealing with pecking over here with my austerlop needing first aid :( such a bad problem to deal with. sigh... hoping to get a handle on that fast.

Leigh said...

Richard, only if it's a boy!

Bernadine, you will very much enjoy chickens. I agree you need to be prepared for them! They are a wonderful addition to any homestead.

Candace, thank you! We just bought the fence panels. I'll be happy to both have the privacy, plus a better place to store our firewood. More soon!

Jen, pecking problems are tough and there doesn't seem to be anyway to stop it. I'll be interested in what you do about it and whether or not it works.