Poultry in motion

Chirpy is now three weeks old and continuing to thrive. He is absolutely full of life and has lots of character. It's a real problem getting him to stand still long enough to take a photo! I had hoped that when the other chicks came along I might be able to put them all in together, but Chirpy is so much bigger than the other chicks this just isn't possible.

The new chicks are now 6 days old, and already showing some surprising differences. Blondie and Sweep, are very similar in their colouring, but Sweep's feathers have grown much faster and he/she already has the beginnings of a tail. Sweep is on the left in the following photo. The two chicks are very similar in size (even though the photo suggests that Sweep is considerable larger than Blondie).

I think the difference in feathering could be down to gender. I would guess that Sweep is possibly male and that Blondie if female, although it could be the other way around! Some Araucanas do not have tails and I'm wondering if this is the case with Blondie, but it's really too early to tell.

Sooty is also starting to grow some lovely black wing feathers. He/she is also showing the beginnings of a tail. I have really no idea if Sooty is male or female.

Out of the three new chicks, Sweep is the most boisterous, although Chirpy is still way out ahead as far as daredevil flying stunts are concerned! It's amazing how they all have their own little personalities.

I'll leave you with this charming photo of Sweep looking directly at the camera. I don't know what you think but I can really tell that there's a little bird brain behind those eyes wondering why I'm pointing that strange camera thing at him!