Do these feathers make my wings look big?

Day 9

The ladies graduated to a bigger Rubbermaid container on day 6. I added a cardboard box so anyone needing to get away would have somewhere to go. On top of the box I added a roost, although the chicks have yet to show any desire to roost. I remember from the last flock that it wasn't until the birds were a month or so old that they began fighting for roosting space.

Amy and River, the white chicks, are growing the most quickly. They have been the first to show flight feathers and the first to show tail feathers. Poor River needed have a bath as her bottom was caked with poop. It was probably more traumatic for me than it was for her. Mind you, a wet chick is the most pathetic sight I've ever seen. I had to segregate her from the others until she dried out as her sisters were laughing at her (pecking was an issue, actually).

My husband is knocking together a bigger box for them today. It will do until they can be moved outside when the weather warms up. Also, we can use it as a 'bad box' for any chickens who misbehave during the flock integration process.

Combs have begun to grow, the favourite toy in the brooder is a parrot toy I got at the pet food store, and the bell on the bottom of the budgie mirror. Rose likes to sit on the small wicker ball that's in with them, and Martha, though the smallest, is certainly the one most interested in what's going on in the kitchen.

I have been able to drop the temperature in the brooder a few degrees, but I keep an eye on them as when the weather is warm the kitchen gets very warm, too. Last night it went down to 2 degrees outside and the chicks looked cold so I dropped the heat lamp down a few centimeters and draped a towel over one side of the brooder. They settled down at last and looked cozy. My kids want to try giving them some meal worms for a treat (the big girls love them) but I want to wait a bit longer. As usual, it is more likely my issue than the chicks'.

Heh, I've just read this over and it's obvious to me how tired I am! Working at a garden centre in May is exhausting. However, I will still be heading out today, my day off, to do some digging in the garden. I bonsai'd two over-grown junipers and have revealed a whole new patch of dirt requiring planting up. More later.