Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Chick progression

Someone asked for pictures of the chicks as they age, and since I definitely take requests, here are the little sweeties at week two.

I made a mistake and took the pictures in light that was a bit dim, so I had to work on them a little. The monitor on my PC doesn't always show true color, and when I have to do digital construction work on photos, they sometimes end up looking slightly "off" on other computers. Please let me know if the pictures ever look odd on your screen.



One of the Rhode Island Reds. She is a little nervous about being up off the ground and is crouching instead of standing up. Look how much her wings have grown!

I wonder if palm readers can gain any insight from that picture...



One of the Americaunas, settling down for a little nap. They still have a lot of their baby fluff at this point, but are developing feathers at a rapid rate.

12 comments:

Jean said...

Oh, yes, I did! thank you! and aren't they sweet and intriguing at this point of transformation, half down, half feathers? It's many years since I've held the wee things at this stage - an uncle of mine reared chicks when I was a kid.

Unknown said...

Very cute!!! Can you tell yet if they're male or female?

swamp4me said...

We went to a gardening center in town today and they had boxes of chicks and ducklings that had just arrived from PA. They were all cute and fuzzy, but I am afraid most are destined to be Easter presents for children who will tire of them all too soon :(

Liz said...

Your chick portraits are gorgeous...they are so adorable! (I'm dreaming of the blue-green eggs you'll get...)

Rurality said...

Thanks all. They are really funny at this age. Actually I took those pics over the weekend and I think they've grown visibly since then.

Jenni, we ordered all females except for one male Rhode Island Red. I can't tell which he is yet. They employ chicken sexers (usually Asians) at the hatcheries that can tell, but I can't. They get a bit upset if you try to look, too!

S4M, we did that too once when I was a teenager and lived in the suburbs. We ended up giving the chicks away to a farmer friend of my Dad's.

Thanks Liz, I'm dreaming of that too! We've also got Marans chicks so I'm dreaming of dark brown eggs as well. I think I'm secretly trying to make decorative art in egg cartons. :)

Happy and Blue 2 said...

Don't you just love having little birds in your hand. They're so cute..

Anonymous said...

I spent a tiny portion of yesterday cuddling 3 baby chicks. They are just the cutest things in the world, and I love watching them grow up!

Rurality said...

Yes, I think the only thing to rival baby chicks in cuteness are baby goats. We don't have those... yet. :)

Rurality said...

Thanks very much for the compliment Stabler. No, photography is just a hobby, although I did take a few "special studies" classes from a local university. (Cheap "for fun" classes for no credit.)

I have to fiddle with the pictures a little sometimes in Paint Shop Pro (inexpensive program), since they don't always look on the computer like they do in the camera... (or in my brain!)

I'm not that ticky about them though... to get the chick lightened up in the 2nd picture meant that the background was going to be blown out unless I did some fancy manipulating... but I just let it get blown out, I kind of like it that way actually. :)

I looked a little at the studio you pointed to. Couldn't look a lot because it's slow on my molasses-like dial-up connection. (Not one of the joys of country life.) Looks very cool!

Anonymous said...

So much cuteness! If I actually hold out and manage to not buy any baby chicks this year, I will sorely miss the feeling of a sleeping chick in the palm of my hand. Your photos are always so beautiful.

I speak from experience....baby goats are the cutest, sassiest, little animals on earth. What kind are you thinking of getting?

-Sarah
http://www.slaphog.com/sarahblog/

Rurality said...

Sarah, DH has been thinking about meat goats. (Boer crosses I guess.) There are a lot of Hispanic families in the area, so there is a market for it.

Lots of my soapmaking friends have goats, but they are mostly milk goats.

They are all cute! Those pygmy goats are adorable too...

Chris/Jan said...

I have a Rhode Island Red that is just now at the same point of development as the picture. Good to see and compare. Thanks!