April 29: Much Bigger Chickens

Our baby chickens are now three weeks old, and they are HUGE (and absolutely delightful)! They have grown by leaps and bounds, a little bit every day. Sometimes I swear I look in on them after a few hours, and they have grown some more even in that short period of time! I've been taking them out of their cage every day for some people/socializing time, and they love to perch on my fingers and just chill out with me. The other day I played a video game while a chicken perched on me. Every time I open up their box, at least one of them tries to fly out and perch on me. When I hold them, sometimes they escape my grasp and fly up to my shoulder to sit there (which totally reminds me of my Fela kitty who loves to be on my shoulders.) Speaking of Fela, he is getting super jealous every time I spend time with them. 

I also think that all four of them officially have names: in addition to Saltina (because she's a salty girl), we have Cecilia (named after the Simon & Garfunkel song), Munchkin (because she's the runt of the family), and Boco (a chocobo from Final Fantasy). They now have feathers and are starting to grow combs, and have super long legs and huge feet. While it is admittedly sad that they grow so quickly, it is delightful to experience it, and I am thankful I have so much time at home to spend with them. I really really want them to be personable, and I think my time with them is helping.

(I'm writing this entry on Sunday, so I want to add that on Saturday I took them outside for the first time to spend some free time in the greenhouse. It's a warm, enclosed area, which is perfect for them to be able to get out and stretch their wings. Saltina was totally fine the whole time, not nervous or scared at all; she really seemed to enjoy exploring. Munchkin braved up after not too long; she and Saltina both started to forgage, finding bugs and worms and even fighting over them. Boco was a bit more hesitant about exploring, but did a little bit. Poor Cecelia seemed scared almost the entire time, but did a bit of exploring near the very end. All of them used me as their home base, which was an amazingly good sign that they know me, like me, and trust me. Several times I had all four of them perching on my arms, which was the most adorable thing ever. I look forward to giving them more time outside with me!)

With delight,

♥Jamie