Baby Chicks' First Days

I've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to post these pictures from last week, Monday through Friday, the baby chicks' first 5 days with us.

Day 1

I picked up the chicks from the post office early Monday morning.
There are 27 chicks about 3 days old.

Day 2

Everyone seems to be doing well.  We're slowly figuring out which breed is which.

The "blonde" chick is one of two Blue Andalusians.

The little brown chick in the center is one of two Egyptian Fayoumis.

The few chicks with the dark brown stripe on their back are Golden Laced Wyandotte.

The two chicks with the light faces are Phoenix.  There are 2 roosters & 2 hens.
The chick with the light spot on its head is a Dominique.
There are 7 Dominiques, 6 hens & probably a rooster 

Day 3

Wednesday morning didn't start out very well.  The only Buttercup hen that I had died.  She didn't look very well Tuesday evening and barely made it through the night.

Chicks being chicks......pecking & scratching through the bedding looking for food.

This is our set up.  All 26 baby chicks are in one bin with food, water & a heat lamp.
The hardware cloth screen keeps the chicks in and everything else out.
The 2nd bin is ready for when I need to divide the chicks.

Day 4

Chicks are doing well.  The chick on the front left is the 2nd Blue Andalusian.  The chick behind that is a Golden Laced Wyandotte.  The brown chick close to the center is an Egyptian Fayoumis.

The chick eating is a Golden Campine.  The chick with the light spot on the head is a Dominique and the chick beside it with the dark stripe is a Phoenix.

The blonde Blue Andalusian

Day 5

The Great Divide

After changing the bedding on Friday, one of the Dominique chicks had the urge to peck at everyone's eyes.  I'm not sure if that was a sign of being crowded or stress from being moved around when I cleaned their brooder.  Not wanting to take a chance of having injured chicks, I decided to divide them....13 chicks in each brooder.

4 Phoenix, 2 Blue Andalusian & 7 Dominique

5 Golden Campine, 6 Golden Laced Wyandotte, 2 Egyptian Fayoumis

So, that's the chicks' first 5 days with us.  Their wing feathers are getting a little more developed and some are even showing signs of tail feathers.