This time around, I’ve tried to be more consistent getting weekly(ish) pictures of the chicks. Capturing the changes in their feathers, and seeing how fast they grow, has been so much fun. {The fact they got to stay in my living room far longer than the P Class did last year helped facilitate the photo shoots}. I decided to make slideshow carousels for each chicken, so it’s easier to swipe through and see the evolution.

You may notice the pictures stop at 6 weeks, while the chickies will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. As they got bigger, they got harder to wrangle for photos. The feathers have also stabilized somewhat until the next growth spurt, so I’ll get more pictures once they’re older {and fully settled outside}.

I have started the integration process, which means a lot of supervised “playdates.” With the intense heat, things have been slowed down a bit: I don’t want to stress any of the chickens in this heat, nor do I care to sit outside for an hour+ supervising. But once the heat breaks, we’ll be back in business, and it shouldn’t be long before the babies are outside full-time. I’ll definitely share a post on the whole integration process as well, because it’s been quite the learning experience.

Are you surprised by the feather transitions?
I think it’s safe to say at this point that Heidi is not a Barred Plymouth Rock, since she looks very different from Happy. But what she is … that’s a genuine mystery.
If you’ve ever integrated new/young chickens into an existing flock, your insights are welcome!