More Chicken Pics

The girls are growing fast, they are about 16 weeks old and you can see they are completely feathered (these pics are about a month old...newer pics are added further in this post).  Aside from not having their bright red combs and waddles yet they appear well grown and have become beautiful healthy chickens ~ I expect to see eggs as early as next month if my calculation in their age is correct. 

Below is a picture of them resting just inside the door of their coop shortly after they were able to move out of their little outdoor dog crate "coop" and into their big girl house.

The chicken pictured in the right of the photo is the ONLY chicken I have named...and the name is Roody ~short for Rooster.  From an early age this is the ONLY chicken that has stood out from the rest, quickly growing larger then the other girls and showing a brightly colored comb on its head and waddle.  A particular trait that this little chick had in persuading me into thinking it's a Rooster was when it would "attack".  I mean, as small as Roody was he/she didn't hesitate when it came time to protecting him/herself and the flock against me, the giant predator.  When I would enter the run at night to tuck them into their crate each night he would hop sideways at me ...jumping on my foot and pecking with all her/his might!  Lucky for me this chick was a feather weight (ha, get it!) and did very little damage, although it did make wearing flip flops into their run quite risky.  Admittedly, I always giggled at how brave this tiny beast was, not hesitating to take me on.

Roody at about 3 months

After several days of this I knew I had to get control of this bird.  I would picture myself running for my life eventually if Roody does end up being a Rooster.  I couldn't bear the thought of fearing my own chicken.  So each time Roody would attack my foot I would graciously pick the chick up and carry him/her around until I had the other girls settled in for the night.

It took Roody just a few days to realize that attacking my foot only resulted in me loving the chick even more...and he quickly gave up the attack on my foot.

I think I will be devastated if the young chicken does end up being a hen.  He makes the absolute perfect Rooster...and come on...Roody, what better name for a strong little man. 

This is Roody at 4 months, you can see the difference in his feathers and size compared to the girls beside him.  Fingers-crossed, I did want one rooster to strut his stuff around the yard.