It’s our second Fowl Friday for Jenny’s chicks, and all sixteen of them are growing like weeds! Comparing them to our chicken chicks last year at the same age, they look remarkably similar developmentally, they’re just larger!
Jenny's poults have done a lot of growing in the last week!
This week has been all about new discoveries. Discovering new foods, and that green things are most tasty.
"Oh! What's this?"
That’s not all, they’ve also been discovering that bobcats and red-shouldered hawks are scary, and that gophers can make holes into the pen just large enough to facilitate an escape!
When scary wildlife comes to visit, the poults are learning to shelter in the old dog house in the run
After spending most of Saturday at a local dairy goat show, we came home, and immediately checked on the chicks, only to find one of the poults running through the long grass OUTSIDE the pen! I scrambled to catch the little one (they’re FAST), but I finally managed to corner it, and pick it up. I quickly opened the pen door to return it, as it was screeching hysterically, and Jenny lunged straight at me. She was absolutely NOT amused. There’s no question she has strong mothering instincts, she just didn’t realize I meant to no harm, and was trying to help!
Jenny has never charged me before, but was afraid for the safety of her peeping poult
It was almost three days before Jenny settled back down enough not to charge me when I entered the pen. We were just relieved that the tiny poult was safe, and he or she has no idea just how lucky they are. This morning I was rudely awakened by Jenny’s alarm call at 5:45 AM, and found a bobcat running past the enclosure, and total pandemonium inside the pen that sent poults scurrying for cover.
Next time, no exploring when we're not home!
At first we just couldn’t fathom how the little poult managed to tunnel out, but we eventually found the offending gopher tunnel, filled it in, and added some wire screening to prevent any more adventurous poults from exploring the big wide world before they’re ready.
Escaping chicks aside, the most notable physical change this week has been the emergence of wing feathers, going from just a tiny, almost imperceptible hint of feathers, to these…
A Bourbon Red poult stretches out a wing...look at those feathers!
In the last 48 hours we’ve just started to see a hint of future tail feathers too!
Not a flattering photo, but there's just a hint of tiny tail feathers emerging
The poults have been much more active this week, and are routinely observed jumping and flapping around the pen, often catching just enough air to land on the top of one of the tree stumps in the enclosure. They’ve discovered that feathers are for flying…
"Hey, I can FLY!"
…and they help you jump on top of volleyballs…
This old volleyball was a turkey toy for Jake and Jenny when they were younger. Perhaps this poult is destined for the circus?
…or the top of water fonts…
The poults were perching on the water font at just over a week old!
A couple of persistent peeps have even succeeded in getting up to the roost platform in the last couple of days. Surely they’re too young to be up there already?!
"First I'll jump to the top of the tree stump...then I'm half way there!"
It helps that they have an extra step to help them up.
"Hmmm...it's further than I thought"
Jenny though doesn’t seem quite sure what to think of that, and usually flies up to the roost herself to escort the chicks back down.
"Junior, it's time to get down"..."but...but...but MOM!"
Napping, although still a regular occurrence, seems to have been more scarce this week, and the activity levels of the chicks much higher!
Sneaking in 40 winks on a warm afternoon
Other than tree stumps, and roost platforms, apparently humans make rather handy play structures too!
"Why do you sit in here with us so much?"
Toe rings and other shiny jewelry simply must be investigated. Shoulders make for excellent perches with a view. Camera lenses are shiny and reflective, and laps make for a comfy spot to nap.
ZzzzZZzzZZzzz
Through numerous counting sessions (especially after ‘Houdini’ escaped the pen), we’ve now determined that we have five standard bronze poults…
Standard Bronze Poult: the brown coloration in the feathers is darker on these poults, than the red bronzes
Overall they’re similar in appearance to the red bronze, but with slightly darker brown coloring.
Standard Bronze Poult
…we also have seven red bronze poults…
Red Bronze Poult: the brown on the red bronze poults is more of a cinnamon-brown
The red bronze poults have quite a striking pattern on their wing feathers.
Red bronze wing feathers
Last, but not least, four beautiful bourbon red poults.
Bourbon Red Poult: The bourbon red poults have no brown on them
These poults are mostly pale yellow and red in color, and have no brown stripes.
Bourbon Red Poult
So far everyone seems to be in great health, with a tremendous appetite, and lots of energy! Did I mention how much more active they are this week?!
Jenny certainly has her work cut out for her, but fortunately for her, the poults do sleep at night, tucked away, snug and warm.
"Goodnight!"
You’re doing a great job Jenny, but it’s clear that at the rate they’re growing, we may not hardly recognize them next Fowl Friday!
They are so cute!! We used to raise chickens. I remember how feathers could appear overnight. Once we had chicks in a room in our house– they created an immense dustiness. But it’s like little miracles, every minute, watching them grow. Jenny is a good mom. I really enjoyed this post!
We’ve raised chicken chicks indoors too. It took hours to clean the dust out of that room! They are fun to watch though, and I’m always amazed how fast grow!
Wow! I was just catching up on the Curbstone Valley news last night and had my first peek at the poults, but my how they have already grown! I’d say it’s both Jenny and Clare who are going to have their work cut out for them over the coming weeks 😀
A belated thankyou for the very informative Varroa post too. We have everything crossed that Varroa won’t make it to our shores!
I think we do both have our work cut out for us, although at the moment Jenny is doing most of the work. My task, and it seems to be working, is to habituate the poults to humans. A friend of ours who raises turkeys found out the hard way that although brooder-raised poults are friendly to people, hen-raised poults are almost terrified of them. So I get to justify spending extra time in the pen, in the interests of keeping them calm around people 😉 I do hope you never have to battle Varroa, Australia is so fortunate to have dodged them so far!
Hi Clare,
I’m loving the Poult tooshie! So cute, with their little frilly panties as the tail feathers are coming through 🙂
So funny, they do like a bit like they’re wearing frilly knickers. Although this morning, I was amazed just how much more visible their tail feathers are already. I almost had to struggle to see them when I took that pic!
i would think it would be difficult to get much work done at CV. Looks like everything is an adventure for those chicks – volleyballs, tree stumps and photographers! 🙂
Great photos. I enjoyed the update!
It is a challenge getting anything done, although we did succeed in harvesting potatoes, squash and onions this weekend, and transplanting some beans and basil 😉
These babies are so adorable I’m going to have to try really hard this November not to think about them as I’m roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving. Love the updates!!
They are adorable at this age. We had a whole new appreciation for turkeys last year after raising our own for the holiday season. These peeps are safe though, as they’re heritage birds, they’ll never mature in time for the holiday table this year.
Saved the fluffy Friday treat for a wet and windy Saturday. Lots here to warm the cockles of any mother’s heart. Am ejoying the adventures of the turkey goblets with all the frenzy of Bobcats, gophers and circus antics. Love the image of tiny tail feathers emerging. Entrancing
I could do with less Bobcats. He’s making it a habit, and I’m tired (literally) of getting turfed out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to sounds of Jenny in a panic. I wish the blasted Bobcats would do something useful, and catch some voles around here, and quit terrorizing the poultry! 😛
Clare, I do wish you would be more loving in these posts! …. laughing. I simply love your stories as they unfold, the photos and of course your perspective on all that you do. Jennie, indeed is a good mom, as are you. 😉
We’re just relieved that Jenny has turned out to be a good turkey Mom. I’ve read so many horror stories of hens ignoring their chicks, trampling them, not brooding them (so they chill). I’m hoping soon to get an updated photo as they settle down for the night. It’s amusing to see little poult faces popping out through Jenny’s feathers, everywhere, as they hunker down for the night. It makes Jenny look like she has an outbreak of really adorable looking warts 😀
Just taking a break from planting my propagation extras
– lovely to see the babies thriving! OK, back to it!
They are definitely thriving, and eating us out of house and home! 😉
CUTE pictures! I love the Fowl Friday updates. Glad to see they’re doing well. 🙂
They provide the cute, I just try to catch some of it on camera, which is becoming increasingly difficult because they just don’t sit still! 😛
Sweet! Thank you…
There’s more sweet coming…but not turkey poults…stay tuned!
I’m glad they are doing so well! They are so cute and they are getting big! Will they all stay in that pen or will you have to build another? Can’t wait to see how much they change next week.
We’re going to modify this pen (it needs a better roof, drainage improvements etc., and may expand it then, but many of these poults will likely be heading to other homes once they’re a little older. They’ve already changed since Friday, I’m wondering if they’ll have any fluff left by next Friday!
So cool. I can’t wait until we get some turkeys next year.
We’ve had chickens for some time now, but honestly, I think I like turkeys a little better. Don’t laugh, but I actually find they seem to have a little more personality, and they’re not nearly as mean to each other as chickens can be. I think you’re going to have with turkeys. It’s a shame they need so much space, or we’d likely have even more!
Wow they really have grown – it’s only when you see them next to Jenny that you appreciate their growth rate. You must have had the adrelanine running when you saw those little chicks outside of the pen Clare.
Fairly certain I gasped, cussed, panicked, and then exhaled a big sigh of relief once I returned ‘Houdini’ to Jenny. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and was amazed, with all the Bobcats and hawks around here during the day, that our intrepid explorer hadn’t become someone else’s lunch! The bobcats are too interested in the turkey pen right now as it is. If one actually caught a poult, they’d never give up. Usually they don’t bother the turkeys, but these little ones clearly look irresistible.
Just… I don’t know the word for it. Cute and informative and wonderful — is there a word for that? That’s what this post is. =)
I think the word(s) you’re looking for is ‘Fowl Friday’, which was originally spawned last year amidst a plethora of peeping chicks. We try to keep the cute factor up, although FF is occasionally interspersed with episodes of high drama around here 😛
I’m loving these turkey posts. I’m glad you worked out the earlier problems and stuck with it instead of giving up. So worth the effort.
I’m glad that resolving our earlier problems was as simple as segregating the Tom. We were very deflated after the failed first nesting attempt, but I’m glad we made the changes. We were so sorry to lose Junior, but if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have all these little fluff-balls zipping around now.
wonderful post – I love watching them grow and develop! And the photos are tooooo cute!!
I love watching them grow to, it’s just conducive to getting much else done around here 😛
Loved this new video of the chicks – boy that video camera sure is interesting! I have to wonder though, how is Jake dealing with all the action beside him?
Jake started out mostly staring down his snood at them, and his head would change back and forth between various shades of red and blue as he stared them down. I’m actually glad that although he’s separated, he can still see Jenny, and see all the activity in the pen next to him. At some point, once the poults are much larger, they’ll need to be reintegrated into to a flock together. As he can see them, but not reach them, I’m hoping he’ll be habituated to them by that time, and reintegration will go smoothly. At the moment he seems to watch them when they’re zipping about, but most of the time he’s ignoring them, which is a good sign.
I am so happy all 16 are still there and doing well. You must have been a little frantic chasing the poult, wondering if it was the only one missing,
I like the yellow ones the best. It is a color that I never saw in a turkey. They are this color as adults?
I was going to ask about Jake too. Sounds like he will let them into the flock, but what about the males? Will he allow them as easily?
The Bourbon Red poults will become more red as they grow up, and less blond, with white primary wing feathers and tail feathers. There are some photos here.
Our plan is to only to keep one or two males, and find homes for the rest, and keep more hens this time. We’d hoped for more hens last year, but only ended up with Jenny. Now that we have a mature Tom on the farm (Jake), we’re hoping that the junior males will be more subordinate, and behave better with the bigger Tom about. We’ll have to see though 😉
Fantastic video, and that fifth photo down is especially adorable! I’m so glad that they all made it this time.