Cold chicks are free

The 4 chicks who spent their whole life in a box—first in the basement, then outside in a crate with a heat lamp, then same crate out in the unheated coop—got their first taste of freedom yesterday. Not surprisingly, they were reluctant to come out the open door. Once they did, they stayed in the coop for as long as I was watching. When I checked later, I think the older chickens had bullied them back into the crate.

It has been warmer the last few days. I had to get them outside without too much of a shock before it gets back to being really cold. (Just now as I am writing this, the rain turns to sleet.)

The day after the last post, Big Blondie on the right gave his first pathetic attempt at crowing like a rooster. This gives me just a bit of hope that the other 3 are hens as they were all born at the same time. The other 3 are smaller, with smaller combs, but those curly tail feathers still look suspicious to me. Soon we will know.