News from the Peeps - week three!!
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| An Ugly Duckling?? |
What's new this week? We are entering the "Ugly Duckling" stage ... our soft little downy feathers are starting to look a little crazy and fall out as our new feathers are forming and growing in. We are at least twice the size we were when we hatched. Some of us can fly to the ledge of the brooder when the cover is off, but no one has escaped successfully yet!
Our friends who came to visit you at school a couple weeks ago have been color-banded: Blue, Green & Purple on the "boys team", and Gold, Pink & Yellow on the "girls team."
The boys combs are becoming more pronounced (a bit bigger than the girls), while the girls tail feathers are really sticking out and their wings are getting longer!!
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| The girls have longer feathers, but shorter combs and thinner legs |
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| girl |
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| The boys have shorter wings and tailfeathers, but more prominent combs, and bigger legs and feet. |
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| boy |
Chicken facts: Leghorn chickens originate from Tuscany, in central Italy, and were brought to the United States around 1830. We are now one of the most popular breeds in the world because we are really good egg layers ... laying close to 300 eggs per year!! (That's 6 (sometimes 7) eggs per week!)
We have a single comb (the red, fleshy part on top of our head) and white earlobes (behind and below our eyes) ... which means we will lay white eggs. (Chickens with red earlobes like Marigold and Midnight, will lay brown eggs.)
We are known for being noisy chickens, and we're a little skittish or flighty around people ... you could say, we're a little "chicken"!!
Here are some pictures of what we should look like when we grow up...
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| I'm a White Leghorn hen (girl) ... I will lay white eggs. |
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| I'm a White Leghorn rooster ... I'll wake everyone up in the morning when I crow! |
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| This is our all time favorite treat ... sprouted bird seed. YUMMY! |