Growing Up...

My baby chicks are already getting so big! Within the first two weeks, I think they almost doubled in size.  I am out of the country, traveling for work this week, and I know when I return on Friday, they will be even bigger. 

That being said, the are truly outgrowing their cage.  I am pretty sure that they no longer need the heat lamp.  Although with Cincinnati weather, it could be snowing again next week - so who knows!  Either way, I do not want them to be overcrowded in the cage and start to pick on each other purely because they do  not have enough space.  We finally purchased a chicken coop, which just arrived earlier this week. 
Pictures of the chicken coop will be coming soon :)

The coop will give them plenty of space, but is it too early to put the chicks outside in the coop for good?  I know they need to get their feathers before they can handle the cold weather, so I am a little hesitant.  They are about 5 weeks old right now. Any thoughts??

Anyways, last week I took them out to our yard for the first time and decided to take individual pics of the chicks.  So here are the stars of my blog...

Izzie

My sweet Izzie is the timid one of the bunch.  She is the lowest in the pecking order, but she seems to be the one with the most meat on her bones, so I am not too worried.  She is the only chick that lets me pet her and doesn't run like crazy when I try to catch her. 

O'Malley

O'Malley is the smallest one of the bunch.  She has spunk and is a quick little one.  At first, I thought she would be the one they pick on, but she always fights to get her share of lettuce. 

Grey

She stands tallest and walks around with her chest out.  She is a very pretty chick.  She is fast and sneaky - by far the hardest chick to catch! She will literally have me running in circles around the yard! She is the ring leader.

Lexi

Looks just like her sister, Grey, and very similar in nature.  However, she is not as sure of her path and is less speedy.  Since she is so tall, she will jump up to the top of the cage trying to grab the lettuce right out of my hand. 

Spooks

Spooks is the only Golden Laced Wyandotte of the bunch.  Along with Grey, she is the other ring leader.  I was worried that she would get singled out from the group since she was the only one that was a different breed.  But actually it seems that all the chicks do as Spooks does.  She LOVES to dig and scratch up everything in the cage.  Thus she is the messiest chick :) Drives me crazy!

They are starting to look more like chickens and less like little chicks - what do you think?