Chicken portraits

Chickens, I'm learning, don't really like to have their photos taken but if you insist, they will hold still. Or so it seems.

The chicks are almost three weeks old now and gaining feathers by the moment. They are more feather than fluff and even have inch-long tail feathers.

Housekeepers, they are not. Every book I've consulted stresses the need for sanitation to avoid disease.

The chickens, however, are busy ripping up newspaper and pooping their way through life. I completely empty out the bathtub "brooder," change the newspapers and add new cedar chips every other day just to stay ahead of the game, but I'm always behind.

I keep reading how the brooder only needs to be cleaned once a week. Right! The odor alone would suffocate us all!

Still and all, all six chicks are doing well. They are growing fast and seem stunningly fit. I keep watching for signs of a rooster in the mix, but I haven't found one yet.

On the other hand, I'm only vaguely clear about what to watch for. A friend told me spurs would grow on the front legs and a comb would sprout sooner in a male than a female. And that is ALL I know!