6 days old and what a difference!!!

Peering into the box that contains a noisey rabble of downy bullies, I can see the vast differences in them. They have gone from scrawny little clumsy chicks, unable to stand on their feet, to fiesty little half feather, half down noise boxes. They have their daily dust bath in the wood shavings, they scratch around looking for extra food. I will not go into detail about what they did to the spider that got into the box, but needless to say the arachnid lost.

The pack of hunters

They were brought back into the house a few nights ago, because in traditional British Style the weather changed and it got too cold for them in the shed. Since being indoors they have thrived and the progress they have made is amazing. The have feathers already!! My image of downy fluff balls has gone by the by as they have gorgeous long feathers protruding from their wings and their tiny little bums.

Not only do their wings have feathers, but they also seem to know how to use them already! They use their wings to get to the food box or the lamp quicker than their peers. It is amazing to watch. They jump and spread their wings and glide over the 'competition's' heads.

A Splash Poland with wing feathers.

I have also discovered that the warnings on zoo cages are there for a reason. I have taken to placing my hand, very slowly into the cage and leaving it there so that they get used to it. Oh they got used to it. They climb on it and they peck at it and they even poop on it. I plan to invest in an 'ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK' sign for the side of the box. They are evil.

A Silver Laced with wing and tail feathers

I have sat an watched them taking it in turns to peck each other half to death. They aim for the eyes and then, when they think their prey is weak enough they pounce and scratch their opponent with their hideously long toenails. Then it is the opponent's turn and so it continues until nap time. Nap time seems to happen a lot. They look so cute and helpless as they lay together each using its neighbour as a pillow. How misleading images can be...