Chicks @ 3 weeks

Today the chickens are three weeks old.  They are growing their adult feathers, and going through what I kindly refer to as the "awkward teenager" stage.   In the picture below, the chick on the left is the Cornish Cross broiler (bird raised for its meat), and on the right is the White Rock laying hen (egg layer).  You can see just how much faster the broiler bird is growing.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the broiler bird will be ready to butcher at about eight weeks old, and we will have to wait six months before the layer even begins to lay eggs.  They don't have quite enough feathers to be outside all of the time just yet (they maybe would be okay if not for the unseasonably cold weather we've been having), but I took these two out for a photo shoot this afternoon.

Chicks @ 3 weeks 5.3.11
Broiler on left, layer on right

Chicks @ 2 weeks 4.27.11
Broiler on left, layer on right