Tiny Pheasant Chicks!- 06.29.12
The latest dose of natural inspiration from our resident zoologist and London-based editor, Justine Aw as she shares some of her work with London’s largest city farm, Mudchute Park & Farm.
We’ve had Wyandotte chicks and little mandarin ducklings, but the latest brood are the tiniest little precocious chicks yet. Fitting comfortably in an espresso cup, the latest arrivals are golden pheasants (Chrysolophus pictus), an ornamental breed native to the forests in mountainous areas of western China.
You can also see the little chicks on the Mudchute Farm blog and be sure to visit the them at the farm, where they are currently living in a brooder near Pets Corner. Lots of hatching pics and video on the next page!
Starting to unzip!
The third chick hatching (with a little help).
Moments out of the egg and taking a first bewildered look at the world!
A chick one (left) and eight (right) hours after hatching, what a difference a few hours make, and a demonstration of just how ridiculously fluffy the little chicks are!
So tiny! A little tiny chick next to a one pound coin.
Weighing the little ones in an espresso cup (they really are that tiny!). The little ones all weigh about 14g, that’s about the weight of 2.5 quarters!
Handful of tiny little golden pheasants!
The tiny chicks will grow quickly over the next few months, and any boys among them (we haven’t sexed them yet!), will soon grow the beautiful brightly colored plumage so characteristic of their species, just like their dad!
