The baby chickens are finally here! I was just about to give up and go get some ducklings to tide myself over, but the farm supply store was out and I got the chick call. This morning, the little ones arrived in a very stinky, loud box at the Greenbank post office. One chick didn't make it, and was not so fresh, but we have 26 alive and well and very busy. I guess Sandhills Preservation Center, who I ordered the chicks from, decided to send me a couple extra because they were short on Marans.
Tim and I have spend most of the day sitting in that chair staring at our baby birds. So far, we have about four we can reliably identify. I missed out on getting a picture of Tim sitting over the chicken box with his ear protection on when the chicks first arrived. Until they all got a little food and water in their bellies and a nap under the lamp, there was an awful lot of high decibel chEEping going on. Now they are quiet enough to leave the door open without risking hearing damage.
I gave them a little time to get the hang of eating and drinking, then opened the door to the second half of their nursery. One side has food and water and brighter light while the other has water and roosts (for a little later) and a heat lamp a little closer and warmer. They've gotten the hang of jumping between boxes to go after what they want and find their friends.
Cameras are pretty cool, aren't they little buddy? One of these guys got to go on a field trip to see Grandpa earlier today.
Looking through the little door between boxes. Happy chicks cozy together. Man there are a lot of them! I guess it's the same number I've had arrive a few other times in my life (is this batch 5? 1. Scritch, Scratch, Tricky, Nicky, Cuddles and Pecky; 2. Tacky, Penny, Xena, Gabby, Bluie and Buttercup; 3. Aretha, Diana, Billie, Tina, Mariah and Ella; 4. Toblerone, Cadbury, Dove, Ghirardelli, Hershey and Nestle), though normally 3/4 go to their new homes with someone else within a few days. This is the first time I've ever had "straight run" meaning half boys, so we're trying to remind ourselves that these adorable precious balls of fluff are going to be soup in just a couple months. After that it will only be about twice what I've normally had.
Tilly's a little jealous. She sat on my lap next to the chicks for a while but was sniffing so hard I was afraid she'd give those poor babies little heart attacks. Tim took her for a nice long outing at the dog park to try to compensate for her displacement as only cutie in the house. It also gave me an opportunity to get some more school work done. I'm still shooting for Sunday night at midnight as my self-imposed deadline to get this thing over with and move on!
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