The season begins

Well it has begun...the season of farminals! What we call our birds here on the acres. My day began as it will from now til butcher day..7am out to the coup...today being the last minute adjustments for the arrival of our day old little fuzzy yellow chicks. Our order...30...our pickup...32. They always seem to throw in a couple extras?

The kids and I drove out to the co-op for 10:30am...which is the time I got from Aspen as she took the message. Not hard to tell it is pick up day LOL cars trucks people and little boxes full of squawking chickens turkeys and duck everywhere! I was very proud of my wee kids...proudly peering into the boxes telling everyone who would listen which were turkeys, and not chickens (THEY REMEMBERED!) Then as we started checking the boxes it was Ryki who shouted out "R_A_C_I_N_E!!! This is our box Mama!" He READ the labels!!! There was my two brats sitting on the floor next to their chicks, poking there fingers and giggling like crazy....and many more smiles in the store. As I made it thru the line to pay, the very busy co-op girl behind the counter and leaned towards me,
"your little girl made my day when making all the calls, she was very polite and took the message, and seemed very happy to tell me that she and her brother were homeschooled...so they would be in to pick up the chicks!" I am mama...today I am PROUD MAMA.

As luck would have it, today has been chilly and very damp. We delivered our chicks to their new bedbox in the coup. Fed them, and watered them...this year I remembered...luke warm water for the babies! (last year I am pretty sure we lost a few off the bat as I fed them cold water...which apparently causes like instant pneumonia??? go figure?!)
I did my check up on them in one hour only to find...three little chicks in the water (too warm maybe??) soaking shivering and looking notso good.

Rescue Mission #1 (first day??) the little chicks were brought into the living room, wrapped in baby tshirts and cuddled by my wee farm hands till fluffy dry again and returned to their box

Rescue Mission #2 we have discovered a runt with cruddy legs. He is now in the parakeet cage...sometimes cuddled and being cared for by Aspen and Ryki. Aspen REMEMBERS that last year we had a chicken with cruddy legs...and after giving it time and space and love...she nursed him back to health and his legs grew strong again.

We shall see how long the wee chick in the parakeet cage will last. He doesn't seem to have an lacking lungs and squawking abilities, so we will see how long he stays indoors! (ie/ when dad gets home to find a chicken in the house?)