I'm pretty sure Missy Yellow had the best time. For her it was all about freedom, lots of people time outside, a running creek at her disposal, and swimming in the pool with the kiddos.
Many, many pics to come!
I was up most of the night since SK was fussing and I was unexpectedly overcome with emotion at the thought of her not being little for long.
I'd checked her diaper, rocked her for a bit (while she hugged me tightly-my heart!), and put her back in bed, but she continued to fuss.
Now this not normal behavior for her nor has it been for the boys. They've all been excellent sleepers-Thank you, Babywise-and neither of us has ever had to be up for any extended time with them during the night. (Excuse me while I knock on wood.)
As I lay there listening to her on the monitor I thought, She's not going to be little for long and since I'm awake anyway, I might as well hold her for a while.
So she sat on my lap in the game room and ate some Cheerios at 2:00am. What?! And this is how we know she'll be rotten. It's a family effort, really, as we all spoil her.
It was so sweet and I just soaked it all up before putting her back to bed without a fuss. :)
And then...then I was too excited about our chickens to sleep for most of the rest of the night.
Yes, seriously. I've been waiting to get chickens for over 25 years and today's the day!
Since I have no experience whatsoever with chickens (unless you count a poultry science class at A&M which was more about the end than the beginning) I did what any 75-year-old prospective chicken buyer would do and headed to the nearest feed store to visit with someone who worked there about chickens and to pick up the Everything You Need to Know About Raising Chickens pamphlet put out by Purina.
I was practically an expert after reading it cover to cover in approximately 6 minutes. I'd picked out the breeds best suited for our family; large, docile, hardy layers of large eggs, and each of the 3 breeds "can be re-purposed if needed," according to Purina. Win-win!
When I remembered I was not actually 75 I hit up Pinterest for the latest in poultry pins for even more info.
So, I think I'm ready!
And at $6 per chick, the investment is minimal should I find out I'm not as capable as I thought.
*Chicken Update* 6:50pm
We went to look at the chickens expecting tiny little things but these were 2 months old. They are super cute, still, and just look like miniature versions of the adults. She (The Chicken Woman) even has barred rocks! (They're a depression era breed according to The Chicken Woman and the primary breed in which I am interested.)
The chicks were very gentle and didn't even acknowledge our circus as we approached the cages with squeals and all manner of rapid movements. I'd say that's a good sign. :)
But...they were too big to stay in the rabbit cage in which we'd planned on housing them for the next 4-6 weeks since they-if they'd been day old chicks-wouldn't be ready for the coop for that amount of time. Our coop will not be ready until next week.
So we made a difficult grownup decision to pick them up next week instead. The kids were good with it and I managed not to throw a tantrum from sheer disappointment. I have waited for twenty-five years for crying out loud (but I didn't).
My only consolation was that I had read in a couple of places that we should clear our calendar for the next 4-5 weeks after getting day old chicks. We're not that far from newborn duty with a human and I hear chicks poop even more often than newborns, so I was a bit anxious about such an undertaking, anyway.
It will be nice to pick them up on Tuesday and put them directly into their new coop-No danger of them getting too cold, drowning in their water dish, or developing some scary leg issue about which I also read from walking on newspaper.
Oh, and we'll be certain to get hens making that lesson on repurposing our used-to-be-pet-oh, wait-it's-a-rooster one we can postpone a while longer.
I'm still ecstatic and will keep you posted!
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