Here a chick there a chick everywhere a chick chick...

Well, we are NO MacDonalds,
and we ain't got a farm,
but we do have some growing chicks.


AS I was reminded on Saturday by some of my most beautiful lurkers (and you know who you are)...it is high time for another chick update. Well they are a few weeks old, and on Saturday their home was spiffed up and re-tooled and moved to its new location.

Sunday night they spent their first night out of the "Nursery" that was our garage...which was building up with so much dust from their presence, once they began to have feathers..etc..that I had to run the windshield wipers each time I left the garage...very fine, yet, thick dust.

Ugh.

As you can see we have a varied assortment of purebreeds...and we are having fun trying to figure out what kind each one is. Some, even have feathers on their feet...which has been a real treat for us this time. So, there you go, just in time for Easter. A chick update.

The Story

Several years ago I happened upon a book that revolutionized the way I look at life in general. Or at least the way I try to look at life. The basic premise is, there is more. There is more to our lives, more to this existence. We are part of a larger story. Here is a quote I read today from a later work by one of the authors.

Christianity isn’t a religion about going to Sunday school, potluck suppers, being nice, holding car washes, sending our secondhand clothes off to Mexico. This is a world at war. Something large and immensely dangerous is unfolding all around us, we are caught up in it, and above all we doubt we have been given a key role to play. -Waking the Dead

Isn't there something deep within you that screams "YES!" to this? To know that there is an epic story occurring and somewhere, somehow I'm not only connected, but a integral character in the final outcome?

I matter.

So do you.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 12:11 & 17

CHICKEN UPDATE!

I know, I know...you just can't wait to hear from me on the status of my lovely Bantams, right?
I understand.
Well, wait no longer....
My daughter took some photos yesterday.

They're in that lovely, scraggly, puberty phase right now.

Another Free Download from Behemoth.com

Here's another free download from BEHEMOTH.COM. TEN P'S IN A POD. I've heard a lot about this book over the years. It is a story about life in a large family. So it is nice to get it in an audio format. Because I have over THREE BOXES of books by my bed, waiting for me to read them. So here's one I can "read" while cleaning, chauffeuring, or working. A great deal. Good through the end of March.

The few, the proud, the chickens!

First thing with a baby chick is to help it get to water asap. Especially after a hard trip. Taking each one in hand the children and I dipped beak after beak in water. Waited for them to swallow, and then dip again. Checking every few minutes and picking up the weaker ones again and again. Not giving up hope until we are certain that death has occurred. Then quickly remove it and focus on those remaining. At the end of the first 48 hours home we had removed 1/2 of them.



These are the few, the hardy...the chosen!


But still, for the next few days, one or two a day perished.

Each week the temperature of the brooder is reduced by 5 degrees... as they begin to feather out and are able to keep warmer on their own.


So come on over! Let your little ones play with them! Just remember that a chicken has two friends that aren't our friends. Sam and Ella. Salmonella is great for the chickens, it keeps them healthy, but it makes us sick. So wash your hands!