4.5.18 Chicks

The phone began ringing at 6 a.m this morning. We are always leery of early calls. However when I answered in a daze and recognized it was the post office I was excited. We decided to update our genetics and hen group by ordering chicks from Minnesota. We got an email monday saying they were on the way, I had no idea mail service started so early though.

A happy helpful postal worker handed Mark the chirping box and we headed home to get these chicks a drink and a bigger home.

The kids were delighted of course with the cute fluffy bundles. That first drink of water is so important. The egg has enough energy to feed the bird for the first 24 hours but then they really need nourishment hydration particularly. So we gently grabbed the chicks and dipped their beaks in the water.

The the kids quickly inhaled their breakfast and got the bus by 7 to spend the day at school. I however anm left with helpless fragile baby chicks and EAGER! helpers.
The little kids were most entertained watching and sneakily touching the chicks for the rest of the day. The chicks were super loud chirping and making their lovely noises. I moved them from the kitchen to by the stove downstairs hoping that they would be warm enough. I got sick and left them and sent the kids to grandmas for several hours. When Anna was able to finally set up the heat lamp the chirping stoped and the two chicks I thought for sure were dead suddenly came back to life!

Here's Mark showing the revived chick. Sad to say it died in the night and I think another is about done for, we were moving it's box out of the pen and it started chirping so who knows. 

All I can say is mom's are critical to survival all babies do better with a mom to care for them. And I'm seriously wondering what I was thinking when I ordered these babies, and why I'm letting them stay in the house? Oh well live and learn and thank goodness the big kids will be here tomorrow to care for their own stock.