PEEPERS!!!!

We have peepers!  Six new little tiny chickies!  Peep, peep, peep peep peep...  I went to the farm store where I am now employed and they had just arrived at the store.  The chicks are delivered by the regular mailman...really??  Really!  That day, the mailamn walked in with four large crates with 75 very loud little chicks in each.  When they let them out of the boxes into the big galvanized steel tubs, they came pouring and tumbling out, peeping very angrily.  I guess I would be angry too...it's a long flight in a dark cardboard box from Tennessee to California with nothing to do...no food or water!  After they got their little feet on the ground, they started running all over the place looking for food and water.  That might be the funniest sight I have seen in a long time.  They run as if they are the only things in the tub (well they are, but I mean they don't have any idea that there are 74 others in there)...randomly banging into each other and crashing into the sides of the tub...peeping loudly the whole time.  When the manager finally put a food and a water feeder in, the chicks attacked them.  They are naturally attracted to the color red and the chick feeders have a red base, so they make a bee line towards those...not really understanding at first how those things work.  They kept pecking the sides and the edges of the feeder.  Once in a while, one would accidently get her beak wet or get a morsel of food and then the frenzy began.  Some of them ran from the feed to the water and back again...peeping the whole time.  They look so funny just running willy nilly.  There were a couple of chicks that weren't very energetic...I imagine some just don't have that pioneering spirit.  And, there were the two chicks that the manager set the water feeder on top of...rest in peace little peepers.

So after observing this little chick circus for a few minutes, I grabbed the "to-go" box and started looking for the little feathered friends that would get to go on yet another confusing journey with no food and water.  I decided to grab 2 pale yellow chicks, which will most likely be white leghorns.  I have no white egg layers, so I thought that might be a nice change.  I also grabbed 2 of the Black Australorps.  They are very productive in the egg laying department.  I also got another Buff Orpington...also a good egg layer.  Coop Mama is a B.O.  They are the pretty solid yellow colored hens.  Big Bird is a Buff rooster...his photo was on my previous blog.  As a matter of fact, Thunder, who is a Rhode Island Red rooster was featured with a Black Australorp on the previous blog also, so you can get an idea of what they actually look like.  Anyway, that made 5 little chickies.  You can never leave with an odd number of chicks (I'm pretty sure this is a rule somewhere), so I started tryiung to decide if I should get another Buff or Leghorn.  During this time, I managed to sell some man a dozen assorted chicks and all the accoutrements that go with being a poultry owner.  That's when I saw them...some crazy looking leopard spotted chicks!  I just had to have one!  In retrospect, after I figured out what kind of chick she is, I should have gotten more, but I wasn't sure, so I got one.  I grabbed a bag of chick starter feed and took my peeping box to check out.

I ran this little errand on my lunch hour from school, so back to school I headed with my tiny charges.  When I got to school, I had to use the restroom and set my box on the counter in the workroom.  While still inside the restroom, I heard squeals of delight and giggling, and knew my recent purchases had been discovered.  I came out to find both school secretaries with chicks in their hands, just oooohing and aaaaahing over the little girls.  My vice principal, who due to being pregnant didn't want to hold one, was very concerned that the chicks were making a sad peeping sound..."crying" is what she called it.  Perhaps, but their "sad" peeping sounded very much like their "angry" peeping.  Maybe it's like human babies and their mommas...they can tell what kind of peeping it is...to me it all sounds the same!  Anyway, I rescued the chicks from the secretaries and took them to my classroom.

They sat on the floor in their little box next to my desk and peeped, much to my students' delight.  My kids were actually silent...hmmmm...maybe they need to be here more often?  I thought for sure they would be a distraction.  Not so much.  Well, for me, but not for the kids.  I watched them while the kids took a test and tried to keep my laughing to a minimum.  The chickies are so cute.  They were leap frogging over one another in the box and one kept trying to stand on the other's back.  They clumped up in the corner and looked like they were trying to make a chick chain in order to climb out.  So cute!  Finally, the day was over and it was time to take them home.  Below is a picture of them in their "to-go" box:

 When I got home, I put the box on the fireplace and the chickies just peeped as loud as they could.  Angry?  Sad?  I have no idea.  Loud?  YES!!  I decided to name the crazy leopard chick...Lady Gaga seemed like a fitting name...after all that woman arrived at some awards show in a giant egg.  You can see her hiding in the corner in the picture below.  I'm really hoping their little eyes are too sensitive as I was being super weird and taking floor level pictures of them in their box.  The results are below...

When husband came home, we set out to make their home for the next few weeks.  We took one of the old feed buckets and created a cover out of chicken wire and random pieces of wood.  After a few modifications, we got it just right.  The cover is to keep the feline friends from snacking on the little guys and to keep out other undesirables (mice, rats, etc.).  While the cover keeps them fairly safe from the cats...Ninja cat just sits on top of the tub and watches them...we have to make sure the dogs stay out of the garage, as the cover will probably not deter either labbie.  We already know that Avery has a taste for chicken!  These would be like training snacks!

The chicks survived their first night successfully.  In fact when I came out to the garage in the morning, they were all nestled together...sleeping.  They scattered when they saw me, but then were very happy when I put more feed in the feeder.  It's pretty entertaining to watch the little guys, as they do the strangest things.  They will run around in the tub and then suddenly flop down on their bellies, with their wings spread out to the side.  They look dead.  Actually, the first time I saw them do that, I got sad and started to do chick CPR...no need...they are like little kids.  They run around all crazy and then when they get tired, they just lie down and rest.  After a few minutes, they get up, get some food and water, poop and start running around again.  It's a never ending cycle of eat, drink, poop, run, collapse, sleep, and repeat.  Awesome.