Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Peep, Peep

We brought home our new family members on April 14th. I call them family members because everything we read says they will end up like pets. I sure hope so, they are pretty funny.

We have been talking about getting some laying hens since last year. In fact, Ben went so far as to build a chicken coop last year. Then we found out I was pregnant, Ben had about a month and a half of straight travelling for work so we decided it may not be the best time for me to have to be caring for chicks by myself. I am a little disappointed now knowing what we know that we didn't just get 'em last year. We could have been enjoying eggs for months now!

I think we kept getting a little nervous because everything we read acts like they are really high maintenance in the beginning but so far so good. They are living in the garage in a big storage tub with a heat lamp. They seem pretty happy. We are really amazed at how fast they are growing and how quickly their feathers are coming in.

I have to admit I have been a little hands off thus far. I have held them a couple of times. Changed the water. However, I hadn't dealt much with the poop until last night.

Ben was holding E so I was on farm duty. As a family we walked around and watered the garden, that Ben planted this weekend,  and then headed out to check on the chicks. Well, even though I had given them fresh water in the morning, they had managed to fill the water again with shavings and there was quite a bit of poop in their food. Again. So it was up to me. I had to scoop the poop. Ben was making fun of me because I wasn't too into touching it. I was more into scooping with the garden shovel, which he informed me is way more wasteful of the food and takes wys too long. "You're gonna have to get a lot more used to poop than that, honey," he let me know.

Hey, Ben, you got the animal poo, I got the human poo. Aka, our daughter's. Wait, a sec, don't get me wrong, I love when you help with poopy dipes. Oy, guess I'll be helping with the chicken poo too.

1 comment:

Holly said...

Your long-term plan of having the country life is coming true!! :)