Wednesday, May 21, 2014

We gots new birds 'cause that's what every newborn needs

Hey, remember that one time that the phone rang at 6:24 a.m. on a Wednesday morning and it was the post office calling to tell you that your box of 16 birds was waiting for you in their package area?

You guys, I could hear them cheeping their little beaks off in the background and I was all "Oh my gosh, they're starving!  They need water!  SOMEBODY SAVE MY BABY BIRDS."

See, back when it started to get really cold and snowy, we finally admitted that our original flock of chickens was no longer laying more than one egg per month- not each but total- and that it would be monumentally foolish to try and keep them warm and fed for the most brutal Michigan winter in decades for no productive reason.  So Papa did what Papas do and those birds are now frolicking through the raccoon-less field in the sky, and Mama did what Mamas do by demanding herself some new egg-laying machines to watch out the kitchen window while she washes dishes come warmer weather.

Anyway, so back to today.  My precious preciousnesses were trapped in a box in a strange post office with postal employees that don't even love them but my 3 school aged kids all had classes to be at starting at 9 a.m. "Well, clearly we're just going to skip today, duh" I says to myself.

But then I see that Lizzy has printed out a design for her end of the year glass mosaic project and labeled it carefully and placed it lovingly on the kitchen counter and I say "Dagnabit."

What to do, what to do....
black australorp chicks, pekin ducks, rouen ducks, and two guinea fowl. partay in the u.s. of a.

Aha!  If we get ready and go rightthissecond, we can bring them back, get them situated and get back into the van in time for them to get their artsy schoolin' on.


Let me interrupt myself for a moment.  If you are a homeschooler (or have a homeschooler), you probably also feel that 6:52 a.m. (I'd been thinking about the whole thing for a bit) is a time of day that exists only in theory and is certainly not a time for your mother to be dragging you out of bed to go pick up a box of birds.


But drag I did.  And with surprising enthusiasm everyone readied themselves and scootched out the door and do you KNOW what time it was as we were driving down the road?

7:55 a.m.

Holy cow.  We should get new birds every single day of our lives.

Needless to say we retrieved them and they were fine and everyone is giddy and we made it to their classes and now there are 17 birds (we ordered 16 but they threw in a bonus) in the utility room and basically it's been a really fantastic day all around.

Oh!  Paul was so cute.  He insisted on putting Tommy's swimming flippers (is that what they're called?  I feel like they're not.) before we could open the box so that when the ducklings saw him they would think he was their dad.  IS THAT NOT THE CUTEST THING YOU'VE EVER HEARD OHMYGOSH.

I know you wanna see our highbrow brooder set-up.


Baby pool.  Wrap chicken wire around it.  Hang your warming light from overhead (ours is affixed to a shelf using and eye bolt, but you do what you want).  Add shavings, food and water and voila.  All done.

The wooden playground you can thank my children for because they be cray.


Speaking of cray, the big sister gene is strong with these ones as they insist on doing their school work in the laundry room "to keep an eye on the new babies"....



And it's the last week of our school year. 
And Tommy is bringing donuts home with him from work to celebrate. 
And he is my favorite.

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22 comments :

  1. I love everything about this. We got new birds this week too! Only 3. Little Easter Eggers. Blue Ivy, Whiskers, and Goofy. I only named one of them. ;)

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  2. Sounds like a great day! And that really is super cute about Paul and the flippers. They ARE called flippers. Or that's what we call them anyway. Do the ducks lay eggs, too, or are they just for fun?

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  3. This post made me feel SO joyful! I want to see Paul in his flippers! AND can I just say that big sis reading with the baby birds is wearing the most fabulous of T-shirts. Happy, happy!

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  4. I waaaaaaannnnttt some! but, I dont want to spemd big nicks on chicken housing. hope to see pictures of your set up ojtside soon!

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  5. Holy cuteness. I love your family, Dweej. Just the cutest ever.

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  6. My kiddos would kill for this, but alas, they have to settle for going to the local Rural King to see all the babies. They have tried to talk grandma into getting some guinea fowl, I hear they're great for ticks.

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  7. Just think if you had gotten the call on Monday we could have all helped play with the baby chicks, lol ;-) Those pictures of the older girls doing their homework with the chicks is cute...enjoy them donuts!!

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  8. I love all the pics we have from the summer my oldest was four and we had our first chicks. They were doubled in size at the end of week one, tripled by week two. So cute!! I love the little pullet eggs when they first start laying.

    I sort of wish I had tagged the birds somehow early on so that it was easier to remember names. Like different colors of nail polish dabbed on a talon or something.

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    1. I'm pretty sure the nail polish idea is totally genius!

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  9. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your posts. What sweet sisters to take care of the new young 'uns. We started our family barrel garden this year. YAY!! Family Summer Project. If this one does well we will create a bigger one next year. Good luck with the sweet chicks!

    ~Bethanie

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  10. That is A LOT of cute things! (The flippers!!)

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  11. You are Nesting Level: She Might be Insane but OMG She's So Productive it Can't be Believed. (<---technical title)

    I really am so impressed with your vast accomplishments. Swing set AND baby chicks...just, wow.

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  12. New reader here.. GAH! So jealous! My hubby keeps pulling up chicken coop plans and hinting hardcore.. not sure about the investment yet. Too cute about Paul and the flippers!

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  13. 1. When are you sending me Paul? I love him.
    2. I want not only hourly updates on the guineas, but also the ducks. Why did you pick them? What will they do for you? Will you eat their eggs? What will their eggs taste like?
    3. The bonus chick is a rooster. $5 says I'm right.

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