Little Peepers

March 23, 2009 - Joe got a call from the post office this morning at 7:15 letting him know that our new baby chicks were arriving on the 7:30 am truck. He was out the door without breakfast, sooo excited to meet our new friends! Watch this video to see how they come -

There are 50 birds in this box - they aren't ALL ours - Joe ordered them together with a neighbor of ours. But 31 of these adorable little girls are going to live with us from now on.

They were hatched and shipped out on Friday, so the very first thing to do is get them some water. They tell you to actually force each one individually to take a drink, so that they learn how and will seek it out again on their own. Joe got a larger plastic box ready -

and then lifted them one by one out of their shipping box (where things are a bit crowded)-

gave them each a drink -

and then set them down with a little more room.

Marina, the proud mama of the rest of the birds, rushed over to meet her new babies, and everybody got to work trying to identify Araucanas from Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Red Stars from Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orphingtons from Buff Rocks, and Black Giants from Black Australorps.

In the end, who knows if we each ended up with the right birds!

Joe's big plan was to keep them in an old refrigerator he found that he has refashioned into a brooder. But it's still a bit too chilly outside, so he has decided we're keeping them inside for a few days. Remember how small our place is? Can't exactly get away from the 'peep, peep, peep.' We can't let the poor little ones freeze to death though, so I guess I'm on board. We'll see how I feel after I spend my first night with them...

For now, they're in the corner in this wooden box Joe just built -

In a few days, they'll move into the fridge on the back porch -

There's a mega heat lamp in there that will keep them warm and that cord is attached to this -

which is just inside the door and will keep us updated on the temperature inside the brooder. Joe tested it out, and it did get up to around 90 degrees, which is what you have to keep them at for their first few days.

Very exciting!