Chicks - again.

A third chicken died - just dead and stiff one morning. So I succumbed and agreed to get more. Three new - day old - black and cute as can be chicks joined the herd today. That brings us back to 7.

The kids have a new game called grasshopper soccer - they catch a grasshopper from the herb garden, pull the legs off (less than compassionate and green - I know), then give it to one of the chicks. That chick is then put back in with the others and they fight for the grasshopper - it's a bit gladiatorial but does look like they are playing soccer - and it gets rid of some grasshoppers from the garden.

Grasshopper collecting:

For the last time:

Now I really hope this is the last time I have to write this - another chick died on Saturday night - it also did not look too well from the start. It was ceremoniously buried by Peet with Louisa and Max while we were at Stake Conference.

The 5 remaining chicks look good - they went to school today - so if they can survive that, they should be right.

That's 123 dead pets - I think we better stop counting!

Chicks

Hopefully this will be the last time I write this - one of the chicks died overnight.

It was Max's bantam. Louisa came in to our room in tears holding a limp chicken - we wrapped it in an old washer and braced ourselves for when Max would wake up.

In the meantime it almost rallied - it tucked it's legs up under itself and started to cheap. It was obviously still sick but the bit of extra time gave Max hope and he only cried a bit - it also prepared him so well for the inevitable that - when it finally happened - he was poking and prodding and dropping the cold, hard, dead body. I believe it has now been buried with Peet's help.

There is still one chick who is not looking so good - so we shall see - but hopefully the second time around will not be as traumatic.

The way I understand it - having a pet die is a marvellous teaching opportunity. Given that the bantam was pet number 122 to die in our family, the kids must be well taught by now!

Chicks

We finally managed to get some day old chicks on Thursday. We bought 6 - but when Max got in the car he was weeping because there was a special one he just had to have - so we went back in (because he isn't quite spoilt enough yet) and bought one more. The shopkeeper said that it was a bantam (which is kind of poetic for Max) and was unsexed.

Max was very pleased and we got back into the car. Max put his new chick in with the others who immediately started pecking at it - which led to tears and something approaching hysteria - so Max held it all the way home.

We were talking about the possibilities of breeding some of our own chickens when max announced that his would not be able to have babies. When I asked him why - he said 'because it's unsexed.'

Jesse had an orthodontist appointment that afternoon so we left the little kids at home with the other Fulcher kids to wait for Alec and play with the chicks.

The missionaries came over for dinner then Roger and I dropped them home. When we got back the chicks had a bed all set up with the bantam separate from the rest - the light was shining on them for warmth and they all looked ok. Since the point of this exercise was to try to give at least some of them to the black chook, who has been sitting for weeks, we took three chicks out to her. She instantly rejected them and chased them - so now we have all 7 to raise.

So the next morning before work and school Roger dug around under the house and found an old guinea pig cage, went down to hardware store and bought chicken wire - and made a home for them. There is even a separate little place for Max's bantam to keep it way from the others who are still pecking it.