Tuesday, September 29, 2009

More Peepers


As I was rushing around getting everyone fed and watered for the day and myself out the door to work, I heard the unmistakable sound of newborn peepers. It's amazing how loud they can be. I had to make a decision - catch them and put them safely in the bathroom and risk being late for work, or let mom try to fight off the cats. They could also drown in the sheep water bowls, not a pleasant thing to come home to. I decided to catch them, which can be futile since they tend to scatter in all directions and are very fast, not to mention being attacked by mom while I'm chasing them. I ran back inside the apt. Yes, the lamp was still there from the last batch of chicks, and the old box was clean enough. Ran back to the milk room and got some chicken feed to distract mom. Climbed over barricades and squeezed through stanchions to get to the Little Lamb Fine Dineing pen where the chicks were born. I threw down the feed and proceeded to scoop up the chicks and some of the remaining eggs. Mom had a teenaged chick with her to keep her company so I didn't feel too bad. She might even hatch more chicks from the eggs I left her. I got the newborns situated in the bathroom and jumped in the tub. Holly was thrilled to have new peepers to love. No time for hair or face, just grab some clothes and go. I always look like the Farmer in the Dell anyway! I had to drag three giant construction garbage bags full of more bags of dyed fiber out to the truck to ship out to the mill after work. The big bags were rained on all day long as I fretted inside the building. Why didn't I put them in the cab???? The bedding from the weekend was still in there, so I had put the bags in the back. Got to the UPS store in Norwich and had to sort it all out, shaking out as much water as I could. Should have gotten it shipped last week when it was dry outside but put it off to do other things. Never enough time to run this business properly, and hold down a job, and take care of all these critters. At least the new chicks are safe. Maybe one of these days I'll start to take care of myself. But not yet...

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