Chickens Arrive

After over two years of waiting, my son finally got his chickens.

What should have been a very happy moment ended up being a bit bittersweet and a huge learning experience. It is a very common practice for companies to ship newly hatched chicks. Since my son wanted specific breeds of chicks, my husband and son decided to order chicks from the internet. Unfortunately, the night they were shipped was about 38 degrees Fahrenheit. We suspected nothing when picking up a noisy package from the post office, but when my son opened the box, three chicks had already passed.

I was quite upset. There was no heat source and the surviving chicks were huddled together. I still don't understand how they could send the chicks off knowing the meteorologists had predicted a very cold night. So a difficult learning experience......... Don't order chicks through the internet before the weather is warm.

One-by-one, my son picked up each of the surviving chicks and dipped their beaks in water to teach them how to drink. Then they were placed under the heat lamp.

 They were slow for a while as they all must have been way too cold.

 They huddled together for a while to help stay warm.

Then fairly quickly they began behaving like true chicks - pooping and eating, eating and pooping.

Unfortunately, two more chicks of the original 13 passed away over the next two days. It was a very difficult lesson in the facts of life that none of us expect to experience so soon during this adventure. There were tears and we were all unsure as to whether we were doing the right thing.

 Because we had lost so many chicks, we wanted a few more to fill the coop, so this time we purchased chicks at a local store. They were cheaper, looked healthier and I think about a week older then the chicks we already had at home.

They were different breeds than we had hoped for, but are still cute chickens who are known for laying lots of eggs. We are quite happy with the new comers.