For the first time since we started this farm adventure we purchased chicks in the mail. We got up early Monday morning after receiving the call from the post office. "Your chicks have arrived. Come 'round to the back door and ring the bell." This really sounded like a covert mission. Come around to the back? Since the kids were already awake getting ready for their virtual classes, they insisted they tag along. So we headed out. I'm embarrassed to say we had never visited the post office in our small town, and we've lived here over 12 years! But we made it. The GPS told us were had arrived about a block ahead of where we were going, but since there's only one main road in town it didn't take us long to figure out which one was the post office. All masked and gloved up, we piled out of the car and scuffled up to the back landing dock and waited. And waited.... before finally someone came out. I told the gentleman why we were there, and he disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a small square box with holes all around. We could hear faint peeps coming from within. I quickly gave my name, he zapped the box with the scanner, and we were on our way. We had to crack the windows all the way home. The stench was almost unbearable. My worst fears were confirmed when we got home and cut the ties to open the box. Ten little peeps chirped away at the daylight they had barely glimpsed during their short three-day life in the world. Swiftly, we picked up each chick, dipped its beak in water and placed it inside the brooder we had prepared. After about the fifth or sixth transfer, we noticed the stiff body of our little buff orpington lying at the bottom, trampled during transit. The kids carried it out to the edge of the wood, dug a shallow hole, and buried it. They even made a little tombstone with scrap wood from the fence project. As they turned to leave, the four-year-old shouted, "Waaaiiiiittt! Don't we have to say something?" Amid the groans from the middle schoolers, she said, "Poor chicken. He didn't get to have life. Amen." ~PennyCandy Thoughts
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AuthorI'm a wife, mother, daughter, educator, writer and hobby farmer. Welcome to my world of simply living. Archives
December 2023
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