CHICKEN EMERGENCY!

This is what Bay frantically yelled at me a few nights ago from her bedroom.  She had been playing quietly in there with her newest baby (although fully feathered and outdoor-ready) chicken.  I ran in (never downplay a chicken emergency, not with their propensity for continuous poop).  Bay met me, wild-eyed, chicken-in-arms yelling: "It's BLEEDING!  It's TOE is BLEEDING!"  Sure enough, it's toe was bleeding.  (Toe?  I dunno....  talon??  Whatev.)  Mikey (in true big brother fashion) suggested an Angry Birds Band-Aid (which Bay got for her birthday from Neil).  Bay was NOT amused.  The chicken recovered.  Bay held his band-aided toe in a kitchen towel and applied gentle pressure and soothing noises of comfort.  A little while later Gus emerged from her room, triumphant, brandishing a nail clippers and nail file.  They were found next to the chickens bed.  Bay was horrified and indignant and OBVIOUSLY guilt-ridden.  The boys thought it was hilarious.  Bay went to bed and sobbed herself to sleep.  (It was very sad.)  The chicken slept with her sister chickens in the coop and has made a complete recovery.  Bay has not attempted any more chicken pedicures.

The Chicken Tractor

Trent has adjusted to the intimacy of the chicken egg.  It actually does take a little adjustment to eat something that you have such personal firsthand knowledge of.  Even I balked at first, gladly forgoing our own eggs, making sure the kids got the "good" eggs ("no, no, children, you MUST eat the good, healthy eggs...  Dad and I will make do with these nasty old store kind....") while Trent and I ate the store bought ones (we are such CHICKENS).  Now, though, I won't buy eggs, so we are all eating "our own eggs".  Trent and Neil spent a weekend building the "Chicken Tractor" which Trent has named "Eggs On A Roll".  The theory behind the chicken tractor is that our chicken coop can now be moved around the land so that the chickens scratch and fertilize in different areas.  It'll be nice when they stop pooing on our patio.

Chickens

The chickens MUST go outside.... SOON.... You might not think that chirping and peeping could be annoying... but it bloody IS. They never stop making noise. AND they smell. Right now they are in our (unfinished) basement.... they MUST be moved.

Tastes like................

Yes... chicken... although Siri didn't get much of a taste... AND the chicken is still alive...

Neil got chickens. Only two... (because we are a little overwhelmed with our to-do list right now). Poor Neil's been waiting to get his chickens since we moved here... so two is better than us totally laming out on the bargain. We've had them since Monday, and the dogs are just going mental with the smell of them and the sound of them and the lack of opportunity to actually get a good sniff of them! Today Neil and I spent about 30 minutes watching Ginny quiver with the nearness of the birds while we sat next to her smacking her HARD on the nose every time she lunged at the cage. Siri sat innocently by... looking like butter (or chicken) wouldn't melt in her mouth. I was feeling good about them both... Ginny was using marginal restraint and Siri seemed to understand that these little fellas were off limits. Then we made the mistake of leaving the cage outside (INSIDE a pen, mind you...) and Siri (in a moment of canine weakness) dove for the cage and got one THROUGH the wire cage. It was bleeding but it must have just been a nick 'cause she's still here and doing all the normal chickeny things she had been doing (mostly pooping). She's under observation and seems to be fine. (Of course she MAY BE FINE as they both look the same so we may be observing the FINE one anyway.... - looks like chicken...)