Chickens's 1st Recess

Yesterday the baby chickies had their very first recess. As soon as Faith came home, we decided to take full advantage of the unbelievable Thanksgiving-week weather we're experiencing. After spending my 950th hour (give or take) on http://www.mypetchicken.com doing research about those little peckers living in my garage, I encountered a suggestion that I am sure I must have read and logged deep within the recesses (variety #2) of my chicken database, which some of you may know as a brain, that said that between the 2nd and 4th weeks of life we should take the chickens outside if it's warm enough ~ 65-70 degrees. --I'm fairly certain that the previous sentence contains multiple grammatical errors, one of which we like to know as "run-on." Please forgive me, and ignore this rant.

Yesterday was 75 degrees. Beautiful weather. (<--- incomplete sentence)

They were so cute. At first, they were scurred. (<--- misspelled intentionally to convey a colloquialism) They tried to all get back into the box that I used to carry them out in. After I removed them for the 2nd (<--- technically, you're supposed to spell out a one digit number, unless it's used in the same sentence as a two digit number, in which case you can chose between forms, maintaining consistency) time, and turned the box over, they began exploring, scratching, pecking, and otherwise being very chickeny.

At any rate- if the rain holds off today, I intend to take them outside again. Assuming everything goes as planned, I will take some epic, unbelievably beautiful photographs of them and post them on this here blog.

Actually- it would be really fantastic if it rained.

As Raquelly would tell you: "Peace out!"

That new chicken smell

I'm sure that you are thinking that this post is going to have to do with the smell of chickens. Well, you're wrong. This is about having something new. I love the smell of new books (do you feel me Kai-Ning?). In fact, every time I go into Barnes and Noble, I get a little bit intoxicated. I become overwhelmed with the possibility of learning something new. When I open a new book, I love when it has a good beginning, because it makes me want to devour the whole book all at once. I felt the same way about the chickens. I couldn't wait for them to hatch and then to arrive in the mail. I was disappointed that I had to work when David went to get them from the post office. At first, I was obsessed with going to see them as soon as I got home. I could hardly go a minute without picking them up or watching them. I was enthralled. I am sad to report that this newness is wearing off. They are slowly becoming a part of the normal landscape of my life. I don't have the compulsion to watch them as I once had. I went the whole day today without checking on them. Is this the normal progression of life? Do new things always lose their glamor over time? I'm not sure. Maybe you think differently.

Until Next Harvest

$5 in my pocket

Last night I won myself $5. At Raquel's Thanksgiving program, all of the students got up to the microphone and said what they were thankful for. Before any child said anything, I turned around to David and said, "I bet you $5 that she is going to say the chickens." All the other children said that they were thankful for their mommies and daddies, so as the line got shorter, I lost my confidence a little bit. Needless to say, I was overly joyed when I won the bet. Check out the video. And yes, that is me screaming with joy in the background. Who knew that $5 and 5 seconds worth of video would make a person so happy?

Learning curve

What I think that I am enjoying most about this project is the insane learning curve that we have. As each new problem comes up, we may look on line to get some ideas, but for the most part we have to come up with the solution ourselves. This makes it incredibly interesting and a good stretching exercise for me (the perfectionist). I want to do things right the very first time that I do them, but with raising chickens, that is impossible. So I am unlearning my perfectionist ways, thank God!

Above is a picture of Ryan and David building our chicken hotel. It is made of largely recycled materials thanks to our lovely neighbors. You also see some cool pictures of the chickens under their red light. This keeps them warm and doesn't keep them up all night. I love the picture of them all chillin' together. It is hilarious when we try to pick them up, because they are so fast now. If the brooder box was any bigger, they might win the battle. Raquel loves having our new project. She is getting excited for Tuesday when she will get to hold them!

Until next harvest.

I believe I can fly

That is the theme song around our house these days. Our baby chicks are growing wings. In a matter of hours, their soft downy coat slowly is turning into flyable (maybe I meant viable) feathers. Thanks David for setting up their home, because you nailed it. The temperature is just right, they have enough food and water and they are safe. Boy are they ever cute, too. If it weren't for the constant danger of them pooping all over my clothes, I would want to hold one all the time. Expect for maybe when I'm preparing food, or sleeping, or, well, you know when else. I was telling David the other day that I love having the chickens, because it is our first major step toward living within our ideals. Who knows, some day we may be "off the grid" (GASP). Those people are some weird hippies!

A few days ago, I was encouraged by Christmas music. I am beginning to fall more and more in love with good Christmas music. My favorite album currently is any of the Sufjan Stevens ones. If you haven't heard about them, you need to. The words were "Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice" and he was singing it like he was savoring his favorite kind of chocolate. I just closed my eyes and rejoiced. It was awesome.

Until the next harvest

Chicken To-Do's abound!

Our chicks were born today. Forever, until it matters no longer, I will refer to November 8, 2010 as the birthday of the newest additions to the Hislop family. They ship today or tomorrow, and will arrive on Wednesday... we hope. If they fail to arrive by Thursday, their doom will be most absolutely imminent.

In other news, Ryan and I built a chicken coop while he was here on vacation. It's almost finished- I just have to build the roof. It's pretty fancy, and apart from the nails, built with recycled materials. The wood used to be a deck, and the roof was some scrap left over from another project. Just as soon as I (really, probably Faith) is able, there will be pictures posted of both the coop and the babies!! Eggs will be available in about 5-6 months on a limited basis-- determined by the amount of affection we feel for you. Yes, you.

In other news- new design on the blog... would love some feedback, but only if it's positive! That's a joke... any feedback is welcome.

Faith always closes with "Until next harvest" but I haven't come up with anything catchy just yet, so I'll leave it with a simple ciao.

Ciao.