This is going to be a short post, but I just wanted to throw a couple of photos up of our new chicks that we have at Babci’s house.
They are sitting in her living room right now. My whole family was out of commission all week because of a horrendous virus, but luckily I was on the mend by yesterday so I was able to keep my chicken date with a local farmer. This farmer also had ducks, turkeys, geese and some billy goats gruff. Like many local farms around here, you can’t go it alone and almost all the farmers I know have a normal day job in order to sustain their hobby. Come to find out, this one’s husband also works at my company in our IT department. Small world. I was more than happy to help.
Even though I applied for my permit over 2 months ago, my hearing is finally in 2 weeks. I jumped the gun a bit but since my immediate neighbors don’t have an issue and the town cashed my >$300 check last week, I figured it was fair game. Worst case, we’ll have a wonderful few weeks with our chicks and then give them back to the farmer we bought them from. I wanted to get the chicks while they were still young and cute. I have no idea what breeds they are. I know there are some bantams for sure, and the larger breeds are a mix of a few kinds of birds. It looked like a very healthy flock at the farm too. I’m really so excited for us all. The permitting process has been pretty thorough. Not only is there an application, but I had two follow up requests for additional information, including a plot plan and all kinds of other random questions about waste management, etc. I knew there was going to be a newspaper ad put in to give people an opportunity to petition against it if desired, but they also sent a letter to the whole street informing my neighbors of the permit application. I don’t see why someone 5 houses down would care or be bothered by chickens but hey, I guess that’s where my $300 is going.
The farmer said the biggest pests they have are eagles and hawks, so I’ll have to think about building a little shelter for them to run for cover as needed. I was expecting more of a fox/raccoon problem in my area, so we’ll see what pests these little chooks bring to our neck of the woods. Babci will be out tending them with her water hose at the ready to blast any approaching predators.
Babci made me buy a heat lamp for the baby chicks and is totally enamored. She’s spoiling them rotten already and I’m so glad. On the healing front, Babci’s leg is turning a little red again, so they put her back on antibiotics, but thankfully her wound is almost fully healed. I think the redness is partly due to a circulation problem, so I just need to be more diligent watching it. I wish there was a way I could help her lose weight as that’s the real issue that’s causing this leg problem. Maybe this incident may help motivate her. I had the doctor prescribe at home physical therapist sessions, which she is reluctant to do, but I think I may force the issue. She lost about 40 pounds when she was doing physical therapy after her knee operations, so that may get her back on the road to recovery. She does like to impress people by her toughness, so having someone push her limits may be good.
Okay, that’s all for now. Take care.
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