Well, apparently one week old baby chicks can't get a wee lil' bit wet...AT ALL. Even with a heat lamp directly above them. This was yet another note to self moment. I should know this by now...but I'm always on a learning curve. This is also a horrible way to start one of my childrens' day out-bad!
SO round two of chicks I went to three different stores to find yesterday. Bought fifteen chicks and was given two extras by the sweet lady who helped me at the farm and feed store after I told her what happened. So now seventeen chicks later, as of an hour ago-they're all still alive. But I am hoping for no fried chicks because the heat lamp feels really warm to me. But they seem to like it...so far. I guess if they go off to the big chicken coop in the sky...they'll be warm this time and not frozen stiff.
We got bum lambs last week from a friend. My oldest son wants to try to have one ready for 4-H Fair. We're pushing it, but we'll see. In the past some of our bum lambs have turned out to be 180 pounds. Granted that's too heavy, but if we can get to 120-130 pounds (should be more, but we'll call it good if we get there)-perfect. However with bum lambs, there's always one. One that needs the exta babying, feeding and a little more love because 'something' is wrong with them. One hour they're fine, the next-ah, not so good. Which I gladly give and try to show to my children. Unfortunately one of my son's named our 'punky' one, Lucky. I posted on Facebook earlier this week my top two reasons not to name an animal Lucky. Those were: 1. There's never anything 'Lucky' about an animal named Lucky, and 2. Refer to #1. But he's been drinking his bottle, and I've been giving him a supplement along with plenty of medicine, actually probably enought to fuel a team of horses. So, 'Lucky' the lamb is still vertical and on all four legs, and even sporting a stylish sweater I made for him-above. By the way, it was super easy to make.
It's a joy to watch ours kids hold the pop bottles filled with milk-replacer and feed these little friends. And soon enough our ewes will have some of their own lambs, so we'll have a barnyard nursery of new critters. Maybe I'll even try for some more little chicks if these manage to live long enough to flitter and fluff their feathers around here. You may have noticed, I'm not a 'great' chicken steward.
And on the home front, while doing laundry today I had another apparent 'Rockstar' mom moment when I caught the washer on fire. Yep...lots of smoke, and I do truly mean ALOT of smoke...it was that 'one' last sweatshirt I threw in. NO one tell my husband yet, he hasn't noticed the smog in here and the burnt rubber smell. But then again, he didn't notice the seventeen new chicks chirping in his office either. He's got a cold so the smell is understandable, but I'm not sure how to explain the 'invisible chicks'. Oh well!
Stay tuned...the day is yet young, and there's always something happening when you live on a small farm.