It Was Only a Matter of Time...

I didn't think we were ready. Actually, I didn't think I was ready. But it's been so long since we had a newborn around here that I should have seen this coming. Maybe it's Spring, maybe it's my biological clock; I wanted something cute and fuzzy and small. Matteas will be three by the end of Summer, so I figured we could handle a little addition to our family. This is not an April Fool's post where I pretend to be pregnant. This is a post that just happens to be on April Fool's where I am not pretending to be pregnant, but I am excited to announce that we do, in fact, have some new arrivals in our house. Small, cute, chirpy new arrivals.

Matteas has to be coached while holding the chicks because they are so small yet so compelling to squeeze; even I have to restrain myself from loving them to death. We got three chicks to start and we already want more. They are not the smartest animals I've ever seen, but they're so cute that it only makes their cluelessness all the more endearing. They act as one flock, always eating, drinking and sleeping at the same time.

The best is when we feed them worms. Our book on keeping backyard chickens said that if you give chicks worms they will "act as if they are about to die of ecstasy." In my experience, this is true. The trick is to make sure that you deliver a worm for each chick at the same time, lest they tug-o'-war each other to death. When they each have a worm they're so excited they're not sure what to do first, so to be on the safe side they start running around in a frenzy. Next they turn circles at a very rapid pace, then, to make sure all their bases are covered, they poop in their water bowl. Once they've gone through that ritual, they usually retreat to separate corners of their crate to devour their respective worms in peace. I actually videotaped the worm frenzy yesterday but it's kind of a long video for blogger, so we'll see if it uploads successfully.

Right now they are busily pecking the bottom of their crate. They do this often, sometimes for long periods of time even though it never gets them anywhere. Like I said, not too bright. But so, so cute. I think they have a crush on Aaron. When he gets home from work and calls out to the boys, the chicks scurry over to the side of their crate nearest Aaron and crane their necks hopefully. I told Aaron I thought he made a cute Chicken Daddy, but then he forbade me from calling him that. Still, I think he likes them as much as I do. He changes their wood chips and cleans out their water dish attentively, and he had a distinct sparkle in his eye when he asked if they were old enough for us to let them out in the yard for a bit. We haven't yet, mostly because it's been muddy and a little on the chilly side for young chicks; they prefer sleeping in a huddled pile under the heat lamp Aaron got them. They boys are all excited for eggs, but they understand that we have to be patient and let our chicks grow up first.

I once saw a report on laying houses for industrial chickens, where most supermarket eggs come from. The chickens are never let out of their cages, which are small, crammed six hens to a cage. The chickens live off a corn diet and never have the joy(or health benefits) of being able to scratch in the dirt for bugs and worms. After having our own chicks for only a few days, I don't understand how egg farmers can stand to keep their chickens in such awful conditions. I get that they need to make a profit and that they probably don't think they're being cruel to their chickens, but after seeing how happy our chicks get over a few worms and some space to run around, commercial eggs make me sad. I'm not sure if our chicks will be mature enough to lay eggs before Fall(when they molt and stop laying for a while), but our first egg is bound to be a very exciting day indeed. Matteas will probably explode.