~Chicks~

We got 300 Cornish Giant cockerels today!! The kids got to help take them out of the boxes this year. What fun!! It went really well with Papa doing most of the unloading and the kids doing the odd bird here and there. They loved it!! New tradition I think :)

Here is a hundred! 

Taking them out of the box.. chaos... but with gentleness. 

The 2nd box is almost empty and J3 is almost holding a chick :) 

Two hundred! 

Papa taking chicks out the boxes. There was only 1 dead! Not bad. We have no idea how many there really are. We didn't bother to count them. Normally they send you several extras for each 100. So I imagine there are about 300 and 10? 15?? 

L was pretty excited. He was trying really hard to be 'cool' about it though. He did hold several of them and was super careful to move slowly as to not step on them. 

E was SUPER EXCITED!! Oh she couldn't hardly keep her hands OFF them! We had to tell her twice to not clap her hands because she was so excited!! She kept picking them up and cuddling with them or getting them a drink or food or cuddling with them.. well I'm sure you get the picture! 

R holding a chick that I imagine is saying TAKE THE PICTURE LADY SO I CAN BREATHE!!

She looked so pleased though I didn't have the heart to tell her she's choking him! 

J holding a very alert chick!! He loves babies of all shapes and sizes! 

  J3 really didn't like them! At one point he was stomping at them when they got too close to him!  He didn't want to hold one but did pet one when I asked him to!

Three hundred! 

There is one little chick right in the middle of this picture that might not make it. He was stuck to the box when we got them and Papa had to pry him off.. his leg was stretched out behind him and he was dragging it at first but about 2 minutes later I saw him walking around doing quite well.. so who knows he may survive! The are eating a mixture of smashed hard boiled eggs, cow colostrum and feed that we put on newspapers close to the lights so they can stay warm and eat at the same time. The eggs, Papa says, is like colostrum is to a calf for a baby chick which is why we feed them for the first several days! Good start!