Chicks on the move...

We've been brooding our 50 chicks in a big wading pool in our pantry. This was great fun at first, they are so darn CUTE and they make the sweetest little sounds. But as they get older and bigger and eat more they also poop more and that poop does not smell lovely. They also produce what is called "dust" from their feathers. And that dust goes everywhere! So, today's project involved creating a new space for them out of the house. I cleared a section of the garage and made a nice little enclosure out of bales of shavings. Two unused screen doors made the end walls. I put a log in for them to hop on, set up their food and water and heat lamps and then caught them. They were not amused by this. Two of them hopped right out of the pool during the commotion and skittered, peeping, around the room. One by one I put each chick into a big huge bucket. It took two trips, 30 chicks in the first batch, the rest in the second. They were so upset by the excitement that they all huddled in a corner of their new enclosure, then one by one they fell fast asleep. After a very brief rest they woke up and began to explore their new surroundings. There was much running and fluttering and general liveliness. I pulled up a chair and watched "chick TV" for a bit. In a week or so they'll be feathered out and we can move them to the great outdoors. Stay tuned for photos of that adventure.