Raising Chicks

This year I tried another new activity, I became a foster mom to baby chicks!  I have always wanted to raise baby birds, specifically chicks or ducks.  I just love those little balls of fluff.  Two things have stopped me in the past, first I am slightly afraid of birds and second I cannot have farm animals where I live.  After years of asking around, I finally found someone that would take chickens if I raised them!  Step one complete.  Next I needed to figure out how to raise chicks and what I would need.  If left to my own devices I would have drug this process out to the point of not being able to buy chicks and put it off another year. I did purchase the food and water bowls and looked at the chicks at the local farm supply store. Once home I found an appropriate box for the chicks and figured the following weekend we would buy the chicks.  Hubby told the girls I was going to get chicks, and we went back out to the store to look at them again.  The stock at the store was dwindling and I was pressured to just buy them now or risk not getting any this season.  Four chicks later we were headed home with our own little fluff balls. 

Once they were set up in their box I found the heat light I had was not the best for chicks and my third trip to the farm supply store took place.  Small fluffy birds are not scary like the ones in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie The Birds.  These little fluff balls could not scare me. Being early spring it was chilly outside so we kept the chicks inside for the first month or so.  During the day we would take them outside to explore the yard.  Chicks grow fast, they double in size the first few weeks.  While chickens are not cuddly animals they would snuggle with us to keep warm when it was a bit chilly for them.  After a few weeks they all had names, Snickerdoodle, Pecky Becky, Nila Wafer, and Ameila.  Snickerdoodle and Pecky Becky are easily recognized but Nila Wafer and Amelia have similar coloring so it is hard to tell them apart.  I enjoyed watching them grow and seeing how they interact with each other and my family.

We have two dogs, a goldendoodle and a border collie, beagle mix.  I wonder if there is an internal struggle in the mind of the border collie, beagle. She wants to herd them and she wants to catch them.  The big goldendoodle acts tough until one of the chicks moves and then she is terrified.  This is our last week with the chicks before they go to their forever home. 

This has been a great experience and I am less afraid of birds. This week’s question is, who needs a duck or two next year?  Have you ever raised chicks or other non-traditional pets?  Please tell me about your experience in the comments.