To say that I'm 'not an animal person' is an understatement. I like WATCHING animals, but I don't ever want to touch or smell them*. I definitely don't want them in my house.
So you'll never believe what's in my house right now:
But let's back up, shall we? To when we went to the farm store and they shoved chicks into two paper bags and I was carrying a squirmy bag around the store.
Yeah, that happened.
Some were already a couple weeks old (we think). Some were still super fluffy. We got Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, and Americaunas.
First we had them in a clear box. Much more fun to watch.
We quickly moved them to a bigger box, though (cardboard to prevent roosting on the feeder!).
Guess what? Chicks dig tunes. They noticeably calm down or go to sleep when the kids play piano. Also they seem to like Arcade Fire.
My favorite (the tiniest/fluffiest with cool eye-markings) has quickly become everyone's favorite. Also she's the smartest.
She better be a she...
The kids LOVE watching them (they can be pretty funny), and the redhead has sketched them all, learned the breeds, and checked out a couple books from the library. We've never had pets, so they are all LOVING having animals of any kind. Me? I'm putting on a brave fake-smile.
I HAVE held a chick. Not for too terribly long, but I did it (I AM trying, but this is REALLY hard for me!).
Boring, they are definitely not. And they sound like songbirds with all their chirping.
Sorry, ladies, you are getting booted to the garage this weekend while we wait for you to grow enough for your new coop.
We have been looking at getting chickens for years but stuff (including home disasters) kept coming up. We are grateful our city allows us to have them.
We have had a couple books about them (for years!) that are great if you are interested:
And here are the books we found at the library:
We finally did it.
Deep breath.
I can't wait for fresh eggs!
*no lie - I have to hold my breath in the pet aisle of the store or I gag.