Chicks R Us…Not Quite

     My bathroom is no longer my own, as of Tuesday. It's been taken over by baby chicks. Now before you think "Awwww how cute" let me let you in on a little secret about birds…even baby birds. They are stinky, loud and very fragile. I knew this before, but had forgotten these three important facts about birds until they invaded my home.

     I don't want any misunderstandings…I willingly took these little creatures in and I do like the thought of little fluffy chicks running around at Easter, but so far it has not been a sweet fuzzy tale. Someone gave the chicks to Dalton's dad and he sent them to me by way of one of his employees. When he dropped them off there were 5 in the box (3 others had died the night before…not a good sign). When I opened the box I found 2 standing, 1 wobbling and 2 laying down. I had to hold the box really still to see if those two were alive. Hmmm.

     "Great," I thought to myself, "I'm starting with half-dead birds; that's just my luck." So I hurried them inside the house, knowing that they needed immediate attention. I called my chicken experts….Grandma and PawPaw to get the info I needed. Grandma told me that they needed to be in a really warm spot, not outside, with heat on them. Wonderful.

     I got the lamp from Ace's room and took it and the fading birds to my bathroom, the most out of the way and warmest room I could find. I put them under the lamp. Next she said to make sure they had water and food. I put a lid full of water in the box, along with some lay crumble that I made extra crumbly, with some boiled egg on top.

    Then I tried to rub the limp ones and get them back to life. They just responded by opening and closing their beaks at random intervals like they were gasping for breaths. Great.

The original set up

    After I got them settled I had to leave them and head into town. When I got back I was encouraged…only one was down now and the others seemed to be doing better. Dalton was not convinced that it was warm enough in the bathroom but I didn't listen. About an hour after I had last checked the chicks Dalt called to me from the bathroom. "Gabby, I need your assistance." Uh oh.

Dalton did not want me to take his picture while he tended to the chicks

    I arrived to the bathroom to see Dalton using the blow dryer to put warm air on two wet chicks, who weren't looking too good. How they had managed to soak themselves in a tiny tupperware lid is beyond me and at that point I was reminded and irritated at just how dumb chickens are. We blow dried the little guys, I held them in a warm towel, we changed the newspaper and water and put fresh food out and then hoped for the best.

Thank goodness for mirrors ; ) 

    As we prepared for bed, I realized that, aside from not being able to brush our teeth in our bathroom (can't do it with a box of chicks so close by), we were going to have to hear the chirps all night long. Dalton said we'd have dreams of spring as we heard the very loud chirps while climbing into bed. They were not comforting and springy though..instead they were harsh and loud. But after turning the fan up a notch it was bearable.

     That night, during one of my times up with a child (a whole other post), I checked on the chicks and found that we'd lost one. I'm embarrassed to say that I was a little relieved….once they were down and gasping I was just ready for them to give up so I didn't have to worry about them. The next morning the other one had finally went to eternal sleep too so we decided the survivors needed more heat.

     We added a space heater to the mix, turned up the heat in the house (luckily it was cold out) and I checked on them more often. Thankfully the three left were looking good. That day went by ok, and even though our bathroom smelled awful, we still had three living chicks by the end of day 2.

 The yellow one is the strongest…and look at that deal on dressing

    That night was a bit uncomfortable. In our effort to keep the house warm for the chicks (90 degrees in their box in the bathroom) I did not sleep well and woke up in a sweat. We like to sleep in the cold, so we can take full advantage of our comforters, and having our house at over 70 was not cold enough.
        
     The next day I kept the chicks warm and fed but to my dismay one started the dreaded wobble. He's been going downhill ever since and I must confess I'm ready for him to make his move, one way or another. I keep picking him up and sticking his beak in the water to get him to drink, not sure if I'm helping or hurting. The two others are still ok though.

     Last night it was just too warm as I got ready for bed and it was affecting my mood. I'd about had enough of the heat and asked Dalt what the temperature was in the house. He reported it was 73. What! I couldn't sleep another night in that heat, so I turned the AC on and headed back to the room. As I climbed into bed I said "so long chickies!" which got a chuckle out of Dalton…then he informed me that it was actually 75 degrees….no chick is worth that.  Don't think I'm heartless, I still made sure to wake up several times during the night, to turn the space heater on, then off when it cut off from overheating, then back on, so the lack of heat wouldn't result in another dead bird. Each time I entered the sauna that is now our bathroom I was a little taken aback at the heat and slight smell that was wafting from the teepee created by blankets and lamp over the box.

Moved to the tub. And, in case you are wondering, that is a meat thermometer

 sticking out of the blanket. 

     Today I awoke without sweat beading on my forehead for the first time in three days, and all three birds are still alive, albeit the one is still on his side heaving, so I consider the night a success. I think I'm getting the hang of this chick thing. I change the water and newspaper often, keep them warm, and make sure they have feed. At this point I'm actually considering buying more chicks at Tractor Supply. I mean, if I'm going through all of this work and effort I might as well be sure and get some hens out of the deal! We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Yes, you only see two. During the writing of this blog the other one took his last breath

      Hopefully we can get these guys out to the shed soon, but we'll see. I'm ready to brush my teeth at my own sink again, and shower without the smell of chicks surrounding me. I only hope our bathroom will recover……
     If you're wondering what the boys think of the chicks: Cooper likes them but isn't interested in getting too close or touching them. He does like to check on them periodically and tell people he has baby chickens. Ace just likes to get into the bathroom so he has the chance to get to the potty before we can stop him….he's so gross.

Cooper: I'm tired of sitting on this seat. Can I look at the baby chicks now?

Ace: Mama, get him off this seat so I can splash!

Me: Don't move Cooper!!

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8