Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Flopper's Alive!

It took me a day or so, but I was able to identify Flopper as one of the 14 remaining chicks in our possession. His toes are straightening out, so it's getting harder and harder to spot him, but he also has a slight bald spot on his back where his feathers were pulled out when we peeled the shell off of him. He is also a bit skinnier than the others.

Boy do they go through food fast!

I changed the litter to a regular small animal pine litter and there is no more smell. Previously I was using some organic stuff that felt like hemp. I don't remember exactly what it was, but the small package cost the same $10 as the HUGE package of pine litter. I'll forfeit the environment this time for the sanity of the family and the smell in our house. Who’d have thought that trying to go green would smell so bad?

I have to feed the chicks 2-3 times a day (using an egg carton for a food dish) and change the water 2-3 times each day. They get so much bedding in the water that they can’t drink. And when we look in or open the cage, the chicks are so scared, it’s no wonder their called “chicken”, um, er, maybe that’s why chicken is another word for being scared…

Oh, and did I mention that I think we have a rooster? Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise. With 14 chicks, there’s bound to be at least one rooster. It doesn’t crow, it peeps – at the crack of dawn… I hear this, LOUD, “peep, peep, PEEP, PEEP” early in the morning. It’s kind of funny.

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