chicks are such a 'cheep' entertainment!

[kareninthesun]

I love moving the babes from the brooder to their playyard. It reminds me of the first outside recess following many days of rains with preschoolers.

First they test the ground, hunker down, then tear off in different directions, spreading their wings as far as they can, dare to run, trip over their own feet, scramble and take off again. Every fiber of their bodies insisting that movement comes before a plan of action, their goal only connect as closely and merge what they have to what is there, to participate. Their chirps and twirls are expressions of song which connect as proof that this slice of time is perfect; a gift, jump in, flying is worth the fall, try again!

I cut up a plastic straw...who knew they could invent a combo game of volleyball/football/frisby/tag from it? I took an old pot and filled it with sand. A playground! Build concave sand dunes! Look!

They conduct a meet and greet with the inquizative big girls on the other side of the wire. Are their eyes big?

Katie puts her big wet doggy nose against the fence, her long jaws open, tongue hanging out, smile, eyes bright, tail trying hard to downgrade to a gentle wag. Every once in a while a chick will come close. Katie hunkers low to to ground, tries to push her front paws back, squirms to adjust her head to the ground, snout against the fence again. One more dare from the chicks to connect to Katie's nose. Katie moves nothing but one ear. Her eyes dart quickly from chick to me, lighting up again as if confirming, proudly, "Look at my babies!"

They play, they sun, they pretend to be big girls, sometimes chest bumping once or twice, then go off to do something else more fun. They eat, play some more, cuddle and snooze in the shade. And like all children, once it is time to move them out, kick up a fuss, run away, gripe to no end.

It's funny, but their brooder is kept in the laundry room. On the dryer. I didn't notice it until last night when I was finishing the laundry, but they didn't settle down until I tossed the last laundry in the dryer and turned it on. It was like hypnotic lullaby. Almost immediately they snuggled in and within two minutes, everyone was asleep. (yes, I use the heatlamp when they are in the brooder, so it wasn't becaue they were cold. The temp reading was right at 84 degrees).

Between them and the older girls, who needs movies?

 

[ChickenSnake]

HA! My mom used to put me on the dryer to make me go to sleep lol!

 

[Sonic Pug]

My girls will take their first trip out of the brooder today. I can't wait to watch their antics! Thanks for the nice post.

 

[hennyannie]

Your post was almost as good as the real thing! LOL!
BUT I am still in chick withdrawals!
I saw some little ones at the feed store yesterday, It was hard to walk away.
I called my cousin to see if she could watch them while I am at the beach and she talked me out of turning around.
Thank goodness for the support of family! (and that my daughters weren't with me!)

 

[alcap]

We call it chick tv!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Very nicely written post. I did the same thing you are doing, moving my little girls from their brooder to a play-pen for periods during the day so that they could stretch their wings & legs and experiences. (It also turned into a great time to clean the brooder) and it was always fun to watch that "school's out" burst of energy. I get a similar response with my 9-week old girls when I let them out of their run into an extended run (a little less predator proof, but more protection than free ranging) for a few hours every day. There is a slope to the ground and they'll run to the top of the slope and sometimes fly back down, reminds me of kids on a sledding hill. It sometimes makes me feel sort of bitter-sweet to watch. I didn't really know how much fun chickens were and how much individual personality they showed and now that I know, I'm starting to feel as outraged by factory farming techniques as I am about puppy mills.

 

[SteveBaz]

Almost every day now there seems to be a new thing. The neighbors love it the kids love it the guests love them. Who ever knew.... I write in my signature .... " IT GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW SIMPLE IT IS TO ENTERTAIN THE HUMAN MIND ... After all we really are simple creatures at times.

Loved the story,

BAZ...

 

[kareninthesun]

I don't think we are simple minded as crave simplicity. We are taught to juggle so many balls at one time that we cannot feel the texture or admire each as they are being tossed. Our minds are set on the doing, and sometimes forget the why other than because its what we've always done.

I love the parts of summer when I'm on my knees in the soft soil, surrounded by the aromas of sunripened tomatoes and onions and basil. That's something you can't get from a bottle or describe to someone whom hasn't inhaled such fragrances. Words miss the mark in completly describing the feel or weight of an egg just before it is hatched. Cameras and film can't compare to an eye RIGHTTHERE as the first pip crashes the timeline closed to the last pip of an egg. Watching chickens under the sun on a hillside, a gentle breeze lraking through that which cannot be mown and dancing wildflowers loose cannot compare to the best of artwork. All can stir smiles, but what stirs the memory first reconnects a passion to protect what is most valued and pass these forward to upcoming generations as priceless and worthy. I can read all about chickens, but I remember vividly the first time I held my no longer little Rhode Island Red and stroked her feathers slowly. No one told me they felt like silk!!! Incredilbly soft. Alive. Warm.

Good thing they like being picked up now.

Yesterday my neighbors held a celebration, had a karioke machine set up outside, barbque. Tons of young kids intermingled with the older generations. Everybody sang, most off key. Volume up. At times I couldn't help it, laughed outloud. All mixes of music, and everybody was encouraged. Fell asleep with the window wide opened, listening. Grinning. At times, this tugged at my heart, my family is spread out, I can recall huge get togethers and miss the interaction of spontanaity. Even the huge messes to clean up afterwards. Children falling asleep with sticky faces, babies passed around and snuggled up against shoulders. Grandma insisiting she still makes the best pies, and forgetting to pull them out of the oven - and us hurrying to make substitutions and distracting her. Homemade icecream and potato salad and teens thinking they're being sneaky in grabbing a few alcoholic beverages. Guys sneaking quick peeks at the game on TV before being bannished outside.

But it is good...I have cousins and Aunts and Uncles whom I often call upon to bring these memories back, lessens the pain of those longed for and missing. Reminds me that they are missed because they are loved and helped put fingerprints of character on what they touched. Such things I covet, especially in the bittersweet.

 

[SteveBaz]

Our home calls it slowing down to the speed of life..... We as a society are taught to multi task every day of our life and as life passes by for the many there are a few that are really slowing down to the speed of life..... and actually smell the flowers have a beer in the barn and even enjoy the smell of the little things. At 59 years old I have gotten it

BAZ...

 

[kareninthesun]

Exactly. The first year we went to my Great-Aunt's ranch for vacation (in New Mexico) my Dad should have shared more information; she was in her late 80's, lived alone, and all was long abandoned but a few cattle, three horses, feral chickens and nearly tamed mice. However, she had a windmill built atop a well, and that was my place to dream. I'd slide off my sandals and climb, watching the sun rise and sink, listening to the low mechanics as it struggled to turn and feel the swoosh of air sometimes so hot it burnt going in and stung my eyes, but I didn't care. At that age, few things aside books or creatures with big eyes could keep me away.