Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The New Guys

At this writing I have two little snuggle buddies in my br... I mean... my "Personal Mobile Incubator." Meet the new guys!


These two are set up in a brooder in the basement when they aren't snuggling in my shirt. One of my friends asked what happens when they poop - well, then I just go and get a new shirt. Having them snuggled in like this lets them hear my heartbeat, which is comforting to them - and its the right temperature for the little ones. Silly? Sure. But everyone needs a little love.

One of the best new chick tools we purchased lately is in the lower right of the pix - its one of those digital read thermometers. Its an easy way to make sure that the brooder is at the right temperature.

You can also see Little Baldy - the chipmunk one - had a pretty rough start. Sometimes I'm not sure what to share with all of you - the barnyard can be a mean place. So the short version is that I had two broodies who camped out near each other. I really thought they'd be ok but nope. Unfortunately they started throwing each other's babies out of the nests.

So we scooped up Little Baldy before it was too late, took up all the eggs and put them in the incubator, and hoped for the best.  He was wounded pretty badly - but these little ones have a super speedy metabolism - so he's healing pretty fast. A little Neosporin and a lot of love goes a long way.

Luckily Little Baldy was only by himself for 2 days - then along came the new guy. We're still hoping some of the other eggs are going to hatch. The last thing I wanted this summer was another group of chicks in the basement - but that's how things go sometimes.

That's the word here. Happy Wednesday everyone!

9 comments:

Gingerbreadshouse7 said...

I better not hear you complaining about those little ones , heck! I'd even love "Baldy" :o) :o( I don't have a basement anymore...the studio would be ideal, I'd have to make a lot of changes, and maybe get rid of Cecil :o)

Autumn said...

I just hate it when chicks get hurt! Thank goodness you got to them! Does it happen often that broody hens will throw chicks at each other?

Carolyn said...

Well, better in the basement than dead. I made the fatal mistake of NOT bringing in my new chicks during our heat wave and lost sixteen of the seventeen to the heat. Now I've got one lonely chick with no one to play with. Too bad I couldn't ship him to you to keep your two company.

Jody said...

You are a stellar animal caregiver. All the chickens should be in your care.

Robin said...

what cute liitle ones to give some love to! All any living thing wants is love and food!

Chai Chai said...

Now I'm totally confused...chick tool? Does it go in the brooder or in the br...Personal Mobile Incubator?

The Commander says he may need a few pictures of this umm, hatching chick equipment. (Don't worry, I slapped him for you!)

Heiko said...

I think I wanna be a chick at your farm... ;)

David P. Offutt - The Gastronomic Gardener said...

Youse a good egg! (in my best Chicago dialect)

Ohiofarmgirl said...

No Ginny! Don't be getting rid of Cecil.. hee hee hee And Little Baldy is just an angel.

Hi Autumn! Its kind of weird, but yes hens, ducks, and turkeys all may kill each other's babies. When the mommas are up off the nest then they will defend their little ones.. but when they are stuck on a nest with eggs...well its a whole other thing. The barnyard..sometimes its a jungle out there.

Carolyn - I'm so sorry for your loss. Thats just awful. Hope your one little guy is ok and yep I wish we could take him! He'd fit in this this crew just fine.

Oh gosh, thanks, Jody! The chickens are the best part of my day - I just love those crazy birds.

Robin, he's just a charmer.

CC - there's one in every group. Sheesh - give him another smack and no pix will be forthcoming.

Heiko... from above....correction there's TWO in this group! ha! There is a lot of snuggling around here - it doesnt matter what species they all just want a little love.

Aw shucks, thanks Dave! Hope you're keeping cool!

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