Flea Market Chickens

     Every year a town near us has a two day flea market.  It's usually more about visiting than shopping. This year while we were there we found some people selling "laying hens" that were a few weeks old, almost the exact age of our chicks. We didn't order any hens with ours, only males for butchering. Corey called his mom and we decided to get a couple. We got a small dark grey one with really pretty feathers and a white turken. There was no guarantee that these are hens, the seller was just going by the size of their combs. We'll see, I guess. 

     We now have three turkens. They are just so ugly I can't help but love them. I have visions of keeping one of the roosters and breeding our own next year, except that I don't think anyone wants a rooster.
     Introducing them to the flock went just fine. 

 
 

Animal Rescue

     Within the last week the kids have "rescued" a bird, a turtle, and baby mice. 
      While we were camping last weekend a baby robin was hopping around near the showers and our camp site. It was too young to fly and we didn't hear or see any concerned parents. When it hopped through our camp site and right up to the tent, Pey caught it. 

    The poor thing did not appreciate being manhandled and let us know about it.

       It was really noisy and had a really big mouth. 

      Nora was afraid... I let Pey hold it for a little while and then made her let it go. She tried to find it some worms but had no luck.

    Monday night Lauren and Peyton had a sleepover at Grandma's house. When I went to pick them up Tuesday they were using a paper towel soaked in milk and sugar to try to feed 3 baby mice they had found. We took them home and lauren tried feeding them milk and egg with a pipette. 

      We assume the nest had been hit by the lawn mower over the weekend as it was broken open and the babies were cold. They must have gone too long without their mom and exposed to the elements because by mid afternoon all three had died, despite the best efforts of the girls.

     Wednesday on our way home from visiting the chickens and grandparents we found a small turtle on the road. We stopped and moved him off into the grass on the side of the road. 

     Good deed for the day accomplished. As for the other "rescues", the kids know there is only so much you can do, and sometimes you have to let nature take it's course.
 

Hand over the chicks

     I haven't updated the blog about the chicks for a long time, and I'm so sure that everyone wants to see pictures of small chickens and children, so here goes. When the chicks were a little over a week old we took them to their permanent home, the fish house at the In-law's.

 We loaded them up in a storage tote and hit the road.  It doesn't really look like 30 chickens.

                                                                        June 12th

     We put down wood shavings for bedding and brought their little heat lamp.

    It took no time at all for them to settle in and start pecking at every tiny piece of exposed insulation we hadn't managed to cover. 

                                                                                     Just out of arms reach

     The kids were sad not to have them in the basement any more, but they were already big enough that they could jump out of the kiddie pool and free range.

                                                                  Sad to say goodbye 

     When we got back from Wisconsin we went over to visit. These pictures were taken 8 days later. They grow so fast!

                                              June 20th

    We put them in the tote to carry them out to an enclosed area of the yard so they could eat mosquitoes and grass. 

                                                                                     One of the Turkens

     It was a nice visitation.

 

Professor

She put on Lauren's 3D glasses. Trying to copy Peyton?

Beauty Queens

     Is it bad parenting to only take your kids in for haircuts once a year?  I feel like it's OK, especially since I only get mine done once or twice. Anyway, the kiddos had been nagging almost daily and they won a gift certificate from a local salon as a door prize at a 5K so I took them in for cuts. Lauren had been asking for a hair cut forever, but I'd been putting her off because I really love it long.

                                                Lauren Before

                                                                                                  Lauren After

     Pey had been growing her hair out for about three years, but was ready for a change. 

                                                                                               Pey Before

                                                                                                    Pey after

     Pey loved her hair cut right away and still does. Lauren loved her hair cut right away and hates it now.  Win some lose some I guess!

Nerd glasses

     This post was written at the request of my middle child. She has had her eye on a specific pair of glasses since last winter. We just had her eyes rechecked and they had changed a little. Her old glasses were nearly destroyed by the bad baby,

so we broke down and got Pey the glasses of her dreams. I had her try on a bunch of glasses, but she was positive these were the ones for her. "Nerd glasses are cool, Mom". OK!! We ordered them and had them mailed to us. It took about two weeks to get them. Pey hurried to try them on when they arrived, looked in the mirror, and said "I don't think these are my glasses. They look different now."  

     It took her a few hours and more than a few compliments, but she loves them now. She loves them so much that she said "Are you going to blog about my new glasses, Mom? I think you should."

     As you wish, Middle Child. As you wish. 

Beauty is Pain

     Last week Lauren watched Nora for two hours while I took Pey to trombone practice. When I got home I walked into the bathroom to see this:

     Lauren gave all four of our cats a bath that day. Not a big deal, she cleaned up most of the mess and used an old towel to dry them off. She escaped with a just a few minor scratches on her chest and legs.  The down side was that the shampoo she chose to liberally use was Nora's organic, all natural, blah blah blah, $10 a bottle baby shampoo.  

     Piper looks like she appreciated it though, right?