I love busy mornings. There is always so much to tend to even before I have my morning shower or bath. Now, with the baby chicks, even more of my morning hours are taken up so that it is noon almost before I realize it. There is the garden that must be watered before the heat becomes too intense. I cannot mulch plants as yet, since I am still waiting on seeds that I have planted to emerge. Laundry must be started early and hung out on the clothesline so that there is time enough for it to dry before a stray afternoon thunder shower douses it in a double rinse. The bed must be made and somewhere in between the many chores, I manage to squeeze in breakfast and my two cups of coffee.
You will be hearing a lot about my baby chicks in the coming weeks. What mother doesn’t love to talk about her baby, believing it is the cutest one ever to be born? Clearly, I am but a surrogate mom, but I take my job seriously. I have named my five girls after flowers, as follows: Marigold, Buttercup, Violet, Iris, and Ivy. Iris is having a bit of a rough go. She has been plagued from the get-go with pasty butt. When a bird is reared by its mother, she ensures that the baby’s bottom is kept clean. It is no different with human mothers, so I assume it is prevalent behavior among most, if not all mammals. Just as I had done with my first chickens, I am learning on the fly. Never before have I been so grateful for YouTube and Google, for finding information fast. Although I have several books on chickens, they were a little vague about the issue of pasty butt – after all, it is probably not a favorite subject for anyone. I am happy to say that I am now caring for Iris’s tiny bottom in the appropriate way by cleaning it with a Q-tip dipped in warm water, drying the area, and then going over with a little olive oil. This morning I added stone ground cornmeal for their grit, which they seem to love. I have been giving them probiotics and electrolytes in their water, to which I add a dollop of natural apple cider vinegar, as well as oregano tea with some shredded garlic added. I am providing them with clumps of weeds and herbs from the garden to scratch and peck and when they are big enough to begin spending some time outside, there will be plenty of high protein insects for them to forage. I am determined that all five of them will thrive, combined with good care and an infinite dose of love.
