Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Mark in the Running for Jeopardy! A few weeks ago while we were watching Jeopardy they announced that anyone in the New York area interested in being a contestant on Jeopardy should register online. So, with some strong encouragement from Mommy and Hunter, Daddy decided to submit an application. Unfortunately, Mark's life got a little hectic and he failed to reply to the tryout date within the 48 hour deadline. They said anyone responding after the 48 hour deadline could still reply but would only be accepted if they had room left over. Mark replied anyway and was accepted. So, on April 26th Mark is heading into New York to take a test and hopefully play a mock version of Jeopardy and get his name put on the list of possible contestants for a REAL Jeopardy game in CA. Mark has already checked out several books from the library and is working hard absorbing as much information as possible before the tryout. We know he doesn't need to--he's already so smart. We know you'll do a fabulous job!
Noah's Dandelion is Back! Yesterday Noah went outside to check the weather and returned very excited. His dear friend, the Dandelion weed at the bottom of our back steps, is back! Noah immediately picked its first blossom and it has been proudly displayed in a dixie cup on our kitchen table ever since. When it closed last night Noah almost burst into tears--afraid that it was dead. I reassured him it would open up again in the morning and thankfully, it was open-- bright and wide--by the time he woke up. I swear that plant blossoms just for Noah.
An Unexpected T-Ball Coach With the start of T-ball season just around the corner, we've been anxiously awaiting a phone call telling us when Hunter would begin his first game. Yesterday that call came, but it was not nearly the call we expected. His first game will be April 30th (along with his first practice)but he has a rotten coach. Yes. . . they couldn't have picked a more inexperienced, out-of-shape coach if they tried. Who is it, you might be asking? Me! Somehow between volunteering to bring juice boxes and help with kid control I got selected to coach eleven six-year old boys in their first season of T-ball. And the worst part is--they get one hour of practice prior to their first game, which follows immediately after their first practice. I can't help but laugh at the insanity of the whole thing and wonder why I ever paid $86.00 to be put in such an awkward situation. But nevermind it all--I'll do anything for my Hunter even if it means two months of Saturdays spent in total public humiliation and flogging!
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Monday, April 11, 2005
It's only fitting. . . . He was the last one born and he is the smallest of the bunch. I just have to call him Wilbur. I put all four chicks together this morning and after a bunch of pecking and showing who's boss (I don't think anyone in particular won) they've all settled down together for a mid-morning nap. The ICU is no longer necessary and they all seem fine. Wilbur was very protective of Hero and stood over her for several minutes holding off Lucky and Jack Jack, who were trying to peck at Hero. Then, Wilbur was brave enough to even bite Lucky's beak and defend herself several times. I'm very proud of little Wilbur holding her own.
I gave them all a snack of hard-boiled egg yolk this morning which was well-received by all but Wilbur. Even Hero let me hold her over the food so she could peck at the yolk and fill her gizzard. Hero tries so hard on her own but every time she leans over to peck at the ground she falls flat on her face. Same thing happens when she wants a drink of water. So I held her next to the water dish and she happily helped herself to a drink. I figure as she gets a little bigger and stronger she won't need my help anymore. At least that's what I hope. Noah says we should get Hero a "chickie wheelchair that goes all by itself" so Hero can get around. Even a pair of chickie crutches would do the trick. She'll get it though, I just know she will.
Anyway. . . here's a picture of Wilbur and the bunch. They are growing so fast. Three of them are growing their crowns already. And today, Lucky even demonstrated how high he can jump. (Whoa! I didn't even know they could jump!) I'm not sure the walls of the box will be high enough in another week or so. Thank goodness it's getting warm outside!
  
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Sunday, April 10, 2005
I haven't quite decided on a name for chick number four. I think it's because I thought for sure he/she wouldn't last through the night. To my surprise, she's alive and doing well. I decided this morning it was time to move her into the brooder but I knew there was no way she'd survive with Lucky and Jack Jack around. So, I dug out another cardboard box and opened up what I like to call the Chickie Intensive Care Unit. There, Number Four and Hero have been getting extra special attention and can also rest without having Jack Jack and Lucky constantly pecking and climbing all over them. After watching Four struggle for awhile I decided she must be having trouble walking due to the fact that her right wing was completely hard from the sticky stuff drying out in the incubator. So, I gave her a little sponge bath and blew her dry a bit with the hairdryer. Then I returned her to the ICU and within minutes she was trying to walk. I think tomorrow it will be time to close the ICU and put all four babies together. Four is doing remarkably well (I never thought she'd make it this far) and as for Hero--I still have hope for the poor bird. I just read about a chick that was born with a deformed leg that actually survived and now lives on a special farm for "special needs birds." I'm sure Hero would probably be better off if I just left her alone but I'd love to see her make it even if it means she has to hobble her way through life. She is just beautiful and mild mannered--she falls asleep in my hands when I hold her almost everytime. She may end up being my favorite. As for Jack Jack and Lucky--they remind me of "Porter and the bad boys" and I can see the little livewires causing me a lot of problems in the future. You should see how much they poop! Anyway, Hero and Lucky are already getting their feathers and hopefully Jack Jack and Four won't be far behind. Then they'll be all set for moving outside where they can eat our grubs and fertilize our lawn and make yummy eggs for us to eat. (Okay that's a little optimistic but who says I can't live with my head in the clouds a little. Afterall--Jack Jack and Four survived this long when everything said they didn't have a chance. Who says they won't lay me eggs?)
P.S. All this shell picking, sponge bathing and blow drying is not scientific and you should never follow my bad example as a mother hen. I really have no idea what I'm doing and 95% of the time expect them to die at any moment. If you ever decide to hatch baby chickens DO NOT follow my advice.
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Saturday, April 09, 2005
Well. . . yesterday I went against everything I've ever been taught about helping chicks hatch out of their eggs. Egg number three, whom we call "Jack Jack" pipped its shell around 9:00am Friday morning. By 3:00pm, he hadn't progressed at all. Everything I had read up to that point said if the egg pipped but didn't progress then it probably wouldn't survive. But, with further research I found ONE website that reccommended helping such eggs after 6-10 hours of little or no progress. So, I dove right in and started peeling away the shell little by little, just enough to expose the head and beak. Afterall, if the poor chick was just gonna die, I might as well let him come out and say hello to the world for a few moments, right?
We left Jack-Jack to go to a birthday party and upon our return, several hours later, we found him in the same position, no progress. So, I peeled away some more shell which freed his head entirely from the egg. By midnight, he had managed to free one claw and was trying desperately to escape. I went to bed. By 4:00am, Jack Jack had made his escape, all except for what I would call his umbilical cord which was still attatched to his shell. His egg sack hadn't completely absorbed. Again, from what I'd read, that meant bad luck for the poor peep. Well. . . Jack Jack is no loser, no quitter, no giver-upper. No way! Jack-Jack, I am proud to say is a fighter and has held his own proudly. He has now graduated to the brooder where he happily follows Lucky around the box, taking turns pecking at one another, drinking and eating and pooping merrily. He has fluffed up quite nicely, and while he looks different from his brothers/sisters he is definitely happy to be in the bunch. His joyous peeping is driving us all a little mad, but hopefully will calm down a bit as time wears on.
Hero continues to struggle and we've come to the conclusion that his/her legs are paralyzed. He/she spends most of her time hiding in the corner so that Jack-Jack and Lucky will leave her alone. But tonight she almost brought me to tears when she gained enough balance on her scabbed knees and bottom to sit up straight and tall and look Jack Jack right in the eye and peck right back at him. I'm not sure Hero will make it but she has a fight in her as well and will not go down easy. I've been helping her drink water every now and then, and she seems happy to sleep by the food dish so perhaps she's eating too. Only time will tell.
Lucky is fiesty and mean and I'm a little bit afraid of how he/she will be when he's a little bigger. I think I'm gonna have to learn how to hold a mean chicken properly--which I think is by the legs--and invest in some gloves. He/she is definitely the leader of the pack and makes sure the rest know it.
And last but not least, egg number four, whom I think we will call Miracle, continues to struggle as Jack Jack did. Unfortunatley she doesn't seem to have the fight in her that Jack did and I think it truly will be a miracle if she survives. I've been helping her out little by little but there's a lot more blood and stickiness this time around. It's been more than 24 hours since she pipped the shell and that is never a good sign. I removed the other three eggs just now and cracked them open to try and see why they didn't crack. Looks like one didn't absorb any of the egg sack and another only absorbed about half. And the third was just rotten with nothing in it at all. Anyway, I'm sleepy from all the excitement and ready to call it a night but before I go here's a few snapshots from the day. The first is of Jack Jack.
   
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Friday, April 08, 2005
This morning Hunter snuck downstairs to play a round of Roller Coaster Tycoon before school. Within minutes he came running back upstairs to tell us there was a chick in the incubator. We ran downstairs and sure enough there was a chick hobbling around the incubator, peeping. We all huddled around the incubator and after about ten minutes I noticed another egg was hatching. The chick in this egg burst forth with life and half an hour later had already established the pecking order and was busy putting number one in its place. About another half an hour later, egg number three was pipped and the excitement level at our home was outrageous.
Now, at the end of the day things have calmed down a bit and things are looking like this: Chick number one was named after Hunter, the hero of the day for discovering our babies. We call him/her "Hero." Unfortunately, like our chick number one, Hero seems to have a few disabilities and hasn't figured out how to walk yet. I'm not sure he/she will. Hero just flops around from place to place, unable to hold up its head or walk on its feet. As a result, I'm not sure he/she will ever be able to get a drink of water, which is crucial for its survival. Chick number two was named by Noah--we call him/her "Lucky." Lucky has some serious spice for life and hops around the brooder, pecking at everything in sight (including poor Hero), eating and drinking and calling out for company. Denver is smitten by the little bird and a couple of times today I found him in the guest bedroom with the door shut, I'm sure, trying to pick the bird up. Chick number three, well. . . he/she's still struggling to hatch. We've named him "Jack Jack" after the baby on The Incredibles. He seems full of life--peeping really loud and looking around but he's just stuck. I helped him a little, around 4pm, but nothing's changed since then and I'm not sure it will. We'll see what the morning brings. And last but not least--looks like egg number four just pipped a little while ago. We'll hope for another "Lucky hatch" in the morning. Until then, here's a few snapshots of our newest additions to the family--Lucky and Hero. (Hero is the red one in the the last picture. All the rest are of Lucky.)
    
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Thursday, April 07, 2005
Gross! I decided yesterday it was time to say goodbye to some of our chicken eggs. After candleing them several times I decided some of them just weren't going to hatch. So, as I prepared the incubator for the eggs that might hatch I removed the eggs that I was certain wouldn't hatch. And then. . .I cracked them. I just had to know for sure--if anything had grown or if I had been incubating a bunch of rotten eggs. Well. . .take a look for yourself. Out of 24 eggs we have six left in the incubator and my hopes are a little dashed. We'll know in a few more days I guess.
P.S. Did you know that chicken eggs will explode if they are left incubating too long after the embryo dies? Messy.
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Monday, April 04, 2005
Denver has had diarrhea for awhile now and of course, his lil' bum is suffering. Thanks to a friend I have a great remedy and last night I decided it's one that all parents of diaper babies should know about. Forget Desitin--try a liquid antacid. Yup! It's true. The antacid helps neutralize the acid on their skin and helps soothe the burning. I just take a capful of the liquid and drizzle it over Denver's little tush and Denver almost always immediately feels better. That and children's acidophilus (you can get it at Wild Oats)--just stir it into their applesauce or milk. They even sell chewables for older kids. Anyway, next time someone has a sore bum you'll know just what to do. And. . . if you have a great remedy to share, why not post a comment so we can all benefit. I mean, what mom couldn't use a little help here and there?
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Sunday, April 03, 2005
Even two year olds do it. . . .
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Saturday, April 02, 2005
I candled the eggs today. Looks like we're down to seven chicks. Not sure what happened between last week and today. Perhaps we saw more than was really there. Maybe something is wrong with the incubator--too hot? Anyway, we're still hopeful at least a few chicks will hatch and survive. I'll take them out of their cradle on Tuesday and maybe on Friday we'll start seeing some hatching. Mark mentioned a webcam for all of your viewing enjoyment--we shall see.
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Friday, April 01, 2005
We've had a lot of rain lately here in Connecticut which means, of course, that we've had to do a lot of puddle jumping. One of our favorite things to do in the spring and summer is to go on "rain walks." All we do is watch for the gutters to fill up, pull on our rubber boots and raincoats (or swimsuits and water shoes if it's warm enough) and head out into the rain. So this week, as soon as it was warm enough and the gutters were filled to overflowing, Noah, Denver and I headed outside. First thing we always do is look for worms. Noah especially loves to find and hold worms. Lucky for us there were several worms out and about, so we scooped them up and tossed them into our indoor lawn (or rather, the grass we've grown in a bucket on the kitchen table.) I figured worms are good for lawns so why not toss a few in our tabletop garden. Ever since, whenever the boys find a worm they insist on picking it up and tossing it into the bucket, where it will be safe from "drying out." Its sort of become our little "worm haven" there on our kitchen table.
Anyway, after saving 5 or 6 worms we pulled out the bubbles and bikes for a little while. The Easter Bunny brought Noah a giant bubble maker and we decided to give it a try. Turns out to be a fabulous purchase on the Easter Bunny's part. Even Denver seemed to be a pro at making giant bubbles with very little effort. Anyway after chasing after giant bubbles and riding bikes, Noah was tired of waiting for the rain walk. So we set off for our favorite destination on a rainy day--the local stream that runs behind our neighborhood. There's a little landing right on the water that is very rocky and where the water is very shallow. The boys love to wade in the water with their boots on and toss rocks into the deeper parts of the water. So we jumped puddles from our house to there and spent about half an hour tossing rocks. I'm hoping we'll be seeing a few drier days this next week so we can dry out and maybe fly a kite or have a real picnic at the park. But then again, one of my own favorite childhood memories is sitting on the curb on East Evans Place, in the middle of a rainstorm, stopping the water with my bare feet and watching for rainbows. So I suppose, a few more days of rain won't hurt us too much. After all it's these April Showers that bring May Flowers. . . right?
    
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