The chicks and ducklings are growing! And I mean really growing. The Cornish Cross are almost fully feathered – and are pushing around their big meaty chests at whoever dares to look at them. The Barred Rock, still small, cute and fuzzy, are testing out their little wings and flying over each other’s heads and making the fat Crosses jealous. The ducks are towering over them all, at least twice the Cross’ height and visibly growing between morning and night.
In last week’s summer-like weather, I set up an outside pen for the ducks using my daughter’s old baby pen. I filled up a plastic cement-mixing tub with water and set them inside. They quickly pooped in the water (of course!) and then proceeded instinctually to duck under the water, preen and attempt to swim (though it was too shallow). For hours each day I’d leave them outside, once bringing the whole flock of birds out with them – an act that seemed comforting to them, despite the crowded conditions.
Today it’s way too cold and they are all huddling under their heat lamp as our near freezing winds blow. Their permanent house is almost done – the roof is on and we are just waiting for our special order of barn-red ridge caps and edges to seal out the weather. The door and windows need installed and their snazzy new (thanks to another craigslist find!) nesting boxes need hung – and then they are ready to move in!
The new project this week is getting ready for my first angora rabbit. He’s a beautiful brown male, just weaned and waiting for us to pick up. We’ve wavered between housing options – the ideal 2-story hutch condo – or the regular old wire cage with some tweaks. Chris is building it so we want it to be realistic and practical, but roomy and comfortable for our new guy. And since he’ll grow to be upwards of 10 pounds – with a lot of hair on top of that – it needs to be big! My daughter Sequoia has been comparing mini’s (Mini Rex, Mini Lop and Hotot) for her bunny companion. Her mini will be a quaint contrast to my big boy!
This Saturday begins the first of 3 events coming up for Bring the Farm to You and our little family of critters! Starting small, I’ll be at the March 31st Play Date Columbus. The chicks and ducks will be overwhelmed by love I’m sure, but it should be a gentle warm-up to the wide world of public events for them. On April 3rd, I’ll be an exhibitor at the fairgrounds for the PTO Today Expo, meeting PTO reps from around the state. I’m counting on our furry and feathery friends to win over the hearts of those dedicated moms and dads, making them want Bring the Farm to You and those cute critters to come to their schools! And then on Saturday, April 21, we’ll be at Earth Day Columbus, an event at the downtown Commons that will bring through 12-20,000 people! The chicks and ducks will become superstars for sure! Growing and going…