reflections on looking after 21 baby chickens for five days ::
i just took them back to the farm tonight & the drive was hilarious and hectic, for myself. I was listening to jazz or something, driving 55 mph & up over a potholed dirt road accompanied by frantic chirping. It sorta went with the music and just the whole atmosphere.

anyhow, i was sad to see them go (i had to take them back because i am leaving for 2 weeks to help move my friend across the country & they can't come too). in the future, when i am living in a house (not my parent's), i would like to have 2 chickens, maybe even 4, but that's pushing it.

i am still hearing phantom chick peeps. the nerves of bring home 21 babies, i was constantly worrying if they were too hot or cold and if they could escape their shabby home of a cardboard box. i stood watching them for 10 minutes plus chunks, totally zoning out until i came back and realized i was doing nothing.

they are so adorable when they sleep. they huddle together in a fuzzy cute mass. some burrow their heads under each others' bellies. it's a shame they can't do this at night- which i realized at 4am in the morning the first night as i failed to sleep due to their aerobic lap running in the constrained box. after that, they were kicked out of my room. our lifestyles are just too different.

day five and they definitely grew in size from a handful to two. they became more curious & aware of their surroundings & stretched their increasing wingspans often. my dad woke me up at 7 to tell me "there are chickens all over the floor." i hurried to the basement & scooped up the two that were sleeping as close to the distant heating lap as they could be on the floor, regretful they were. and then there was one adventurer who was just beginning to walk about, no more. i grabbed an old window screen an put it on top of their box, sorry guys. it was about their bed time anyways, being daylight and all.

so that's that for chicken adventures. they certainly won't remember me cleaning the poo out of their water jar & will probably have learned to peck at unwonted hands by the next time i see them. in other news, i finally succeeded in joining the ranks of the employed post-graduate. elite, it is. hip hip hurray! i work as a graphic artist & flash editor for an company that creates interactive learning programs. i like it.