The Turkeys Are Here!!
I was proud of myself that I got up for breakfast before most other people did. I'm doing that thing that I did in college where I feel guilty if I sleep too long (aka. as long as I need to) =P So I woke up around 7:15am and got ready by 7:30am when most other people were ready to eat by 7:45am =D! I did this in part out of guilt and in part out of preparation for the arrival of out turkeys =D!! The Cargill turkey guy was supposed to call around 6:30am when he picked up the birds and he would let us know when his ETA would be. In case he came early I wanted to be ready by 7:30am to greet our newbies =D! he didn't come until mid-way through devotions (8:00am), but I was done with my breakfast and most of my coffee by then, so that was great!
The guy came with all 100 chicks in one flat box. They were peeping and cheeping all over the place while he told us more about caring for them. He mentioned that there would definitely be a few that would not make it through the night. He showed us one or two that looked pretty sick and had problems walking (why shouldn't they have trouble walking when they're bred to have so much breast meat that they are top-heavy and can't even fly o_O). He said that those few would need a little sugar water dropped on their tongue and that most of them would bounce back. Samson and I took them up to the coops that we prepared yesterday and we picked them up by the handful and put them in the coop =D! We could fit three or four chicks in one hand <3!!!! Most of them were very healthy and inquisitive . . . to the point where we would put them in the coops and they would run right back toward us to watch what we were doing with their friends =P! I noticed three chicks that were not doing well and Samson and I put some sugar water on their tongues and replaced them where the "crowd" of chicks was not so thick. They would mainly crowd under the heat lamps where it was very warm and comfy =D. Soon, the Cargill guy said, each chick would find their own "happy medium" and settle down for the day. Jocelyne, David, Amanda, Chris, and Nick all came to check out the babies after devos were over. Samson and I made sure that the chicks were evenly spread out through the long coop and gently flipped some back over onto their feet (being so top-heavy, some would flip onto their backs and be unable to get up . . . then the others would come over and start pecking at their eyes and recently-declawed feet D= it would be bad news if we didn't set them back upright). We put large half egg-cartons full of food inside and waited until the chicks found them and started eating. Samson directed a few to the water and a few others that had difficulty walking out of the blaring heat from the lamps. The temperature was around 90 degrees F, almost perfect! The temperature range should be between 90 and 93 degrees, like an incubator for the babies =D! Soon they won't need it to be so warm, but they're just little now, and it's meant to simulate mama's body warmth. <3
We flipped a few more over, played with them, watched a few sicker ones to make sure they were ok, and then Samson and I talked about chores. Samson was in charge of the chickens, but now his job is to care for the turkeys. It's too much for him to manage alone, so he asked if I would be willing to take over chicken duty. o_O whoopie. I said that I would because I should get used to dealing with chickens even though I hate their guts sometimes, lol =P. He showed me the books and how to collect the eggs in the AM and PM. I am NOT excited about this new chore . . . but at least it's something I can do on my own and make myself useful rather than a virtual tag-along =). As long as I take a big stick to beat the 4 roosters off of me I will be fine. Also, I can try to catch Crookfoot and put him in a place where his foot can heal =) . . . if i can find him, that is =/.
The Turkeys Have Arrived!!!
2-Day Old Chicks
Chicks In The Incubator
Chicks
Very Healthy Chick
Too cute! <3
Chicks Clustered Around (and on top of) Food
Comfy Sleeping Chicks
Comfy Sleeping Chicks
After we were done with the Turkeys Samson and I went to put some more bedding down for the kids and the dry goats. Samson did not get breakfast so I started on the bedding while he ate a little. We worked on that well together and got it done pretty quickly. =)
Then Samson and I then worked on the fence for the new pasture all morning. It was not so great =(!! It was soooooo hot and I felt completely useless . . . again. Samson is from Ghana and has a heavy accent. Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand him and for him to understand me. We had tons of communication issues and I could tell that he was getting frustrated with me because I didn't know where anything was, I didn't know how to set up the fence in the first place, and I had to keep asking him to repeat himself. We were also working out in the sun and I was getting really hot and thirsty. I didn't want to take a break and leave Samson out there working all morning, but it was getting bad. Finally, he told me to wind up the wire from another fence that we were not using. I thought, "Great! I can do this myself and be useful! =)" Nope. It was in the blaring heat and there was TONS of wire to be rolled up! At 12:30 I just had to stop. I told Samson that I needed a drink of water and he said, "But it will be lunchtime soon." and I just waved and nodded. I could NOT keep going. I went in and drank two bottles of water, washed my face, and sat down for about 15 minutes before lunch. To my horror, we decided to eat outside as well D'=. It was almost unbearable, but finally Neil said, "So, who wants to move the bench into the shade?" and everyone helped move. Then it was much better! =)
We had our weekly community meeting and talked about . . . nothing, really. We just chatted about people who were coming to visit and a new intern. Darren gave me Kudos for "making it through" my first week, which was nice of him, but it felt a bit obligatory rather than genuine =/. Next week i will get my first Orientation class, which will be nice! Maybe I'll get a binder to actually put my papers in instead of the messy stack that I have on my bookshelf now =). We are also going to have a class on how to get a general parasite count in goats by looking at the relative redness or paleness of their bottom eyelid =D! (i think the process is called Fumacha) that sounds awesome! I'm excited for that class! I will probably have to help Jocelyne collect fecal samples to see which goats have the most parasites this week in prep for that practicum though =/. . . un-fun, lol! Oh well, at least I get to play with critters =).
After the meeting it was already 2:00pm! I asked Samson if we were going to finish the fencing and he said, "Why don't you go collect the chicken eggs." =( I didn't know if he meant, 'go do something else, we don't have time to finish the fence today,' or if that meant, ‘I don’t have enough patience to work on the fence with you anymore.’ =( So I went to collect eggs armed with my “Chicken beat-stick.” I felt like a wuss because every time I went to pick up some eggs from under a bird I would jump when the hen looked like she was going to peck me. I had to keep telling myself, “It’s just a bird! If it pecks you, you’ll bleed and yell at her and be mad and that’s all. Nothing to freak out about.” But I freaked like a little sissy anyway . . . every time =(. I used the stick on most of them and they acted like they had never seen it before. Everyone else probably just pushes them away with their hands. I suppose I will get used to it after doing it for a few months . . . hopefully I’ll get used to it.
On the way back to the dorm I wanted to check on the turkeys, but I’m not supposed to do that after visiting the chickens. Chickens could have diseases that the baby turkeys are not resistant to. So I dropped off the eggs and washed my hands. I made sure that Samson didn’t want to continue working and visited the turkeys before it was my time to milk. The chicks all looked pretty good. One was flipped over and panting, so I turned it over and moved it out from under the heat lamp. It didn’t look like it was going to make it =(.
It was 3:30pm and I had an hour before it was time to milk. I thought I was going to be milking with Peter but Nick told me that Peter and David had swapped times and that I would be milking with my boss, David, instead. D= Yikes!! I helped Nick out in the garden for about 30 minutes and then I went to get prepped for milking so it didn’t take as long as it did yesterday when I milked with Jocelyne. I got the sanitation solutions ready, filled the feed bowls, fed the dry goats (I was proud that I figured that out on my own), brought the kids in the kid barn, labeled and dated the milk containers, sanitized the milk caps, and got the equipment ready. When I found David he was already feeding the kids and bringing the A team in for milking. I told him that I knew I was slow at milking, it being my second time, and that I did some prep work early so it would go a bit faster. He seemed pleased and surprised and we were able to get milking right away! =D We talked about college and why I decided to come to the farm. He mentioned that he majored in Agro-economics at TX A & M and that in all his soil science classes he never was required to take geology! D=< I was shocked and appalled! I think I’ll take a trip down there and beat them all up, lol =P. After we were done milking we carried the 4 half gallons down to the Ed building where they could be sold. We talked about the issues that I had with raw milk earlier in the year and about some other stuff.
David asked me if I had any plans for that night and I said no. He invited me to dinner which, he said, would just be leftovers, but that I could come and meet his kids and his wife, Stephanie. =D I said that I would be there and I ran back to the dorm and changed my shirt and washed my face so I didn’t stink too badly, lol =P. David said that Susan was also coming for dinner and to babysit his kids while he and Stephanie went out to The Pub and shopping. I got there before Susan did and met Stephanie and two kids. They were all very nice and his kids were VERY well-behaved! Toby is 3 and Elliana (Ellie) is 1.5 years old, and they both think that cleaning up and sharing are the coolest things in the world! O.O I think they are cyborg children that David and Stephanie purchased from a pet store or something, lol! =P When Susan came the 5 of us (Susan, Toby, Ellie, Stephanie, and I) ate the heated-up pasta leftovers (which tasted amazing, incidentally =) ) while David showered and changed. After Stephanie and kids were done David had finished showering and ate with Susan and me. They left Susan to babysit around 6 and I stayed to help, in part because the kids were adorable and fun and in part because I had nothing else to do, lol. =P Susan and I initially had them paint Toby’s birthday present (fake plastic stained-glass stuff that was obviously made for children older than these two) which ended up as them painting the table, their clothes, and their hands. O_o When I took them to wash their hands Ellie became fascinated with the bubbles in the sink to the point where we could not pull her away from the bathroom for about an hour =P. Toby checked on her once in a while and asked if he should brush his teeth. I would say, “Not yet, Toby. It’s not bedtime yet.” And he would return to paint with Susan while Ellie turned the water on and off and asked for more soap to make bubbles. Did I mention they are the cutest (human) kids I’ve EVER seen? Lol =P Really, Picture-perfect children. Their pictures should be on greeting cards, LOL!
Then we read a book about wild animals and dinosaurs. I really got into that book . . . it even had a pictures of Styracosaurus and African Wild Dogs and Nighthawks! 8D Toby liked it when I would read this book to him. After a slight diversion he would come back and point to me and say, “You talk!” and then point to a critter on the book and say, “That nice?” =P Ellie got a change of diaper and we put her down to bed. She was not pleased with us =(, but after about two full-blown, “*gasp* WAAAAAAH’s” we didn’t hear another peep from her. =P After 15 minutes we put Toby down too. He was crying as well, but we didn’t think anything of it. We walked over next door (David and Molly+Nick’s apartment connect via a kitchen and bathroom so walking over next door meant going through one door . . . not like we left the kids alone in the appt or anything, ;D) and said hi to Molly and Nick and Jocelyne. Kristine also came in and asked if she could use my suitcase for her trip back to Manitoba for the potato harvest. I was about to run downstairs to get it when I heard that Toby was still crying about 5 minutes later o_O. Susan and I stood outside the door for a minute trying to figure out what he was saying. We couldn’t understand him and when Susan went back in he said, “DON’T LEAVE ME IN THE DARK!!!! I DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE DARK!!!” Oops! We forgot to turn on his light and he had been in the dark for 5 minutes freaking out! D= We apologized and he accepted it and fell asleep immediately after we turned his light on =P. lol!
I ran downstairs and got the medium-sized suitcase for Kristine and when I got back upstairs to the apartments Peter (her husband) was talking with Susan. I guess he was waiting for me and I gave him the suitcase and he asked if they could borrow my car to drive to Dallas airport tomorrow morning o_O. I remembered that the only other car-options were the Farm Truck (whose tire exploded off the rim yesterday =( ), Will’s car (a complete junk-heap of a vehicle whose windows don't even go up anymore), or Jocelyne’s car (doesn’t look well-off either). So I reluctantly agreed since it would be Darren driving and I trust him MUCH MUCH more than I would trust Peter (who is a . . . extremely relaxed individual ;P) with something so important to me. I also trusted the car itself much more now that I knew it could go over 1400 miles from PA to TX without anything major happening like it did when dad drove it the first time. I warned Darren (who visited later in the night) about the alarm and obnoxious beeping I have yet to disable o_O and gave them my key *whimper.* I guess it’s better than getting a call and having to pick them up in Dallas after the vehicle they take falls apart anyway.
Until David and his wife got home Susan and I talked a lot about Juniata, health issues, farm community, working overseas, etc. We really got to know each other =D it was very cool! Around 10:30pm David and his wife returned and Susan and I left. I took a shower and went to bed right away. I wasn’t tired anymore, but I knew that I should be, if that makes any sense =P. I wanted to get up early enough to help Jocelyne (who is still quite sick =( ) with her weekend-duty chores and I needed to pick up chicken eggs in the AM.
The guy came with all 100 chicks in one flat box. They were peeping and cheeping all over the place while he told us more about caring for them. He mentioned that there would definitely be a few that would not make it through the night. He showed us one or two that looked pretty sick and had problems walking (why shouldn't they have trouble walking when they're bred to have so much breast meat that they are top-heavy and can't even fly o_O). He said that those few would need a little sugar water dropped on their tongue and that most of them would bounce back. Samson and I took them up to the coops that we prepared yesterday and we picked them up by the handful and put them in the coop =D! We could fit three or four chicks in one hand <3!!!! Most of them were very healthy and inquisitive . . . to the point where we would put them in the coops and they would run right back toward us to watch what we were doing with their friends =P! I noticed three chicks that were not doing well and Samson and I put some sugar water on their tongues and replaced them where the "crowd" of chicks was not so thick. They would mainly crowd under the heat lamps where it was very warm and comfy =D. Soon, the Cargill guy said, each chick would find their own "happy medium" and settle down for the day. Jocelyne, David, Amanda, Chris, and Nick all came to check out the babies after devos were over. Samson and I made sure that the chicks were evenly spread out through the long coop and gently flipped some back over onto their feet (being so top-heavy, some would flip onto their backs and be unable to get up . . . then the others would come over and start pecking at their eyes and recently-declawed feet D= it would be bad news if we didn't set them back upright). We put large half egg-cartons full of food inside and waited until the chicks found them and started eating. Samson directed a few to the water and a few others that had difficulty walking out of the blaring heat from the lamps. The temperature was around 90 degrees F, almost perfect! The temperature range should be between 90 and 93 degrees, like an incubator for the babies =D! Soon they won't need it to be so warm, but they're just little now, and it's meant to simulate mama's body warmth. <3
We flipped a few more over, played with them, watched a few sicker ones to make sure they were ok, and then Samson and I talked about chores. Samson was in charge of the chickens, but now his job is to care for the turkeys. It's too much for him to manage alone, so he asked if I would be willing to take over chicken duty. o_O whoopie. I said that I would because I should get used to dealing with chickens even though I hate their guts sometimes, lol =P. He showed me the books and how to collect the eggs in the AM and PM. I am NOT excited about this new chore . . . but at least it's something I can do on my own and make myself useful rather than a virtual tag-along =). As long as I take a big stick to beat the 4 roosters off of me I will be fine. Also, I can try to catch Crookfoot and put him in a place where his foot can heal =) . . . if i can find him, that is =/.
The Turkeys Have Arrived!!!
2-Day Old Chicks
Chicks In The Incubator
Chicks
Very Healthy Chick
Too cute! <3
Chicks Clustered Around (and on top of) Food
Comfy Sleeping Chicks
Comfy Sleeping Chicks
After we were done with the Turkeys Samson and I went to put some more bedding down for the kids and the dry goats. Samson did not get breakfast so I started on the bedding while he ate a little. We worked on that well together and got it done pretty quickly. =)
Then Samson and I then worked on the fence for the new pasture all morning. It was not so great =(!! It was soooooo hot and I felt completely useless . . . again. Samson is from Ghana and has a heavy accent. Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand him and for him to understand me. We had tons of communication issues and I could tell that he was getting frustrated with me because I didn't know where anything was, I didn't know how to set up the fence in the first place, and I had to keep asking him to repeat himself. We were also working out in the sun and I was getting really hot and thirsty. I didn't want to take a break and leave Samson out there working all morning, but it was getting bad. Finally, he told me to wind up the wire from another fence that we were not using. I thought, "Great! I can do this myself and be useful! =)" Nope. It was in the blaring heat and there was TONS of wire to be rolled up! At 12:30 I just had to stop. I told Samson that I needed a drink of water and he said, "But it will be lunchtime soon." and I just waved and nodded. I could NOT keep going. I went in and drank two bottles of water, washed my face, and sat down for about 15 minutes before lunch. To my horror, we decided to eat outside as well D'=. It was almost unbearable, but finally Neil said, "So, who wants to move the bench into the shade?" and everyone helped move. Then it was much better! =)
We had our weekly community meeting and talked about . . . nothing, really. We just chatted about people who were coming to visit and a new intern. Darren gave me Kudos for "making it through" my first week, which was nice of him, but it felt a bit obligatory rather than genuine =/. Next week i will get my first Orientation class, which will be nice! Maybe I'll get a binder to actually put my papers in instead of the messy stack that I have on my bookshelf now =). We are also going to have a class on how to get a general parasite count in goats by looking at the relative redness or paleness of their bottom eyelid =D! (i think the process is called Fumacha) that sounds awesome! I'm excited for that class! I will probably have to help Jocelyne collect fecal samples to see which goats have the most parasites this week in prep for that practicum though =/. . . un-fun, lol! Oh well, at least I get to play with critters =).
After the meeting it was already 2:00pm! I asked Samson if we were going to finish the fencing and he said, "Why don't you go collect the chicken eggs." =( I didn't know if he meant, 'go do something else, we don't have time to finish the fence today,' or if that meant, ‘I don’t have enough patience to work on the fence with you anymore.’ =( So I went to collect eggs armed with my “Chicken beat-stick.” I felt like a wuss because every time I went to pick up some eggs from under a bird I would jump when the hen looked like she was going to peck me. I had to keep telling myself, “It’s just a bird! If it pecks you, you’ll bleed and yell at her and be mad and that’s all. Nothing to freak out about.” But I freaked like a little sissy anyway . . . every time =(. I used the stick on most of them and they acted like they had never seen it before. Everyone else probably just pushes them away with their hands. I suppose I will get used to it after doing it for a few months . . . hopefully I’ll get used to it.
On the way back to the dorm I wanted to check on the turkeys, but I’m not supposed to do that after visiting the chickens. Chickens could have diseases that the baby turkeys are not resistant to. So I dropped off the eggs and washed my hands. I made sure that Samson didn’t want to continue working and visited the turkeys before it was my time to milk. The chicks all looked pretty good. One was flipped over and panting, so I turned it over and moved it out from under the heat lamp. It didn’t look like it was going to make it =(.
It was 3:30pm and I had an hour before it was time to milk. I thought I was going to be milking with Peter but Nick told me that Peter and David had swapped times and that I would be milking with my boss, David, instead. D= Yikes!! I helped Nick out in the garden for about 30 minutes and then I went to get prepped for milking so it didn’t take as long as it did yesterday when I milked with Jocelyne. I got the sanitation solutions ready, filled the feed bowls, fed the dry goats (I was proud that I figured that out on my own), brought the kids in the kid barn, labeled and dated the milk containers, sanitized the milk caps, and got the equipment ready. When I found David he was already feeding the kids and bringing the A team in for milking. I told him that I knew I was slow at milking, it being my second time, and that I did some prep work early so it would go a bit faster. He seemed pleased and surprised and we were able to get milking right away! =D We talked about college and why I decided to come to the farm. He mentioned that he majored in Agro-economics at TX A & M and that in all his soil science classes he never was required to take geology! D=< I was shocked and appalled! I think I’ll take a trip down there and beat them all up, lol =P. After we were done milking we carried the 4 half gallons down to the Ed building where they could be sold. We talked about the issues that I had with raw milk earlier in the year and about some other stuff.
David asked me if I had any plans for that night and I said no. He invited me to dinner which, he said, would just be leftovers, but that I could come and meet his kids and his wife, Stephanie. =D I said that I would be there and I ran back to the dorm and changed my shirt and washed my face so I didn’t stink too badly, lol =P. David said that Susan was also coming for dinner and to babysit his kids while he and Stephanie went out to The Pub and shopping. I got there before Susan did and met Stephanie and two kids. They were all very nice and his kids were VERY well-behaved! Toby is 3 and Elliana (Ellie) is 1.5 years old, and they both think that cleaning up and sharing are the coolest things in the world! O.O I think they are cyborg children that David and Stephanie purchased from a pet store or something, lol! =P When Susan came the 5 of us (Susan, Toby, Ellie, Stephanie, and I) ate the heated-up pasta leftovers (which tasted amazing, incidentally =) ) while David showered and changed. After Stephanie and kids were done David had finished showering and ate with Susan and me. They left Susan to babysit around 6 and I stayed to help, in part because the kids were adorable and fun and in part because I had nothing else to do, lol. =P Susan and I initially had them paint Toby’s birthday present (fake plastic stained-glass stuff that was obviously made for children older than these two) which ended up as them painting the table, their clothes, and their hands. O_o When I took them to wash their hands Ellie became fascinated with the bubbles in the sink to the point where we could not pull her away from the bathroom for about an hour =P. Toby checked on her once in a while and asked if he should brush his teeth. I would say, “Not yet, Toby. It’s not bedtime yet.” And he would return to paint with Susan while Ellie turned the water on and off and asked for more soap to make bubbles. Did I mention they are the cutest (human) kids I’ve EVER seen? Lol =P Really, Picture-perfect children. Their pictures should be on greeting cards, LOL!
Then we read a book about wild animals and dinosaurs. I really got into that book . . . it even had a pictures of Styracosaurus and African Wild Dogs and Nighthawks! 8D Toby liked it when I would read this book to him. After a slight diversion he would come back and point to me and say, “You talk!” and then point to a critter on the book and say, “That nice?” =P Ellie got a change of diaper and we put her down to bed. She was not pleased with us =(, but after about two full-blown, “*gasp* WAAAAAAH’s” we didn’t hear another peep from her. =P After 15 minutes we put Toby down too. He was crying as well, but we didn’t think anything of it. We walked over next door (David and Molly+Nick’s apartment connect via a kitchen and bathroom so walking over next door meant going through one door . . . not like we left the kids alone in the appt or anything, ;D) and said hi to Molly and Nick and Jocelyne. Kristine also came in and asked if she could use my suitcase for her trip back to Manitoba for the potato harvest. I was about to run downstairs to get it when I heard that Toby was still crying about 5 minutes later o_O. Susan and I stood outside the door for a minute trying to figure out what he was saying. We couldn’t understand him and when Susan went back in he said, “DON’T LEAVE ME IN THE DARK!!!! I DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE DARK!!!” Oops! We forgot to turn on his light and he had been in the dark for 5 minutes freaking out! D= We apologized and he accepted it and fell asleep immediately after we turned his light on =P. lol!
I ran downstairs and got the medium-sized suitcase for Kristine and when I got back upstairs to the apartments Peter (her husband) was talking with Susan. I guess he was waiting for me and I gave him the suitcase and he asked if they could borrow my car to drive to Dallas airport tomorrow morning o_O. I remembered that the only other car-options were the Farm Truck (whose tire exploded off the rim yesterday =( ), Will’s car (a complete junk-heap of a vehicle whose windows don't even go up anymore), or Jocelyne’s car (doesn’t look well-off either). So I reluctantly agreed since it would be Darren driving and I trust him MUCH MUCH more than I would trust Peter (who is a . . . extremely relaxed individual ;P) with something so important to me. I also trusted the car itself much more now that I knew it could go over 1400 miles from PA to TX without anything major happening like it did when dad drove it the first time. I warned Darren (who visited later in the night) about the alarm and obnoxious beeping I have yet to disable o_O and gave them my key *whimper.* I guess it’s better than getting a call and having to pick them up in Dallas after the vehicle they take falls apart anyway.
Until David and his wife got home Susan and I talked a lot about Juniata, health issues, farm community, working overseas, etc. We really got to know each other =D it was very cool! Around 10:30pm David and his wife returned and Susan and I left. I took a shower and went to bed right away. I wasn’t tired anymore, but I knew that I should be, if that makes any sense =P. I wanted to get up early enough to help Jocelyne (who is still quite sick =( ) with her weekend-duty chores and I needed to pick up chicken eggs in the AM.