and on his farm he had some chickens, e i e i o

it's been an interesting couple of weeks for us, taking on our new role as chicken owners. it was something i've been wanting to do for a while, just never thought i could convince jesse to take the plunge. we visited our friends who recently bought chickens, we saw how simple it was to care for them, and less than a week later we had 6 little chickies of our own. and now we're washing our hands like crazy and anxiously waiting to see if we have hens or roosters.

the chicks at 1 week old

we've been shocked by how fast they grow. we got them at 1 week old, and after the 1st 4 days they had already doubled in size. we went out of town for Easter weekend, and another 4 days later they have doubled again. i guess it helps that all they do all day long is eat eat eat.

the chicks at 2 1/2 weeks old

a week after we got the chicks, we were in PA for Easter weekend. driving back to pittsburgh after spending Easter sunday in clarion, we spot a baby duck in the middle of the 2-lane country highway. we saw him and said to each other "oh how sad... that baby duck was so pathetic and little, looking for his mommy and now he's probably going to get hit by a car." (i know, i know. we have this new sympathy for feathered friends now that we are chicken farmers) :) so we turned the car around, going to rescue the duck if he hadn't already been hit. jesse found him off on the side of the road, alive and well. he chirped in a box the rest of the drive to pittsburgh. jesse's sister is a vet tech at the pittsburgh aviary, so she checked the ducky over, got us some duck food, and advised us on what to do with the little guy. so yes, he journeyed back to kentucky in our car and now he's in his new home, with us. :)

meet Lucky the duck.

jacob made Lucky a sign for his temporary dwelling.

and while we're on the subjuct of farm animals... last week i was able to get kate's hair into her first piggy tails. it was a happy day for me! and for her too, i suppose! :)