Little Boys/Big Blessings!

We had just finished lunch and the children ran off to play when I noticed Dylan coming up to the sliding glass door in front of me with his hands behind his back! Peonies are my favorite perennials and I have some young plants at the end of the house. Each boy has gone through a stage of popping the tight buds off in the spring to throw or do whatever boys do with things like that!! Needless to say, I am often sad when I am left with only a dozen blooms for picking! This year I decided that this too is just a season and in a few more years I will have wished my little boys would be that little again! So, how can I be upset when I see my favorite flowers being delivered by the sweetest and cutest delivery person in the neighborhood!?!

Excitement once again on the Schnoor Farm!

What does it take to earn the label...'Chicken Farmer'?! Do I even want that label? :) My sister has always told me that I need to write down the events of our lives here in the country with six children and a ton of animals! So, here is our story about raising chicks!

Over a month ago, a friend loaned us their incubator and gave me some quick verbal instructions. If you know me you will know that I am a person that gets excited, moves too quickly, gets distracted and sometimes overwhelmed (ha ha) which causes mishaps and quick learning opportunities! I heard her tell me something about the humidity but discounted it until we had our first hatching.

The children plugged in the incubator and ran to the coop to get some eggs! We were set, so we thought. Twenty-one days passed and there was no sign of life. One of the children became curious (and impatient, I don't know where she got that from) and asked if she could crack one open. I told her that she would have to make that decision and warned her of the possibility of a baby chick being in there. She chose to proceed and came to me saying something fell out of the egg into the disposal and she didn't have a chance to see what it was. I came and pulled it out and found a pre-mature chick that was breathing. Three of us stood there feeling horrible! I was so mad in my heart that I had given her that freedom to make that choice. I prayed that God would give me words for the two children standing there. It ended in a teaching opportunity about how precious life is and that we should realize how valuable human life is.

After that sadness, we had one chick hatch successfully! Then we realized that due to the fact that the humidity was only 33% instead of 60%, the chicks were literally glued into the eggs. This was horrible to see. I tried to moisten the chick and peel the shell off but was unable to. Two or three of the chicks were alive but stuck in the shell. That was horrible and I felt so guilty! We were finished with the batch of eggs at this point and I was emotionally finished with eggs...well until the children wanted to put the next batch in the following day and try again.

Trust me, the humidity is now often over 60% and is checked daily! We had our first two chicks hatch wonderfully. The children were able to watch and it was amazing. After they dried for 24 hours in the incubator we transferred them to a guinea pig cage set aside for the chicks. We had some older chicks in there the days prior and it worked out well...the cat never bothered them at all. Well, this time the chicks looked a bit more tempting since they were so little. I was eating breakfast when I saw her with something in her mouth out of the corner of my eye. Immediately, I lunged for her and was able to grab her by the tail before she rushed down the steps to the basement. The chick was sprawling on the top step. The children decided that they hated the cat and began praying for the chick.

To my utter surprise, the chick looked great after an hour of recovery. We moved the cage into my bedroom for the day and told everyone to keep the door closed. This is when Daddy came home after working since 6a.m. and accidentally left the door open. The cat went for the same chick. I got a phone call while I out running an errand from a distraught daughter!

When I came home, I found the chick laying on its' side on a paper towel under a heat lamp on the kitchen counter. There was a syringe of water by it and chick feed. Darcey moved it to my room and left a note that asked everyone to please pray for the chick whenever they looked at her. The chick passed in the night.

We have since wised up again and moved the chicks to Dalton's bedroom and even placed them in his closet! I don't think that he was too keen of the idea but we reminded him that since he doesn't pay rent the room was actually ours! Ha Ha! Gotta love him! So now all of his family migrate to his room every time the announcement is made that a new chick is arriving!

Wheww! What an emotional roller coaster! We have gotten to see 11 chicks hatch and 10 are alive! We are waiting for 18 more eggs which 3 are showing signs of life! The children have spoken about how amazing it is that the chicks are strong enough to break the shell and to know what to do so quickly after it cracks. They are so fragile but we are amazed how God programs them to survive...especially when there are no monster cats to get them and the moisture level is accurate! Things are calm now in our house but I remind the children that the roosters won't be part of the family!

What do you do when a rooster attacks your seven year old?

Yesterday, Dana was heard screaming and running from the shed with Willow close behind. Then we saw Dylan chasing Willow and diverting him by kicking at him! What a hero in the making!

Poor Dana had her leg all scratched up from that mean rooster. So, the question is...what do you do with a mean rooster who continually attacks your seven year old? Off with his head! Boy, were the emotions running over! I think it took us an hour to get everyone to understand that Dana was far more important than that mean rooster!

Once almost everyone understood what needed to be done, a plan was put to motion. Danielle wanted to try to shoot it in the head. Several efforts were made to hold his head still. Finally, the only way was to tie him from a tree. He got away several times but Dalton was able to catch him for us!

Chicken, anyone?