Operettas and New Chicks

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

The private school where I teach music does a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta each year and has for the past 37 years.  When I took the job I specified that I could not help with the operetta.  Our children were still in elementary school and I knew the time commitment of a performance would be beyond my ability.  This was fine as I was teaching only the elementary grades.

Our enrollment has declined over the past few years so I am now the only music teacher which means I am helping with the operetta.

This year the Gala performance was last Friday evening. We had rehearsals all day every day last week. My Tuesday/Thursday teaching job became a Monday through Friday job.  Brian asked me Wednesday evening if I would have time on Thursday to pick up 25 chicks he had ordered.

I took a deep breath and said “Sure, I can go during lunch.”

Now picking up chicks sounds pretty simple but, remember, they have bird brains.  Each chick must have their beak dipped in the water trough so they know where to get water.  Knowing the limited amount of time I had for lunch, I decided to enlist some help. I couldn’t afford to miss any rehearsal time.

One of the students in the operetta is an experienced chick handler so I took her with me. She knew exactly what to do.

I explained to the directors where I was going and what I was doing.  They had no idea how much was involved with picking up the chicks.  I felt more like an animal science teacher than a music director.

Now we have chicks in the brooder in the garage once again.

We can hear them cheeping happily as we eat breakfast every morning.  I check them regularly to make sure they have food and water along with the quail, big chickens, bantam chickens, dogs and humans.

Helping with the operetta doesn’t seem like so much work any more.

New Chicks – Miller Farm Friday

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We hatched more chicks last week.

Twenty-one of them hatched all on their own. There was one, however, who just couldn’t seem to get out of his shell.

The normal process is for the chicks to “pip” or poke a hole in the shell then they “zip” a line all the way around the shell. Once the line is complete, they can “pop” off the top of the shell and make their entrance into the world.

This chick had pipped and partially zipped. We waited 24 hours and there was still no progress.

We could hear him cheeping so we knew he was still alive. Rachel gently removed the egg and carefully helped the chick out.  He was in the shell upside down so he couldn’t finish zipping and push his way out.

We let him dry and put him with the other chicks in the brooder. He was a little uncoordinated. The other chicks were not particularly welcoming and he protested loudly in his new home. After a few hours, he was accepted and now it is hard to tell which one he is.

I named him Leo after the lion in the book Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego.

I enjoy watching the chicks. They sleep with their heads down on the wire.  It makes me a little nervous because they look dead.

So I hit the top of the brooder and wake them up. They are not happy.I apologize and tell them I’m just “chicken” on them.

I want to introduce them to the Miller sense of humor while they are still young.