"They're Alive!"

The keets arrived at the Surry Post Office yesterday morning. Kris ran from our house all the way to Virgil's driveway and made record time from there to the post office. Any one on the north bend road that saw a streak and heard a whoosh yesterday morning was probably just being passed by a very excited new guinea keet mother. Anyway, while Kris ran to the post office I filled the waterer and put some feed in the little feeders and was coming down the steps when Kris came back.

"Did you forget the keys?" I asked.
"No, I have the Keets! she replied breathlessly and brushed past me in a blur taking steps two at a time. I could hear the keets cheeping in the box and Kris was cheeping back to them. Mother hen was bonding with her chicks and the box wasn't open yet. I headed back up stairs and into the heated room with the brooder. Mother hen was already putting keets in their new home. She had one side of the screen that covers the brooder balanced on her head and was opening the shipping box and carefully lifting each one out of the box and dipping their beaks in the waterer before setting the birds down. She was teaching them where the water was and giving them their first drink. She cheeped to each chick during this process and they cheeped back at "mom" and then ran off to explore the brooder.

I suppose that this is better for the keets than just opening the box and dumping them in, kinda shaking them out a few at a time. I was impressed. I was even more impressed later when she told me she found a few with sticky butts and had gently taken warm water and rubbed their little bottoms to clean them and stimulate a proper bowel movement. Way to go mom. I favor letting them eat and creating enough internal pressure that anything blocking their tiny bums is pushed out of the way without my help. To be honest, I have never really looked at bird bottoms with more than a passing glance and certainly would have missed this "sticky situation." (I was going to say I had never really looked at chick bottoms with more than a passing glance-- but that statement would not be entirely true.)

Kris spent a large part of yesterday playing with the keets, socializing them, getting them used to her voice and using the call that will eventually bring them home to roost at night when they are finally turned loose. Training starts immediately at Missed Skeet Farm. I am wondering what will happen when "Mom" turns them loose and then tries to walk out the road and leave.

So the birds are here and safe. The US Postal Service has come through again and will no longer be getting calls from Kris trying to track her flock, and I need to get busy and finish the Keet Kondo. They may grow faster than I can build these days.

Oh, yeah. Kris moved a hundred bales of hay from one side of the barn to the other yesterday, while I went to town and did banking. This is to make room for the new goat babies that will be coming. It must have been the burst of energy expectant mothers get just before the babies arrive. I'm guessing this means the goat babies are going to be here soon.

I have to run , I got lots to do!