Peeps

I cannot believe I haven't posted here in nearly two months. I have been attending to adding a second department to my supervision at work (suffice it to say that the new department lost their supervisor because of indiscrepancies in management, and there is now a situation where those who were not supervised are now supervised). The kids are having a lot of musical performances and school activities. I have been trying to write on the dissertation. I have been cleaning the house and trying to get things organized. And, we got chickens.

I have wanted chickens for a long time, and once I decided on the breed (Buckeyes, a heritage breed developed in Ohio), I searched for a person who bred the birds. Last weekend, after some preparation of EG's old music studio, we brought the babies home. Six girls--allegedly. From what I understand, chickens can be sexed at hatching, and then when they start to feather. There is a video on youtube which will show you how--please note that I did not avail myself of this opportunity yet.

Anyway, we already exist in zones in this house. The cats live upstairs with the girls (which, now that I think about it, may explain their apparent neuroses). The dogs live on the main level, except for Nash, who exists only in the eastern half. He is constantly tied because he is convinced that we have an infestation of cats which he could remedy in one assault. The cats come down at night while Nash is locked in the boy's room and Penny is crated. The rabbits live in the living room, and Nash is crated while we are out of the house because of his apparent interest in removing them from the house.

Of course, the Mom in me became concerned about the peeps being out behind the garage in the barn, so I opted to bring them to the basement. So we have a third tier in the animal kingdom--chick zone, aka "The Basement." Now everyone who goes downstairs has to remember to shut the door so the cats (if they get past Nash) don't get to the peeps.

I am enjoying watching the peeps--Buckeyes feather fast, apparently, as the girls already have wing feathers and are growing tail feathers. They have personality and are entertaining to watch and are remarkably low maintenance. However, as they grow, I can see that they will have to go out to the barn. For their sake as well as mine.