Yesterday was finally our day! After what seemed years of pouring over breeds, planning their home, how we were going to do it, it finally happened-we brought some fluffies home!
There was a saying we used to have when I sold real estate 'Push it to the table' what it meant was when there were many people involved, many opinions, many demands, we would just take the deal and push it to the closing table - it was a way to make things happen - and 9 times out of 10 the deal would close.
I woke up yesterday knowing it was the day. It just was. I had wanted xyz breeds and special birds from this catalog and that - yet i could not find one where you could buy less than 15 birds. My heart sank, no way could I have that many I had to keep the number under 10 - my initial goal was 6. I decided to wait until the next poultry show in may to get them...only I just couldn't wait anymore. The timing felt just right for some reason. So I did what I've learned to do...I pushed it to the table.
I walked into Tractor Supply, heard the chirping and said "Hi, today is the day" I must have looked like a happy little psycho because I couldn't stop smiling. The staff caught on. There was an older woman working the register 'I'll get you some help hon - my my you sure do look happy!'
A young guy came over and gave me a 15 minute crash course, reassuring me that if I had any trouble or questions at any time I was to come right in. A life line. He said the staff are more than equipped to help, many of them have farms and know what to do. He has 60 chickens and goats. I left with a chirping box, 50 lbs of feed, feeders, temp gauge, A scary looking Frankenstein heat lamp, and enough pine shavings to carpet my house. But I left with something more...I left with a full heart, really big. When something is just right, the body sure does tell you!
I got home and set it up in a large tote (no one seems to carry big galvanized dog bath tubs anymore-God I miss Hamburg Hardware!) I strapped the scary heat lamp to an old lamp stand. Getting the temp correct was the hardest part, I kept having to move it back and forth. But the chicks didn't seem to mind at all! They ate ALOT and drank ALOT. All of the sudden they all got quiet and laid down - I thought I had a mass death on my hands but apparently this is what they do...and a peace came over me. Just peace. You know when you are on the right path...I felt like that little kid from the movie The Goonies, he is on the verge of a great adventure and he quietly whispers...
'It all starts here'...And so did I!
