Chicks, Man! (Warning, super cuteness ahead...)

Are these not the cutest things you have ever seen? I mean, CUTE CUTE CUTE! The Post Office called this morning and said that my chicks were in! So we hurried to get ready and pick them up. R was just enamored with them the second the nice lady put them on the counter. Oh my goodness. The box was only as big as a shoebox, but all 25 chicks were huddled in there. We stopped by the feed store to pick up some chick feed, a waterer, and a food holder. Boy they sure like that water and food. Chickens absorb the yolk sack right before they hatch, so they do not need to eat for 2-3 days after hatching. But it's been 2 days and mine were STARVING! And chickens are not born knowing how to drink. So I had to pull each chick out, dip it's beak into the water, make sure it was doing the little swallow thing, then show them how to peck the food. Wow. Lots of work! But their cuteness makes it all worth it! I cut the side off of a toilet box and filled it with a little hay and let them loose. They are SO funny. It's like watching 5 year olds play basketball. One will peep loudly at the water, and then they must ALL go get water. And not wait until there's room, jumping on each other, pushing, shoving, pecking are all allowed. Then one will peep loudly at the food, and they all rush over to the food, as if they haven't eaten in days (when, in fact, they were just eating 2 seconds ago). Same rules apply. Get food at all cost, no matter what's in the way. But, cute, cute, cute! R is a little aggressive with them, so she has been banned from the chicken box until she can calm down a little. They're inside, because, of course, it's the coldest days of the spring so far. But, we have a heat lamp, just no fixture to put the bulb in. So once we get that, they'll go out in the garage. Only so much cuteness can make up for the stink of chickens. Time for lunch and then more chicken time.