New Chicks and Piglets

Saturday morning I woke up a bundle of nerves. I was taking the kids with me to pick up some new animals for the farm. We had stayed the night in Halifax so we could leave early to drive to Londonderry which is 15 minutes north of Truro. I wasn't completely sure of where I was going. I had no idea how the kids would react to almost 5 hours of driving. It was a sunny day so I needed to get back to the farm by noon to vent the greenhouse. Plus the thought of having a 3 hour drive with 20 chicks and 2 piglets in the car was a little daunting.
Thankfully it all turned out well. The kids had their stuffies, snacks and toys. I only made one short wrong turn and the boys were both great as usual. We found the farm and everything was taken care of very quickly. He was great and put the pigs into the back with me. Wow are they ever wild! Apparently Thursday night was the first time they had ever had human contact. I knew then that I would have my work cut out for me. The chicks were so much easier. All the animals are adorable. The pigs are about the size of my cat and the chicks are tiny. I have some that are 2 weeks old, a few that are 1 week old and a couple only 3 days old. I put the open box of chicks in the backseat between the boys for them to look after. The kids were enchanted.

I thanked my fellow farmer and we were on our way. The ride home was a little "scented" but we kept the air on. Once we got back to the farm, I raced to open the greenhouse which had only reached 24 degrees. Then the chickens were let out of their coops and stray eggs collected. Next it was time to move in the new ones.

I'm keeping the piglets in a horse stall for a little while like I did with the previous pigs. This just lets them settle down and begin to get used to us. When they are a little older they will be moved out to pasture. I backed the car up to the stables. Anthony manned the cage door at the car and Navarre was in charge of closing the stall door once I went in with each pig. They were very hard to get a hold of. The first one I managed to get by the hind legs and it was all I could do to get him into the stall. The second one I was able to grab the front legs and take him in a little easier. Both piglets are very tentative but are starting to settle in.

I had planned on keeping the chicks in the barn but realized it just wouldn't be warm enough. So they are now in our dining room. Anthony and Navarre brought them down and Anthony moved them into their new home. They have a heat lamp with a blanket over the cage to keep them warm. The house is now full with the sound of little cheeps.