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…of the chicken kind! After a disaster of an interaction between Chris, our dog, and a skunk we spontaneously decided to get more chickens to join the five we already have.
Ok, ok. I owe a brief overview of our skunk adventure. Around 9:00 pm on Sunday, Chris, and our dog were outside. Our dog, Athena, thought it would be a really good idea to play with a skunk. The skunk, of course, wasn’t having it and sprayed Athena in the face. I can attest that skunk is NOT a smell you ever want in your home! An instant flurry of panic ensued while I tried to clean our dog and calm our girls that were promptly woken up by the vile smell. Chris promptly decided that finding the skunk was a necessary evil, considering it could have been injured. The skunk had different plans and ended up getting itself into our garage. While trying to wrangle the skunk without getting sprayed himself, Chris managed to get bit by the skunk. Off to the emergency room he went and I was left to get the girls back in bed.
Two weeks later and I think we’ve officially crossed a major milestone of having the smell out of the house. If you live have a dog, stock up on Nature’s Miracle Lavender Odor Remover! Our carpet, mudroom tile, towels, and even the dog’s bed were able to be rid of skunk stench and were left with a minor lavender smell. I can’t say how much this product saved my sanity!! I’m all about natural and easy cleaning solutions but there is not enough baking soda, dish soap, and vinegar to do what that product can!
A few days later Chris and I were at Tractor Supply ooo-ing and aww-ing over all the baby chicks. I casually mentioned that I’d love to have more chickens without thinking anything of it. To my surprise, Chris said yes and before we knew it, we were stocking up on necessities and bringing six new babies home (our state requires a minimum purchase of six chicks)! This time around we got risky and chose breeds that weren’t sexed knowing we may end up with more than one rooster. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there! That night, we had three Rhode Island Reds, two Silky Bantams and an unknown Bantam (it was sooooo small!!).
The next day, one of our Silky’s wasn’t doing so well and ended up passing away. Chris brought it back to Tractor Supply and they replaced the chick without hesitation. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any more Silkies to choose from so he brought home a sexed Black Star. I have to give Tractor Supply a lot of credit and happy praise for their handling of the situation. We thought we were in the clear until this past Saturday. I walked past the chicks and noticed our unknown Bantam (the little brown and white striped one) was on its back. After trying to startle it to move with no luck, I realized something was very wrong. Not long after, it took its last breathe while I was holding it. We don’t know what happened so we’re keeping an eye on the rest to be sure they aren’t passing something around.
Here’s to hoping we’re in the clear and these little babies will join the others outside in a few weeks!
