New Chicks
I was awakened yesterday morning by a phone call from the post office. "Are you expecting a delivery of chicks?" I was, I told him. I'd be there within the hour. Sunday had not been as restful as it usually was for me. In addition to attending church in the morning and in the evening, I had spent the rest of my day, "getting the cow out of the well". (See Luke 14:1-6) We spent most of the day Saturday preparing the chicken house, but we were unable to complete the project, so we had to finish it on Sunday afternoon.
After numerous delays, my youngest and I drove the 10 or so miles to our rural post office where the chicks were delivered. The post man seemed fascinated with a box of cheeping little cuties serenading him. I let my daughter hold the box in her lap, and we drove back home cheep, cheep, cheeping all the way.
It took us some time to get the little brooder area for our little chicks, but eventually we placed them one by one into their new home.
Just before a chick hatches from the egg, it ingests the yoke. A chick can live on this for up to 3 days. Hatcheries count on this when mailing chicks. When the chicks arrive at their destination, they are hungry and ready to eat. Since these chicks have no mother hen to teach them how to find their food and drink, it becomes the job of the chicken farmer to do it. As we placed our chicks in the brooder area, we had to show each one their food and water. It only takes once for most of the chicks, and they find their way back.
Every so often one of the chicks either doesn't find its food and water or the other chickens keep it away from the food source. Eventually the chick gets weak and dies. Two days after the chicks arrived, one poor little chick for some reason didn't get to the food and eventually the other chicks tromped on it. When I arrived to check on the chicks, it was almost dead. I took the little chick and held it my hands until it warmed up and then gave it some water. My daughter and I took turns nursing it along for a couple of hours. It gradually revived to the point where I felt I could leave it unattended. We got a cardboard box, lined it with soft fabric and gave the chick food and water. We put the chicken under a warm light so it would not get chilled. Not more than an hour after later, the poor little bird was gone.
As I contemplated what had happened, I thought about how the little bird had almost begun to thrive again under watchful care. As soon as we stopped holding it and talking gently to it, it seemed to give up wanting to live. I suppose the chick wouldn't have made it anyway. Most likely, it was hurt when the other chicks trampled it, yet it made me think about the loving care of our Heavenly Father. Unlike me, He doesn't get tired of caring for me, and He doesn't put me down and leave me when it appears that things are going well. He said, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
How thankful I am for God's loving care.
After numerous delays, my youngest and I drove the 10 or so miles to our rural post office where the chicks were delivered. The post man seemed fascinated with a box of cheeping little cuties serenading him. I let my daughter hold the box in her lap, and we drove back home cheep, cheep, cheeping all the way.
It took us some time to get the little brooder area for our little chicks, but eventually we placed them one by one into their new home.
Just before a chick hatches from the egg, it ingests the yoke. A chick can live on this for up to 3 days. Hatcheries count on this when mailing chicks. When the chicks arrive at their destination, they are hungry and ready to eat. Since these chicks have no mother hen to teach them how to find their food and drink, it becomes the job of the chicken farmer to do it. As we placed our chicks in the brooder area, we had to show each one their food and water. It only takes once for most of the chicks, and they find their way back.
Every so often one of the chicks either doesn't find its food and water or the other chickens keep it away from the food source. Eventually the chick gets weak and dies. Two days after the chicks arrived, one poor little chick for some reason didn't get to the food and eventually the other chicks tromped on it. When I arrived to check on the chicks, it was almost dead. I took the little chick and held it my hands until it warmed up and then gave it some water. My daughter and I took turns nursing it along for a couple of hours. It gradually revived to the point where I felt I could leave it unattended. We got a cardboard box, lined it with soft fabric and gave the chick food and water. We put the chicken under a warm light so it would not get chilled. Not more than an hour after later, the poor little bird was gone.
As I contemplated what had happened, I thought about how the little bird had almost begun to thrive again under watchful care. As soon as we stopped holding it and talking gently to it, it seemed to give up wanting to live. I suppose the chick wouldn't have made it anyway. Most likely, it was hurt when the other chicks trampled it, yet it made me think about the loving care of our Heavenly Father. Unlike me, He doesn't get tired of caring for me, and He doesn't put me down and leave me when it appears that things are going well. He said, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
How thankful I am for God's loving care.
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