PRISON BREAK!!!!!

Today was the first day outside for all the new little peeps. Grandpa got me a wire 'fence' put together to contain them. I corralled them all in their stock tank, loaded them in a box (which is more difficult than you'd think.. corralling 12 baby chickens is liken to corralling 12 two year olds running free in a field)

When you reach into the stock tank to grab them, they all scurry together, to and fro, hiding in the most lucrative spots, of which they are none, so instead, they just pile on top of each other in a frantic roiling ball of chicken feathers and beaks, screeching. 

As chicken luck would have it, I managed to get them all into the box, dumped them into their little circular wire fence and stood up to watch them, PRISON BREAK.. the littlest 6 were escaping, from this side and that side, and over there, and over here, and as fast as I could grab one and toss her back in the circle, out another one popped and another and they were everywhere and in a moment of panic, I started screaming, “PRISON BREAK, PRISON BREAK, HELP!!” as I was grabbing and tossing and losing ground. (yet another good reason we don't live in town...)

At which point, Grandpa shows up - probably in response to the screams - but I think just to make fun of me.... and calmly pointed out, as only wise old men can do, "Why don't you just put them back in the box instead of in the wire?"

hmmm... well, maybe he had a point... but that was beside the point....

So I manage to catch all of the baby 6, ooppsss. except for one little tiny Silver Lace beauty who managed to escape. As I chased her, she ran faster and faster, back and forth, here and there. I ran to grab the pond net, came back and found she'd hidden herself safely UNDER the trailer sitting in the yard. Alas, I was not deterred and managed to scare her out from under there and capture her with the net. 

By now, Grandpa has gotten some smaller gauge wire and made the pen baby proof (Really, this whole fiasco was kind of HIS fault, wasn't it!!) so all the little peeps enjoyed a few minutes of fresh grass and sunshine for their first outdoor adventure. In the meantime, my big 3 girls were in the garden scratching up my pea seed....

Chickens....the life of a chicken farmer....