I nearly killed my baby chicks yesterday. I had them for less than two hours, and I nearly killed them.

Yesterday was much anticipated. The Equestrian and I sat on the couch one day last November and pre-ordered baby chicks to arrive the first week of February. We may have gone overboard with our order…in fact, we did. I had to call back a few weeks later and cut the order in half. I know, I know. I have a problem, and I’m dealing with it. One day I’ll have a chicken palace and be able to order chicks until the cows come home, but for now, I have to work with the space I have. Anyway, yesterday we got the call from the post office that they were ready for pick up and we headed out to bring them home.

The brooder had been prepared for them. Heaters were turned on. Water was filled. Food was plentiful. I did what every decent chicken tender does and lovingly placed them, one by one, in the brooder, dipping their tiny beaks into the water and guiding them to the warmth of the brooder. Lots of pictures and giddy sighs later, I went inside to do some work. By this time they were all tucked up under their brooder, snug as can be.

An hour or so later, I came out to the shop to check on them. Half of them had wandered out from under the plate and were freezing. They were shivering, barely holding on to life. I got them all back under the heater and headed inside to tell The Equestrian that I didn’t think they’d make it. I am not exaggerating when I say I thought I had killed half of my newly arrived chicks within hours of their arrival. What kind of Chicken Mom am I?!

I realized that with the weather only getting colder this weekend (a high of 20° F on Saturday) that the shop was no longer a viable solution for this batch of babies…at least not for the next couple of weeks. They had to be moved inside. Despite all our prep work to get the brooder ready for these little ones, the shop’s temperature simply was not conducive to their survival – even with multiple heaters in their brooder. I made a comment to The Equestrian about needing to move them inside and within seconds, she had sprung into action.

We She moved our big dog kennel from the basement into the front room and set it up. I found some cardboard to make a “skirt” of sorts around the bottom so they couldn’t escape. She brought in newspaper to line the “new” brooder. I got the food and water. But here’s where she really shined: she gathered up the chicks and brought them near the fire to help warm them up. She spoke gently to them as she held them in her hands, encouraging them to hold on to life. Now, twenty-four hours later, every single one of these little birds is vocal, vibrant, and vivacious.

I’m telling you, this young woman is an animal whisperer. Need help wrangling up the pigs? Call The Equestrian. Opossum wander into the barn and you need it trapped? Call The Equestrian. Mare getting sassy in your face? No problem for this girl. Accidently and unintentionally freeze your baby chicks? Call. The. Equestrian.

After the initial shock and stress of The Great Freeze That Almost Was, I sat on the couch to take a breather. The Equestrian, her job well done, headed upstairs to get back to her school work. I told her that I didn’t know what I would have done without her. It’s true, I don’t. I didn’t have the bandwidth yesterday to get all that extra work done. I don’t think it’s too hyperbolic to say they would have met certain death if she hadn’t been here to help me intervene. She jumped in with joy and purpose, without complaint. She truly was my Miracle Max. I’m so grateful to be her momma.

~Louise