Okay. You don't have to actually guess. But it's not a dog toy that looks inappropriate and smells like chicken. It's not a shovel. It's not an oil-spill soaker squid. It's nothing from the Meat Church.
"Oh, Mom. We now have boxes of baby chicks and ducklings stacked against the wall. The boxes say, 'Live chicks, deliver immediately,' or something like that. I think the people who order them come to pick them up, because I don't think the rural carriers are allowed to transport live animals. Besides, they can't leave them by a mailbox."
"No. Something would eat them. Unless it's a house way down a road where the carrier goes anyway, to the house. Do they make noise?"
"Oh, YEAH! They'be been cheeping since they got here."
"That reminds me of when Genius was in kindergarten, and the teacher moved his seat to where he was by the baby chicks that hatched. Only it wasn't a treat for Genius. It really bothered him. He'd get home and say, 'All day long, CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP! I'm so tired of hearing those chicks!' Can you see inside? Can you go look at them?"
"One of the clerks was over there with the delivery driver, saying, 'Oh, look at their little speckled heads!' I guess they will be there until the people who ordered them come pick them up."
Never a dull moment at The Pony's workplace.
5 comments:
Don't they need to eat every day? What if they're not picked up for a couple of days?
Worried minds want to know...
Sioux,
Baby chicks can survive 3 days without food and water after hatching. I looked it up. They still have energy from the yolk. I don't know how long it takes to get them where they're going. I guess you would need to order them from the closest available chick-shipper. I also read that UPS and FedEx are not allowed to ship live chicks. Then I found this informative article:
https://www.countryliving.com/life/kids-pets/a42620/how-baby-chicks-get-shipped-across-country/
I hope they get picked up very soon, I'd hate to think chicks are dying because the new owners can't get there for any reason.
But, how old are they? Who knows how long they await the new care taker! Seems cruel to me. I have seen them in farm stores, but they had food and water available and heat lamps. I had some pet chicks when I was a young teen. two hens and a rooster. Herbert, Cynthia and Rebecca. The hens had broken legs and I splinted them and they grew into fine layers of eggs. My grandmother accidentally stepped on them and gave them to me. The little rooster was quite a looker. He was black with iridescent greens and blues on his feathers. He was also mean. He spurred me and I cried. He spurred my Dad and he kicked him across the chicken yard. He spurred Mother and she chopped his head off, dressed him out and served him for dinner. Mother was not touchy feely when it came to such issues. I didn't eat that night.
River,
I would imagine the buyers would get there as soon as they were notified. They spent good money on those chicks! They're CHEEPING, so they must be healthy. I don't know how long they were at the post office. The Pony could have been talking about them being there the day he went in after a day off, or noticing them when he came back to get more mail. I don't think they were there for days. At least not the same ones. Maybe multiple shipments.
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Kathy,
I'm betting they were three days or less when they were ready for pickup. I'd be worried if the weren't making noise!
We had a Bantam rooster that flew at Farmer H's belly every time he went to feed the chickens. Farmer H whacked him with a blue plastic snow shovel. It deterred him for a few days.
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