Cock Fights & Squirrel Bites
Well, the month of March was eventful. We lost a hen due to a cock fight around the middle of the month. That landed a certain Jerk Chicken in a kennel to prevent it from happening again. And then we sold the four bantams, one of which was a rooster (more like Chihuahua). We now have one large rooster, which was all we were supposed to have in the first place. But we have only three hens now. Never fear! I ordered more hens!! My husband is beginning to understand chicken math. Not entirely. Juuuuust a little bit. See, I was trying to convince him that we needed fifteen hens in addition to what we already had because the cost of those hens plus shipping would cost less than to purchase fewer chickens for a higher shipping price. And since he said I had to get rid of five chickens, the chicken math adds up to fifteen soooooooooo *shrug* I ordered two Golden Lace Wyandottes, two Buff Brahmas, two Queen Greens, and two Frizzles (those look like they stuck their beaks in light sockets). Awesome!
As a result of losing a hen to a cock fight, said Jerk Chicken became dumplins. That was an interesting process. Having never done it before ourselves, we felt a little out of our element, but we got r dun. The smell of wet chicken is not nice. Pluckin' a chicken is rather simple, however. David informed me, "Mom, I'm not eating that chicken. I'm gonna be sick!" For the record, he ate the chicken. And also for the record, eating a hen is far more tender than eating a rooster. But I'm sure several people could have already told us that. He was (sadly) in that kennel for two weeks while I waited for someone to take him somewhere that he could be part of a larger flock, but that didn't happen. We weren't left with another choice unfortunately. Worth the work to get a meal out of him though. *shrug*
Squirrels. Those critters are not cute. And they bite HARD! Yes, I had the unfortunate displeasure of being bitten by a squirrel.
Isaac saw a squirrel fall out of a tree. How the squirrel fell out of a tree, I have no idea. However, he picked up said squirrel and proceeded to bring it to me. When I realized what he had in his hands, I saw the squirrel's front paws moving. Knowing it was hurt and semi conscious, I told Isaac he needed to give it to me. The squirrel came to and made it to the ground. Isaac pinned it again after I realized its back legs weren't working. In an attempt to keep the dogs from playing it to death, I placed my hand in front of Isaac's just as it turned its body around, grabbed my thumb, and put its teeth through my knuckle. It bled a lot. I could not believe how much blood poured out of my thumb!
Funny thing though. When I contacted a friend asking her to make a trip to the store because I could not find my antibiotic ointment, the shock in response to why I needed it, was well deserved. And I ended up with two more friends at my house who happen to be EMTs. They expected I would need stitches. Guess I did a good job wrenchin' that sucker's teeth outta my knuckle!
When it was all over, we all laughed about the situation. It didn't make my thumb hurt any less, but I digress. Playing volleyball was an interesting feat as well. And the looks from those at church who saw my thumb wrapped in gauze was again, well deserved. But at least I wasn't insulted with some snide comment about being an idiot for attempting to hand feed squirrel or something. Apparently, that was the general response of Paul's coworkers in Alabama. Thanks guys. Really.
Isaac is lucky I was bitten and not him. I had to pry that bugger's mouth open and then wrench its teeth out of three holes in my thumb like a fish hook. I think everyone learned some valuable lessons that day: Squirrels are not cute. Squirrel bites are awful. And do NOT pick up stunned squirrels ISAAC!!!!!!!