I'm Checking the Peeps...well, helping at least

Sorry I didn't get this in yesterday...two reasons..1. I never got more than 10 minutes on the computer at a time yesterday (and yes this takes me a lot more than that to do) and 2.  I couldn't figure out how to get back into this!  I had no idea my user name, or which e-mail account I used (I set up a new one for Rod, and google made me do one to get a blog, etc.)  But after 20 minutes of pushing buttons to help figure that all out, I am on!

So...checking the peeps!  What an experience....I can't say it was exactly like I expected, but I wasn't totally off either.  I really wasn't sure how I would react to picking up the dead peeps.  I really wasn't sure I would like this part of the job, but I was still excited to be doing it.

Side note for those who have just met me through this blog...I had asked Rod about helping before we were married, but he kept telling me, "Not yet."  I think he was a genius....this only made me want to do it more!

Ok..back to the work.  Rod had said he would teach me about checking the peeps just in case I ever needed to do it for him.  I was again thrilled to have another job I could learn.  You must remember..this is all new and exciting...to me its an adventure...I know to those of you who have done this practically all your life, I am crazy to be excited...but just try to remember the first time you got to do something that you have been wanting to do a LONG time!

So, Sunday after church and after lunch, Rod said, "Go get your chicken house clothes on."  Oh, boy! here we go!  First problem....what do I wear for my chicken house clothes?  I knew it would be hot and dirty.
So I put on my tried and true tie-dyed Juniata t-shirt..the most comfortable one I have...and jeans.  But what shoes?  I asked Rod.  He said I could wear my old sneakers, but I would have dirt (poop and sawdust) in them by the time we were done.  So I asked about my boots.  With a smile on his face, he said they would work and I could wash them off afterwards.  So that is how I got to wear my black and white hounds-tooth boots that you see in my picture. Hahaha..quite the outfit, don't you think?

So, after getting my picture taken(because this was a momentous occasion you know!), we were off to check the chickens.  I thought we would walk up straight through on one side, and then straight back through on the other side.  I mean really...how hard is that.  I knew we would pick up dead peeps along the way putting them into our bucket.  Little did I know that you must zig-zag through on each side, stepping over the water line, then the feeders, and then another waterline. And back across the waterline, the feeder, and the other waterline. My legs are in for a good workout when I do this job! :)  When you get to the wall, you just tap it a little bit to make the peeps (or chickens) move so you can see if there are any dead ones. You do this the whole way down the chicken house, and the whole way back! I figured I had to step over stuff at least 60 times per floor!!  You don't want to trip over the waterlines or run into the cords holding them up...if you fall, you are falling into the sawdust and POOP! YUCK!

 As you pick up the dead ones, you must count them.  All is good until you get to the divider (which Rod made his size...not thinking that his wife would be shorter than him trying to get over it! When you cross the divider, you are now with another type (in this case color) of chicken, so you must remember both counts. I am so glad I like numbers and math!

How I did...and my reactions...well, I really didn't have a hard time picking up the dead ..little...peeps..by the legs.  I felt bad for each one though.  But some of the dead were actually flat! Trampled by the other peeps.  They were sort of gross, but still, I could do that.  (I had worked and gone to school to be a veterinary assistant, so I have seen and worked with dead animals before)  The hardest, most nerve-wracking part....the little peeps who were almost dead, you knew they were dying!  I didn't know what to do about them.  So, I asked Rod...he said, "I'll take care of them."  So, I kept going.  Then I felt this thud in my bucket.  He had taken care of that poor peep.  Yes, you must kill them...then they don't need to suffer a long death I told myself.  What I didn't think about....like all animals quickly killed....the body still flops!  So, here in my bucket, was a poor, little, dead flopping peep!!!! Not an experience or feeling I will soon forget! Thankfully there were very, very few of them!

Checking chickens when they are peeps, I believe will be easier than when they are full grown.  (That bucket of dead chickens will probably get heavy!), but Rod assures me there are less dead ones when they get older.  I hope so!

I can't say I am really going to like this job.  I am happy to know that I can, though.  I was afraid I might get grossed out and want to gag, but I didn't.  I wasn't sure I would like touching the dead peeps legs....it didn't bother me.  And when I told my dad about the one Rod put in, and how I didn't like that, he said, "I guess you'll just have to toughen up!" hahaha...and my dad is one of the smartest men I know.