Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Baby Chicks and Broken Hearts

In case you missed it in an earlier post, I have a brother-in-law who has been un-invited from future Easter celebrations at my house due to the fact that he likes to bring ALL of the children live animals as gifts. Okay, he's not un-invited but we will be checking vehicles next year as they enter the premises. A few years ago he brought baby ducks. Oh yes, it provided wonderful photo ops for this camera yielding mommy, but then what?  They eat, they poop, and they need a pond that we don't have in our 1 acre yard. They ended up going home with another family member who had a perfect place to keep them - a farm!

This year he thought it would be a cute idea to bring baby chicks. 
My children were so thrilled!
Emily
Shelby
Tyler
Emily's chicken met it's demise shortly after he arrived. He was left outside in an Easter Bucket and Oscar (the wiener dog) went outside to potty. He decided that the baby chick was more like a toy than a living creature. He managed to toss the chick up in the air enough that he put it to sleep...permanently. It's just as well because Emily squeezed the poor thing so hard (more than once) that it almost passed out. I think that the dog was a welcomed change from the 19 month old baby girl!

Shelby's chicken lived a couple of days. We came home from school and it was "sleeping" in the box. Shelby picked it up and it did not move. She was a little upest but not too bad. She took it pretty well. Probably because Tyler's was still alive...barely!

Tyler did not handle the demise of his chicken as well. When he realized that his chicken was most likely going to meet the same dreadful fate as his sister's he was mortified and heart broken. He cried uncontrollably for at least an hour saying that he did not want his chicken to go live in Heaven with God. He wanted the chicken to stay HERE with him. I must admit that it was a tough thing to see. I was sure wishing that I had taken some sort of medical coding training courses or knew something to do to "fix" it!  He was absolutely crushed that he was watching his little chick gasp for breath. He insisted that he get a towel and wrap the chicken up inside so that it would stay warm and comfortable. He held it for a long time. Finally at bedtime he said his goodbyes in hopes that the chick would be all better by morning.

When we woke up the next day I never mentioned the chick so as not to start up the drama before school. Right before time to leave, Tyler remembered the impending doom facing his new friend and ran out the laundry room to discover that the chicken had indeed met the same fate as his siblings. He was not upset. He was okay with this. He decided that we were going to go to Eddie's house that afternoon and "get some more"!

8 comments, add yours here:

Anonymous said...

I'd be having a talk with that bil. Just saying.

Big hugs xo

Anonymous said...

i would figure out a way to talk with Brother-in-law to politely ask not to bring chicks, ducks or rabbits for Easter. Those are more appropriate for farm properties

Goldfish? That might be a better choice if he were to choose an animal.

Linda said...

Perhaps your BIL could bring animals that are already dead - i.e., stuffed ones instead? Not only is it traumatic for the kids when the little things pass on it but it's cruel for the animals, too.

Besides, when cute little chicks grow up they become ugly big chickens!

Sandee said...

Poor things. BIL needs to be told in no uncertain terms not to do that again. Ever.

Have a terrific day. Big hug. :)

Patois42 said...

I say you hide the remains of the chicks in BIL's car. He won't make the same mistake.

@Dayngr said...

Dayum! What the heck killed the ones that the dog didn't get to?

Twisted Cinderella said...

Oh dear, I would definitely request non-living gifts for future visits. How heart-breaking.

tree said...

That's so sad. Baby chicks don't have feathers to keep them warm. You have to keep them under heat lamps (brooder) or under mama hen or they will die rather quickly. Poor little things.