Meet our new babysitters!
Two little chicks.
You may remember the story of Stripey the Hen sitting on her eggs with dedication for 3 weeks.
None of them hatched, so Yaakov, the breeder who sold us those fertilized eggs, offered to compensate us with chicks.
That meant a family trip to his farm on Moshav Tifrach, down south near Ofakim. Yaakov gave us a tour of his impressive empire of egg-layers- chickens, ducks, geese, quail, pheasant. My kids loved all the animals but I was most impressed by Yaakov himself. It’s not often you meet such a gentle and patient person. He gave us so much time and seemed to enjoy my kids’ enjoyment. (My kids are long-time friends of the fowl, so they were very hands-on)
We watched chicks hatching in the incubator and then he let us pick two heritage-bred week-old chicks. We picked a Brahma and an Orpington. We met their parents and they are stunning birds and decent layers. Since we brought them home, my kids have spent endless hours with the chicks, which is just as well, since we are in voluntary lockdown, and no one has school or camp.
I joke that I have two chicks as babysitters, which makes me twice as responsible as the mother in “The Cat in the Hat”, who leaves a goldfish in charge of her kids! (I’m just in the other room working, I promise!)
If anyone is looking for a very wholesome way to keep the kids entertained this summer, I’m happy to share Yaakov’s contact details.You too could get a chick to babysit your “chicks.”