What a Day!

Today started out awesomely, then just got progessively worse....

As you know, if you read my previous post, I got the peeps moved into their new Peep House first thing this morning. Within 10 minutes of moving all 31 peeps into their new roomy abode, the pecking started. Huh?! Here's what's really weird; I noticed them pecking each other every single time I took them out of the house and out into the outdoors where they had more room to roam, grass and bugs to keep them happy. They never pecked each other while inside in their brooders, under a heat lamp and in tighter quarters than outside. As soon as they entered natural light, blam! They started pecking each other and making their little bums bleed. I'd take the wounded peeps back into the house and they'd be fine.

Today's first pecking victim I took back into one of the indoor brooders with another peep for company. They were fine. So I went about my chores...burning trash, taking out compost, pulling some weeds, then lunch.

After lunch I drove over to the place with the bamboo, and dug up 11 clumps of bamboo. If I'd have been counting, I would have dug up one more just to make it an even dozen. When I returned home, I unloaded the bamboo, then checked the peeps.

ARGH! They were at it again! More peeps with bloody bums and being chased around and being pecked by other peeps! What the heck?! I'd catch the main peep being chased by the others, and by the time I got back from taking that one back inside, another one was being terrorized. Then things would calm down, and I had time to plant a couple bamboo plants, then have to rescue more peeps, then I had a chance to start supper (BBQ ribs for Hubby Dean), then rescue more peeps, then plant some more bamboo, then dash off to a 911 call for chest pains less than a mile up the road.

When I got back from the 911 call, I had to rescue a couple more peeps and continue working on supper. I did eventually finish planting the bamboo, but by now supper was just a little over-cooked. Drats!

The peeps I've been bringing inside have been placed back into their old brooders with a red light burning instead of their normal heat lamp. Supposedly red lights help prevent them from pecking each other. But what I find really weird is the fact that they started pecking each other as soon as they got outside. More room. Fresh air. Bugs. Grass and weeds. What more could a peep want?

Now it's almost 10 p.m., we just finished supper about an hour ago. I got some of the dishes done...the rest can wait until tomorrow! Right now I think I need a big glass of wine. Or, maybe I should give the wine to the peeps...perhaps that would calm them down a bit!