The kittens got their rabies vaccinations today. they are officially done with shots for the year. Now we just have to wait for spay and neuter surgeries in June.
This evening we went to Little Falls. We had hatched out four chicks last week. The cat got two, then one died spontaneously last night, and the last chick is lonely. Off to Tractor Supply. I've never bought chicks from a store before, but I had been there once before to look. There wasn't much selection, and unlike so many people in my homesteading groups, this Tractor Supply didn't have any of those super awesome 50-cents a chick kind of sales. These chicks were $2.99 each. After looking them over for a while, I decided it was worth the price to make the black chick at home feel better. The minimum was 4 chicks, so we picked up three California White and one Golden Comet. All are supposed to be sexed as pullets, so when they grow up we won't have to worry about extra roosters. One of the California Whites has a tan/brown spot instead of black. I just had to have that one. I'm a magnet for weird and different.
While at Tractor Supply, my husband (still out in the parking lot) met with someone to purchase a special something...
She doesn't have a name yet. I'm hoping Tony picks one a little sooner than last time. It took a long time for him to pick a name. The kids love her, which is good. They all want her to sleep in their beds, but she's not housebroken yet, so that's not going to happen. We have a kennel in the kitchen for her. I hate kenneling, but she's new and I want her accidents at least somewhat contained to one area. She certainly isn't ready for free-ranging in the house while unattended.
I bought collars for all the kittens today. They're still a little too small (the collars are too big), but they're pretty cute. I got a pink one for Butter Beer, a blue one for Ginger Bear, a red one for Cloud (now Benntlei), a purple one for Blue Star, and an aqua one for Yuri. I have a cute rainbow one for Amos. I had to buy a puppy collar so it wouldn't have a bell, which would make it harder for him to know what's going on around him. Unfortunately that collar is a bit bigger than the others, and Amos is small yet, so it falls right off of him. Amos' collar is set aside for now. Maybe when he's a bit bigger.
We are watching the weather. We have anywhere from 8-26 inches of snow in the forecast. They seem to be changing it every few hours. It's supposed to start tomorrow night and go through Friday. I have to put my fruit trees in the garage for a bit to keep them safe, but beyond that, I think we will be alright. It should all melt again by next week.