Chick arrival

Day-old chicks arrived at the newly expanded chicken coop! 200 were snuggled into 2 flat boxes and went for the ride of their short lives. They were picked up from Kampala at 7:00 AM. The boxes of chicks sat next to Pauline and her 2 year old son, Keith, in a minivan. Unfortunately, the minivan (public transportation) knocked a kid off of his bike during the journey. I believe he is fine. They sat on the side of the road for 1 ½ hours while the police took the information. When they reached Fort Portal, they found a truck that they sat in the front seat of and waited until 6:30 for it to fill up with passengers. The whole time, Keith wanted to get his hands on the peeping chicks. When they finally reached Bundibugyo town it was so late that it was hard to find transport for the last ½ hour leg. Reaching the mission at 11:00 PM, they found that Basaija, the chicken keeper, had given up and gone home. Pauline and Keith slept in the chicken coop to keep an eye on them.

During the first few days, they need constant attention to make sure they don’t drown in their drinkers or overheat near the clay pot filled with warm charcoal. I found them this morning running around the coop and snuggling to stay toasty near the pot. The journey was a success.