Lazarus chick

Today our spring chicks arrived. What a lovely surprise. We were expecting them in late May. So when the phone rang at 6 am, we were completely unprepared. My brooder and heat lamp are at the kindergarten awaiting their hatch this week and the heat lamp at the house is in use with the month old chicks. "I'm NOT READY!" I hollered.... Brian said that he knew and that he would go get them. So I threw on a coat over my nightgown and headed into the rain to find my spare rubbermaid tub/brooder and find a spare heat lamp and bulb. Emily was awake and I set her to getting the water ready while I set up the light and got hay for he tub. By the time Bri got back, we were ready and all were excited to meet the new arrivals. Yabsira greeted them with his cheerful "Welcome to your new home!" and then we showed him and Enat how to dip the beaks in water so they would begin to drink. With 60+ chicks it took quite a while. When we were done, I was worried to see how crowded they all were under the heat lamp and knew that as soon as I could I was going to need to get an additional tub and heat lamp so I could divide the flock.
The soonest turned out to be after I picked the kids up from school and as I headed in to set up the new area, Emily came screaming out of the sunroom "EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" A limp, soaked little chick was clutched in her hands. I groaned inwardly. If only I had gotten the crowd separated earlier.... I was certain the little form was going to die. "We need to get it dry and see if we can save it!" I declared to the anxious little girl faces. So we trooped into the bathroom to blow it dry. It certainly had been submerged in the waterer and was struggling to pull in air. I tried pushing on it's lung area, then up it's throat and was rewarded with the sight of a little goo oozing from it's beak like saliva. After that it seemed to be able to pull in some air and we resumed blowing it dry and rubbing it's body to fluff the feathers up. Within 5 minutes it was looking a bit fluffy and actually made a little cheep. My heart soared with hope that it might actually make it. In the meantime, Allen had set up the other brooder and had separated the flock, so I was able to just hold little "Lazarus" under the heat lamp until it got aggravated and hopped out of my hand. Within the hour, it was difficult to tell it apart from the other chicks and I am just so thankful. What a lovely thing to happen.
I am currently doing one of the things I love most in life; watching baby chicks. The sound of their contented peeps is as soothing as a waterfall and the sight of them eating, drinking, napping and exploring is as interesting as a fireplace. I thank God for new life and the miracle of spring. And sparing the life of a little baby bird.