Born~
“Young Master Reinhardt, I’m glad you made it back quickly,” Georges said with visible relief.
“Did something happen?”
“The Cocotte chicks hatched today, and Maria is having trouble.”
“They hatched, so what’s the problem?”
“She said she doesn’t know what to feed them.”
Looks like I completely forgot to tell Maria about the chicks’ food.
I was worried about the chicks, but going to see them covered in dust wouldn’t be good, so I hurried into the bath first, then headed to Maria’s workshop.
“Ah, Young Master Reinhardt, you’ve returned. I’m so relieved,” she said, leading me to where the chicks were.
The chicks had sparse, whitish fuzz stuck to their bodies, and every one of them was trembling.
Are they scared of us?
Or just cold?
There were seven in total.
I wanted to ask details, but if the chicks died while we talked, it would be too late. Their bedding and food came first.
“Have you tried giving them anything?”
“They were only born this morning, so not yet.”
“They said crushed nuts, right?”
“What kind of nuts?”
Ciel and Kamui had only said “nuts.” I’d have to catch one of them and ask.
Ciel happened to be perched in the garden tree, so I asked, and he replied with, “Anything should be fine,” in his usual careless way.
“If the chicks die, it’ll be your fault, you know.”
Ciel shook his head hard, then said he’d go ask the Cocotte queen and flew off.
While waiting for Ciel to return, I needed to make their bedding.
When I asked Maria if they had any warm stones left, she showed me a box filled with fist-sized ones.
No flat stones?
I wondered if they had any leftover mismatched pieces from when they made the stone slabs, but none were in the box.
Should I crush these stones down to gravel-size?
That would take time, and even if I made gravel, I’d still need to heat it. On top of that, chicks trying to stand on gravel would wobble from the uneven surface—it wouldn’t be ideal.
While I was stuck thinking, she said, “What about raising them in the bedrock bath?”
“That’d work at first, but they can’t stay there forever.”
The chicks can’t regulate their body temperature yet. A bedrock bath would be far too hot.
“What if we spread straw over these stones?”
“As an emergency measure, maybe we crush them into gravel, lay that down, and put straw on top.”
“And we can lay copper wire under the stones for temperature control, like the incubator.”
“Please. I’ll think of a better long-term solution as fast as I can.”
“And… if possible, could someone else help take care of the chicks?”
“True, Maria’s workload is too big. I’ll consult Father immediately.”
By the way, when I asked if chicks had hatched from both nests, it turned out they came only from the eggs of the female living with the male.
“I heard the chicks have hatched. That’s a step forward for poultry farming.” Father said when I found him.
“We can’t relax until they grow safely. And we still don’t know what to feed them.”
“What? They haven’t eaten anything yet?”
I explained that we knew it was supposed to be powdered nuts, but not what kind. Ciel was currently asking the Cocotte queen.
“And we still need to decide where to raise them and who’ll take care of them.”
“Can we secure enough warm stones?”
“We won’t know until we go into the Great Forest. Even if we find some, there won’t be enough to use widely.”
“That’s true. And the new district needs them too. Then the next issue is where to raise them.”
They need steady warmth. If we tried raising them with magic tools, the cost would be too high.
So using hot spring heat is the most reasonable… but raising them in the new district… a tourist spot… chicks are cute, so maybe?
But still…
“Father, what about asking Bale?”
“Wouldn’t he be too busy with Varshe?”
“We bought the milking magic tool this time, so if Varsh approves, Bale should have time to take care of the chicks.”
Actually, Bridget had sent a sales letter saying there was a milking magic tool for dairy cows and we should buy one. Georges told me the one we ordered had arrived.
“I see. If we apply the bedrock-bath method, they should be able to raise the chicks using hot spring heat. The conditions match well.”
“And with Varshe there, chick-thieves would be kept away.”
“True. But first, we need the chicks’ food and warm stones. If the chicks grow safely, then we’ll ask Bale’s family.”
What do you think about this chapter?
