Power Surge Scare
February 19, 2021 (Friday) - Ever since we started locally sourcing most of our meats and holding our inventory in the chest freezers in the garage, I have had a-never-before-known fear of power outages. When the ice storms first hit, I was consciously aware that we didn’t have a generator to keep those FOUR freezers running, so trying to stay calm and patient to see how long the power was out was a hard and tense few hours.
Thank heavens, we, unlike some of our neighbors on a competitor power channel, had power restored in just six hours. If I wasn’t a light sleeper, I may never have known that the power was out. Because of that scare last week, I am aware that we would lose $4,500 worth of meat if we lost our power long term. Now we are budgeting for a generator that can take care of all of them so that we are ready in the case of an emergency.
And then we had a power surge - something that I haven’t had happen here before. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m afraid of the dark, I may not have noticed that the power surge had happened and, as a result, would have lost all of the freezer meat AND the first 16 chicks that we had picked up from the hatchery.
You see, as I was heading outside to take the dogs out for the last evacuation for the night, I noticed that the front porch lights were off. Turning to my significant other, I asked, “Why did you turn the lights off on the porch?”
Our porch lights were wired prior to us moving into this location and they are wired VERY strange and illogically. In order to turn the light on outside of the front door, you have to go into the garage and go towards the outdoor exit where you can turn the light on from there. Attached to that circuit is the garage lights and outlets.
“I didn’t…” my significant other said confused. “Why did you think I did?”
“Because they’re off?” I asked.
I went to the garage to turn them on and that’s when I realized the garage lights weren’t working. It was eerily quiet.
THAT IS WHEN I PANICKED!
I had moved the first set of chicks into the garage while their brooder house was drying with a second round of bleach and I realized that, for however the long that breaker had surged, they had been without their heat lamp. Panicked, my S/O went out to flip breakers and get the power going.
Flipping on my phone light, I was able to start counting chicks. One little Dark Copper Maran chick, already smaller than the rest, was barely moving and had slight shivers wracking it’s little frame. Holding it close to my skin, I then warmed it directly under the light, giving it some water, and watching as it came back to life. I am so thankful that it only took about 90 seconds to recover the little trooper, but what a scary moment!
Thoughts of the entire box passing away had flashed immediately through my mind and scared me so bad! I now find myself checking the lights and the chicks every hour in these following days. We have no idea what tripped the breaker, but I am thankful that the weekend is coming up and I can get all of the birds tagged and moved into their bigger brooder on their own power!