Second Chances (14 page)

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A week of preparation later they were ready to start. The men had insisted on starting the project small, but the ladies went on about the larger animals and Bert had agreed. They trapped small young aliens and dinosaurs by driving them into Y shaped corrals they'd rigged out of trees and logs. Whooping and hollering, waving and flapping things turned them, but it was a pretty scary thing to see the human-sized animals charging at you. Darion lost his nerve twice and ducked behind a tree, letting half the herd escape.

They lost the first batch, the bipedal animals hopped right over the six-foot improvised fence they'd rigged. Smaller animals had popped right through the horizontal spaces between the rails. They doubled up on the rail height, added a skirt and then were ready to try again. The changes allowed them to roundup four animals the next day.

“Not a big start,” Miranda said.

John spat, dusting himself off. “Zip it. It's a start,” he growled. She looked at him. “Hey, I didn't see you busting your ass building this shit for them,” he growled. He rubbed his back. “Getting a hernia,” he growled.

“Poor widdle baby. Got a splinter?” She mock cooed playfully. He growled at her, still rubbing his back. She giggled and danced out of reach. After a moment she blew him a kiss, then scampered off to see her new charges with a smile. He watched her go and then shook his head.

The captured animals were sorted out; those that were in good health were to be used as domestic animals. The one injured animal was separated and then put down and slaughtered for food.

Loni, Sophia, Günter, Quincy, Miranda Roberts, Ginger, and the Southbys took charge of the animals and broke them in. Just getting them used to being handled took the better part of a week. They had to hobble and blindfold them to get them to the base and the barn they had set up inside. The dinosaurs’ cries and honking kept people up most of the night for several days. Guy's bellow “Will you shut up!” Sometimes got them to settle down for an hour or two.

Once they had the technique down, they expanded the project to larger breeds. A month into the project they had seven different species in an improvised barn. The ostrich-like Struthomimus and Citipati ones were the most popular since it was assumed they would be rideable like a horse. They were a bit flighty though. The Citipati looked a lot like a red headed rooster, complete with red wattle and strut.

The blue headed Caudipteryx were the size of a turkey and seemed a great turkey substitute. They settled in placidly once they realized they had room and board provided to them. They were also the easiest to handle though they tended to kick and nip a lot before they were broken in.

The Protoceratops were judged to be the closest thing to a pig they had on hand though the analogy didn't quite fit. They had wicked beaks, and one showed just how powerful and sharp the beak was when it snapped a rung on a fence.

Microraptors were trapped in nets. They made great chickens once their flight feathers were clipped. They had to be kept in an enclosed coop but laid eggs regularly once they settled down.

And finally they had two breeds of crested Hadrosaurs, one lonely Orolotitan, and two Parasaurolophus. They discovered the Para with the blue head and long extended crest was the male; the animal with the drab tiger stripes was the female. The blade crested Oro was also judged a female from her skin color and placid nature.

The dinosaurs were a mix of colors, some with full feathers, some with just downy fluff or spots of primitive feathers. The Hadrosaurs had throat sacks and tended to not only chew their cud like a cow but umbel and vocalize. They were huge even though the three were babies; each were about six feet tall. According to Bert they would grow to twice that height if allowed to stay. And all ate or grazed constantly.

“Feeding them...I guess we didn't think of that,” Sophia admitted. They had run through most of their feed in the first week before they'd gotten a good handle on their intake. Since they were young, they needed a lot of food to grow fast. But since they weren't out getting it themselves they grew even faster. Quincy was concerned about fat. They were trying to figure out a way to exercise and actually use the animals.

The small ones were great for a chicken substitute. They settled into the coop right off and ate the same diet as the chickens did. They laid eggs but were broody if the eggs were left too long. They appeared to respond to the same tricks of lighting that the chickens did. By stimulating them with artificial light and temperature, along with a diet high in calcium, they produced twice as much eggs as they initially did. Calcium they could get from grinding up bones and calcium rich plants. But that was labor intensive.

“You think?” John growled, getting back to the subject. He'd been busy doing other things like cutting wood, trapping other animals, hunting, or hauling stuff into the base to help get fodder for the animals. Miranda had led the effort to get the food for the animals. Her example of risking her life had gotten her father out of his own little world and into helping out her and the community again. “I told you...” She held up a hand. He sighed.

“And we can't just turn them out to graze. We get that now, believe me,” Miranda said. She'd come close to getting kicked twice. Dalkie had been kicked; the horse had been lamed with a broken hip and right rear leg. Since she was pregnant, they hadn't put her down at first. She'd miscarried the foal though. Doc Quincy had finally convinced her to put the beloved mare down the next day. She'd started out with six mares and her one stallion. She was worried about the long term now. Domesticating the dinosaurs might be the only way they had left to go. The vehicles wouldn't last forever.

John asked her about their plans to domesticate the animals. “Well,” Trisha drawled as the others involved in the project came over. They rested on the corral in the shade. “We're going to, um, segregate them between riding and food animals. We'll find the best species that work for each task, the best breeds I mean,” she said. He nodded.

“We already know about the egg layers,” Ginger said, waving a hand to the enclosed coop. They looked that way and then back to the corral.

Trisha nodded. “The turkey ones, well, Thanksgiving is coming up...” They all smiled. “The theropods, you know, the ostrich and emu sized birds?”

“Dinosaurs,” Quincy reminded her patiently.

“Whatever,” she growled. “We're going to try breaking them in to ride, plus food and well, eggs,” she said. “This generation will be a pain to handle. I did some reading on raising emus a long time ago. They are easier to handle if you start from birth.”

“Good to know. And the big uns?” John asked.

“Them...they are Hadrosaurs. Think of them as the cows on the farm. Oxen really,” Sophia said.

“Milk,” John said joking. “You five as milk maids with them as cows. This I've got to see,” he said, shaking his head. Sophia blinked and then shivered.

Quincy snorted. “FYI, they lay eggs so no milk,” Quincy reminded them.

“Oh yeah, forgot that. But some of the mammals do. The ancient ones. We should try to catch them next,” Miranda said hopefully.

“A rhino? It'll drop from a heart attack just from the stress of capture,” Quincy warned. “Or it'll kill someone,” he warned. She frowned but then nodded reluctantly.

“I'm wondering how we're going to ride them,” Sophia said. Loni snorted.

“We can't ride them; they've got hollow bones,” Quincy said.

“Yeah, so? So does an ostrich. I've seen people ride those, so don't give me that,” Loni said.

“Um...”

“I remember. Swiss Family Robinson,” Trisha said, snapping her fingers. She grinned at Adam. “I wanted a couple birds but he said no,” she teased. He snorted.

“Yeah well, you wanted them, but they kick worse than a mule, and they are a pain to take care of. You just wanted the big feathers to play with,” he said.

“And you wanted the omelets from the giant eggs,” she teased, tweaking him. He moved away. She snorted.

“Talk about a boat load of cholesterol in one hit,” Doc Brown murmured.

“True. But wow!” They chuckled. Then they turned as they heard a commotion. They saw Loni corner a bird, rope it, and then pin it in a corner. When she was ready she climbed onto the back of the Struthomimus.

“Ride ‘em cowgirl!” Sophia whooped, swishing her hat in the air.

“Well, that answers that,” Ginger said, grinning.

“If she can hang on,” John observed.

Loni as their professional cowgirl settled onto the animal, then moved it out. She hung onto the rope she'd secured in the animal's mouth. She muttered something about riding an oversized dino ostrich. Loni whooped as the animal cawed in distress over her sudden unwelcome weight then danced around trying to shed her.

“Better than riding a cow,” Trisha said, slapping the animal on the tail. That set the animal from barely moving to running all over the corral, throwing the other animals into a frenzy of flapping and strutting away in distress.

She was bucked off once and nearly trampled but got right up, refused to dust herself off, and caught the animal. Once she had it pinned with the help of the others, she climbed back on board. She yanked the head around, keeping a firm grip on it.

“Easy, easy, don't snap the bones. Remember brittle hollow bones,” Quincy warned. “And don't stress it too much. Stress can overheat or kill it,” he warned, raising a ca,utionary hand as she passed him, holding on for dear life.

“Try telling her that,” Loni panted, then was back into riding. The animal tried to shake its tail feathers and tail, but she was on to that trick. After a half hour it panted then settled down. She praised it softly, patting and murmuring to it.

When she slid off the animal trembled, dancing a bit. She fed it a treat, petting it the entire time and talking.

“Some ride,” Quincy said. Loni was blowing almost as much as the dinosaur.

“We'll need to ease them into it, get them used to being handled first. Breaking them like a bronco is out,” she said, rubbing the small of her back with her free hand.

“Hurt?” Quincy asked, voicing his concern.

“Bruised, mainly my pride,” the cowgirl replied. “I think a light rider is the best option. Hollow bones like you said,” she said. Quincy nodded.

“I wasn't planning on riding one anyway,” Cliff muttered, shaking his head in amusement.

“Good job,” John said. Others congratulated her as well.

“Yeah well, whatever,” Loni said quietly, looking away. She was nudged by the animal, so she reached up to stroke it gently. They watched as she led the animal to the water trough, then let it drink. It went to peck at her so she hauled the head down below knee level until it settled down. Then she let it up slowly, talking. Eventually she walked for a few laps. A noise frightened it into a feathered tizzy. She hung on grimly as Cliff and the others moved in to help secure the animal. They got it under control and eventually back into its stall.

“They are certainly flighty,” Trisha said, shaking her head. Miranda nodded warily. She eyed the theropod dinosaur, then Loni. Loni dusted herself off, then spat. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand then took out a blue handkerchief and used it to mop the sweat from her face and neck. She ran it through the water trough, wrung it out, then wrapped it around the back of her neck to cool herself off.

They found that many of the dinosaurs were attracted to shiny things. If unattended they would peck or claw at them, including chrome bumpers or other metal objects. Anyone who handled the animals or went near the paddocks learned to not wear jewelry or anything that might attract unwanted attention after word got around that Miranda had been nearly strangled by her own silver necklace.

The theropods were found to jump rather high, and they had a thing for corners. They were amused when the flock began producing eggs after the second week. Trisha and Miranda came up with a routine of one person feeding the animals and distracting them while the other slipped in to the paddock to pick up any green eggs laying around, and then muck the area out. The eggs were either passed over for cooking or were sent to a brood male to sit on. They found that certain males were brooders. They protected the eggs and sometimes refused to leave, even for food or water. That upended the theory that it was just the females that tended to the nest all the time.

The placid animals like the duck bills and the ones with crests were the easiest to tame, especially if they were caught young and small, fed regularly, and handled constantly. Cliff, Gerald, Sal, and Trey Langer rigged up a few carts for the dinosaurs and other animals to tow. They managed to build four out of bicycle parts, local wood, and other donated vehicles. Two of the carts were for pulling passengers, and the other two for hauling goods. The animals could only pull about a half ton to a ton of weight behind them depending on their size. They planned on larger carts, these pulled by yokes, but they didn't have the wood or time to work on them in the first year.

Once they were certain the animals were going to work out, Miranda bullied her dad and others into building an improved barn for them on land Joy and Dawn had staked out before they had been killed. The finished building was small though, limiting them on the number of animals they could support.

“It's a start,” Miranda said, grinning to Trisha, Loni, Sophia, and Ginger. All five women had bonded over the care and domestication of the animals.