Maicey Update 1

It’s Sunday and Maicey has been in the med cage since Friday afternoon, being treated for her wound – most likely a spur injury – with Scarlex oil , vitamin B and lots of rest away from the Boys.

It looks like her wound is healing nicely.

This is how it looks this morning.  It appears to losing nicely and even though I haven’t treated it since last night, I was able to touch it without her showing signs of distress.

Compared to what it looked like Friday, I’m calling it good and on the mend.

As of last night, Maicey was back to acting like herself and not the scared little rabbit I described in the last post.   She spent most of her exercise time trying to get back into the coop with the rest of the flock, as well as trying to fly into the rafters.

Because, let’s face it, chickens are social animals and she’s been kept away from her family.   Even if it is for her own good.  Which it is, because if we put her back with them before she is better healed, she could get re-injured.

As a compromise, I’ve decided to start letting her out into the tunnels during the day time.  They were built, as you may recall, to help last spring’s brooder babies to integrate with the big ones.   We had them split on the other half of the coop, and the tunnels gave them a place to go outside in a safe an protected environment until the Integration.

Mostly, now they are a place the chickens rarely go.  A change of pace or a place to explore with curiosity.

But for Maicey, they could provide her with more space to walk in, a pace to dig and dirt bathe, green stuff to eat … and yes, access to her friends while she heals.

The curious thing is, her flock mates have kept her company today. A lot. I’ve been down to check on them several times this afternoon and there have been chickens in the run communing with her all morning.

Also, Dots got his mani-pedi today, too.  I’ll post something about that later.  🙂

 

 

Jolene

This is Jolene.

  She is a two year old Rhode Island Red hen, and also Little Dude’s favorite hen in all the coop.  She was the first of the Rhodies to let him pick her up and respond to his affections.  

She’s sick.   

I’m not sure how evident it is from the pictures, but her abdomen is swollen like an over full balloon.  I’ve spent the last week treating her – or trying to treat her – for being egg bound.  Warm baths in epson salts, a soft next, dark room away from her flock in the comfort of our porch.  Liquid calcium drench.

I even stuck my finger up her vent looking for an egg.  I didn’t find one, though.  

She stopped eating when I separated her from the flock, so after two days of nothing happening, I put back with her flock.  She eats, forages, but walking at a slower pace. The swelling has not gone away.  Her walking is getting slower and more difficult.  She can’t jump up on to the roosts at night now.  

She hasn’t passed an egg or yolks.  I haven’t seen her poop in days.  

I’ve looked up the symptoms and everything I’ve read says this is not good.   

In the meantime, she’s slowly suffering, and we’re suffering right along with her as we’re watching her do it.   

Little Dude has not wanted to lose ‘his chicken.’  He wanted me to ‘wait and see.’  He’s asked me in that tentative way that proves he is thinking things through “are you sure she just won’t get better with time?”  

Last night, I told him he needed to say good-bye, because this afternoon, Dad and I were going to do the right thing and cull her.  I don’t want to wait it out until she either dies or her abdomen bursts from the pressure of whatever is making her swell.  

I don’t want to come down one morning to let them out, or in the afternoon to collect eggs and find that she keeled over and the rest of the flock decided to cannibalize her. Because chickens are opportunistic little onmivores.  

So we hugged and snuggled her and said our good-byes last night.  Told her what a good girl she was and how sorry we were.  Told her that Becky and Ava, Madison and Dottie and poor little Riley were waiting for her on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, in a pasture of fresh grass and fat juicy bugs.  That there was a patch of dirt, warm from the sun, waiting for her to stretch out in.  

She laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes, as if to let me know that she understood.  I hope she does.  

Today is going to be a rough day.  

The Week-Aversary Picspam

Because I missed most of the Little’s Week-aversary pics, and because today is Pip’s 16th week…here’s the pics I promised I’d get today.

 

16 Weeks and going strong! Aren’t I handsome?

Yes, Pip… you are handsome.  Just like your papa, even though he’s white and yellow and you’re red and white.

Pip showed his first signs of leaving ‘awkward adolescence’ behind and heading into ‘horny teenager’ stage this morning.  He tried to mate with his ‘Auntie Riley.’  Riley turned around and bit him and then chased him back into the coop, where he retired to the window sill to sulk and figure out where he went wrong.

He needs to observe Dots more and learn how papa woos the ladies.

Mystery Bin Chicks… Peanut and Matilda.

 

Peanut and Matilda representing the Mystery Bin Girls this week.  Peanut is still my diva.

 

Black Australorp chicks, week 2

I’m pretty sure the one on the right is Ash, the chick we brought up to keep Baby company when she was in Chick Containment.

Buff Orpingtons, Week 2

The little chick on the right is my poor injured chick, Baby, who has a fully recovery. She’s still smaller than everyone else, but I love it when I can say they are no different the rest of the flock. 🙂

I don’t know if you can see this in the picture…but their eyes are BLUE!!!  I never knew that before.

And just because… here is Little Dude sitting with his favorite hen, Jolene.

 

Lots and Lots

Well, I’m not sure where to start because I’ve been busy this whole week and it’s caught up with me.  Tuesday was My Girl’s birthday and I’ve been busy planning her Sweet 16.  Hard to believe.  Then Thursday was my birthday, as well as St. Patrick’s Day.

Friday was the Australorp & Buff Orpington babies’ 1-week-aversaries.  I took pictures, as per the usual.

Day 1 – Black Australorps and Buff Orpington

 

Week 1 – Black Australorp & Buff Orpington

Today was their 2-week, but I’ll have to get it later because I’ve been busy with party planning all day.  I also missed the Mystery Bin Girl’s 2-week on Tuesday.  I’ll try to snag pictures of at least Peanut tomorrow.

One of the reasons for the busy week was this – one of my Littles had a bum leg and I had to take care of her.

I have video of her leg before and after-care on my Youtube.  We named her Baby and brought her into the house in a Chick Containment Unit.

Here she is today… about 4 days after being returned to her flock.

She was actually crouching to jump down.  In the brooder, she is no different than anyone else.

My Pip Chick is turning 16 weeks tomorrow…

Here he is today…

For those of you following along at home… I’m calling the “Pip vs Pippi” drama over.  This chick is a BOY.  He stands tall and walks more upright than the girls, behaves just like papa, and already has pointy little nubs where spurs will someday be.

And look at those waddles and comb!!!  It’s bigger than the adult hens now.  NOT a girl. If this child lays an egg in 4 weeks… it will be a miracle.

 

 

Update on Dots

I just wanted to drop a note here to let people know that Double Dots appears to be doing better is limp is gone, as of this morning.

I wound up bathing him in the kitchen sink to check for injuries to his feet I couldn’t see which might have indicated bumblefoot, but his feet were fine.  After that, I just decided to watch him and see.  I decided to seek a vet if the limp lasted into next week (Monday), but over the last couple of days, it’s been gradually going away.

As of this morning, he didn’t appear to be limping at all.

I’m still going to watch him, but for now, it looks like things are back to normal in the barnyard.

Limping?

My rooster, Dots, has a limp tonight.

He wasn’t limping this morning or afternoon, so I noticed it right away.

I immediately checked him over for signs of a leg or foot injury, or signs of bumblefoot.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but he’s definitely favoring his right leg when he walks.

A google search for ‘limping chicken’ leads me this post about ‘how to fix a gimpy chicken’  which covers not just leg injuries and bumblefoot but egg-bound (Dots is NOT egg bound.  He’s a boy).   The posts suggests a nice warm bath and half a baby aspirin every day until limp goes away.

My question is, is this a valid treatment?????