04/04/09
I'm loving my 49 chicks! They are seven weeks today and doing great. I'm going to try to post photos...
Okay, I give up. I have the hardest time getting my photos posted here.
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06/26/09
My 43 twenty weeks olds are doing great. Got my first egg on 06/22/09 from one of my EE'rs.
This heat is just too much. The chickens are either inside the coop or under the water mister. Thank God I talked my husband into putting the lattice work up to block some of the sun. I wonder if the heat reflect paint works.....
Why do my Welsummers hate me? I started out with 10 and I have six. Two died as chicks (I only had 4 out of 55 die total and two of those were Wellies and since I only had 10 to begin with....well you see the odds), one I gave away and one I put in my freezer (shouldn't have bothered, it's so skinny). Out of the six I have left, one roo is a dwarf with a deformed foot (my husband likes him), one was found upside-down hanging by her toe in the coop, another was found stuck inside a feeder all day, one limps for some unknown reason, one is picking the feathers at her neck and now yesterday one had her comb torn open and it was bleeding all down her face (I think she's the one that picks her neck). That's a lot of issues for so few birds...right??? The only bird (so far) without any issues is the roo, Larry. But I'm pretty sure Larry is gonna get beat up any day now. It's just statistically inevitable....
...why can't I put in freaking photos....!!!!!
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07/01/09
A little relief from the heat, YEA! I was only 88 yesterday and today it was in the lower 90's. It almost felt cool at 6:00am when it was 81!!
Well, my Welsummers are not letting me down...today I noticed that Limpy Chick (she would be the one who limps....) now has fire ant bites all over her wattles and face and also her comb has a scab on it where, I'm sure, one of her cannibalistic co-habitants decided to taste her. (sigh)
I am also having issues with a constipated 14 year old dog. She has been a very good dog, a Shar Pei. Yesterday I decide to give her some mineral oil after watching her strain endlessly to no avail. Yes, sometimes I think I have no life either. Today there was a poo mess in the garage (only 2nd time she's ever done that and both times she was sick) and more blood than yesterday so we took her to the vet. The vet told me they would need to do blood test, xrays and try this and that. I opted for just medication at this point. But my husband and I have already talked and if she gets worse we'll have her put to sleep. That's very hard and I've cried on and off all evening. We don't have any children and we love our dog. ...not saying people with children don't love their pets but they can better put them in proper perspective, I think. The good news is that the vet said she looks to be in great shape for her age. One of the vet techs who has worked with her since she was 5 wks old saw her and was shocked. She asked, "Isn't she old now?" We'll see, wish my old girl well.
OMG! Look what happens when you read instructions.....
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09/20/09
I am happy to report that my dog is doing fine...with the exception of bouts of doggie dementia, that is. Sometimes she will pace for days only resting when she collapses from exhaustion. We have found something over the counter that kinda works called “Calming Aid Tabs”. The main ingredient is L-Tryptophan so if I give her turkey will it have the same effect???
Many years ago there was a report that L-Tryptophan caused some kind of disease…remember? Now I see it’s being touted again as a supplement for stress and insomnia. Gonna check the web…yep found it, it’s called eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. So, in an effort to help my dog am I killing her? Arrgh! *pounds head on desk* I think I need to take some Calming Aid Tabs…!
Hey, Chookschick used my egg heart basket photo for her article. Cool! The article was great and very informative. It’s at :
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...an-Chickens-101-Why-have-chickens-in-the-city
scheck it out...!
I fully expect to be invited to star studded events now.
_____________________
11/09/09
Well, it's over. I culled my first adult bird today. YES, it was a Welsummer....! Nobody can say I didn't try because I've been trying now for about a month to nurse her back to health. It makes me sad but it had to be done. She was the Wellie with the crooked back who limped. It was peaceful, no head chopping, no neck wringing. I used ether and she just went to sleep and eventually quit breathing. It took about 20 minutes but I held her gently, I looked her in the face as she took her last breath and I said goodbye.
I'm loving my 49 chicks! They are seven weeks today and doing great. I'm going to try to post photos...
Okay, I give up. I have the hardest time getting my photos posted here.
_____________________________
06/26/09
My 43 twenty weeks olds are doing great. Got my first egg on 06/22/09 from one of my EE'rs.
This heat is just too much. The chickens are either inside the coop or under the water mister. Thank God I talked my husband into putting the lattice work up to block some of the sun. I wonder if the heat reflect paint works.....
Why do my Welsummers hate me? I started out with 10 and I have six. Two died as chicks (I only had 4 out of 55 die total and two of those were Wellies and since I only had 10 to begin with....well you see the odds), one I gave away and one I put in my freezer (shouldn't have bothered, it's so skinny). Out of the six I have left, one roo is a dwarf with a deformed foot (my husband likes him), one was found upside-down hanging by her toe in the coop, another was found stuck inside a feeder all day, one limps for some unknown reason, one is picking the feathers at her neck and now yesterday one had her comb torn open and it was bleeding all down her face (I think she's the one that picks her neck). That's a lot of issues for so few birds...right??? The only bird (so far) without any issues is the roo, Larry. But I'm pretty sure Larry is gonna get beat up any day now. It's just statistically inevitable....
_________________________________
07/01/09
A little relief from the heat, YEA! I was only 88 yesterday and today it was in the lower 90's. It almost felt cool at 6:00am when it was 81!!
Well, my Welsummers are not letting me down...today I noticed that Limpy Chick (she would be the one who limps....) now has fire ant bites all over her wattles and face and also her comb has a scab on it where, I'm sure, one of her cannibalistic co-habitants decided to taste her. (sigh)
I am also having issues with a constipated 14 year old dog. She has been a very good dog, a Shar Pei. Yesterday I decide to give her some mineral oil after watching her strain endlessly to no avail. Yes, sometimes I think I have no life either. Today there was a poo mess in the garage (only 2nd time she's ever done that and both times she was sick) and more blood than yesterday so we took her to the vet. The vet told me they would need to do blood test, xrays and try this and that. I opted for just medication at this point. But my husband and I have already talked and if she gets worse we'll have her put to sleep. That's very hard and I've cried on and off all evening. We don't have any children and we love our dog. ...not saying people with children don't love their pets but they can better put them in proper perspective, I think. The good news is that the vet said she looks to be in great shape for her age. One of the vet techs who has worked with her since she was 5 wks old saw her and was shocked. She asked, "Isn't she old now?" We'll see, wish my old girl well.
____________________
09/20/09
I am happy to report that my dog is doing fine...with the exception of bouts of doggie dementia, that is. Sometimes she will pace for days only resting when she collapses from exhaustion. We have found something over the counter that kinda works called “Calming Aid Tabs”. The main ingredient is L-Tryptophan so if I give her turkey will it have the same effect???
Many years ago there was a report that L-Tryptophan caused some kind of disease…remember? Now I see it’s being touted again as a supplement for stress and insomnia. Gonna check the web…yep found it, it’s called eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. So, in an effort to help my dog am I killing her? Arrgh! *pounds head on desk* I think I need to take some Calming Aid Tabs…!
Hey, Chookschick used my egg heart basket photo for her article. Cool! The article was great and very informative. It’s at :
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...an-Chickens-101-Why-have-chickens-in-the-city
scheck it out...!
I fully expect to be invited to star studded events now.
_____________________
11/09/09
Well, it's over. I culled my first adult bird today. YES, it was a Welsummer....! Nobody can say I didn't try because I've been trying now for about a month to nurse her back to health. It makes me sad but it had to be done. She was the Wellie with the crooked back who limped. It was peaceful, no head chopping, no neck wringing. I used ether and she just went to sleep and eventually quit breathing. It took about 20 minutes but I held her gently, I looked her in the face as she took her last breath and I said goodbye.
