I ran the suggestion of changing the nest box bedding past the vet who said, "It's her genetics - her ancestors were selectively bred for egg production and slaughter; not for reproductive health and longevity. Really, it's not your husbandry; don't you have that other old hen who's doing ok?"...
Thinking about it, there would be all sorts of nasties on straw. Mouse pee, fox poop, who knows what from out in the fields.
No doubt wood shavings are cleaner. After all, timber has to be clean enough for people to handle.
I've always used straw but Mary's lesion is a symptom of uterine infection. Nest box hygiene is a casual factor in uterine infections so of course I'm looking into alternatives to straw.
According to an AI, hemp is cleanest as it has some inherent anti microbial properties. I haven't looked into it any further yet, I'm too busy at work, but I will.
Mary stayed at the vet today and had some images taken. Her gut is blocked by gas, so she's on a different antibiotic for a week (noroclav) and it's a daily injection, which is not something I can do. So we're going to have early morning trips to the vet for a few days.
If the noroclav doesn't...
Mary has her follow up appointment tomorrow morning. She's still coughing but nowhere near as much as she was. I suspect there's something going on internally as well. Her poops are too small.
As the whole flock had the course of lincospectin in the water, they're now all on probiotics and I'm...
I mentioned it because my uncle's been in the ICU recently with Legionaire's Disease. With respect to survival and recuperation, his age was a negative factor (70).
He survived but as a shadow of his former self. No strength left.
That said, are humans a good clinical model of chickens? I...
Wordle 1592 was a lucky one for me. I solved it in 2 when the average is 4.5. I had 2 correct letters and 3 completely wrong in guess 1, like this: correct wrong wrong wrong correct. Then a person on a YouTube video that was playing in the background said a word that fit, so I tried it and it...
It's 5.23pm and I've just arrived home from work.
Mary's crop is fuller than it's been for a while, so I assume she's been nibbling at pellets today. Peggy kindly dropped a poop for inspection and we agreed it was a good one for an old biddy who's done with eggs and who eats only to sustain...