A Day With My Flock

Hi! Today my name is Angel. This is my itty bitty self.
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I'm a splashed Frizzle x Cochin bantam. My mom, Bo loves me the best! Aunt Harmony is a crazy broody who wants to kill us tiny chicks.
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Everyone else is really nice to us. I'm glad mom decided to let Bo keep us. I'm only 3 weeks old.

I am from the newest flock that Bo has hatched. 4 of my siblings are mostly like me but only one other shows with some frizzle. His name is Fozzy Bear. Only his primaries and hocks are frizzled and he looks rather silly. 2 of my siblings are OEG bantams. I had 3 but one drown.... Mom learned another lesson and put chicken wire over the hen's water dish now.
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I like to spend my days following my mom Bo and getting treats to eat from her. She's good at catching flies! I love to take them and run from Fozzy and the others as they chase me around and around the rhubarb. Then we play chest bump!
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Mom had to put chicken wire up around her chicken garden fence so we can't fit thru it anymore.

We have more babies here too. BCM's, buff orps, ameracauna and olive eggers. Some are real pretty but not a pretty as I am! They are 9 weeks old. Lily and Olivia co brooded 3 of them and Harmony the rest.

This is Memphis, Isabella,(orps) Blue (olive) and Arizona (ameracauna)

The Maran Clan! Mary, Margaret, Maggie with Hunter and Flynn the Olive x Maran.

That white pretty is Phoenix (ameracauna)


Mom's turn to talk....


Gorgeous George has gone to the great chicken coop in the sky....
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I think I gave to much scratch and the Bigs who then did not eat enough pellet, all of a sudden we had secondary problems between depleted nutritional values and CRD. George had issues from his early life experience with a duck, bad nutrition and then the CRD. He'd do somersaults if he tipped forward to eat or drink so he stopped. He'd tip sideways if he tried to stand. I fed him vit. and mineral water with a syringe 5 x a day for a month. His health didn't get better or worse but I knew this was no life for him. I found out that there was a place to take a loved chicken to have it humanely put down and a necropsy done ($10.50) and that helped confirmed my thoughts. Ministry of Agriculture Animal Health Centre in Abbottsford BC.

Before George's crisis Frankie died fast one evening and Matilda fell ill too. During George's crisis, Matilda fell ill for another week, then Giselle for a day and then Ruby for a day. Gracie puffed up for a few hours and then disappeared for a week. I was worried about loosing my whole flock but didn't know why! At the same time, Bo was about to hatch out 7 eggs (one of which was an egg from Gracie and George!) I was so scared! What disease could this be? And by now I had 12 chicks in the house ready for the outdoors and Bo expecting, how could I protect the babies????
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Let me tell you I know longer feed 2 cups of scratch daily to 12 hens.

Everyone is healthy again. Necropsy showed George to be in great shape but with MG. No one can say why he tipped and fell. I have always figured we had it. It is impossible not to have it if your birds free range. It travels vertically from mom to egg and travels in the wild bird population too. Usually it stays hidden unless something else weakens the immune system.

Gracie was found under in the middle of the coop with a clutch of 8 eggs! She still has 4 of them but hatch date by my records ended 2 days ago. She talks to her eggs now so maybe she knows something I don't!!! She was moved to the furnace room in a large wire dog crate. I hope she gets to have a baby or 2 for her own.
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Josie and Harmony are broody, Giselle's eggs are very wrinkled, Matilda lays only soft shelled eggs for a month now, Lily and Olivia and one other are the only ones laying good eggs! I pickled the little bantam eggs! YUM!
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I'm sorry to hear about the losses. It especially is sad about little Gorgeous George. But at least the Minister of Agriculture was helpful. It sounds like the circle of life continues with the flock.
 
Hello fellow chicken lovers! I'm so happy! I got myself a serema roo!
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At least that is what I was told it was. Body shape is right but a little bigger then what they are suppose to be.

Anyway, the reason I am writing today it that this 1.5 y/o roo had very long spurs. He hasn't been handled much and he always kicks up a fuss when approached. As you can see he is in isolation and will be until I am sure he is tamed and healthy. I needed to get those spurs off.

Let me tell you it was the easiest thing I have ever done and no pain to him. Simple pair of pliers and a stronger and stronger hold and twisting and POP! A minimal drop of blood and that's it.
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I also had him wrapped in a towel holding him by both legs!


So easy, don't let your fear stop you. Now if I could just stop shaking...... I'd feel comfortable doing this again!

Gotta go make sure he isn't bleeding to death.....
Thanks for letting me share!
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Well my friends, it's been a long time. Just over a year and a lot has changed.

I've started hatching my own Barnyard eggs between the Icelandic brahmas X with a beautiful Americana rooster named L.D.Silver! He's very active shall we say! And the ladies are getting used to him.

My chicken math has gotten terrible in the last year. What did I start out with 6 hens? And now have 12 hens two roosters two turkeys and 3 Guinea Keets! Although I swear the keets are not staying! Hatched out 6 of them to start with lost 2 to the little turkey babies and another one to a cat. You might remember their mom Little Lilly and their other mom Olivia from previous posts. Lily is a Frizzle X cochin and Olivia is an OEG bantam.

Aside from the Keats I hatched out 8 turkey's one of which was a mammoth turkey and I think it just might be a girl her name is Gorgeous. The other one I kept is called pumpkin and is a slate blue regular size turkey. But will get back to them loads of stories there.

Then we have Harmony's 6 little crossed babies and Bo's two little crossed babies and Josie's 4 little crossed babies!

At 9 weeks Harmony is still taking care of her chicks at 3 weeks Josie gave up, after all it was her first year being a mom. And at 4 weeks Bo is still hanging in there with her babies. The guinea Keets are twice the size of their mothers and still rely on them greatly.

My sweetheart Matilda passed away a couple of months ago and Sophie a couple of weeks ago. Both George and the serema roo passed away last year. I rescued a year old New Hampshire hen called Helen and an Americauna hen with a crossed beak call Tinny.

Okay so now that I have caught you up on the new flock members it's time for the fun parts!

This is Gorgeous
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Gorgeous is three and a half months old already and weighs 14 pounds. For a long time I thought she was a Tom sometimes I still do. I would be happy with a mammoth hen as she will have Mammoth babies possibly even being bred to a regular size turkey. It's very strange her mother was a bronze breasted Mammoth and her father was either bronze breasted or a slate. For some reason they throw back to white genes. The lady I got the eggs from had the same result from only the one mammoth egg she managed to hatch. Gorgeous has a sister looks just like her but is not mammoth and her name is Tiny.

This is pumpkin.
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Pumpkin is a love! She never tries to steal your jewelry or rip your gel nails off. She never tries to poke out your eye or pull out your hair. The same could not be said for Gorgeous.

Of course Gorgeous doesn't always jump up on the table either.

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DH says we should just put the roasting pan in the middle of the patio table and wait. I don't find this funny as these turkeys are my pets we're not eating them. They are so fun!

I didn't have a clue what I was getting into when a friend suggested we give it a try and put a dozen eggs underneath one of my chickens. I and she knew absolutely nothing Jon Snow about turkey's.

Turkey's go beyond curious and inquisitive they are adventurers and flyers. DH is getting tired of building taller fences around the perimeter up the coop. Gorgeous weighs 14 pounds how can she possibly fly up 6 feet from the ground straight up to the top of the fence? And gracefully! I don't even walk that gracefully!

So now it's time to hear from Gorgeous... "purp purp prup".

Hi my name is Gorgeous and I am! None of us can figure out what sex I am. I was raised with my sibling for lack of a better word Pumpkin and a little polish Rooster called Lucy because apparently Mom can't sex Birds PERIOD!

I'm not really good at anything but flying over the fence and eating. I love to sit on Mom's lap and dig my rear toe nail into her thighs. I like blueberries and when mom got them I thunder across the back deck and beat everybody to her. I like Mom's granddaughter she's very interesting for a two year old but I bit her finger the other day and now I'm not allowed near her.

To be continued...
 
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My name is Pumpkin. I don't feel very well. I have sinusitis and pretty soon mom's going to have to do something about it.
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She's just trying to get up the nerve as a week and a half of antibiotics did not do the trick.
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I am a sweet turkey that never gets into any trouble. Unlike my big sister Gorgeous. She has always pulling Lucy's top knot and making him squeal.
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Just when mom decided that she had Seventeen of us Birds and was happy with it Bo, Harmony and Josie went broody again. Josie and Bo each have 5 eggs and mom says Harmony can wait till next year.
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I don't think I could ever sit on an egg for 4 weeks.
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It seems so boring and I'd never get any of the treats!

Dad finally made the front yard/back yard fence 10' tall and Gorgeous refuses to land on the wire at the top as he didn't put a board across the top! However, daily Gorgeous and I and Lucy fly out of our pen 5' fence and have the whole back yard to run around in while all the chickens are kept in their coop yard.

Mom tells us to stay in but Gorgeous says it's okay for us to wander around.
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I keep an eye out for any Hawks or Eagles and fluff right up and stand up my tail to look huge so they won't come and take me!
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Gorgeous just purps purps purps.

Gorgeous gets us into trouble all the time! Lately she has been trying to convince me to go over the 4'horse fence and into the field... But I have heard rumors of others trying this and failing. Rumors of little Gracie going out to set eggs behind the compost and disappearing forever.
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Mom says I'm too fat to fly over the fence but the fence is only 4 feet and I weigh but a mere ten pounds. Gorgeous on the other hand weighs 17-18 pounds now.
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I like to jump up on the table without anybody expecting me. Sending ashes cigarettes dried flower heads
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water glasses medicine flying in every direction. It's not my fault I'm just curious.
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Gorgeous just stands on the floor and pull stuff off the table
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her head is about moms hip height oh she can clearly see right across the table. We both love to steal things but she steals some off the table and I run with them!♡

As I said I am not feeling well so I am going to go to sleep now. I love my new home I love my friend Lucy and I love my mom!
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Hi! What you looking at? Is it my turn?

Hello my name is Lucy. That is with a fur on the end of it.
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Get it? Lucifer/Lucy? As others have told you Mom can not sex a chick for her life! Or maybe it was just wishful hoping that I was a girl.

Well I'm not a girl! I am the Lucifer and if I can find a hen that L.D. Silver is not looking out fur I will take her to my heart's content! NOW if only I could catch them!
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I really don't know what all the fuss and bother is about he's got so many and I have two turkeys that are no good to me! Maybe he'll trade me...
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Oh I sit here and I watch them saunter back and forth twitching their tail feathers
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teasing me with their little googly eyes.
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They want me I can tell just the way they walked past the fence strutting their stuff. I know I'm handsome.
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I know I could be a great rooster even better than LD. But mom keeps me in my pen when she's home and makes sure I don't attack anyone when Silver can get me. I'm sure I could take Silver. Stop laughing Mom!!!! She says she sees how fast I can run when he's chasing me....
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Did you get that Mom? Did you? I tried to get Becca just now did you tape it Mom?
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What do you mean, no?
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Well Mom is putting me back in my pen again so I'm just going to sit here and eat watermelon with Gorgeous and wait for that little fluffy black one to come back by here again. If only I knew how to whistle...
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Here's hoping I can help someone else.

As Pumpkin the turkey spoke earlier she has something going on with her sinuses. Last night a friend and I drained 3 cc's of fluid from her nasal passage.

To do this we used a 16 gauge needle with a 5 CC syringe. I held the bird and she inserted the needle along the lower beak line and into the nasal passage. I had tried this with a 22 gauge needle but the fluid is too thick. Afterwards the entire nasal passage was collapsed and look much better. However this morning it was swollen up with fluid again. At least she had one night? Hours? relief of the pressure in her head.

The fluid was almost clear maybe a little cloudy not too thick definitely not cheesy. The vet says this bodes well for less infection. Note prior to inserting the needle I cleaned her cheek with antiseptic so as not to introduce any more bacteria and again afterwards.

Now speaking with the vet tonight wondering if I should drain it again and just how often am I going to have to put that huge needle into her face he gave me some helpful insight. With AI it is really hard to get anyone out here and they definitely don't want you to bring a bird in! It seems to equal free vet advice over the phone. Of which I am so grateful!

Okay so follow up care. He said it is not absolutely necessary to continue to drain it but it will relieve the pressure in her head and make her feel a lot better. Tetracycline in their only source of drinking water and since she is a turkey I may have to keep this going up to 2 weeks. If I do not see improvement then I may have to move on to the drug called Tylan which also comes in a water soluble powder.

I can also use the tetracycline soluble in the water to flush her nasal passage. He also recommended adding the water soluble vitamins to her water with the tetracycline to give her an extra boost.

Granted this is a bird that is not on death's door, barely an infection, but the passage is blocked due to swelling from MG.

Can't think of anything else at the moment feel free to ask questions if you have any.
Becky
 

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