Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[SilkieChickStar]

Hope everyone is well. I am in Caloundra for a few days. Ahhhhhhh

 

[Anniebee]

The Mandy Mystery ( episode # 86 ) !!

Out she came this morning, looking chipper - and walking properly ...... but not for long. Started to seem to favour her left leg. .... watched her during the morning, lot's of sitting - and I noticed her left leg seemed slightly larger than the right ?

Brought her inside to get a closer look and feel - detected swelling. And to trim the very end of her beak - ( that went very well. ). Her top beak was only the tiniest bit overshot, but after having that clipped ( approx 1 > 1.5 mm) and the edges gently filed, she hoed into some scratch mix - more enthusiastically than normal.

So, after ALL these months of getting around like a little old lady with perfect but slooow steps, she starts to show specific symptoms - today ??? Began to limp slightly too, and sit a lot around midday - so I rang our own Vet, who is not specifically specialist avian but is a good vet with years of experience in farm and small domestic pets ... took her down there early this evening.

By that time, the scales were elevating on her leg, and it was more noticeable than even this morning - yet I swear there had not been any development like that, yesterday or previously.

Vet concluded she has infection ( which is why I took her there - swelling often means infection ), which would have become worse, in the long run. I believe she has cared for the leg, by sitting down a lot, at which time her tail immediately springs back up to 'happy'. Her body heat on the leg would also have helped her feel better. But time was now ( or probably before now ) for intervention. She is on Noroclav - twice a day, and I have to pop them down her throat. The tabs are as big as thick 10 cent pieces !!!!

2 x 1/2 tabs twice a day = 2 whole tabs per day. Dosage for hens is similar to that for largish dogs ? He explained it may seem a huge dose, but is appropriate - and to make doubly sure, he checked his book of meds dosage for me, showing me the dosage.

And upon her return from the vets, she literally ran ... yes RAN, into her coop to start really gobbling layer pellets. Now I am not saying the anti-biotic worked within a half hour - of course not - not at all !! .... I think she was just so grateful to be back home, with her BFF, and after being confined for over an hour, sitting down in the large cat box - she felt comfortable and hungry enough to do that. Vet Mark, thought she should start to show improvement in about 3 days.

She is not laying ( that I know of ) at the moment, but soooo wants to. Vivid red comb and wattles and squatting, which makes it much easier to pick her up. I cannot find a with-holding period for chickens on noroclav, but can only worry about that if I find two eggs in the nest at the one time. Meantime, Molly continues to lay darker pinkish brown eggs almost every day. And so does Mindy - olive eggs. Will phone the Vet tomorrow to ask about withholding period for chickens on that anti-biotic. After she finishes the course, ( and I sure hope she can, and doesn't have any allergic reactions to it - which would be the end of her ) ... I will give her pro-biotics and chook vitamins.

She weighed in at just on 4 kg - so as I suspected, she had lost some weight, but Mark thought it was a very good weight for her anyway.

So there ya go ...... now can only hope it all works for her and that she survives the medication etc - and that we have caught this weird thing in time. Impossible to tell how she injured herself, or acquired this infection.

p.s..... the price of her eggs * if ever she lays again *, has now gone up to $337 per egg !!!!

Cheers ........

 

[Anniebee]

I never minded touching meat really but the smell i don't really like even to this day. I am more of a chicken and fish kinda gal but will try most other meats. I don't eat pork (taste) and i would never eat kangaroo or deer but i have tried crocodile and actually quite liked that but I think i would be a vego again if i personally had to kill anything to eat it. Hubby does that bit around here. I can pluck and gut but i don't think i could ever bring myself to actually dispatch them.

Strange what people prefer - or not, isn't it.

I enjoy venison if I find it at the right price, and I don't think our freezer is ever without some form of kangaroo meat in it. THE most fat free, delicious red meat - use that as mince steak, along with the occasional good beef steak . Yet I couldn't come at eating crocodile myself. Perhaps because, while I respect them, I am terrified of being within miles of them.

One meat we thoroughly enjoy is mutton. It has to be cooked exactly right - but when it is pierced, slow roasted and basted, it turns out a deep to dark pink/red in colour, tastes very little like lamb at all, and is absolutely delicious. Costs a lot though, butchers don't usually have much mutton on hand, and usually have to specifically order it. The legs are much larger, so I guess the cost - approx. $25 > $30 per leg, is reasonable for the amount of meat on them.

I could never butcher my own meat, but having lived part of my life in the country, one 'hardens' to it happening. Just couldn't do it myself.

Cheers .....

 

[Anniebee]

The newest member of our growing menagerie arrived today. Meet BLING.



More blue and splash silkies hatched today will try to get a pic tomorrow .

Lovely looking youngster there Fancy .... and those stockings ! ... Almost like white tights on the hind legs ~~ !!

Trust 'Bling' settles down well ...

Cheers .

 

[Anniebee]

 

[Fancychooklady]

Lovely looking youngster there Fancy .... and those stockings ! ...  Almost like white tights on the hind legs ~~ !!  

Trust 'Bling' settles down well ... 

Cheers . 

Don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight , she has a very ' shrill ' whinny and doesn't like it when the others leave the gate. Castiel is very interested in her, they are similar size but she is 2 months older.

 

[sjturner79]

Strange what people prefer - or not, isn't it.  

I enjoy venison if I find it at the right price, and I don't think our freezer is ever without some form of kangaroo meat in it.   THE most fat free, delicious red meat - use that as mince steak, along with the occasional good beef steak .   Yet I couldn't come at eating crocodile myself.     Perhaps because, while I respect them, I am terrified of being within miles of them.   

One meat we thoroughly enjoy is mutton.  It has to be cooked exactly right - but when it is pierced, slow roasted and basted, it turns out a deep to dark pink/red in colour, tastes very little like lamb at all, and is absolutely delicious.   Costs a lot though, butchers don't usually have much mutton on hand, and usually have to specifically order it.  The legs are much larger, so I guess the cost - approx. $25 > $30 per leg, is reasonable for the amount of meat on them.  

I could never butcher my own meat, but having lived part of my life in the country, one 'hardens' to it happening.   Just couldn't do it myself.   

Cheers ..... 

I have always loved mutton, probably because that's what I grew up on. We lived on a sheep wool property and woul butcher our own wethers. I did my first at 13. It's one really good thing about my brother having the small farm here again. We get wether lambs around the area and grow them for 12 months to 2 years and then we have mutton to eat. At around 90$ a lamb and 4 hours work it's much cheaper than buying meat at the shop.

In other news we culled 10 roosters yesterday and 1 of the meaties. The hens seem much happier without all the spare boys trying to mate them all the time.
The difference between the carcass of the mixed breeds and the true meaties are amazing. The boys have been crowing for about 3 months and development wise it looks like the meaties should reach that age in about 6 weeks, but the meat bird carcass has 4 times the meat and twice the size, despite looking smaller as a live bird, and bieng around 5 months younger.

 

[Fizzybelle]

Just an update, Agnes' condition is not improving, in fact her good eye is now as bad if not worse than the other. She's had blood tested, and we're still at a loss for what has been causing this. She's got some pain relief and different meds, but basically if it goes on then we'll have to let her go. It's just way more complicated than it even sounds, but my vet has been really going above and beyond for her. Wednesday she sees the eye doctor again to see how it's either progressed or degenerated, so that's the decider. It's just taking quality of life into account. It helps to have some time to adjust, but it's gutting as hell. She's only a year old, and I thought after all the losses I had this time last year funnily enough, that was over with for many, many years now. Last year I lost the three members of my original flock, 2 to cancer and one to an antibiotic reaction, plus my lovebird from old age, all within two months. Aggie was the start of a new happier time some months after I'd adjusted to all of that. She's a sweetheart, and I'm still hoping for a change, but preparing too, hard as that is. So that's how that is.

Everyone else in my flock is fine thankfully. Mabel my Araucana has started laying more frequently now, it was like a week from her first egg to her second, which was just a shriveled rubber skin. All subsequent eggs since have been perfect and she's fine. The girls also lost their little dirt oasis today though, as the bobcat leveled it all out for my Dad's shed. I'll make them another, so long as the little horrors don't completely destroy the front yard (and my tomato plants) whilst there.

Anniebee, I really hope Mandy gets better from her infection soon, fingers crossed for good news for your girl

 

[Ashburnham]

Just as a change from chooks, I have some other babies.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Just as a change from chooks, I have some other babies.

I love goats. They look like our daisy.