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This was sent as private message to someone on byc (that I tried to adlib for sake of retyping) for advice so please excuse the personals (if any) but this is an update on the current situation:! THANK YOU Everyone who replied and for the Warm Welcomes! Y'all are awesome!!!
I have been busy with the babes lol! When I decided to try chickens this year I did so with the intent of also having them as pets. I wanted 1. Then I found out 1 by itself was not good and could be lonely so we opted for 2. Ultimately hubby said, well they make eggs so we figured we could get 4 to try and produce the eggs we usually buy a month which isn't much to make up the cost difference in care. Yea right lol! Thank God I had pets in mind! smile.png Anywho, since freaking out and sending you that message as a last straw we messaged Gertrude 5x that day and she passed some dry clumby poos and her crop emtipied by the next day (yesterday). Her rear is still not normal size but alot smaller then it was. The purtruding lump is gone now her vent just seems swollen? Maybe, maybe not. I never had chicks before and she done plucked out every feather back there so its hard to tell if she's reached normalcy or not? I applied witch hazel and honey this morning and decided after 6 days of no change and 9 days of torture I'm going to leave her alone. She is small enough that she may grow out of it if I quite bothering her. She was head hen before isolation 9 days ago and now with supervised visits of flock mates they just can't help themselves but to go after her featherless vent and cause her pain. Her spirit has been awesome this whole time as she is a fighter and a lover! She answers to her name and our voices! She LOVES being held and gave me a chicken kiss on my lips yesterday! I even made her a cleanable chick purse so I can take her with me if we need to be gone for long periods of time while she is healing. I know its terrible lol! I almost got her a new 3 day old Polish chick today because her health was declining I'm guessing from loniness. I felt terrible! Plus I really wanted a Polish but not 5 chicks so instead we concocted a new brooder. One that enables Gert to feel as she is not alone and one that may break up the current flock structure so when she heals completely she is a welcomed back edition...so we hope! Was so darling! We usually hold her about 10 out of 16 hrs a day and this evening she was put in the new brooder and ran around rampent calling us and and doing circles because the other chicks were not liking the arrangement and going crazy and she just wanted out of there lol! After we held her and put her back she just put herself to bed in her little place like normal and the others eventually settled down. Peace at last lol! I know she's just a $3.75 chick and easily replaced but to us she's is family! I thank you SO MUCH for responding and offering your words of wisdom! Lord knows we could some smile.png ! Thank you for listening and hope your flock is doing WONDERFUL!!!
1st pick is of Gertrude getting her crop messaged 2 days ago
2 nd and 3rd is of their new brooder today
