Colorado

[Mkp1983]

@lomine The black hen is an egger. She is gorgeous. I also have a brown egger, 4 buff Orphington hens, one bantam brahma, one buff laced polish, a dutch bantam, a splash rosecomb bantam, and a buff orphinton roo.

 

[uzisuzuki]

I hope your little group does not freak out on you. Ducks are much more mellow about changes in my experience.

There is some weird behavior going on in my flock these days. Not illness but pecking order and who is where kind of stuff. Bunch of weirdos is what I find myself calling them now.



Hoping this will bring a grin. Yup more weirdos.

I've noticed this weird pecking order reshuffling in my flock lately as well. I think for mine, it's my little rooster (Odysseus) that's getting overwhelmed with too many ladies. He's the ultimate rooster for his 4 Polish ladies, but he's a bit of a poop with the others. Which kinda disappoints me because I wanted to get my tiny d'Anvers to have a couple offspring. I'm hoping to buy a little coop (shaped like a hobbit hole because I'm a gigantic nerd) this weekend to move him and his original Polish ladies into in hopes of chilling everyone out.

Oh, and I can't remember if anyone closer to the Denver Metro area here had any roosters but if any of you are like me and have no idea how to handle their spurs, that bird vet I found when my peahen was super sick (Broomfield Veterinary Hospital) will file them down. I'm taking aforementioned tiny rooster in next week so they can show me how to do it on my own.

Here's a few pics from this month. Unfortunately, my day job has been an increasingly hostile place to work at with my disabilities, so I haven't been as active with my picture taking as I usually am. I did start what has been jokingly referred to as the "Dramatic Chicken in Barn" series of shots with my demon twins - Memnoch and Mercury. So far, I can't get any of the other chickens to stay in one spot like those two will. I hope everyone else is doing well.
















First, we have the magick time...

then we have the cuddle time! I seriously don't know how Memnoch is the offspring of Odysseus. He's so the opposite of his old man, temperament wise.

 

[coop410silkies]

Well now I know exactly how you all feel when you lose a bird. Went out Saturday morning to find one of my ducks dead in the coop. Necropsy was inconclusive but considering the fact that she showed no signs of illness prior and the other ducks seem fine, the vet is leaning towards a congenital issue. He did say it could have been a toxin though. The other three went to the vet for a check-up. I guess I got scared I would lose them too. Vet said they look and sound good. He took a fecal sample to test and I should know the results soon. I am really hoping nothing comes up and the death was just a fluke. It's hard not knowing because I still feel responsible, she was in my care after all. I'll miss my beautiful Violet.

The other three were really cute at the vet today though. Made me smile for the first time in three days. The whole office staff was pretty excited to see them. The vet had never seen a Welsh Harlequin and said they were very pretty. Guess he mostly sees Pekins. He took pictures. He also took a video for the noise and right when he said that they all started quaking very loudly. It's like they were saying "You want noise? We'll give you noise!" I think spending time with them and my dogs will be the best way to heal.

If anyone needs a good vet in the Colorado Springs area, I highly recommend Yorkshire vet. I have been taking my dogs to them for years. They have four different vets on staff and they are all great, though I didn't know they had an exotic vet until Saturday. The staff and technicians are also great. They were really wonderful when talking on the phone and in the office when I dropped off the body. They were also very sweet today asking me how I was doing.

I think I'm going to go cuddle one of the dogs now.

Wow, how horrible for you to find one of your special ducks dead in its coop.

. Did Violet weigh OK? Did the necropsy rule some things out - even if it couldn't specify cause of death? That is SO distressing. I am happy your other three welsh harlequins seem to be OK and hope the fecals are back. I know that these things can happen through no fault of our own, but it would be nice to have some sense of control over what's happening with our animals. I guess that's what good vets are for. Good luck.

 

[lomine]

Wow, how horrible for you to find one of your special ducks dead in its coop.

. Did Violet weigh OK? Did the necropsy rule some things out - even if it couldn't specify cause of death? That is SO distressing. I am happy your other three welsh harlequins seem to be OK and hope the fecals are back. I know that these things can happen through no fault of our own, but it would be nice to have some sense of control over what's happening with our animals. I guess that's what good vets are for. Good luck.

Yes it was a shock to find her that morning. She had been acting completely normal the day before and she hadn't shown any signs of distress. The vet said she was in good body condition, all organs looked normal, no signs of respiratory problems, and no signs of a heart attack. He offered to send out tissue samples for testing but for only three samples it would have cost hundreds of dollars and he didn't seem very optimistic that anything would come of it. He did say that if any of the others died he would have me send the body to Colorado State (I think that's the collage he said) and that they could do all testing in house. I really hope it doesn't come to that. I haven't heard the results for the fecals yet but the vet doesn't seem to think my other three girls are in any danger right now. I do feel better after talking to the vet and knowing that whatever caused her death was not likely to do with something I did or any symptoms I missed.

The other girls are doing fine right now. They do seem to be looking for me more often at the back door though. If I didn't have to work I would go outside and hang out with them. I am seriously considering letting them inside to hang out with me. I'd have to block some entrances to keep them off the carpet but it would be interesting to see how they would act inside.

 

[coop410silkies]

Yes it was a shock to find her that morning. She had been acting completely normal the day before and she hadn't shown any signs of distress. The vet said she was in good body condition, all organs looked normal, no signs of respiratory problems, and no signs of a heart attack. He offered to send out tissue samples for testing but for only three samples it would have cost hundreds of dollars and he didn't seem very optimistic that anything would come of it. He did say that if any of the others died he would have me send the body to Colorado State (I think that's the collage he said) and that they could do all testing in house. I really hope it doesn't come to that. I haven't heard the results for the fecals yet but the vet doesn't seem to think my other three girls are in any danger right now. I do feel better after talking to the vet and knowing that whatever caused her death was not likely to do with something I did or any symptoms I missed.

The other girls are doing fine right now. They do seem to be looking for me more often at the back door though. If I didn't have to work I would go outside and hang out with them. I am seriously considering letting them inside to hang out with me. I'd have to block some entrances to keep them off the carpet but it would be interesting to see how they would act inside.

Well, no sign of disease, and that is good. I've kept ducks (in my childhood) and chickens in the house, and in my experience, they really like it. Adapt, adopt, and rule seems to be their motto. The last bird I rescued and kept in the house almost destroyed it; she went from flighty to fearless to thunderbird and was all over EVERYTHING, no regard for barriers or regulations at all. she followed me all over the house, cadging treats, always in it for the food. Yes, it will be interesting to let your Harlequins hang out with you in the house. Are your birds all hens? More good luck.

This

 

[lomine]

@Mkp1983 do you mean an Easter egger?

 

[Mkp1983]

Yes. Sorry I didn't clarify. She loves the camara.

 

[coop410silkies]

@Iomine: 'scuse me, I meant female DUCKS, not female chicken HENS. I would love to hear more about them. ?pics

 

[lomine]

@Mkp1983 I just asked because I wasn't sure it you meant Easter or olive egger. What color eggs does she lay? She is lovely. I love chickens with beards of muffs; they are so cute.

@coop410silkies My 3 WH ducks are name Nami, Petunia, and Puddles. My nephew picked the name Puddles, I guess it's from a book. It's much better than his first two choices. They were Swimming Duck (okay) and Dumb Duck (nope, not happening). They will be 7 months on Feb 3rd. Here are some pictures I took this morning. If you look close Puddles is sticking out her tongue in one of them.

 

[Mkp1983]

@lomine I didnt know there was a difference. I am new to the chicken mom job. I just love birds of all kinds. Her eggs are green.