Trish, so sorry about the stress but glad she showed up. I guess you'll never know where she was. Our cat will disappear about once a year for anywhere from 2-4 days. We've never known where he goes or what he does but one evening he'll be at the door and that's that for another year.
So sorry also about the peachick. I was rooting for the little guy and the more days that went by and he was still with us, the more I thought he might make it.
Danz, sorry about the Orp. This has been a brutal summer so far. I've heard that there is supposed to be a cool change coming through tomorrow, and the high for the day Monday is only 80. Time to pull out sweaters and coats.
Then next week its supposed to be in the 90's all week. Just the news of a change coming through is making it easier for me to get through the day today.
Karen, I had such a great time visiting with you yesterday. Karen was kind enough to offer me some replacement birds for the ones I lost, and I now have Cyrus, a very large EE roo. He is only 5 months old so will probably still grow some, but he is HUGE already. He and the 2 sussex hens, EE hen (Suzette) and Aloha hen, are acclimating to their new environment and so far doing very well. I'm just so thrilled to have them.
Well, my Cuckoo Marans that I was sure was a goner after her fox attack, is hanging in there. For a couple of days she just looked shell-shocked. You know when they turn inwards and barely respond to their environment? She stood in one place all day and didn't pay any attention to anything going on around her. I lifted her on the roost at night, off the roost in the morning, and set her by feed and water but she wouldn't eat or drink voluntarily. I felt sure she wouldn't make it. Yesterday afternoon I decided to try to tempt her with an egg and to my surprise, she showed interest and then slowly started eating. Today she is still moving slowly and carefully but is looking more interested in life and doing a better job of moving to the coolest spot. At one point she went to stand in the waterer and best of all, when I took out some food scraps to them a few minutes ago, she looked interested and pecked at a grape. So I think maybe she'll make it. I'm so glad I treated all the wounds I could find with Neosporin. Hopefully it prevented infection and allowed her to just fight the shock and overcome. Fingers crossed.
I am also moving in the direction of a LGD. It is slow going because the DH is not excited about adding a new dependent. Fortunately, the current owner of the dog I hope to adopt has been very understanding and is being patient and allowing me to take some time. I hope to have her (the dog, not the owner) for a few days trial next week and see how she fits in with us. DH thinks its overkill to get a huge dog that has to be fed, wormed, vaccinated and cared for the rest of its life, just to guard a small flock of chickens. I can see his point but....I don't ever want to go out to that kind of devastation again. I enjoy my ducks and guineas in their own way but the chickens have such distinct personalities and I get to know them all. If I lose a duck or guinea it is feels like disappointment that it is a bird that won't be around to eat ticks, or raise a clutch of ducklings but when I lose a chicken, I am losing a bird I knew, individually from any other. It is not unlike losing a dog or cat, as each of them have their own place in our hearts. I still miss the Red Star I lost two years ago to my next-door neighbor's dogs - as many chickens as I've had, I've never had another just like her. So while I see DH's point, I also know I can't go through this heartache too many times before I quit because I can't take the losses any more.
I know if I said all of that to my wonderful, loving and mostly understanding family members, they wouldn't understand. I suspect most of you would.
Going to sell them for $2 each but will take $10 for all 7.
