- Aug 21, 2014
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Hi there
Our two hens are nearly two years old and came to visit for 10 days at Christmas. We ended up minding them for a further 3 weeks which stretched out to 3 months following they were offered to us for keeps! I and my husband love to watch them potter round our garden where they free-range for the latter half of each day when we are home.
So, meet Buffy, a buff sussex, large and fluffy and a guts, who loves to forage and scratch and dig deep holes. She is currently in a chicken ark placed over one of our raised garden beds and the place looks like a total battle field after 3 days' worth of her activities.
And Twiggy, a brown leghorn with a jaunty walk and cute floppy comb which we call her fascinator. Twiggy moulted heavily over this past winter but returned to her former beauty plus more, beginning to lay again.
You might like to read about Twiggy's recent 'adventure'...
Twiggy likes to search out 'special' places to lay - under the lavender bush by our front door, or over the wall to our neighbours' front garden, or just in the middle of the lawn. When she was nowhere to be found one afternoon, 3 weeks ago I was concerned but hopeful that she would return before dark but no sign. We were heartbroken. Extensive enquiry round our neighbourhood but nothing. She'd vanished. Last weekend, 15 days on from her disappearance I reluctantly removed the signs we had pinned on the lamp posts in the neighbourhood. A nice sunny afternoon, I had some seedlings to plant out and was digging in our raised garden bed when I heard a rustle. Glancing down the back of the garden I expected to see a rat scuttling away and to my amazement and consternation, saw our beloved Twiggy, wedged at the bottom of a gap no wider than 4inches. The gap between the planter box and fence gets progressively narrower and she had been unable to back out when she found that she couldn't go forward! Poor poor little bird. We levered the side of the box away sufficient to ease her out - very limp, feet clawed, comb dried and bluish but that little beady eye with still a tiny spark... Amazingly and unbelievably, she is slowly regaining her strength. Three days of crop feeding to re nourish and hydrate her complimented by physical therapy, chicken styIe I.e. She is supported in a sling with legs hanging down to give her practice at assisted weight bearing plus regular time practising her perching skills (she can now perch for 5 minutes on her strong leg) I have brought her home from the vet today to continue her rehab programme at home, hopeful that we will continue to see her progress to a point where we can reintroduce her to companion!
Our two hens are nearly two years old and came to visit for 10 days at Christmas. We ended up minding them for a further 3 weeks which stretched out to 3 months following they were offered to us for keeps! I and my husband love to watch them potter round our garden where they free-range for the latter half of each day when we are home.
So, meet Buffy, a buff sussex, large and fluffy and a guts, who loves to forage and scratch and dig deep holes. She is currently in a chicken ark placed over one of our raised garden beds and the place looks like a total battle field after 3 days' worth of her activities.
And Twiggy, a brown leghorn with a jaunty walk and cute floppy comb which we call her fascinator. Twiggy moulted heavily over this past winter but returned to her former beauty plus more, beginning to lay again.
You might like to read about Twiggy's recent 'adventure'...
Twiggy likes to search out 'special' places to lay - under the lavender bush by our front door, or over the wall to our neighbours' front garden, or just in the middle of the lawn. When she was nowhere to be found one afternoon, 3 weeks ago I was concerned but hopeful that she would return before dark but no sign. We were heartbroken. Extensive enquiry round our neighbourhood but nothing. She'd vanished. Last weekend, 15 days on from her disappearance I reluctantly removed the signs we had pinned on the lamp posts in the neighbourhood. A nice sunny afternoon, I had some seedlings to plant out and was digging in our raised garden bed when I heard a rustle. Glancing down the back of the garden I expected to see a rat scuttling away and to my amazement and consternation, saw our beloved Twiggy, wedged at the bottom of a gap no wider than 4inches. The gap between the planter box and fence gets progressively narrower and she had been unable to back out when she found that she couldn't go forward! Poor poor little bird. We levered the side of the box away sufficient to ease her out - very limp, feet clawed, comb dried and bluish but that little beady eye with still a tiny spark... Amazingly and unbelievably, she is slowly regaining her strength. Three days of crop feeding to re nourish and hydrate her complimented by physical therapy, chicken styIe I.e. She is supported in a sling with legs hanging down to give her practice at assisted weight bearing plus regular time practising her perching skills (she can now perch for 5 minutes on her strong leg) I have brought her home from the vet today to continue her rehab programme at home, hopeful that we will continue to see her progress to a point where we can reintroduce her to companion!
and Welcome To BYC! Poor Twiggy, she is one lucky chicken to have survived! Hope she makes a full recovery. 
