Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I took a break from running back and forth checking on chickens to spend time with Crash duck this afternoon. After some convincing, I got her in her carrier and we spent a bit of time outside. The majority was spent in the duck pen. Crash was able to see her parents for the first time (from a distance--they wouldn't come any closer than about 8 feet), and hilarity ensued. She would start screech-quacking at the top of her lungs, and then Trudi would do the same, and Malcolm just stood there and watched. I'm beginning to understand how people can consider call ducks loud. It was cute, though. Other than a few cracks, Crash sounds just like a higher-pitched version of Trudi.

It gave me an opportunity to compare size, though. I would say Crash is about 1/3 the size of her mom. I didn't realize how tiny she was before then!


Anyway, everything is unchanged with the rest of them. Frou-Frou is pretty much herself again and I will probably put her out in the coop tonight, once it has cooled off for the night and see how she's doing tomorrow. I need to go out and check Kate again, but she was fine still just a couple hours ago. I've got to run for now because a storm is rolling in (with, I kid you not, 'torrential rainfall' reported in it ) and I've got to get the coops ready for it. Sigh...

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Sounds tiring... Best of luck with Kate. Maybe the rain will control the heat a bit? The rain gods sure love you

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Katykins is still all good, and I'm pretty sure she laid an egg today! I'm so relieved! I had fully expected a few weeks of TLC to get her going again!

Meanwhile, the storms have rolled in, and it's so dark that I went ahead and closed the coops for the night, about an hour earlier than usual. They were not kidding with the predicted torrential rainfall! Anyone know how to get on the bad side of the rain gods? You're right, though, it is much cooler out now!

Anyway, it came on so fast that I just left Frou-Frou where she is. I'll take her out first thing in the morning. I also left the eggs in the coop because the thunder and wind was freaking me out and I just wanted to get inside. Have I mentioned before that I have a teeny-tiny fear of storms? It doesn't seem so bad now that I'm in the house, though...

 

[lightchick]

You really can't go wrong. Whatever you decide is probably going to turn out.

At least you aren't in the same situation I'm in! My EE I got from a pullet bin just started crowing at 13 weeks and that's started my Silkie hen who lays eggs and even squats crowing!
The wouldn't be a problem except that I live in town. *sigh*

Hope you are happy with whatever you decide to do!

Aw, that stinks! I have a couple hens that crow, too, although we luckily live in an area that that doesn't matter so much. My Sebright, Rosie, crows after almost every egg she lays instead of singing the egg song! Hope you can get your Silkie to remember she's a girl!

I'm stuck now.
Someone near where I live has 2 3 month old white call ducks. the genders are unknown. 
If I had the money I would have both of them.
But my quarantine currently has my younger group of chicks in it.
And I don't have anything for ducks and I have a ton of birds anyway.

I hate when this happens, so close yet so far away 


Good luck making your mind up on that hen, if it was me I'd fine a way to have her   

Ah, the temptation! Don't mind the pages of duck cuteness here while you're thinking about these little duckies for sale.




I do actually think I've made up my mind in regards to the hen, but I wanted to ask a few more questions about her before I fully decide. Just waiting on a response from her owner.

I don't actually quarantine... Tried it but my chickens found the quarantine in my garage easily. LOL

Oh, this makes me cringe... Don't you have anywhere else you can quarantine? :/ It's especially important now with the HPAI outbreak going on that birds be fully quarantined for at least 21 days...

I only ever brought a 13 wk old bird in once and that was last year. This year it was only chicks.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Frou-Frou is out with the flock and Kate is doing just fine. I was concerned for Kate because it looked like her prolapse was returning last night, but there was nothing abnormal about her vent this morning. And Emmy, well, she's unchanged. So the dust is settling from all of the ruckus of everything going down in the span of a few days. I think this is going to be the eye of the storm, however.

Betty is not improving. In fact, she has gotten worse. I'm fairly sure that there is nothing I can do at this point. I started her on Sulfadimethoxine, my last resort. It's a long-acting drug, useful as an antibiotic or as a coccidiostat. It's been so wet here, perhaps a bad case of Coccidiosis is what has her down, and if not, then at least giving her this is not a complete waste. But I'm not optimistic. She was thin before, but now she's nothing but skin and bones. She would grumble and chatter in her hospital pen, but now she's quiet. Lord knows she has kicked bedding everywhere in there, but none has been moved today. I am doing what I can, but I am bracing for the worst.


I do apologize for how pessimistic or depressing I may seem over the next few days. I don't want to bring the board down, but I'm just... really feeling the stress right now.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Sorry to hear the news. Does Betty have abdominal swelling? I get what you mean about feeling stressed. Animal illness is always hard. You don't know what they're thinking, and you can't always cure them easily. Hoping things work out for you.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Sorry for the lack of response, it's been kind of rough here. No, Betty has no swelling of any kind. She's still with us today and has been drinking, but is not eating and was regurgitating some water when she dipped her head. :/ I'm not sure how much longer she's going to make it. Still doing what I can.





I'll be honest, I've been crying a lot today. I ended up bringing Frou-Frou back in. She took a very sudden turn for the worst. She's barely opening her eyes and she seems feverish. She still eats and drinks, and sometimes she's up and around and seems okay. She did eat lots of coconut oil as well, which should give her some energy. I just am so scared that I could lose her, and it's breaking my heart. Frou-Frou, my baby, my beloved hen... I love all of my hens and it crushes me to lose any of them, but Frou-Frou... She and I have an especially close bond... I'm not coping well with this at all, and it's been hard for me to keep calm enough to be rational and make decisions on what to do with her. I mean, I even broke down crying when I was putting the rest of the hens to bed just because the thought crossed my mind that this was what the coop would look like without Frou-Frou. I'm so stressed at this point that I think I'm making myself ill. What am I going to do?

I may or may not post here very often for the time being, just depends on how things are going. Please, anyone reading, keep Frou-Frou in your thoughts. I just can't lose my Frou-Frou...

 

[autumnhearth]

My heart goes out to you. I hope Frou-Frou perks up and has many more years with you.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I'm awfully sorry. I'm really hoping Frou-Frou gets better. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Betty passed away this evening. She was a little over 4 years old. It must have been peaceful, for she was sitting in the corner and looked like she was just sleeping. Betty was such an amazing bird and I don't think I will ever meet another one like her. She was such an adventurous spirit. She went further and explored more than any hen I knew. She had a talent for being in one place one moment, and clear across the yard in the next moment. We always joked that she could teleport, and often it seemed true. And yet, in spite of her adventurous nature, she was always okay with a little attention, even from my young niece. Whenever she was picked up, she would soak in the attention, and then as soon as her feet were on the ground she was off again like nothing had slowed her down. She had the best personality and the most glorious beard of all the Easter-eggers I've ever owned. A difficult loss.


Frou-Frou, meanwhile, is not getting worse, but making few improvements. She spend a couple days sleeping a lot and I was so scared I would lose her that I did end up making myself sick. Then, she started getting up again and moving around and eating and generally acting more like a Frou-Frou bird. She eats heartily, drinks, and has plenty of normal droppings. Plenty. But every time I think she might be getting better, she gets all droopy and squinty for a short while, and every time I'm sure she's going downhill, she perks right back up. Today, she has been eating a bit more and I got some coconut oil in her for a boost. Still hoping my baby pulls through, and doing everything I can in the mean time.