Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I lost my darling little teeny tiny Altair to a hawk today. It took off with her and vanished without a trace into the woods before I could even pursue it, leaving just a single feather for me to determine who had even been taken. I thought for a bit that it had somehow gotten both of my Fawn girls because Vega was nowhere to be found as well, but after about 20 minutes of desperate searching she finally reemerged from her hiding place. I have all my Old English on lockdown again, no free ranging and only access to covered pens. Guess it's about time to start looking at lumber prices again. I don't know if I have enough time before the real winter cold to do any building, but at least I can start saving to build them a secure pen for next year.

I'm so tired of all the losses lately. I'm sorry this thread has been such a massive downer recently. My sweet little lady.

 

[Silkie Princess]

I lost my darling little teeny tiny Altair to a hawk today. It took off with her and vanished without a trace into the woods before I could even pursue it, leaving just a single feather for me to determine who had even been taken. I thought for a bit that it had somehow gotten both of my Fawn girls because Vega was nowhere to be found as well, but after about 20 minutes of desperate searching she finally reemerged from her hiding place. I have all my Old English on lockdown again, no free ranging and only access to covered pens. Guess it's about time to start looking at lumber prices again. I don't know if I have enough time before the real winter cold to do any building, but at least I can start saving to build them a secure pen for next year.

I'm so tired of all the losses lately. I'm sorry this thread has been such a massive downer recently. My sweet little lady.

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I am so sorry! I was in a similair situation too. Lost 9 birds in 3 weeks

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Aw, I'm so sorry about your losses as well! Nine in three weeks, that's so much. Mine have been spaced out a bit more, but it's felt like one after another has been lost since September, with few breaks in between. It's so tough to lose just one on its own, let alone multiples so soon after one another.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

She was very pretty. I'm sorry for the loss.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving yesterday, or at least a good day nonetheless for those outside of the U.S. We had a nice meal here, and Casper even got to try a tiny bit of the turkey. He definitely approved of how it was prepared and cooked, so I guess it was a good one.

In lighter chicken-related news from my last two posts, Dandelion is now three full days without a prolapse! There are lots of white, fuzzy feathers being shed in her hospital pen, too, so she seems to have gone into a molt again. Hopefully this time she means to see her molt through and take a break from laying for a while.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Casper went in for his neuter surgery today. He should be fine, the vet's office we go to does this surgery all the time without problems, and my family's dog just was spayed at the same vet's office a few weeks ago, so I'm confident that they know what they're doing. Yet, I'm still so anxious and worried about my boy! My sweet Keiko was already spayed when I got her, and the only other pet besides the poultry that was mine was my childhood dog who had genetic issues that made having her spayed too risky, so I've never had to worry about this with one of my pets before! I'm sure he'll be fine, and he should be done and able to come home in a few hours, so I just need to hold out until then.


In the mean time, here's a check in with miss Dandelion Fluff. She's at a bit over 9 full days now with no relapse! And most of her fluff is on the ground!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

It always makes me nervous when we take dogs in for spaying and neutering, but we've never had issues. Except afterwards when one of our was too active and had issues. That goofball is now 3.
Dandelion is like this

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Casper is home now, and everything went as it should! He was a bit slow to come out of the anesthesia, but they gave him a reversal drug and he perked up fine! He's a bit loopy still, but walking around and talking like normal, so I'm sure he's going to be fine.

Dandelion is like this

How did you get an actual photo of Dandy? For real, when I gave her that name, I never expected her to actually live up to it!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

for Casper!
Dandelion is just the best name for her!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Well, I've sadly got to post about another loss incoming. I'm a bit more at peace with this one, though. It's Raven, my 11 year and 8 month old Gold Laced Wyandotte hen. By chicken standards, she's ancient, on borrowed time even. I brought her inside to a hospital pen a few days ago because she looked a bit ruffled and it's been a bit chilly. She's only gone downhill since. She is well on her way out now and I don't have enough time to make preparations for euthanasia before she passes on her own, I don't think, so I've left her in her pen in a quiet, warm room where she doesn't have to feel the chill of this current cold snap we're having. I'm reasonably sure she'll be gone within the hour. Poor old gal.

At least, as far as the other birds go, everyone else is well and keeping warm on this frigid late fall day.