Ribh's D'Coopage

[Ribh]

They're sisters but they approach broodiness very differently.
Alpia is still sweet but Wrold is a little demon.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

When we bought our property the first thing we did was put in our well & we planted treelines all the way around the area where our house would be! That was back in 1991! We needed a wind break & we wanted to provide food and shelter for birds and other small animals! It has also made our yard more private! Our property was sand and sagebrush, we have planted over 300 trees & shrubs!
This is our largest treeline it is 5 rows deep, 1 row of shrubs, 2 rows of deciduous & 2 rows of evergreens! It slows down the wind & definitely keeps our place cooler! Beyond the tree's it is still sand and sagebrush!
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I admire your forethought and planning. It's beautiful.

Has it changed the soil profile?

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I love maples but they don't do well in our climate. We tried. We had 1/2 a dozen miniatures in the bush house where they were surviving quite well but we lost them when we planted them out. So many things have a shortish lifespan too. I had a Yesterday, today & forever which needs replacing & a night jasmine. The scent was wonderful! I am determined to try for a lilac if I can find a spot it might just survive...I love scented plants!

Me too. I love the ones with scented foliage as well. The scent is there all year round especially after rain or when the sun hits them.

Do you have any native mint bushes in your garden Ribh? Mine get covered in purple flowers in spring and smell heavenly.

I couldn't get a good enough photo of mine but this is what it looks like:

 

[Ribh]

Me too. I love the ones with scented foliage as well. The scent is there all year round especially after rain or when the sun hits them.

Do you have any native mint bushes in your garden Ribh? Mine get covered in purple flowers in spring and smell heavenly.

I couldn't get a good enough photo of mine but this is what it looks like:
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I don't but I should try for some. It would probably do well. We have native sarsaparilla growing wild.

 

[MaryJanet]

Thanks, Bob. Yes, she's eating ~ & drinking. As I said, she seems fine, her usual nasty self apart from tipping over occasionally.

Is she enthusiastic about treats?

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

When they shall say, “There is peace and quiet”, then suddenly destruction shall arise upon them...
I am starting to think there is no such thing as a settled flock.
Just as I think everything is pottering along nicely something happens & my insides plummet like a hooked fish & my mind immediately starts calculating when's the earliest I can get to a vet.

Suyin has not been right for a long time ~ more than a year. The vet says otherwise but I'm pretty sure the vet is wrong in this case. It's just neither of us knows exactly what's wrong.
She is super light. Her keelbone feels like a knife. She's a great forager but hardly touches the commercial feed. She's always @ the water station. She's mean & ornery but she's my hen & I do the best I can by her. So when she suddenly keeled over & flapped wildly on the ground, unable to regain her balance I freaked out. She finally scrambled to her feet & it was as if the tumble had never happened. She looked & acted fine but fine she is not. There is some funny neck twisting & she is losing her balance still.

I had her in the carrier inside last night but this morning she is in the little pen, feisty as ever. She is a fighter, this one. Another hen would've been dead ages ago but not Suyin. She just doesn't give in.

So she's not a young hen. She's over 2 so although my frantic reading suggested even an immunised older bird can get Mereks if their immune system is low I really don't think it is that. I suspect some sort of infection that is affecting her middle ear but there's nothing I can do until I can get her to the vet & that's a week away ~ by which time she's likely to be fine again.

She's getting extra nutrients in her water, extra protein in her feed & will stay isolated to prevent her being trampled by my big busty ladies. She doesn't appear to be in pain. Her head & tail are up. Her eyes are bright & alert so I am hopeful.
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Thin...drinking lots of water...
Can chooks get diabetes?

I hope she rallies Ribh

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

Thin...drinking lots of water...
Can chooks get diabetes?

I hope she rallies Ribh

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[MaryJanet]

I have a pet carrier Ribh. In fact I have two now. I leave one out and open. The chickens now know they are safe in it. Most have been in it at some point in time.
They survive a very bumpy car ride down the track and a carry through a town. You can't park aywhere near the vets. I talk to them constantly while they are in the car. Usually they settle down. If I'm in the same tin can as they are I suppose they reckon I'm not suicidal and go with the flow so to speak.
Most of the time they can't wait to get back in the carrier after the vet has had them on the table. Cillin jumped right off the table and made a dash for the carrier the first vet visit he had.

My last trip to the chicken vet was with Ivy and Peggy and they talked to each other the whole way, it was very sweet.

 

[Ribh]

Is she enthusiastic about treats?

Yep. She had something fishy with her breakfast this morning & she gobbled it down.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yep. She had something fishy with her breakfast this morning & she gobbled it down.

Hmmm. I've got one more question and the my meagre knowledge is expended: What are her poops like? Peggy's pancreas is not healthy so her poops tell me how her digestion is going. Lately there's very little undigested food in her poops.