Ribh's D'Coopage

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I'm sorry everyone; it's bad news about Patricia. It was a prolapse, as I suspected ~ but the biggest, nastiest one the vet had ever seen. She actually took Patricia to the head vet for a specialist consultation. They found a massive blood clot hidden behind the prolapse, lots of exposed blood vessels & she was haemorrhaging. It was really nasty & she was starting to fade so we agreed to put her out of her misery. Not what I was hoping for.
I thought she'd finished laying. I hadn't had an egg from her in months & then she began her moult & I just didn't expect her to ever lay again. However she was in a nesting box earlier this week & it seems that probably did it. She tried to push out a really large egg. The egg never arrived but everything else came out.

Those of you who know my tribes know we are heavy on the flighty nut jobs. The sane, stable members are super valuable for keeping my tipsy ship steady. Patricia was one of my calm steady ones. She will be missed.
View attachment 2680767
She's buried next to Reagan within sight & sound of the tribes.
I had a lot of unwanted help & advice.
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I'm so sorry Ribh. You did what was best for her.

The rosemary in the remembrance garden is lovely.

Farewell Patricia, you will be missed.

 

[Shadrach]

@CCCL Momma & chick are too beautiful for words & I am so grateful you have posted their lovely pics here but unfortunately I have been traumatised & need to vent for just a moment.

You see yesterday was weird. The weather was all over the place & the girls broke up into 3 groups to shelter from the worst of it. I was feeling rather off colour & not up to checking on them as regularly as I usually do so it was lock up time before I realised I had someone missing! It is so unusual I thought I had miscounted. Easy enough to do & hard to know which girl it was when with their backs turned it could have been any one of 1/2 a dozen but eventually I narrowed it down to Ceres. Ceres is one of my little Jap bantams & a new layer. I nursed her through fowl pox inside for over a month & the thought of something having happened to her was devastating!

I scoured the yard again & again. There was no pile of feathers so I she hadn't been predated. Plus none of my girls seemed traumatised. I searched for over an hour till it was pitch black then concluded that as unlikely as it might seem she had gone broody on me, secreted a pile of eggs somewhere & decided to sit.

This morning I called her before I had to leave for the doctors [he's cutting more bits out of me ] & made sure there was food & water somewhere she would find it if she left the nest. As soon as we got home I rushed to check. It looked like the food had been disturbed which was sooo reassuring & I recommenced looking! Experience told me she was probably hidden quite close to the coop & how I hadn't stepped on her last night I'll never know. I passed her several times & never saw her. She was on the downside of the hill under a tangle of long grass in a beautiful little nest, all snug & comfy.
View attachment 2678866
She was not best pleased to be disturbed!
And she was covering 6 eggs, naughty girl!
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Where is this nest in relation to her coop Ribh?

 

[Ribh]

Jeannie I'm so sorry about Patricia She was well loved and had a great life

I'm so sorry Ribh. You did what was best for her.

Thank you people.

At least this time there's no residual guilt. I couldn't have predicted this, prevented this or done anything about it. And I know she really enjoyed the last few weeks, her moult finished & lots of free ranging in really good weather.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I'm sorry everyone; it's bad news about Patricia. It was a prolapse, as I suspected ~ but the biggest, nastiest one the vet had ever seen. She actually took Patricia to the head vet for a specialist consultation. They found a massive blood clot hidden behind the prolapse, lots of exposed blood vessels & she was haemorrhaging. It was really nasty & she was starting to fade so we agreed to put her out of her misery. Not what I was hoping for.
I thought she'd finished laying. I hadn't had an egg from her in months & then she began her moult & I just didn't expect her to ever lay again. However she was in a nesting box earlier this week & it seems that probably did it. She tried to push out a really large egg. The egg never arrived but everything else came out.

Those of you who know my tribes know we are heavy on the flighty nut jobs. The sane, stable members are super valuable for keeping my tipsy ship steady. Patricia was one of my calm steady ones. She will be missed.
View attachment 2680767
She's buried next to Reagan within sight & sound of the tribes.
I had a lot of unwanted help & advice.
View attachment 2680812​

I am sorry to hear about Patricia. Poor girl.
As has been said here, she had a good life and was a happy chicken.

 

[Grammy60]

Good evening everyone

Heading to the mainland vets now.
Found Patricia like this when I went to let the girls out. If you're a prayerer, prayers please. This is not good.
View attachment 2680518​

I'm so sorry Jeannie She had a great life with you ❤

 

[Ribh]

Where is this nest in relation to her coop Ribh?

I was going to try & get a picture today because I knew you'd ask but I had an emergency & was @ the Vet's most of the day.

However it is to the nor'east of the coop about 20' out, on the downhill side of a slope. She had buried into & under long grass & was pretty well camouflaged. She was within hearing & seeing distance of everybody & I'm jolly sure they all knew where she was & what she was doing!

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

We have 3!

I think she's done. She moved off the rest of the eggs and they didnt show any pips of anything.

 

[Ribh]

We have 3!
View attachment 2680866

I think she's done. She moved off the rest of the eggs and they didnt show any pips of anything.

Wow! Three's a handful anyhow! They are super lovely.

 

[Shadrach]

I thought of Shad while I was looking for her. I was pretty sure she wouldn't be too far from her food & water source. His experience was what stopped me from completely freaking out last night & trusting she was smart enough to have made a pretty safe nest. I think she did pretty well but I'd like his take on it.

It's an instant extreme rise in stress even when you're used to it.
As you know, if I hadn't located their nests before they decide to sit then it's a matter of following them when they leave the nest to eat and bath. This can be very time consuming and of course, it seems that the more feral ones know you are following them!
I stopped letting any sit away from the coops if I could find them after a few years. The risk was too high mainly due to foxes and Martens.
What adds further stress is that some hens, usually pullets in fact, can sit for the first two to three days straight only getting off the nest for water and a stretch etc. They often don't move far enough from the nest for long enough to locate them.
On the plus side, most broody hens make a racket when they encounter other chickens which can be heard from quite a distance so one doesn't necessarily have to wait close to their usual feeding point all day in the hope they put in an appearance.

 

[Ribh]

On the plus side, most broody hens make a racket when they encounter other chickens which can be heard from quite a distance so one doesn't necessarily have to wait close to their usual feeding point all day in the hope they put in an appearance.

I remembered this titbit but Ceres, the little rotter, has been remarkably silent throughout the whole process. I have no idea if she is still broody or not. I kept her penned today but she ate & drank & went to roost with everyone else as if brooding had never once entered her little bantam head!