What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

I know, right? Sooo creative and thoughtful hahaha. Poor Leaky got the worst name

I too am a sucker for the disabled animals and Peggy is no exception! She is just the sweetest little thing! She's the first to say hi, the first to try escaping the run to venture into the yard, the first to treats...and she used to be so quiet and unassuming. Makes my heart swell watching her be a strong and assertive sweetheart. I also have Oreo, my runt d'Anver from my own bird eggs I hatched. She is the only mottled chick to hatch from all the eggs I grabbed and she had trouble walking, trouble eating, and I spent a lot of time babying her with egg yolk and nutridrench...but she just hasn't grown much. She is almost 10 weeks old and still the size of a 3 week old chick! But she is also assertive, shoves her way to the front for treats, ventures out and about more than the big chickens...just a tiny little mite with a big personality. I just love her.

Here to on having a soft spot for anything disadvantaged. It really is wonderful to see them thrive.
Can see why you love both of them

 

[ChicksnMore]

I checked on my injured pullet and she seems to be doing fine. I hand fed her a bit of smoked sausage so I could get a close look at the damage. And to give her some extra protein for healing, too.

It's like the very back end of the comb was ripped off at the base, maybe 1/8 inch or less. There's no more bleeding, but the wound is still pretty visible. I'll smear some more antibiotic on it later today. It's still moist from what I applied yesterday evening.

I gave her some leaf lettuce, lemon balm and weeds to pick on, too.

Bet she's loving all those treats!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Well…I’m gonna try it guys…I’m gonna see if having an outdoor kitty gets rid of the rats

Today I ran to the feed store for chicken scratch and peeked in the chick section…and was surprised to see these big furry weird looking chicks!
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I’ve been thinking about it for awhile and kept waiting for the right time and felt like the Universe sent me this sign. This morning the feed store found them dumped in their alley So they brought them inside cuz it’s very hot today and we’re hoping to get them rehomed before this weekend. I went in the back and pet them and looked them over, and their coats are dirty and feel nutritionally depleted and they’re very skinny—so worms likely…but otherwise appear healthy. Bright eyes, no discharge, friendly and calm. The little black kitten got up and came to me for pets and started purring…and I was toast.

So meet Shadow, our new outdoor chicken protector “I hope”
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I wasn’t totally set up for an outdoor kitty…so I have her in a smaller space till I can set her up properly. Wanna keep her close to the house and off the ground, but obviously with an indoor cat I want to make sure she sees a vet asap. Aside from a dewormer and a bath, is there anything else I should do @TropicalBabies @ChicksnMore ?? Hopefully she works out perfectly and we can get the rats outta here and have a nice kitty…or the husband will get very annoyed with me!

O she's beautiful I'm so glad you got her and she really should help your rat problems! Ours catch the pack rats and mice around here. In fact the pack rats seem to be gone now. Wish I could say the same for the mice! Just keep her inside til she's had a full series of shots to protect her from any ickies. Think you have a lot of rumbling purrs in your future

 

[ChicksnMore]

Yeah, I will be calling the vet first thing to see if I can get Shadow in for a look over. After a bath and closer inspection, I'm pretty sure we have a boy! I looked into the shelters for cheaper vet care and they are 4 months out on neutering--sooo, probably gonna pay for the full vet experience to get it done asap. I was thinking he's maybe 10-11 weeks old and I think they neuter pretty young in cats, no? So he's probably gonna be ready in the next couple of weeks or so. Wanna get all the vaccinations and deworming and flea meds right away though. I got praziquantel tablets from Amazon just in case the vet can't see him till next week or later--given how skinny he is, he most likely has worms. Miyuki wasn't living outdoors and still had worms...so I figure it's a given with this little one.

It was SOOO hard to only take ONE!! If they had had 4 kittens or 2 kittens I would have likely taken 2 haha...but I didn't want one kitty to be alone at the feed store so and they seemed sort of bonded to each other and the black baby was the most interested in getting love and attention. The one tabby I petted looked at me like, why you do that? Then got up and moved out of my reach hahaha. Plus Scott was very not thrilled with the idea even though he'd agreed he was willing to try an outdoor cat as a ratter. I'm already sensing that Scott is going to be disappointed by this cat's interest in ratting....he literally climbed onto my neck purring so loud you could hear him 10 ft away and wouldn't let go. He's seriously desperate for love and affection...I can't believe how sweet he is! He got a bath in Dawn soap for now, as I wasn't sure he's old enough to get the flea and tick shampoo, so hopefully that helps clean him up some. All the house animals take flea meds--I just don't want to put Miyuki at risk of anything a street cat might carry but he really does seem pretty healthy for a stray kitten. He kept trying to grab my hands thru the kennel to keep petting him

He's a charmer for sure kurby!

 

[Smokerbill]

Bet she's loving all those treats!

Yeah, I think she's enjoying being singled out, even if she doesn't understand why. I think I'll cook an egg for her today so she gets some extra protein for healing. Now that the rip is scabbed over nicely I don't think I'll put any more ointment on it.

 

[MandyMusshafen]

That's exactly what my Penelope used to do to Clara! Clara is the pigeon-sized one and Penelope is my biggest bantam Cochin hen. She still does it occasionally and it still makes me laugh

That's so cute! We named her Velma (Scooby-Doo reference-kids choice)...and the red one I named Lucy! I have 2 other bantam cochins and they made me fall in love with the breed! These 2 new ones are just confirming it! I stuck the Dr Pepper can up there for size ref.

 

[MandyMusshafen]

That's exactly what my Penelope used to do to Clara! Clara is the pigeon-sized one and Penelope is my biggest bantam Cochin hen. She still does it occasionally and it still makes me laugh

Would you mind sharing a pic of your Clara?

 

[Smokerbill]

Cooking up some pork loin for me and my chickens. It's 90 degrees here and the birds deserve a meaty treat.

I fed them one egg for the first time earlier today. Gently fried in oil, then drained well. I found that they like eggs.

 

[kurby22]

The daughter is home from camp and learned about Shadow! She’s very excited and loves how much he purrs

 

[TropicalBabies]

Ari and Shadow look beautiful and happy!!! Terrific.