What did you do with your flock today?

[PopoMyers]

They're the cactus used for food. You can find them pickled in stores here and they sell the pads as well in some stores.

Grilled nopales is tasty. They have a slight acidic flavor, just a little slimy on the inside but not terrible.

 

[MaeM]

She clearly adores you! ❤

Some birds you just bond so closely with. The day we brought Connie home from the battery farm, I picked her up and she laid her head on my chest, closed her eyes and gave a huge sigh. We were pretty inseparable from then on. She'd even feign illness so she could come indoors and cuddle in her very own quilt. I kept telling her she didn't have to pretend to be ill. I still miss her beyond belief.

I now have a very strong bond with my older cockerel, Ferdy.

I too think they know when you are helping them. I also think they are mostly thankful for the care. I say mostly as my one remaining standard sized hen, Gladys, does NOT appreciate any 'interference'

What's wrong with your girl?

She survived pneumonia with pulmonary edema. I took her to the vet in critical condition (they had to give her oxygen) and he even proposed to cull her. I committed to give her a long treatment instead - one month of antibiotics every 12 hours, diuretics (to help her expel the fluids in her lungs) every 24 hours, and bronchodilators as needed.

She recovered from the infection/edema but ended up with tracheal stenosis and reduced lung capacity. Meaning, she breathes with noises and if she gets too nervous/excited or runs more than she should, she starts breathing with her beak open and making louder noises.

Sometimes, she needs to take bronchodilators because of that. But she mostly has a normal chicken life - with a few limitations, but she's learned to live with them.

For example, she knows she can't run a lot so if the rest of the flock is running, she goes behind them at her own pace.

She also has reproductive issues. She has a tendency to lay soft shelled eggs (if she lays at all - she mostly stopped laying after her illness). So, once in a while, she spends like 2 hours in the nest box or needs a warm butt bath. I must keep an eye on her in case of infections or prolapses (this happened once).

But I swear I don't mind. I just want to be with her for the rest of her time - which is probably limited. (Or not? The vet told me her case is so rare he doesn't know what to think).

 

[fuzzi]

I never met anyone else that takes the time to actually observe ants. For. Way. Too. Long. When i moved down south and was introduced to fire ants for the 1st time, well, thats a whole different type of observing. Its called from a distance!!! research how to get rid of them

They're super bad this year. I've been stung/bitten by fire ants more this year than in all my 35 years of living in the Carolinas.

Can't blame it on the heat, either, they started taking over the yard in the spring. They even built a colony in a bag of sunflower seeds I stored outside in a metal trash can, AND made a small colony in one of my bird feeders that was hanging on a 7' pole. It was full of $afflower seed, too! What a waste.

 

[ChicksnMore]

We're in an urban environment (pretty close to the town centre) and we get foxes, peregrine, sparrow hawks and owls!

I'm in the boonies and we get lizards, toads, bugs, more bugs, more bugs, coyotes, javelinas, bobcats, polecats, hawks and owls.
But mostly lizards and bugs...and more bugs...and more bugs. Have to say there's some seriously cool bugs around here at least and we never saw most of these when we lived in town. This is a baby giant hairy scorpion... we've seen some of these a good 6 inches long. They're very calm and mellow, so when we came across this guy, I put my ugly toe next to him for scale

 

[ChicksnMore]

She survived pneumonia with pulmonary edema. I took her to the vet in critical condition (they had to give her oxygen) and he even proposed to cull her. I committed to give her a long treatment instead - one month of antibiotics every 12 hours, diuretics (to help her expel the fluids in her lungs) every 24 hours, and bronchodilators as needed.

She recovered from the infection/edema but ended up with tracheal stenosis and reduced lung capacity. Meaning, she breathes with noises and if she gets too nervous/excited or runs more than she should, she starts breathing with her beak open and making louder noises.

Sometimes, she needs to take bronchodilators because of that. But she mostly has a normal chicken life - with a few limitations, but she's learned to live with them.

For example, she knows she can't run a lot so if the rest of the flock is running, she goes behind them at her own pace.

View attachment 3609659

She also has reproductive issues. She has a tendency to lay soft shelled eggs (if she lays at all - she mostly stopped laying after her illness). So, once in a while, she spends like 2 hours in the nest box or needs a warm butt bath. I must keep an eye on her in case of infections or prolapses (this happened once).

But I swear I don't mind. I just want to be with her for the rest of her time - which is probably limited. (Or not? The vet told me her case is so rare he doesn't know what to think).

Sounds like it's amazing that she's alive and she's very very lucky to have you

 

[ChicksnMore]

They're super bad this year. I've been stung/bitten by fire ants more this year than in all my 35 years of living in the Carolinas.

Can't blame it on the heat, either, they started taking over the yard in the spring. They even built a colony in a bag of sunflower seeds I stored outside in a metal trash can, AND made a small colony in one of my bird feeders that was hanging on a 7' pole. It was full of $afflower seed, too! What a waste.

I had some fire ants get into my chicken feed storage this year. Just emptied out the metal trash can and going to patch the bottom and seal it to keep them out.

They're super bad here this year too for some reason.

 

[Smokerbill]

I'm in the boonies and we get lizards, toads, bugs, more bugs, more bugs, coyotes, javelinas, bobcats, polecats, hawks and owls.
But mostly lizards and bugs...and more bugs...and more bugs. Have to say there's some seriously cool bugs around here at least and we never saw most of these when we lived in town. This is a baby giant hairy scorpion... we've seen some of these a good 6 inches long. They're very calm and mellow, so when we came across this guy, I put my ugly toe next to him for scale
View attachment 3609728

I found one those scorpions when I was snowbirding in Quartzsite a few years ago. I packed it up and brought it back with me to Washington state, and kept it for a pet. When I went back down to the Quartzsite LTVA the next fall, I released him back to the desert.

It was one of the coolest pets I had. Watching him attack and eat crickets, and dig burrows under rocks in the terrarium was very interesting!

 

[fuzzi]

I had some fire ants get into my chicken feed storage this year. Just emptied out the metal trash can and going to patch the bottom and seal it to keep them out.

They're super bad here this year too for some reason.

My chicken feed is still in the bag, in a metal trash can, in an elevated shed.

 

[TropicalBabies]

K. Jumping in.
We have fire ants here too. Not at our house yet... knock wood, but at pasture and our old pasture. Little sh*ts.
When I was on horse duty I actively worked on their demise in our pasture. It was a constant battle.

 

[TropicalBabies]

At airport, and soon to be on my way to Maui to go grab my kid ♡. I am soooo grateful. I hope to pass some Aloha to others, via a little cash to strangers to help out. I take you all in my heart.

Can't wait to introduce my son to the chooks and kitties I'm sure they will work their magic. They sure do for me.
Nice and quiet here... almost weird

Just in case you were curious...

I'm sure my flight will be very empty