What did you do with your flock today?

[kurby22]

How are Stan and Ferdy doing @Shetland lover ?? And how about you? How’s your head? Hopefully you are all taking it easy and being supplied with lots of treats and love How about Penelope?

@PopoMyers how are you doing? I know after a long drawn out time keeping an ailing chicken alive you can take a bit to move on from it. While you want and hope so much for them to heal and you put so much of your time and emotion and thoughts into their needs…there’s both a sense of relief that there’s a concrete conclusion and also guilt for maybe feeling some relief from that heavy weight you carried each day worrying for her. It’s hard to process all of that and grieve the loving house chicken that she was those last few months. I struggled more after Nohope finally passed than any of my other chickens. We had a bond we had formed Hope you are well and glad the rest of your flock are doing well too!

@ChicksnMore your ceiling looks great! Yay for good contractors! Have you heard any updates on the piggy and how it’s doing at the new home? How’s Biscotti?

 

[Nomadicus]

We worked about 3 hours on the new coop house yesterday and should finish it today. Need to get the wood painted ahead of the rain tomorrow. Since downsizing the laying flocks its getting a lot easier to maintain the coops with our old bodies that have young minds.

 

[ChicksnMore]

How are Stan and Ferdy doing @Shetland lover ?? And how about you? How’s your head? Hopefully you are all taking it easy and being supplied with lots of treats and love How about Penelope?

@PopoMyers how are you doing? I know after a long drawn out time keeping an ailing chicken alive you can take a bit to move on from it. While you want and hope so much for them to heal and you put so much of your time and emotion and thoughts into their needs…there’s both a sense of relief that there’s a concrete conclusion and also guilt for maybe feeling some relief from that heavy weight you carried each day worrying for her. It’s hard to process all of that and grieve the loving house chicken that she was those last few months. I struggled more after Nohope finally passed than any of my other chickens. We had a bond we had formed Hope you are well and glad the rest of your flock are doing well too!

@ChicksnMore your ceiling looks great! Yay for good contractors! Have you heard any updates on the piggy and how it’s doing at the new home? How’s Biscotti?

No further updates on Mojo. Not sure if I shared this....my last update he's got a buddy named Casper to hang out with. Casper is similar in looks and age to him. Ironwood only adopts out in pairs, so if he gets adopted he'll go with Casper. Casper on the left and Mojo on the right

Biscotti is doing wonderful! Definitely a she. What do you think of her eye color? I've never noticed that eye color on any of my chickens before. Gold, brown and black...but never a blue grey. It looks blue in some lights but mostly grey. I'm very curious if others have seen eyes like hers before.

 

[Shetland lover]

Just had to share some cute pictures from tonight. New beebies and an adorable smoosh face puppy makes my heart happy and complete!

Managed to sell a trio of bantam Ameraucanas and a pair of my self blue dAnvers to someone in Mexico today as well! So I will be driving them to Fresno along with all the show birds on Friday! Plus I’m rehoming Tux the mottled Cochin I saved with mouth to beak back in November and one of my broody Cochins to a Watermaal breeder who wants help incubating eggs. Tux is wonderful and we love him, but he’s not finding a place to land where he’s not getting beat up by another rooster. So I found a kid who’s very involved in 4-H and wants to use him to breed for showing and feel like that will make him much happier than staying here with no ladies to love and care for. Some of my roos are fine with a couple ladies and lower status…he wants a flock. He deserves one!

So today consisted of mainly treats and a quick check and egg collection, plus some baths for the muddy ladies I’m selling! That’s about all I did today for the birdies. I’m hoping we get another day of sun tomorrow so things can dry up a bit…it’s a horrid and smelly mess out there!

Cuteness overload!

 

[ChicksnMore]

I've been reading about chicken eye color and it sounds like I can expect Biscotti's eyes to change color by 6 months of age. I was so excited by her eyes for a second !

For anyone that's curious, what I read says blue eyes in young chickens is okay but blue eyes in adult chickens is considered a sign of disease. Marek's, lymphomatosis, and/or blindness etc.

But...I also read that some breeds like Malay have a recessive pale eyed gene that can look blue/grey. I also came across this tidbit: Violet and Lavender Eyes in Certain Breeds
In certain breeds, genetic mutations can give rise to eye colors that are less commonly observed. Violet and lavender eyes, for example, have been reported in breeds such as Silkies and Olandsk Dwarfs. These unique colors add to the allure and appeal of these breeds.

At any rate... Biscotti's young and healthy. So I'll just watch her grow and see what her adult color ends up...and I'll keep reading about chicken eye color just because it's interesting

 

[Shetland lover]

How are Stan and Ferdy doing @Shetland lover ?? And how about you? How’s your head? Hopefully you are all taking it easy and being supplied with lots of treats and love How about Penelope?

@PopoMyers how are you doing? I know after a long drawn out time keeping an ailing chicken alive you can take a bit to move on from it. While you want and hope so much for them to heal and you put so much of your time and emotion and thoughts into their needs…there’s both a sense of relief that there’s a concrete conclusion and also guilt for maybe feeling some relief from that heavy weight you carried each day worrying for her. It’s hard to process all of that and grieve the loving house chicken that she was those last few months. I struggled more after Nohope finally passed than any of my other chickens. We had a bond we had formed Hope you are well and glad the rest of your flock are doing well too!

@ChicksnMore your ceiling looks great! Yay for good contractors! Have you heard any updates on the piggy and how it’s doing at the new home? How’s Biscotti?

Stan is almost healed and outdoors for most of the day with the ladies, thank you for asking.
Ferdy's eye is still a cause for concern but he’s opening it more and there’s no discharge. There is a white, cloudy patch on his cornea which I'm keeping an, ahem, eye on. His other injuries are almost healed. Little bugger is now playing on his wounds. If he's being naughty and getting told off, he starts limping and making a pathetic noise
I've now stopped both the antibiotics and pain relief for them. Ferdy is still getting his eye flushed with hypochlorous acid twice daily and fusidic acid applied once daily. I'm also using a lubricating eye drop on him if his eye looks dry.
Penelope had a bit of a setback, dropped more weight and became very lethargic last week, leaving me terrified she has EYP or something equally hideous. I upped her vit B and iron intake, put her on antibiotics and re-wormed her (not all at once, of course). Something has done the trick and she's back to being her normal active self. I'm not totally happy with her droppings as the urate is a bit yellowish and the solids can be, well, not so solid. So, as well as giving her pre and prebiotics, she's getting digesti-health twice a day. I'm struggling to get weight back on her but she's put a bit back on and is maintaining rather than losing any more. She has stopped eating eggs but has discovered a love of oatmeal and baby rusks so I've been doctoring those with raw egg yolk.
She went back outdoors on Tuesday but I get followed back to the house at breakfast and she clearly thinks she belongs indoors now!
I'm O.K. apart from headaches/migraines which could last 6 months or more apparently.
I'd like to second everything you've said to Popo about Olena. It's worse when you've developed a close bond as you've basically become their flock and they depend on your care and affection more than ever. When you've poured your heart and soul into trying to heal them and it wasn't enough, that's the worst feeling. We need to give ourselves time to heal, forgive ourselves for our perceived failures and any guilt we inevitably feel.

 

[PopoMyers]

Me too! Kids say heart..

Decorated for the season. Valentines and Easter/Spring!

 

[PopoMyers]

How are Stan and Ferdy doing @Shetland lover ?? And how about you? How’s your head? Hopefully you are all taking it easy and being supplied with lots of treats and love How about Penelope?

@PopoMyers how are you doing? I know after a long drawn out time keeping an ailing chicken alive you can take a bit to move on from it. While you want and hope so much for them to heal and you put so much of your time and emotion and thoughts into their needs…there’s both a sense of relief that there’s a concrete conclusion and also guilt for maybe feeling some relief from that heavy weight you carried each day worrying for her. It’s hard to process all of that and grieve the loving house chicken that she was those last few months. I struggled more after Nohope finally passed than any of my other chickens. We had a bond we had formed Hope you are well and glad the rest of your flock are doing well too!

@ChicksnMore your ceiling looks great! Yay for good contractors! Have you heard any updates on the piggy and how it’s doing at the new home? How’s Biscotti?

Your sweet words of understanding made me tear up, again. I am doing ok, just have moments when I am here with you all,, when I see the empty corner by the door, when I wonder if going away and leaving her with someone else caused her too much stress. You are so right when you say the impact of this is harder than sudden deaths. Now I am crying, but I know she is getting all the treats and running free, no longer suffering.
We will be ok, in time,, and then the 15 chicks arriving in 2 weeks will begin the cycle of life here again.

 

[PopoMyers]

And chaos and insanity!!!

Third feral broody mom showed last eve with her brand new brood. View attachment 3753006♡ I got beat up by feral broody momma in my nest box again. Once again, I managed to push her off with my basket, minimizing the attack damage to me, and collected 3 eggs. I left her with 2 decoys so she does not switch nest boxes. I patted myself on my back with my pecked hand for winning last evenings battleView attachment 3753016View attachment 3752994View attachment 3753011
Scary. Yes, love abounds, I can see it in her eyes. Should we give her a name?

Why not? Faux shua! If I reach in and a hen tries to peck me, I just grab their neck and do whatever I have to, or wear leather gloves. So much fun at your place!

 

[fuzzi]

Samuel posing!