Wildfire evacuation

[MROO]

This discussion is good therapy.

@orrpeople are you home yet? Is your house okay?

Glad to hear things are moving at least a little bit. And I wouldn't worry too much about the spilled feed. Like you noted when you asked others to make sure the wildlife had water, there are plenty of wild birds that are struggling to find enough food in a burned out, ash-covered landscape. You just helped some songbirds survive ... or at least a few pigeons!
Once Henry and the girls get home, they can join Turtle in their own version of mini quarantine. If it makes you feel better, dose them with some preventive meds, maybe some wormer and a course of antibiotics, if you can lay your hands on any. My guess is that they'll be fine, though. I'm sure their foster mother would not have volunteered to harbor them if she suspected she had any issues to share. Your biggest issue is likely going to be simply the stress of moving around ... which you couldn't possibly sympathize with, right? (I know .. smack me now and I'll act contrite for a bit ...)

And if Henry likes horses, maybe there's a mini out there that needs a home, now ... (smack me, again?) I know someone found a burro standing in the middle of Branstetter ... just sayin' y'know?

I think I'll sign off now, before I get myself into trouble I can't talk my way out of ... good thing I'm all the way out on the East Coast ...

Stay safe - and know that there are prayers coming your way every day.
Oh - and the next time you see him, tell Henry that Herman says "Hello!"

 

[micstrachan]

Sunshine, you are a remarkable, strong, inspirational person. Just sayin’! We are all rooting for you, your family and all your animals. Hugs to you!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Y'all are giving me the warm fuzzies.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Trump just declared the Carr Fire a major disaster. This is the language needed for people to receive assistance such as delaying or suspending mortgage payments for a few months. The recovery process is costly even for people who didn't lose their homes.

My mortgage company explained all of this to me a few days ago. I'm glad he did this. It's a really big deal from what I'm understanding.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I mentioned that the day we evacuated one of the hens laid a really unhealthy looking egg. It coincided with the stress from wildfire smoke.

But while they were home on their own, I found several beautiful eggs piled up in the nesting boxes, and they're laying nice eggs in their horse farm day spa nesting boxes, too.

So that's good news!

 

[lena_]

I mentioned that the day we evacuated one of the hens laid a really unhealthy looking egg. It coincided with the stress from wildfire smoke.

But while they were home on their own, I found several beautiful eggs piled up in the nesting boxes, and they're laying nice eggs in their horse farm day spa nesting boxes, too.

So that's good news!

Great news! Is the coop undamaged enough for Henry and the gang to live in when they come back? I'm so glad that they are safe, you are an amazing, brave person, and we are all rooting for you

 

[orrpeople]

This discussion is good therapy.

So, I got to visit Henry and the gang today. On the way there I managed to turn a corner too fast and dumped a 50 pound bag of chick feed inside the truck, the small granular stuff. My husband started laughing, and I yelled, "Oh, noooooooo!!!!!!" as it spilled out.

Then when we got to his work and he opened the door, it all spilled out on the parking lot and made a huge cinder cone. Luckily I had a big bowl of greens for the flock and was able to use it scoop up a bunch of the feed. I saw a woman watching me in disbelief as she chatted on her cell phone, probably narrating the whole stupid thing.

When I arrived at Henry's country horse farm accommodations, I was a sorry, dusty mess, and my huge farmer's hat and hand print on my left boob didn't help.

He's doing great, and the chicks are super sized and super sweet. The woman's little girls were fearless and climbed into the small coop with one Henry and three Henry juniors and the hens. Yes, I'm quite worried about microbes and Marecks and all that fun stuff. But such is life as a chicken, especially an evacuee chicken.

On the way home, right there where I had to turn to get back on the freeway, was the Anderson outlets where my cats have been hanging out this past week. I stopped by to say hello, thank everyone and play with them for a bit. I'm waiting to see what happens with the smoke and will bring them home this week. The people there are so friendly and in love with their work. It's the most amazing critter command center I've ever seen.

But I did have one burble of news: Turtle bit his rescuer and is under mandatory quarantine for ten days. I immediately repeated her words and couldn't stop laughing. There's just something kind of funny about sweet Turtle being quarantined. She said the rescuer wasn't hurt and she even giggled herself, which made me feel better. When I told my husband he laughed, too. We don't know why it's funny, though!

Some spot fires started up nearby, but other than that we're figuring things out. We can't relocate to a hotel. The nearest one is in Chico, a good long distance from here. So we're doing our best to treat the kitchen and family room as a safe room and are washing walls and sealing it off. I also rinsed off the entire outside of the house and washed away a dusty layer of ash and soot.

Henry is coming home on Monday. She also welcomed eight horses and twelve goats. I know she'd like the chickens to go home soon. They're better off here in their large yard, but Henry likes horses, so I know he's going to miss his country rescue spa.

That's all for now. I'm wondering how the other BYC evacuees are doing. @orrpeople are you home yet? Is your house okay?

We are not home, but our neighborhood has recently been repopulated. We had a "long planned for" trip that we couldn't cancel without losing a hefty amount of $.
We have a very good friend who is taking care of our animals and house right now. He said there were "lots and lots" of birds. No telling if everyone is present and accounted for until we return.

 

[MROO]

Y'all are giving me the warm fuzzies.

That, Dear Lady, is what friends are for - even ones you've only "met" online!

 

[calichicken]

Glad to hear that you both are able to return home @Sunshine Flock and @orrpeople ! of course there is a lot to face and deal with once you do..but one step at a time...one day at a time...sometimes just one hour at a time..and you get there!

Times like this it is important to surround yourself with people.. and pets that you love to get you through the rough moments and help celebrate the successes!

 

[townchicks]

I'm so happy to hear you are back home,(such as it is) and all your animals are safe.I know this was so traumatic, and I totally get the urge to make changes, but give yourself some time to heal and maybe make your plans more for the future, rather than as a reaction to what you just went through. I have heard more than one story of folks who went through something like this, moved to another area to get away from the danger, and were hit with another natural disaster in their new home. It will take some time to feel safe again, and maybe it won't be in this home, but don't jump to any decisions just yet.