Saturday, June 15, 2013

One of THOSE mornings...

In general, my girls are quiet in the mornings.  But if the neighbor's cat or a hawk is present, that will get them squawking.  I can usually get them to quiet right down if I scoot out there and shoo away the danger.

Today is Saturday and it was a VERY long week for me.  I was desperate for some peace and quiet so I could just sleep in till 7am without interruption.  And my girls obliged.  But only with being quiet.  They were wreaking havoc out there.

When I finally go out to do my morning chores, I find that Lulu Lemon has slept under big Coco, and she's a mess.  I mean a hot mess.  She's tried to dust bath or something to get it off of her but she's covered in cecal poo all over one side of her.   And Lulu is my one hen who does not want to be touched or held.  I've been dreading this day.

Somehow I think she knew that she had a problem and that I am their problem solver.  So believe it or not, she let me pick her up.  She did fuss and squirm but let me give her a quick bath and blow dry.  And while she's not spotless, she's mostly clean.

Next issue, Ginger.  Ginger had the beginning of Bumblefoot for a while now.  Honey had the same thing and the vet gave me some topical medicine which successfully treated Honey.  But Ginger was responding more slowly.  And earlier this week, I noticed it was getting a bit red and a tad swollen.  Not a good sign.

Here you can see that after a good long soaking, I was able to get the scab off.  And we don't see a kernal or anything else that needs to be removed so the vet opted to just leave it be.  I know her foot looks swollen here but it really isn't.  Well, maybe a tad.  But just a little red and irritated.

And here she is after I cleaned up her foot again and put more antibacterial ointment on it.  The wrap is to help keep it both padded and clean.

And here's her foot all clean and wrapped.  She walks and even scratches just fine with the wrap.  She can roost just fine too.  She will nibble at it for a minute or two after I wrap it.  But so far, she's not been able to open it up. 
This is Ginger's antibiotic pill.  It's quite large.

So I cut it up into quarters.

Split raisons open and slip in the quarters.  She gobbles these up like they were candy.  Easiest way in the world to give a chicken pills.

Scrambled or hardboiled egg is surprisingly absorbant.  Here I've mixed in Ginger's pain and anti-inflamatory meds which come in liquid form so I can give her just the right amount based on her weight.

And Honey is broody AGAIN!!!  Her third time in 8 weeks.  I'm really hoping this is just a Spring Thing and that we're not going to have to put her in broody time out every 3-4 weeks.  I know people say to put broodies in a wire bottom cage but I have just as good luck keeping her out of the nest box so I prefer this method so she can be in with her sisters.  The alternative is to put her in a dog crate in the garage but the garage can get warm this time of the year so I'd prefer to keep her outdoors.

So that was my drama today.  Here's hoping for a nice quiet day tomorrow.

9 comments:

  1. Oh my, you've had a lot going on!
    I use the same broody method as you, I've at least one every week at the moment. What a nightmare!!! x

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  2. Wow, you are having everything come at once! The tablet in raisins is a great idea. So far I haven't had to deal with bumble foot or a broody but I sponge up all the information just in case! Hope everything settles down for you soon.

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  3. Thanks Rachy and Carol. It's so nice to have this outlet to vent. I picked up Honey tonight and noticed that she's sliced this big hole in her upper beak from pacing back and forth and rubbing up agains the wire of her enclosure. Grrrr.... I remember the first day and night are the hardest in broody timeout. So hopefully tomorrow she settles in more to her situation.

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  4. Hate to add to the issues, but looking at ginger's feet it looks like she has scaley leg mites as well.

    ~~Matt

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    1. Matt, I've thought that for YEARS. That Ginger had scaly leg mites. I've had her into the vet for different things and brought this up and they insist that it is not. The vet feels strongly that it's some other contact dermatitis that is causing that irritation. And here's the deal. I have 5 other hens (6 total) and they all sleep up on the same 2x4 in the same house. Wouldn't at least one other have scaly leg mites if she had it? I've treated her with Vaseline and all kinds of other scaly leg mite treatments and I see no change in her feet.

      The vet offered to do a skin scrap and test her feet but I said no. She's been like that for 3 years now. Never changes. Never gets better or worse. If it was mites, wouldn't it get worse?

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  5. Boy! Trials and tribulations! Nice that your Lulu let you bath her. My Lulu doesn't like baths but puts up with them when she needs one. I think you are correct about our girls knowing when we are trying to help them and just put up the our fumbling.

    You are very proficient with your foot first aid. Hope Ginger improves soon.

    Take care.

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  6. Ginger's foot is better. I'm really pleased. Unfortunately, the antibiotics are doing a number on her digestive track. So the vet is going to have me back off how much we're giving her to see if that helps.

    Cuz she nailed the other Blue Andalusian Saturday night. Not as bad. But still, a bath will be in order. But since it's not bad and was totally dry by the time I found them, I think I'll just let everyone be and this coming weekend when she's done w/ her meds and her tummy is better, we'll give everyone a much needed bath.

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  7. I am dealing with my own never ending problems of one sort or another so I really feel for you. I haven't got them pooping on each other though, so that's something. I am so glad that Ginger's foot is better. I am sure everything will be back to normal soon.

    My husband always says we seem to get about three good days before the next problem kicks in. Sometimes it's only minor but there always seems to be something even if it's just the latest spat between the girls! If only the chilled days went on for longer!

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  8. It's always something, isn't it Amy? Thank you for linking up with The Clever Chicks Blog Hop- have a great week!

    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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