karen's chicken diary

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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

Dory Quail is back - the tail has gone completely and without it she has a definite look of quail about her. All her neck feathers are also gone - I think she moults in a very odd order. She is ok though, she doesn't tend to take moulting too hard although it does look like it gets a bit tougher as she gets older. She's a bit clingy and of course looking like a burst pillow

Pokey also looking a bit ragged but she doesn't seem to be going for a moult proper and still is laying.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper

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sandy
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by sandy »

Dory looks like a quail >coc< everyone seems to be moulting at the moment(well hens) ....
Karen I have a macbookair at last, only downsize is I need my reading glasses {rofwl} glad all well with your girls, look at henpal no 5....
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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HenPen
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by HenPen »

Yep, it's true: everyone seems to be moulting - here a feather, there a feather...
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

.. everywhere a feather, feather...
Dory Grey is having a moult
Woo-aye Woo-aye OH!

Yes I thought Dory had finished her strange half moult but no, she's pulling out the next set left right & centre and the sloppy poos are back. Pokey sticks to Casper's moulting etiquette which is as all Henpal Diary readers will know, one feather a week. And she's still laying every day or so too. She has a cast iron constitution!

Dory is doubly in the wars though. We were doing so well with her bumblefoot which if you all remember was prescribed daily hibiscrub footbaths rather than ABs by the vets and it really looked like that had knocked it on the head. Dory was increasingly tricky to catch as now she REFUSES to come into the house at all. Then we went on holiday for a fortnight, I've been away a lot with work since I got back so not able to keep up with the baths and the bumblefoot has reared up again. It's quite red, so it's back in the baths. When I can catch her, which is virtually never.

Pokey is no problem, she's straight into the house and after any food she can get and I have developed a hilarious new game (hilarious to me of course, not her!) which is basically making her jump up for raisins. She loves it! Dory on the other hand whitters on the doorstep, won't come in at all now and scarpers as soon as she thinks I'm going to make a lunge. So today I have tried a new tactic of waiting till she is roosting and then taking her off her bed, bringing her into the house, dangling one foot in the water while snuggling with her, and then taking her back to bed. She even snacked on a few raisins. So far it worked but we'll see how long that lasts for.

Marley has turned into quite the house cat, now that the weather has turned. She spends loads of time indoors, rolling around wanting her tummy tickled, chasing her bit of string on a wand (it used to be a mouse but she unravelled it) or just generally snoozing either next to me on the couch or upstairs on the spare bed. Only while hubby stays away though, as soon as he shows up she scarpers again. I do feel so sorry for him, he's really a very nice man and loves cats but you would think he was the devil the way Marley stares at him )de:

Wish me luck that the Midnight Bath Plan continues to work on Dory Grey. The vet said they are really reluctant to prescribe abs for this now, due to egg withdrawal and human ab resistance. Plus also I know from Casper that quite frankly they don't seem to make that much difference in the long term
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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HenPen
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by HenPen »

Ah, typical blinking Woos. They learn so quickly. It doesn't seem to matter if it is just a gentle, warm foot bath accompanied by treats - which sounds pretty blooming good to me - as far as they are concerned, you are putting them through an unnecessary, bewildering and terrifying ordeal and they are going to hold it against you.

I found with Wiggy that she has never quite got over the utter horror of me hiding her (admittedly gigantic, pink) antibiotics in green grapes at during her first bumblefoot episode, ooh about four years ago now. She has pretty much sworn off green grapes ever since and is generally quite suspicious of red or black grapes, pulling them to pieces and inspecting every bit minutely. She clearly thinks I am some sort of mad grape-poisoner.

They like to pretend they're stupid, with that ridiculous wig and the flighty nature, but I think it is a ruse to disguise the fact they are rather bright. Well, not quite bright enough to know that we are trying to help them }hairout{

Hope the stealth night footbaths get Dory's foot better soon.
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kitla
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by kitla »

Poor Dory, that bumblefoot is a staph infection, isnt that the same group of bacteria a those stubborn skin ulcers & mrsa? I can see why the vet says that about antibiotics. Perhaps something like tea tree might help, though the hibiscrub will hopefully do the trick.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

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Oh my goodness HP, they were massive pink things weren't they? I had forgotten (read: wiped from my mind) that. I had to break it into quarters to try and get Casper to eat it - she wouldn't have it in a grape, spat it out every time, so I ended up having to grind it up and scatter it on scrambled egg or whatever I could tempt her with, which after a while of massive pink tablets wasn't much. Bread usually did the trick.

Kitty yes it's a staph infection and a particularly stubborn one. This one does seem to be lying around for a while

Well, Dory and I are bonding nicely and having secret midnight snuggle sessions (well, 6pm but to her it must feel like midnight). She seems to be going against the Woo trait and is forgiving me my tresspasses, even hopping up ont my knee yesterday in the garden and stopping for a good 10 minute preen and snooze, which she almost never does. Bless her, she's shedding again in her moult and I think is feeling pretty miserable.

But the ninja baths are working insomuch as we are settling into a routine and she secretly I think really enjoys her cuddles - I hug her tightly whilst dangling her feet in a bowl of hibiscrub water and she snoozes and occasionally snacks on a raisin. Her foot still looks quite red and I am worried because I'm away from Weds this week till Sat (henpals!) so won't be able to continue the baths and I dount hubby will feel brave enough to try (it's a 2 person job, he has the torch and gets all the doors). She will just have to cope!

Pokey is fine, as is Marley. Marley is in nearly every day now that the colder weather is here and spends her time eating, trying to play, sleeping on our bed/next to me on the couch and glaring at hubby. I went out with a cup of tea half an hour before putting the girls to bed, so I could spend some time with themn, and Pokey had her beak into the tea 3 times before she decided she didn't like it, and spilled it all over me just to prove the point. She doesn't like it when we come to kidnap Dory as we disturb her beauty sleep - she insists on sleeping in the way! yike*
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

Poor old Dory Grey is in the wars. While I was away she moulted her wig, or half of it anyway, and is now sporting a rather fabulous mohican. On the plus side, she has her tail back so at last has some shred of dignity (as much as a hen with a mohican can ever have dignity).

But to add insult to injury, she is being wormed due to an unfortunate expulsion of a very wriggly poo practically in front of me. But because she is moulting and being very genteel, she is dithering over her food, which means Pokey is nicking it all, and as we know I use the grape method (or the bread method as I didn't have any grapes) to worm. Pokey is super wormed, I doubt anything could survive in her tubes due to the sheer amount of flubbed bread she's pouring down her neck.

The midnight footbaths and cuddles are continuing. I can't really tell if they are making a difference, she still has a red patch on her heel and a slight swelling but I don't know if it's getting worse or going down. We have another week of uninterrupted baths before I have to go away again so we'll see how she is by then
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

Dory's course of baths is finished. The red patch remained but the swelling wasn't getting any worse and it was 2 weeks solid of baths so I decided that was enough. I'll keep a careful eye on her but so far she seems fine, and in fact a bit perkier as her moult seems to be finishing. She has a marvellous wig back and I think is practically fully feathered.

Pokey is still casting the odd feather but she seems to have avoided a full moult, but she was only Point-of-Lay when I got her earlier in the year so maybe she'll do a full on moult next year. She's laying every other day, bless her, and is quite happy tearing round the garden. Dory is still dithering and does look like she's handed top hen over to Pokey.

I need to look at my diary because I would love to get a few more in the Jan rescue but I am away so much with work (and again in Jan) which means I can't do integrations (I need to be around to let them out & back in so that they are seperate during the day) and if hubby and I aren't at home we can't get them back in before dark. What a pain!

Been taking loads of photos - got a new lens, an early christmas present to myself! - so I've been practising with that and some outdoor flash. I'll post up when I have worked on them

>tree< We are having a nice quiet Christmas this year (fingers crossed!) so hopefuly lots of time in the garden with the girls. I see them so little in this rubbish weather, and its dark so early. Bless them they are camped out at the back door. I've been letting them into the utility room to shelter from the rain, the big dafties (hang on, whose the dafty??) {rofwl}
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
Cheshire Chick
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Glad everyone's well at your house Karen. I know what you mean about who are the daft ones - where these girls are concerned I don't think there is much we wouldn't do for them. My Violet had a great big moult this year. She was bald in lots of places (where ladies shouldn't be bare), but she is in the process of growing some lovely new feathers now and covering up her modesty. She is turning into a real blondie. We to are hoping for a quiet Christmas. Last Christmas Day afternoon I was out in the garden with the girls and I'm hoping to do the same this year. Looking forward to seeing your photo's and good luck if you decide to go ahead and re-home some new girls in the New Year.
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sandy
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by sandy »

Glad Dory and Pokey ok...new lens eh?
The photos you took of my girls were so good Karen )like(
If I promise to smarten up the run, get out the seat cushions and ensure it is a warm sunny day may have to re invite you for another session +f+
Of course that is after Bob and I visit you.....if we ever know where you live {rofwl}
I bet the girls are glad its a quiet christmas for you , more time with them >ch<
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

I would love that Sandy. In fact I'm thinking of a photo book project of rescue girls and boys (2 projects, 2 separate books) and it'd be fun to try a little studio set up to show the girls and boys at their absolute best (glam lighting and everything). We could set up in your office. Count me in!

Had a very bad accident this morning where I've crushed my finger. It's in a bad way but x rays show nothing broken, just mashed up & bloody, and just before Christmas too!!! Talk about timing. I'm waiting for a hospital consultation appointment now to see whether it can be repaired. Luckily it's not my camera shutter finger!

Really happy to host the next henpals meet up, I shall pm my address to interested parties! Maybe once the nicer spring weather comes and we can sit on the patio with Dory and Pokey (who love visitors who sit on the patio as it usually means they get crisps yike* ) And you'll get to meet my hubby too, who has taught my naughty girls most of their bad habits :-D And hopefully by then I will have some new rescues to add to my micro flock.
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
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sandy
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by sandy »

Oh Karen i hope your finger is better? sounds awlful yike* as long as you can work the treat apparatus i am sure your girls will be very pleased )x6(
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
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KarenE
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by KarenE »

I hope everyone is having a good Christmas! >tree<

Mine is mixed, off work the whole period which is lovely but in constant pain & discomfort from my crushed finger and really unable to do much so it is really getting me down. Typical how these things work out.

But on the positive side we have some lovely pics!

Dory Grey having a fluff:
Image

Marley enjoying the last of the autumn:
Image

I'm ready for my close up now Mr De Mille!
Image

Pokey:
Image

Pokey again:
Image

Dory Grey:
Image

Having trouble typing so will sign off for now!
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
Cheshire Chick
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Re: karen's chicken diary

Post by Cheshire Chick »

Beautiful photo's Karen - I really enjoyed seeing your girls and Marley is gorgeous (they all are). Sorry to hear about your poor finger - it's probably a good job you are off work over this Christmas period. Hope it mends quickly and is not too painful for too long.

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