Blind Giblet & friends at Chickenopolous

[amber66]

Hello Kitla.
So sorry that you have lost your much loved Pointy.
I am keeping everything crossed for you that Bonny stays on the path to a full recovery.
Amber.

[kitla]

Thankyou Amber, Bonny is loads better today, I think the pills she's on now are
working well. This week I will speak to a poultry vet about what to do next for Bonny,
if I take her somewhere I will also take Treacle as she still hasn't started laying &
if there's a chance she's affected she can be treated at the early stage before any damage. Goodness I'll need a much bigger box to transport Treacle too!
Karen, before Pointy's crop filled up she was making strange movements with her
neck like her crop was blocked. I think it had stopped working, maybe pressure from inside? She was laying internally, & full of infection
Bill is so funny, he really is a people chook, he hopped into the conservatory
yesterday and came up to me & just stood there until I picked him up for a cuddle!
He's obviously been well loved before he came to us.

[KarenE]

That's exactly the same as happened to my Gabby as well, but she had seemed fine beforehand. I guess you never really know with them. I hope Bonny and Treacle are okay. I did a bit of reading on it and it does sound like it's connected to respiratory infections which to be honest I wouldn't have put together. The more I think about it, the more I think that's what killed my Toffee, Gabby and Nugget.

Bill sounds fantastic! All of mine like a snooze and sit down on my knee but none of them are pick up cuddlers.

[sandy]

So sorry you have lost dear Pointy Lots of to Bonny

[kitla]

I spent time pottering in the garden this weekend. Giblet's flowerbed is now planted,
I hope it has a chance to grow before she discovers it & digs it up.

Today the little girls are broody and the big girls spent a long time having a bath

Then preening themselves

Bill was looking rather bored or this & went off exploring the garden, poking his nose
into everything he found


He ended up exploring a hole in the hedge & getting stuck in next door's garden!
Funny little Bill

[HilierWard]

what a handsome boy!

[KarenE]

Kitla, how is Bonny doing?

And is Gibby enjoying her sensory garden?

[kitla]

Bonny has totally recovered & seems so well and happy I've decided to leave
her be rather than stress her out with more vet procedures. Searching back I
realised the same thing had happened to her 2 years ago, when she was ill and
stopped laying apart from wind eggs & lashes. I expect it will happen again
eventually, but hopefully she will recover from it again -until she doesn't. It's
the quality of their lives that matters most!
As for Treacle, well I've been a bit concerned about her lately, a few times we
noticed her comb & wattles were rather dark & purple, then would suddenly redden
while we watched! She still does rather loose poops too. However 2 days ago she
laid a huge egg - first one for about 7 months! Later that day I was watching her
when she fired a runny poop on the patio, there was something in it that I thought
was a lash so I took a closer look - it was infact a large piece of flint, the size of a
finger nail & very sharp edged (I thought it looked like an arrowhead but dh thinks
not) Our garden has lots of stones but I rarely see flint, we're wondering if this could
have been stuck in her for some time & dislodged by her big egg! She seems very
well now anyway.
Little Nettle, my pekin is my biggest worry now. She has always has one misshapen
pupil, the vet thought it was a genetic defect as it works normally & has stayed the
same for a couple of years - until now! Her normal eye has now changed too & though she is well she shake her head sometimes. The timing coincides with when Smidge's
condition worsened, either it's just a freaky coincidence or it's probably a mareks
related thing. If I lose her I will have her autopsied, it's the only way to know for
sure.

[KarenE]

Oh poor Treacle, let's hope that didn't scratch on the way down! Maybe she just happened to poo on it...

for Nettle. Is she able to see okay or is her sight going? Hoping it isn't Mareks and just a really unfortunate coincidence.

[kitla]

Here's a pic of Treacle's arrowhead (washed of course!) It was definitely fired
out from her derrier. She's in the nestbox now hopefully laying another big egg
then she'll be going into the sink for a pants wash, trim & blowdry.

I've been looking at the photos I took of Nettles eyes a couple of years ago, the vet
& I thought it was a good way of keeping track of any changes. I've decided to take
her & the pics to one of the poultry vets I found for an opinion, I'm not expecting it
to be treatable. She's broody atm so I'll put Eggbert in the travelbox & she wont even notice she's gone anywhere!
This was Nettle's eyes back in Feb 13


and this was taken yesterday


It's the big change in her good eye that concerns me the most. One eye could just
be a genetic defect, but both of them must mean something in her head.

[kitla]

Crikey I've just looked at those pics of Nettle again & noticed how much colour
she's lost from the "good" eye - it used to be brown, I think that points even more
to mareks. I hope I'm wrong.
Treacle laid a lovely big brown egg & she's just had her knicker bath. My goodness
it takes a loooong time to blow dry an Orpington! She's looking beautiful but
rather subdued now, I think the experience exhausted her!
Giblet spent ages in the nestbox & produced a tiny wind egg. oh dear, perhaps
she's about to come into moult or something. I think she likes her new garden,
at least she's stomped across it a couple of times! She also has a sandpit area
in her run now, but hasn't found it yet.

[sandy]

What did the vet say about little Nettle's eyes? Lovely photos as always, the virtual flock will be excited to see more of Bill

[kitla]

I haven't spoken to the vet about Nettle yet, will try for later this week. As for
hunky Bill, I'm sure he would be happy to strike a pose or two for the ladies!
Sadly Bonny's recovery hasn't lasted after all, she spent this afternoon in the
nestbox, when I put her to bed she was wheezing and her botty & chest feathers
were damp. I'm not hopeful for her.

[amber66]

Hello Kitla.
I'm so sorry to hear that Bonny is not doing too well, i will keep everything crossed for her.
Amber.

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi , I can safly say I know what you are going through and can only wish you the best and a good outcome. Miracles do happen so never give up. Bob