The $280 chicken that laid the egg I cannot eat

I noticed that Twinkie constantly had a dirty vent. When Ducky died she had a soiled vent, a tiny scabby looking blister on each foot and a few days prior she had been opening her mouth wide leading me to think she may have had gapeworm. I didn't have the chance to treat her because our house was undergoing a small remodeling project and our schedule was off. We had several days of triple digits and my only concern was keeping all the girls cool and hydrated.
The other day I noticed that Twinkie was starting to get small, blister like lesions on her foot and along with the soiled vent and opening her mouth like Ducky had. I rushed her to a small animal clinic that treated birds and claimed to have experience treating chickens. It was Twinkie's first car ride.

She was tested for parasites and came out negative. But was given Panacur anyway because a soiled vent could mean parasites and the tests are not always thorough. Her little lesions which I suspected to be bumble foot were just that and a foot soak and ointment was prescribed. The entire visit with tests was a solid $280. I could never share this story with my grandparents. Not only are they frugal but despite loving their birds, they would never spend over $15 on them. On the ride back home with Twinkie I wondered if I had done the best thing or the smart thing because I hadn't done the most cost effective thing.

There are plenty of resources online regarding chicken health and treatment for bumble foot, soiled vents and homeopathic de-wormers. My decision to rush Twinkie to the vet was one born of pure panic for this little chicken I have come to love. I didn't want another Ducky experience, not now. We just lost a cat of thirteen years. Even though I was astounded at how much Twinkie's vet care cost I was equally relieved that I had a professional opinion and a bag of medications to make my little chicken better.

Trying to get Twinkie to enjoy a foot bath was not easy but she learned to appreciate it, often dozing off in the warm water as I rocked her back and forth in the boxy, plastic container. She also came to expect the application of the ointment then the syringe of Panacur down her throat. By the third day Twinkie put up no struggle. She understood. However after a week of the footbath and ointment and no real results I phoned the vet and complained. Twinkie had diarrhea and was unhappy being isolated, her little sores were still showing no signs of healing and ugh! I don't want to lose Twinkie, I love her too much. The vet had nothing to really offer so I canceled the appointment scheduled for today and decided to go online for treatment.

Her diarrhea has cleared thanks to vinegar water and some mashed banana with cooked rice and a hard-boiled egg. Her bumble foot is showing improvement now that I am applying an ointment made from one part boric acid and five parts petroleum jelly and wrapping them. She is now back with her flock and has laid two eggs. I can't eat them because of the de-wormer but I did boil them and fed them back to her. I don't plan to have any eggs for another two weeks unless I can tell Twinkie's apart from the other two.

Fuzztop and PeeWee have no bumble foot or any signs of ever getting it because they are thinner than Twinkie. Both these healthy girls have never had a soiled vent in their entire lives either. Still I am purchasing a natural de-wormer that has received much praise in the UK and have put down cardboard in those places of the coop that Twinkie likes to frequent.

Tonight Fuzzy and PeeWee were snuggled together, as they have been their whole lives, the snowy little twins and Twinkie was content and alone in her nest, the word is independent. So, if you feel like rushing your chicken to the vet, go ahead and do it. Remember though there is so much information online. However, you love that bird so no one can blame you for trying to get him/her the best care possible. They just melt my heart. I know that even if they live their full life expectancy of nine years that it would never be enough. These little birds are such tender little souls. They have a language and real emotions and personalities, each an individual.

So was the $280 worth it? Well I did appreciate the tests  for giving me peace of mind. I could have saved by not purchasing the meds at the vet clinic. The 2 ounces of Nolvasan was $35 at the clinic and  shocking $21 for 16 ounces in just about every hatchery and livestock catalog I have. Then again, anything for Twinkie....

Poor bandaged birdie.

Rooster ban coming to our city?

This evening, we, the chicken people, can be found at the Carver Branch Library to voice our opinions about the rooster ban that is being proposed. Roosters crow and that is the issue. Um, yeah, it's a bird call.  What is also a bird call, an obnoxious recorded bird call is this:

This plays every ten minutes, 24/7 at the Honda dealership near my home. Most people don't hear it, they claim to have become used to it.  That is proof that they could become used to a rooster crow as well. It is also a freaking bird call, loud, can be heard two blocks on all sides. It is not efficient, grackles continue to soil cars and now, my chicken sounds just like it. But it's a loud bird call! So isn't a rooster crow a loud bird call?  If roosters are banned will these irritating recordings of some bird of prey murdering another bird be banned as well? Makes no sense otherwise. Both are loud bird calls.

I can't but help but think of the animal cruelty that could descend on the Austin rooster. Once an animal is banned it becomes devalued and then cruelty results. I might protest this ban if it goes into effect with rooster recordings. There is no rooster, the rooster is banned and there is no rooster to confiscate. The noise falls into a noise ordinance has been in effect for  years and I think that is all you need with roosters. So, it is not rational, I can still be fined but this sort of shit solicits this sort of rebellion from me.

Exercise that chicken brain...

Chickens are smart. They will come when called if you take the time to teach them.

TeeHee

I guess, maybe real chicken people can understand this? It's a bit jokey but at the same time, I really do love my chicken.

Chicken minutiae

I wish I had the time to build a chicken coop but if I did I wouldn't have something half as nice as the one I bought from mobilechickencoops.com. What I do enjoy is decking it out on cold days so my babies stay warm. It's the same sort of enthusiasm I had for fort building or tree house lounging when I was a kid. In the summer I try and figure out new ways to keep them cool. This past summer I purchased a tent ceiling fan that worked on double D batteries. It worked for all of three days before the weight of the batteries did something to the motor. So long as it wasn't suspended it worked, but at that point it was useless. I froze bottles of water and was constantly tossing them into the cop but the girls let me know they didn't like these huge, freaky, weird things in there with them. This coming summer I am doing pans of water.

It's dipping into the teens for two days so I winterized the coop by facing it south. I added plywood and cardboard to the west side and then draped a canvas drop cloth over the whole thing leaving the south uncovered. They have a 250 watt brooder lamp, cardboard covering some of their wire floor and their nest boxes are draped with canvas. It's toasty in there but they still have plenty of ventilation. I also took the added precaution and put petroleum jelly on their combs and wattles as they slept.

Silkies are not supposed to be prolific layers and I keep hearing egg production decreases in the winter and I also hear it decreases in the summer but my girls have given me at least one egg everyday since they started laying. On average it alternates between two and three. They are so delicious, very creamy with orange yolks. I can't say why they are laying so much, I'd like to think it's because they are happy. What keeps from that is the fact that I lost Ducky this past September and it wasn't during the heat wave but on the first cool day after the heat had passed. It is hard not take that as a personal failure.

When caring for chickens I have felt so much more responsible for their well being than I did with dogs or cats. I guess it's the fact that they live exclusively outdoors exposed to the elements and bugs. It is up to me to really keep them comfortable and pest free . Their health is a reflection on me. If I am too lazy to change their water twice a day or clean their coop frequently they'll get worms and mites. The girls have grown so accustomed to a clean coop that they gritch when it does become too soiled during rainy weather. They also let me know when their feeder is running low. We have learned to communicate and theit's been so rewarding.

I can't help but have my heart melt when I check in on them at night and hear their little chicken snores. Yes, I check on them a few times after dark, yes I am more of a neurotic chicken mom than owner but these lil guys have stolen my heart. They also seem to be exceeding their expectations.