Today was total chicken fail.
Just about every thing that went wrong today had something to do with chickens. Our big plan was to pick up a few new hens at the Lucasville Flea market. So we set out this morning with a big box full of straw in which to bring them home.
In the past we've gone up and there have been literally thousands of chickens for sale. Well, there were chickens,, that's certain but every decent chicken that didn't look like it had one talon in the stew pot was a rooster. We decided that we didn't need new birds that bad so we cut our losses and headed home.
When we got home, we noticed that one of our hens was looking poorly. Now, chickens are all new to me, I don't know anything about chicken illnesses or chicken cures. I set a lawn chair out beside the garden and watched her for about an hour.
She wouldn't walk, wouldn't feed, wouldn't stay in the flock, and she had her back all hunched up. I brought out my laptop and googled some stuff. It didn't seem like she had a virus or a parasite but she had all the symptoms of egg binding.
Egg binding happens when a bird is trying to lay an egg that is malformed or too large. Apparently this can kill a bird pretty quickly.
I was panicky. I know I'm not supposed to be attached to these birds but I am. I love my chicky girls. The cure for egg binding is not a pleasant one. I'll spare you the details but it involves a glove and vaseline.
After the invasive procedure I put them to bed. I came out a few hours later to check on her. That poor hen passed two, horribly mishappen, malformed large eggs. That poor ol' girl!!!
I hope she's ok and she goes on to lay another day. Occasionally, from what I read, this means the end of their laying career.
Chris said that we're not running a retirement home for chickens!
PLEASE GET BETTER PRISSY!
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Perhaps Prissy could use some time in reno hotels to relax!
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1 comment:
Oh you poor thing!!!
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