Learning from Loss of White Leghorn

Sunday at my house was a sobering affair; but not entirely unexpected. For the last few weeks, one of our white leghorns was a little "off". There were no real symptoms to diagnose, I'd just notice her hanging back from the others and being slow to get off the perch in the morning. My husband and I thought maybe the winter was harder on her than normal, but frankly, it's been a really mild winter. So, I kept an eye out for her and waited. This was one of our original chickens, so I knew, she's getting older and things can happen.

Then on Saturday evening, the kids were helping to put the chickens away for the night. They picked up our leghorn who, for some reason, was hanging out by the dog's water bowl. When they picked her up, she "threw up" all over them. I had never heard of this before and considered this suspicious.

On Sunday morning, she was slow to get off her perch and I just had a bad feeling. About an hour later, I went to check on her and, sure enough, I found her on the floor of the coop. She wasn't dead, but she wasn't moving a lot either. I picked her up, took her inside and put her in a box lined with chips. What I did notice was that her crop was full, even though it was morning. It wasn't hard like she had eaten lots of food, it was watery like a balloon.

I started looking up these symptoms online and found that she probably had a condition called sour crop which is caused when a chicken's crop doesn't empty fully overnight causing the food to ferment and a fungal infection to occur. I found lots of home remedies but many of them seemed cruel and dangerous. The common theme was that we had to make our white leghorn "throw up" her crop and then start her on some antibiotics. If things didn't improve, a vet visit would be necessary. So my husband held her at a downward angle, but not upside down, and I gently massaged her crop toward her downward-facing mouth. Immediately fluid came flowing out of her beak, lots of fluid. I made sure not to do this more than 20 seconds and that none of it went back into her lungs. After it was over, she seemed greatly relieved and her crop was much smaller.

I was cautiously optimistic, but had the nagging worry that she was too far along to be helped. And, I was right. Hours later, I found her dead in her box. While sad, I was glad her last hours were comfortable, safely tucked in her box in the warmth and filtered sunlight of my laundry room. I was also thankful for the lesson she taught me. From now on, I'll know to look for "hidden" signs, like a watery crop in the morning. You can bet that if this ever happens again, I'll be on top of it!

Last evening, we buried our white leghorn beneath a sycamore tree overlooking our chicken coop and I said goodbye to an old friend.

Weekend Drive in the Country

We did a little exploring in the country this weekend and found chicken coops for sale, fresh eggs for sale, a covered bridge and the beauty of nature...

Wildlife Wednesdays: Chickens Provide Food for Mouse

It's February 1st and amazingly it's 60 degrees outside. So, after walking a couple miles with the dog this morning, I took some time to pet Cleo, one of our three outdoor cats. I perched myself on the platform for our backyard slide and she curled up on my lap. It was then that I realized that our backyard cats have not been doing their job. And our chickens have been more than generous with their food. Expertly tucked under the lip of our slide was a stash of the scratch grains that I throw out for the chickens. I'm sure some enterprising mouse realized our outside cats weren't much of a worry and decided that's where his winter stash of food should be located.

So, I say kudos to that little mouse. And, to my backyard cats, "Get to Work!"

Taming School Papers on the Fridge

Click through to see my latest post for Laura's Lean Beef.....

Taming School Papers on the Fridge

Easter Egger Chicken - Breed Spotlight

Easter Egger chickens are a longstanding flock favorite, from their colorful eggs to their varied looks, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Class: Not Recognized
Origin: United States
Comb Type: Pea
Popular Colors: Varies
Standard Size: 4 Pounds (Hen) 5 Pounds (Rooster)
Egg Color: Blue, Green or Pinkish/Cream
Egg Size: Large
Production: 3 to 4 Eggs Per Week
Hardiness: Cold & Heat Hardy
Disposition: Friendly, Active, Skittish

Little Muff loves to scratch through leaves for a hidden treat.

Wind, Rain and a Missing Chicken

The most heart-warming thing happened to me last night. Actually, it started yesterday afternoon. It was a rainy day that was predicted to turn into  snow by evening. I had the chickens out roaming the yard, but was keeping an eye on them to make sure the weather didn't get too bad. Wouldn't you know it, right before I had to leave to pick the kids up from school, the wind and rain really started in force. I could see most of the chickens huddled under the slide on our backyard play gym. (I don't know why the were huddled there. There are many more sheltered places they could have chosen.) Anyway, I went outside in my knee-high boots to herd the chickens into their coop/run, desperately trying not to get dirty since I had no time to change before I left. I was successful getting them in, but in the wind and rain I was sure I missed someone.

As soon as I got home again, I went out to count the chickens. It was proving a difficult task since some of them were happily scratching and pecking in their run and others were inside. They kept wandering in and out so my count was never the same twice. Then, just as I was about to give up, I turned around. And at my feet was one of my brown leghorns. She was the one I had missed. She had taken shelter under the coop and decided since "mom" was home, she wanted to be put in with the flock. She was a little wet and she "bent down" as my chickens do when they want to be picked up. She turned her head up to me with her big comb flopping to one side, and I was touched.

I know we're not supposed to transfer human feelings to our animals. But, still, there's no doubt she knew I was her human and I'd take care of her. And, I was happy to do so!

Cochin Calls for the Lost Dog

My Cochin, Hoppy, is by far the loudest hen in our flock. She talks constantly. And she has different vocalizations for her different moods. You can always tell if Hoppy is mad at you or if she's just trying to hold a conversation.

Everyone in the family knows this about Hoppy and we always joke about it. But, I have to say, Hoppy's vocalizations over the weekend provided comic relief to a stressful situation.

You see, our dog Sophie, accidentally got out of our yard and was running loose in the country. She also had no collar since my husband had taken it off that morning so her jingling tags didn't wake everyone up. (He didn't put the collar back on after everyone got out of bed!)

So, my husband was standing in the backyard yelling for Sophie and I was running around in the woods doing the same thing. This is where Hoppy comes in...I had to stop and laugh because there was my husband yelling Sophie's name and right at his feet was Hoppy. Every time my husband would yell "Sophie", then Hoppy would take her turn yelling. I have to say, it was the cutest thing! Hoppy was so earnest about it and her vocalizations almost mimicked my husband's.

Needless to say, Sophie was soon found and Hoppy was able to go back to scratching and pecking. Thank goodness!