Carol's Chickens

After losing Treacle, I felt I needed to spend more time with the three girls. I suddenly realised how healthy and vibrant they look. They have bright red combs, fluffy bottoms and are very active. Maybe while trying to build up Treacle, I got these girls to their peak. It also made me realise that whatever was wrong was in Treacle, because these girls couldn’t look more healthy.

Dotty

Bluebell and Pepper

It was the first sunny day in while so after sweeping the shavings from under the coop, I threw them out into the patch of sun with a few grapes, to give the girls some fun scratching.

Pepper

Unfortunately I couldn’t catch Pepper facing me, but she is a huge ball of fluffy feathers.

Fluffy bottoms

I think the girls are missing Treacle as I have noticed changes in their behaviour. This morning when I cleaned out the coop all three girls kept coming in the coop. At first I thought that they surely couldn’t all want to lay at once. Then I realised that they seem to want to stick close to me. They would go in through the coop door and out the side panel where I was kneeling while cleaning. They stuck by me the whole time where as they usually wander off into the garden area.

Later when I went in and stood by the coop they all jumped onto the coop roof and were milling around me. By this time Bluebell and Pepper had laid an egg but they still all three kept going into the coop. I think that because they can’t find Treacle, and she spent time on her last day in the nest box, they are looking in there for her. Bluebell who was closest to her was going in the most.

Bluebell keeps looking in the coop

Bluebell never usually goes in the coop if she doesn’t need to lay. I think this is a time of adjustment for us all.

While doing my weekly clean and sweeping out the shavings from underneath the coop I went through them to see if my earring may have dropped under the coop but no sign of it, so it looks like Dotty definitely ate it!

By late afternoon, after much scratching about in the nest box, Dotty laid her third egg in a row, giving us a three egg day! Way to go Dotty!

Unlike the other girl’s Dotty laid her second egg the day after her first. There was a lot of egg laying noise going on and I went to take a look at Dotty on the nest but Bluebell was determined to get in on the act too.

Bluebell seems to want to join Dotty in the nest box

Bluebell watches Dotty in the nest box

I thought that Bluebell wanted to lay as well but then I saw what was causing her interest. Bluebell had already laid and her egg was laying beside Dotty. I took the egg away and calm settled.

Dotty about to lay her second egg

Bluebell finally left Dotty to get on with it and when I went back a little later, there was Dotty’s second egg. It wasn’t quite as long as yesterdays but still paler than Pepper’s with little white specks on it. I think I will probably continue to be able to tell Pepper’s and Dotty’s eggs apart. Well done Dotty! Dotty started her egg laying, by laying two days in a row, maybe she is trying to make up for lost time. It will be interesting to see she lays another one tomorrow.

The morning after losing our lovely Treacle, Dotty surprised us with her first egg. I had began to think this day would never come. My “time warp” baby has finally grown up at nine months old. Her egg is paler and longer and more pointed than Pepper’s and a good size for a first egg,

Dotty’s first egg

There is  a little smear of blood on the tip.

Dotty’s egg is on the right, Pepper’s is in the middle and Bluebell’s on the left

Dotty’s first egg is s good size

I think Dotty ate my earring yesterday. She loves to jump on my shoulder and I know that chickens are attracted to shiny things. She has often taken a peck at my earring but I usually just try to hide it under my hair. Yesterday she took a peck and I put my hand up and found the earring back, but the gold stud had gone. I searched for it and couldn’t find it so think she must have swallowed it. The worrying thing is that the stem of the earring is quite sharp. My husband said not to worry too much as they swallow sharp bits of grit. She seems absolutely fine. I have read on another blog of someone else having this happen.

Pepper has also taken to jumping on my back whenever she can. She always looked like she wanted to jump on me but couldn’t find the courage and she can’t jump from the ground to my shoulder like Dotty as she is a plumper chook but if I sit on my little chair she will now jump on my lap and if I go to the nest box or the store cabinet she is straight on my back. I am not sure why they like to do this but I don’t mind as I like the interaction. I do have to make sure I am not wearing anything good to visit them though or I end up with a muddy back. I have an old fleece which I wear for the chickens and sometimes have them two at a time on my back. They are funny girls. I am looking forward to the summer when I can sit with them on my lap in the evenings again.

Yesterday I lost my lovely Treacle. I cried buckets yesterday and was too upset to write this straight away. In the morning we syringed her medicine into her beak and then some sugar water. I made her a mash of pellets, tuna, yogurt, tomato and sprinkled sunflower hearts and dried meal worms on top and offered it to her but she wouldn’t attempt it. Later I offered her maggots but again she showed no interest al all.

She went to stand under the bush. Later she went and sat in the nest box which is something she never does. Pepper was very cross as she wanted to lay her egg so I picked Treacle up and took her indoors to sit on my lap for about half an hour. She kept closing her eyes and her beak would open which I know is a sign of stress. I stroked her and talked to her while the tears streamed.

I put her back in the nest box and a few minutes later she went out to the water. She would drink water and just remain standing by the water for a long time. Her poops were now bright yellow and green, a bad sign. She then went back to stand under the bush, then returned to the nest box.

I knew that she had given up and that if she wouldn’t eat there was no chance of her getting better. I couldn’t let her suffer any more so I rang the vet to see if I could take her to be put to sleep. I agonised over this all day and if I thought she would die in her sleep over night, I would have left her but I knew she could go on just drinking water for several days like this. With the other girls doing all the chicken things and her only standing doing nothing, she has no quality of life.

My husband drove me to the vet so that I could have Treacle on my lap for the half hour journey. I stroked and talked to her the whole way while raining tears.

The vet was very kind (my usual vet was on his day off), he felt her and said she was very weak. He said she may have a crop problem but we will never really know what was wrong with her. I held her while he gave her the injection and she went very quickly. He let me hold her until I was ready then laid her down and tucked her head under her wing.

My husband said he found it all very upsetting too but that I was very good with her and that it was the right thing to do. It is so frustrating not knowing what was wrong with her or why this happened.

I never thought I would get so attached but at fifty two years old this is the first time in my adult life that I have had pets and I think once your children are grown up, pets become your babies.

Treacle was the first one to sit on my lap or shoulder and when she was in what I think of as the teenage stage, she would follow me around and jump on my back when ever she could. Even a few weeks ago she would jump on my lap despite me keep picking her up for what ever reason. When she was standing in the coop yesterday she would still come to the coop door when she heard me open their gate. She was my most interactive girl.

Treacle was ten months old and had been laying for two months before she suddenly stopped at the first signs of her illness. She laid forty three eggs in total during a Sixty seven day period. She laid lovely dark brown eggs.

I am ending with some photos of her as a tribute to our beautiful Treacle.

Treacle likes to be stroked

Treacle gently nuzzles my arm

Treacle also likes to get on eye level

Treacle on my shoulder

Treacle on the coop roof

Treacle is about to lay her first egg

Treacle on the umbrella

Treacle’s comb and wattles

Giving Treacle a bath

This photo was a week ago before I first took her to the vet. In the following week she went down hill so fast. I didn’t take any photos at the end because I was too upset but her comb looked very different from this picture. It had shrivelled to half the size and gone very grey.

This morning it was so sad to be greeted by three girls instead of four. I opened up the nest box and there was what I thought was Pepper’s egg. I then remembered that Pepper laid an egg at lunch time yesterday and only usually lays every other day. I picked it up and realised it was paler and longer than Pepper’s eggs and had a little streak of blood on it. It suddenly dawned on me that it was Dotty’s first egg. Ironic how the circle of life goes on! My husband had said that Dotty was going “boc boc” yesterday for the first time. With all the worry over Treacle I had missed the sign. Dotty is nine months old and all grown up at last. I am saving the photo of her first egg for my next post.

After the girls had their breakfast, Dotty went and stood under the bush looking really sad. At first I thought there was something wrong with her or that it was the shock of her first egg, then I realised she was standing where Treacle had stood for the last few days. Dotty was looking for Treacle. Suddenly all three girls in a row explored every corner of the garden area then went to the patio area, they all trooped in a line behind the coop, under the nest box, to the side of the cabinet, to every corner. I realised they were looking for Treacle and it made my cry all over again.

I am sure they miss her too. Goodbye sweet Treacle.

This morning we had to syringe Treacle’s medicine into her beak again. Tomorrow morning after we have done this we will syringe some sugar water into her beak as well to see if we can give her a boost. She has only eaten little amounts of tomato, grape and tuna when picked up and won’t compete with the other girls for food on the ground. I have bought some more maggots to try her with tomorrow. My main concern is that she is not eating enough to build up her strength. She has been preening a little and did have a drink of water before going to bed.

My friend Jackie (who has chickens too) visited us today to give me another pair of eyes on Treacle. She said that she didn’t seem in any pain so thinks I am right to hang on for a bit. I don’t want Treacle to suffer but don’t want to give up if there is any chance of recovery.

We did discuss whether she had a sight problem as she flicks her head and sometimes doesn’t seem to see food items but my husband pointed out that sometimes she goes straight for her favoured food items in a dish held in front of her so he thinks she does see okay. I think we are clutching at all sorts of straws at the moment and will have to play it by ear over the next few days.

Treacle’s first day after her second injection didn’t go as well as last time. This morning at first light I took the syringe with her medicine in and a dish of tuna separately, so as not to waste the medicine if she wouldn’t eat the tuna. I picked her up and offered her the tuna and was disappointed that refused to touch it.

A little later we syringed the medicine into her beak once more. I then gave the girls the last of the maggots and this was the only time all day that Treacle joined in with the feeding. Other than that she only ate a few little bits of tomato and grapes. She is slow and just stands in the garden area most of the day, showing little interest in anything.

At bed time I sat in with them and the only thing Treacle went to was the grit. She looked up at me with such a sad look that it broke my heart. I noticed that her comb, which lost it’s redness, when she fist became ill, had shrunk some more and now looked quite grey. The other three girls have lovely red combs.

My only hope now is that today she is still suffering from the stress of yesterday, having anaesthetic and another larger injection, and that after another nights rest she may feel  a little better. I know that I am probably kidding myself though.

I know that if she is not better tomorrow, I will soon have a decision to make because I can’t let her suffer. I have been very tearful while struggling with this. I never knew this was going to be so heartbreaking.

I had never handled a chicken before getting these girls eight months ago but recently with Treacle I have picked her up, carried her round, had her sat on my lap, sometimes for long periods in the vets waiting room, bathed her and hand fed her. I have had the most intimate moments with Treacle. When I held her while the vet examined her she was calm but when he took her for her x-ray she squawked at him. She looks up at me and makes sad little noises and I know she wants me to help her, but I feel so helpless!

I am willing her to get better with all my strength, but I know I have done everything I can for her and if she doesn’t improve over the next few days then she probably won’t.  I feel so upset right now.

Treacle was the first to sit on my lap and used to jump on my back at every chance she got. She has been a good top hen and stopped Dotty from bullying. The flock dynamics will not be the same if she goes. I have loved having her sat on my lap for a bit of attention. I am finding this so hard but must wait to see what tomorrow brings and hope for an improvement.

For the last three days Treacle seemed back to her normal self, eating, scratching about, dust bathing and bossing the other girls. This morning when I went in at first light, I could instantly see she was back to where she was before we went to the vet. I picked her up and offered her the tuna with her medicine on and she refused it for the first time. She wasn’t interested in any treats and was slow and lethargic.

For the first time we had to resort to syringing her medicine into her beak. I had watched  this being done by Terry on “Hen Cam”. You squeeze open their beak and give them a small drop in the side of their beak then let them swallow and repeat until it’s all gone. You must never pour it down their throat as it could go into their lungs and drown them.

I had also e-mailed Terry and updated her on Treacle’s recovery and said that I wondered if she had got infected from being pecked. Terry said that it was unlikely that infection had come from an external source. She said it’s likely that Treacle had an egg-laying glitch that got infected. Egg yolks are the perfect medium for germ growth, and if one gets stuck in the tract, it can easily get infected.

This made us wonder if as Treacle had got better, she had starting making another egg and the same thing that may have happened before, was happening again. I knew that this time I needed to contact the vet quickly.

I called and updated him, and he said to bring her in at three o’clock and he would x-ray her to see if anything was stuck. He listened to her heart and lungs and had a good feel of her but could find nothing. He gave her a little anaesthetic gas so that he could lay her on her side for the x-ray. He then showed it to me, he said it didn’t show an egg or any evidence of anything being stuck inside. All it showed was a collection of grit in her crop, poor girl.

He said that he felt we hadn’t got on top of her infection and he would give her another steroid injection to kick start her appetite again, this time twice as much so that it would last twice as long, giving her more time to fight the infection. He said to continue with the antibiotics and hopefully this time she will be okay. He said we are doing everything we can for her.

When we got back I tried offering her some tuna but she still wasn’t interested. I started my evening sweep up while keeping an eye on her. She put herself to bed which didn’t surprise me, but then a little later she came back out, had a drink of water then returned to bed. I hope this is a good sign. I am hoping after a nights rest she will eat in the morning and start to pick up again. I now realise it will be a while before we will be able to tell if she is really recovered. I can only hope so, I have had a few tearful moments today and have dreaded the possibility of having to have her put to sleep, I just can’t bare to think about that yet. I really hope that tomorrow brings better news.

Yesterday I visited my new chicken friend Jackie and saw her lovely chooks and her set up. Jackie’s run is completely roofed and I was envious of the lovely dry soil for the girl’s to scratch in and dust bath in.

The real disappointment with my set up is that whatever I do to improve it, it still remains wet and muddy. It was only recently that I added fresh wood chip and already that is now muddy. The girls dry corner remains only a small triangle.The weather seems to remain wet and the run never seems to completely dry out.

I decided to buy another plastic sheet and cover the whole outside area for the rest of the winter. The sheets are inexpensive, the difficulty is how to put it up. I had the idea of threading stiff wire through two sides and throwing it over the top next to the existing sheet then securing inside with wire as before.

My husband said we would never be able to get it over the top. The corner we have already done is easily accessed from our garden but the other half of the roof area joins next doors garden and he said he couldn’t see how we would reach it.

Then my husband had one of his brainwaves. He suggested we fit the plastic sheet to the inside of the roof by stapling it to the wooden batons. We set to work then poured a can of water over it to make sure it would run off okay. We think this will work but will have to wait for the next rain (which shouldn’t be long) to see how well it works.

Plastic sheet on the underside if the roof to give a much bigger dry area

I hope at last the girls will have a nice dry outside area.

When the girls went to bed tonight Treacle ate the pellets again and looked like she had a full crop for the first time in ages. What a relief!

Yesterday my husband needed to go to our local D.I.Y. store. He bought me back a present, this caught his eye as he was about to leave the store.

Chicken cushion

Isn’t this adorable! such a lovely gift.

This morning I took a dish of fish for the girls and Treacle’s smaller dish with her medicine on top. Now she is getting stronger she didn’t want to sit on my lap and tried to jump down to join the girls. I have to keep changing my tactics! I decided to stand up while holding her under one arm and offering her the dish in front of her beak. The fish was tempting enough for this to work and she ate it all. I will do this from now on.

I then resprayed her with the purple (blue) spray as it had washed off after her bath and my husband said he had seen Bluebell give her bare patch a peck. I don’t want any more infection so will keep her covered until her feathers regrow. Treacle was quite vocal about not liking the spray which shows she is back to herself again.

I am still giving the worming powder on sunflower hearts and the girls quickly cleared them up. I will give maggots again each afternoon for a few more days too. It looks like things are getting back to normal here, thank goodness.

I am so glad that I took Treacle to the vet yesterday and now wish that I had done so sooner.

This morning I put some scrambled egg and chopped tomato in a dish with her medicine on top but she wasn’t interested in it. I have come to the conclusion that she doesn’t like scrambled egg as she has refused it each time I offered it. The other three love it. I knew I needed to come up with a better plan.

I went shopping and bought some tins of tuna in oil as she loved the fish when I last gave her some. I put some in a dish for the other three girls and just a little in a dish for Treacle with the medicine on top. I put the bigger dish on the ground and picked Treacle up and sat her on my lap with her dish. She ate almost all of it so I am sure she got the medicine. I will do this each morning from now on.

As the day went on she started looking brighter. She was scratching around which she hasn’t done for a while and she had a dust bath. She even gave Pepper and Dotty some swift pecks to show that she is back in her place as top hen.

After lunch I gave them the worming powder on the sunflower hearts as the vet said I should continue with this as I had started. Treacle ate her share.

I then went to the fishing tackle shop for more maggots. I am determined to get Treacle eating as much as possible. They all went crazy for the maggots and Treacle was scratching for them and pecking the others out of her way. This was looking like Treacle back to herself again.

Scratching for maggots

Treacle looking more herself

Apart from her shabby feathers Treacle looks pretty much back to normal. I am so relieved. In future I would know to go the vets sooner. At first I thought it was just the molt, then being pecked at, but I now know if ever they are lethargic and not eating that I will act straight away. I am glad I took her to the vet before it was too late, I hadn’t realised at the outset how hugely attached I would get to these girls and how heartbreaking it would feel when there is a problem.

The icing on the cake for me was this evening when I did my sweep up, Treacle went to the feeder and had a good go at the pellets before going in to bed. This is the first time I have seen her eat pellets since she went down hill. I can’t believe the rapid transformation in her.

The other change taking place at the moment is that Dotty has just started to squat. She is nine months old, so has taken a fairly long time to grow up. Maybe she will start to lay eggs soon. I am so happy tonight!