blogfromthecottage posted: " The old saying goes that bad luck comes in threes. Well we've certainly had our share of bad luck over the last few weeks. It all started with the awful loss of our only gosling, then Bobby had a bad tummy towards the end of the same week. Nothing could " From The Cottage
The old saying goes that bad luck comes in threes. Well we've certainly had our share of bad luck over the last few weeks. It all started with the awful loss of our only gosling, then Bobby had a bad tummy towards the end of the same week. Nothing could have prepared us for third event that would strike last weekend weekend. On going to feed the garden hens as normal, I was met with utter devastation.
At first I only thought how strange it was that there were so many feathers in the garden. It never even registered that I couldn't see any of the girls, nor did I notice how quiet it was. Nothing really seemed off at all. It was only when I got to their gate and saw our gorgeous girl Paxo was lying dead outside of the run that it hit me. The worst nightmare of any poultry keeper; we'd had a fox attack. Maggi and Pancake had been carried away completely, leaving only piles of their feathers to indicate their struggle. Beatrice was the lone survivor of the attack, I found her cowering in the corner of the hen house. The last of our garden hens. She was injured and shaken, but alive.
Michael and I were in dismay. The guilt and the huge sense of loss, not only for ourselves but for Beatrice who had witnessed it all, lost her three friends and lived through it. The one overriding certainty was that we had to make sure she pulled through, she'd survived the attack but the stress alone could havevstill taken her too and we'd do everything to make sure that didn't happen. We owed her that much.
Beatrice's wounds were checked and treated with "purple spray" (a chlorohexidine based antibacterial spray familiar to all stock keepers). Thankfully, while she had lost a lot of feathers, the few injuries she had were only minor. It makes me think she put up a good fight. Once treated we moved her into the bottom floor of our broody coop. We already had a broody Silkie on the top floor with a clutch of eggs and it meant Beatrice wouldn't have to convalesce alone. She was given warm scrambled eggs and water laced with "Lifeguard Poultry Tonic" - a mineral booster - to keep her strong and comfortable. She was very quiet and still for most of the day, but eventually began to move and started to murmur away, as if talking with the unseen Silkie.
Thankfully, several days on, Beatrice seems to be recovering well and we think she's out of the woods. By the middle of last week she was well enough that we moved our newest Maran pullet back from the allotment to keep her company. Curly Toes came to us from a neighbour who'd acquired a collection of various birds and knew we kept Marans. She has curled middle toes, which can be a common malady that was unresolved when she was a chick. It doesn't affect her mobility and she's a happy, friendly hen, but we would be reluctant to breed from her so it seemed logical that she offer Beatrice some company. Thankfully, they're getting on well!
Having kept hens here for two and a half years without loss, it came as a huge blow to have three die in one morning. Maggi and Paxo had been with us since the very start and they will be missed greatly. Pancake was our favourite broody, having raised three Silkies last winter we had high hopes for her this year. Going forward, the garden flock will be expanded with this years pullets, taken from our own Maran eggs and some other breeds for variety. The flock will no longer have ad-hoc access to their run, instead they'll be let out later in the morning. While this means they'll get less time to potter and forage naturally, it also ensures they'll be at far less risk to predators, should Mr Fox return again.
No comments:
Post a Comment