Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Good Tuesday morning. The sun is shining once again after four days of rain and dreariness. Everytime the sun comes out after such a long time I feel like the world is being reborn, or blooming, or something like that. ;)

Jimmy, thanks for stopping in and commenting. You are welcome to any of my pictures anytime :).

Linda, I am so sorry you lost your baby dog. I know it is gut wrenching and heart breaking. Please try and think of all the joy you got out of it. I bet you will remember many good times and it will outweigh the sadness you feel. I am thinking of you and wishing you well.







My loving sweet Hankie poo is getting better! I didn't want to post this too soon for fear of jinxing it, but he is doing so much better he THINKS he needs to get out of the carrier. Not just yet though. I don't want a relapse. I did something for him that I have not ever done before. I gave him shots. That may not seem like a big deal, but I cringe at just the sight of a needle. So to actually use one on one of my animals was, to say the least, a big leap for this sissy girl. I had to do it for him though. I couldn't stand the thought of losing him. I went to Tractor Supply and got a bottle of penicillin injectable, some 22 gauge needles and some syringes. After talking with the ladies at the check out counter I confirmed how much to give him. The penicillin in the bottle was very strong and actually for larger livestock animals, so I would need just a very very small amount in the syringe, just a few drops. I had to be sure he was getting enough, without overdosing him and killing him. That night I got everything ready. I have no experience with this, so I had consulted the girls, and then Ian said too, I had to thump the syringe to bring the bubbles to the top, and then squirt some of the medicine out of the top to release the air. In doing this I got some on my hand. Now, I am VERY allergic to penicillin. It has put me in the hospital before. I went and washed my hands off. As Ian looked on he said to be sure to wash that off good, that he didnt want me having a reaction to it. I didnt either, been there, done that. With everything ready we pulled Hank out of the carrier and I proceeded to jab him in the leg. Chicken skin is tougher than you think. The first jab, I didnt jab hard enough, so I had to do it again, with a bit of squeemishness I jabbed harder, this time at least making it under the skin and into the leg meat a little bit. The next day, I swear it was like a miracle. That bird was up and out and ate two whole pieces of wheat bread at one sitting, without the mucusey drooling, so I knew he was already doing better. Fourty eight hours later I gave him one more injection, this time getting it right. The first time is always the worst. After that you get better. I can say this, from now on, when I have any bird get sick, this is the way to go. If your going to save them, this is the quickest way to get them back on their feet for sure.

Hank came to us through a feed store for those that are newer to Hank. We had already moved out here from the city, but I was in town down there and stopped in to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Swint, the owners. This feed store has been around for ages. They are good people for sure. This was the feed store I frequented when I had my chickens in the city.

In I walked and I got halfway across the floor and they pointed and said, "There she is, hey! Would you like to take home a rooster?" I took a look inside a small carrier and there sat a really mean looking rooster. He does look mean, if you dont know him. His face looks mean, but he is really very sweet. I was hesitant, but decided to give him a chance. I wanted to hold him and see what his temperament was. Everyone was leary of getting him out of the carrier, getting on some gloves just in case he decided to bite. I just decided to reach in and get him. He was just a big old puppy dog. His story was that a young man had come in with him asking them to find him a home as he was going off to college and could no longer keep him. I liked this rooster right away so I took him home.

First I had taken him back to Mama and Daddys house. I had come to visit them, but had stopped in at the feed store first. At the time I had had Ember with me. She would come with Ian and I on the weekends. We were staying there on the weekends while painting and cleaning up our old house to sell. Ember didnt fit in with any of the flock and they picked on her, so she came with us. There is a funny story about her laying eggs in the next door neighbors laundry basket out in their garage too. This is about Hank though, so lets stick to that.

Upon getting him there and out of the box they had provided for me to put him in, I inspected under the back of the neck feathers, and oh my, he was eat up with some kind of bugs. Yucky, long bodied little mites of some kind. Well, he had to have a bath right away for sure. I did just that. I used some Dawn dish liquid (everyone knows this is used on kittens and puppies to kill fleas so I thought it would probably work on these mites too) and the hose outside. You would have thought I had killed him. He stood there for a good fifteen minutes after his bath, not moving a muscle. Finally he decided to come back to life and began preening. By the end of the day he was dry an bugless and ready to come home to the flock. From the time he got here, he has always been the king of this yard. Everyone, all roosters, give him the respect he deserves and doesnt quarrel with him. In the picture on the last post, Paula, he is indeed doing a dance of sorts...lol. He is telling the Silver Phoenix rooster to 'step off' and keep a distance from his girls. The thing is, he very rarely has had to fight for his place in the yard, everyone just 'knows' that he is the top dog out there.

I have to get some lime and spread it liberally out in the yard and chicken yard area. Reading up I do believe he contracted fowl cholera. This is common at this time of year. With all the rain and mud and then the warmer temperatures, it makes a breeding ground for this bad bug. Generally it is brought in by wild birds or rodents. It could have been either, as we have the little birds that come and snag a free meal out of the chickens food. We do have mice, though I am diligent in keeping the numbers down I know I am always missing some. The lime will kill the bacteria and then Hank will go back out in the yard. I would have put it down already, but like I said before, we have had constant rain since Friday. So far there are no other signs of illness in the flock. It may have gotten to Hank moreso because he is older.

Bottom line is, I need lime, and a lot of it. We need some dryer weather, and a lot of it.

Thankyou to everyone for their wonderful and sweet comments of encouragement for and about Hank. It really does help. Means a lot to me that y'all care. :)

I leave you now with a picture of Tip, yes! I actually got a picture of her. Only because we were outside. She has a terrible fear of the camera. More specifically the flash. I think she associates it with lightening, and storms. She is scared of thunderstorms too. Its hard to believe we have had her for almost nine years now. She will be nine on August 15th of this year. You wouldnt know it though, she still has that border collie spunk. :)

Everyone have a great day today. If you have sunshine, get out and enjoy it! :)