Friday, July 30, 2010

Tic Tac's Surgery

Well this was a first. Tack onto my long list of job descriptions...now I'm a vet too. Well, I'm nothing like a vet, but as a 'farmer', there are things that you just gotta do.

I noticed a couple of days ago that our poor Barred Rock hen Tic Tac started walking a bit gingerly. I also notice something hanging from the bottom of that foot. She wasn't roosting with all the other chickens and she was laying down often to rest. After much research I found out she has whats referred to as "Bumble Foot". Apparently it's quite common in bird species. She must have had something stuck in the pad of her foot that eventually turned into a Staph infection. YIKES!!!!!
Well, most chicken owners take it upon themselves to resolve the problem with the hopes that they don't kill their chicken in the process...Double YIKES!!

After scouring the internet and chicken forums it seemed easy enough. I just needed an extra pair of hands...Now being a mom, that would really be nice to have, but unfortunately I don't see that happening within my lifetime.

So after a quick trip into town to pick up some surgical supplies, I hired my dear hubby to portray the role of surgical nurse. I scooped her up this morning (after breakfast might I add...maybe not a good idea to have breaky first) then wrapped her up in a towel and handed her off to my surgical assistant. It was then I noticed that she had 'Bumble Foot' on both of her feet..That is my triple YIKES!!! Now I really started to feel the pressure (forehead wipe please). After a good soak in warm water with betadine and epsom salt I was ready to make the first cut. Surprisingly my hands were steady. The goal of all of this is to remove the scabbing and pull all of the 'crap' out of the padding of the foot. Then soak in more betadine, epsom salt and warm water, then triple anitbiotic cream and wrap. So here are some pics...not too bad, but maybe not for the squeemish!













So hopefully she will make a full recovery, and I hope I never have to do this again. It really wasn't bad at all, but you never want to have to do stuff like this. It was quite cute watching her get use to her new kicks though....




All in all, I think it went really well. Although when I put her back with her family, they all (including Tic Tac) started pecking at the blue vet wrap. I had to put her in a separate pen so she can rest and not get chewed on. LOL!


Wednesday, July 28, 2010

We Got Another One

Well, we have another little fluff ball. This afternoon I found that the Easter Egger egg hatched and there was a dark ball on the floor of the coop. Actually she was under Mo, my other mommy Silkie. I guess she was babysitting for the moment. So here is the unveiling of the newest and youngest.....










Now It's Shammy's Turn

Good morning!!!

And what a morning it is. Went to let our chickens out this morning and when I checked in on our mom's and babes, Shammy had a little surprise for me.
I noticed there was a perfectly split shell laying in front of her. Couldn't see any little peep so I decided to check under her. And this is what I saw.....




A tiny little pair of legs! How these fluff balls can breathe under their moms really baffles me. So I lifted her just a little more and.....



What a cutie!! So this is Shammy's first little peep. Congratulations to her. She may actually have some more coming. By the looks of it, there is one more egg that has pipped (meaning cracked through). So maybe I'll have another update today if all goes well.

Here is some more of that cuteness!




Saturday, July 24, 2010

Never A Dull Moment

So it is never a dull moment around Crack N' Egg.

I was laying out by the pool, when all of a sudden my hens and rooster sounded the alarm. Total chaos was unfolding. I got up and see a HUGE Red Tailed Hawk sitting on top of my baby chicks run. It was my new mommy Silkie's first day out with her two chicks and they were about to meet their demise. Now, I'm running flat out Baywatch style in a bikini might I add towards the mosh pit. The rooster actually tried to fly up and attack the hawk, but the hawk just looked down at him like he was a little chihuahua snapping at his ankles. When I finally was closing in on them I was flapping my arms and clapping like that was really going to get the result I wanted, but I did yell "Get away form her you BITCH!" That was my Sigourney Weaver 'Aliens' moment. The hawk was not flying away and when I finally came to a halt about 4 ft away from her, I realized that she was literally 1/2 my size. It was honestly the largest Red Tailed Hawk I have EVER seen. She was larger then any Turkey Vulture I have encountered. Now I say 'she' because in bird species most females are larger then the males. So no discrimination meant by it :) Finally I started growling at it like I was from a speed metal band (some of you know what I'm talking about) and she finally flew away. The wing span on the hawk was unbelievable. I swear it felt like she left a jet wash behind her.

Now most everyone had managed to flee inside the coop. Some of my teenagers hid under the coop, which I don't know how they did it because it was only about 4 inches of space. But I guess when you feel like a succulent drumstick you can just about hide anywhere! The baby chicks were still in their run, but mommy had managed to get out. For a little bantam chicken, she was quite fierce with trying to protect her young. And I gave many kudos to Mr. Roo, because he showed how devoted he is to his girls.

We all came out of this unscathed. Thank god!! Although in the end I think it was my bikini clad body that scared her off. Could you imagine the 11 o'clock news....
"Readington Township women in a bikini dies from mistaken identity. A giant Red Tailed Hawk thought she was a plump chicken"...."News at 11!!!"


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

4 New Coops

Hey Everyone,

Some new and exciting things to share!
On Monday we received 4 new chicken coops in stock. One is so new, that it was hot off my manufacturers drawing board and brought straight to us!

Check out the coops at our website http://www.cracknegg.com

Stop on by and see what we're all about!


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

We have some new additions!

Yay! We finally got home at around 7pm, after being stuck in traffic almost all the way home from Vermont. As I was unloading all of our things I heard Jay yelling from the coop. I ran over to find two new little fluff balls chirping around Mo. She looks like a natural mom. I'm so proud of her. They were so cute!!! It was our first hatch and out of 8 eggs, 2 hatched. I'm going to let her sit on the rest for a couple of more days in case they are slow.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that we get some more. But I am happy with the two we got. One is definitely an Easter Egger. The olive colored legs are a giveaway. I'm so curious as to what these little guys are going to look like since their daddy is a Silver Lace Wyandotte.

I'll keep you posted :)




Friday, July 2, 2010

Hatch

I'm a little nervous about leaving my Mo behind while she's still setting on 8 eggs. It figures that we are away this weekend for 4th of July and the hatch lands in the middle of our trip. Well, I guess what's meant to be is meant to be. Animals do this on their own all the time...right??

Ok, hopefully everything will be fine. I'll see when we get back!

Happy 4th of July everyone :)