Thursday, September 23, 2010

Our Poor Sienna

Haven't posted in a while, and unfortunately today is not a happy post. One of our original girls named Sienna injured herself yesterday. Not sure exactly what happened, but she lost all function of her left leg. She was out free ranging all day with the rest of her family and sometime late in the afternoon when I rounded them up to give them their afternoon treat I noticed her hopping around and using her wings as crutches for balance. Her leg is completely limp. She was fine all day and then all of a sudden this. It looks like a strain, but it also could be a dislocated hip or break. When I palpate the area, I can't find anything out of place or broken. I know that she is Mr Roo's favorite girl. She has a bare back to show for it, so maybe he got a little rough with her and sprained her leg.

I would hate to see her go, so once again my minivan get's kicked outside. The brooder cage has to get set back up and another chicken will be living indoors for a while.

I hope she pulls through :(

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Feathers, Feathers Everywhere!

I have to say that this is probably our first "official" molt to date. Chickens molt their feathers usually twice a year. Some molt in patches, some just a feather here and there, and then there are some that end up looking like they belong on a serving plate at the dinner table.

Now we've had feathers before...but never like this!! As a friend best described it.."you have enough feathers to make another chicken". So true, but at this point it's enough for a few chickens. None of my chickens are completely bald, but they do look like they have been through the ringer. They look pretty funny. My beautiful Mr Roo has no tail feathers, so it seems that all the girls are turning away in laughter.

So unfortunately molting is a natural part of a chickens life. They all have to go through it to make way for nice new feathers to keep them warm for the winter. The thing that sucks though, during a molt they won't lay an egg for anywhere between 6-12 weeks. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it....