He is getting bigger and stronger by the day, and as you can see from the following photo his wing feathers are nearly fully formed. He will be flying in no time!
However amidst all the joy of having a little chick we are at the moment also experiencing the down side of keeping hens. One of our lovely Barnevelder hens is ill. If you have a dog or cat you'll know how upsetting it can be when they get ill, and it is just the same for us with our hens.
The Barnevelder hen is not even two years old, but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was a bit dull. I had let all the hens out of their pen for a run around and she was not keeping up with the rest. When I picked her up she was very thin and her droppings were runny and creamy coloured which is never a good sign.
The hens were due their regular worming treatment, so I did this, but the Barnevelder hen did not show any signs of improving. She seemed to be getting ever weaker so earlier this week I separated her from the other hens and put her in what I call the "intensive care ward" (an enclosure in the corner of the garage bedded with straw with an infrared lamp above to provide some gentle heat).
I went to see me local vet a couple of days ago (I did not take the hen because I didn't want to stress her). The vet gave me some antibiotics to mix with her drinking water, and since being on this treatment she seems to be eating and drinking more and her face and comb are a better colour. When I lift her out of her enclosure to allow her to stretch her legs she seems quite happy having a peck around.
It's early days, but I hope she makes a full recovery.
Oh Chirpy is looking good, his wing feathers are fairly coming in. Glad he is doing so well. I do hope your sickly hen make a full recovery.
ReplyDeleteAnne x