Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Collin's Escape And Miss O.'s Update

Scratch. Scratch. Peck-peck-peck. Scratch.Scratch. Scratch.

Those are the sounds emanating from the larger livingroom pen Miss O. and Miss W. have moved into while completing their recuperation from their run in with our overly affectionate roosters. I wrote about it before and won't repeat myself here, but I did want to update those of you following along with their progress. Miss O. has regained all her energy. She is making up for lost time, eating everything I feed them with a healthy appetite. Living inside, they have been getting more than their fair share of the scraps normally slated for the main chicken coop yard. Her eyes are both open and alert. The left one is slightly more closed than normal, but I see improvements every day. Her feathers are regrowing on her head. Her comb will not regenerate, but it is healed over and the scab that had formed is gone. There is no evidence of any kind of infection present in either her comb area or at the place on her neck which sustained a large and grotesque puncture and tear. All in all, she is looking in fine form. It is astonishing the way our bodies are designed to heal. I shall be sad to end Miss O.'s days of luxury and our evenings cuddled on the couch watching TV, but I am convinced that she would prefer the company of her flock over the comfort of my shawl and I know my dogs will appreciate their ban from the living room being lifted.

I wanted to take some pictures and video of the piggies and goats over the weekend, but to be honest, nothing of interest is happening with them right now. Ellie is still living the high life in the basement. Pepper has been moved inside to keep her company. She is putting on weight steadily and moves about easily now. They pushed over the baby gate to wander the basement at will twice over the weekend. So, just as soon as the weather decides to stay out of the negative temperatures at night, they are both going back where they belong, too. The rest of the herd choose to spend their days inside their stalls, munching on hay. It just doesn't make for good television. As the spring returns, they will venture out more. There will be news and updates on potential pregnancies which will be more suitable to write about. As I have mentioned before, posting takes on cycles and it is just not their turn.


Our resident horde of roosters is another matter entirely. After the fiasco involving Miss O., the lads were moved into what is supposed to be our tack room.  It is still our hope that we find them homes and hens of their own to protect and love. If not, they will find homes in someone's freezer. The area is 10ft square with a glass door and window to provide light. The room next to them is home to our piggies until the weather turns. Beyond that is what will someday become a working milk room. The piggies room is sheathed along the bottom 4 feet on both sides with plywood, but the top is open. I like the openness because I can peek in at the piggies from either the tack room or milk rooms. When the piggies return to their real home in the spring, that area will be even more fascinating, freshly cleaned and prepared for baby goat kids and their Mommas to live in, I can't wait for the babies to come! Not surprisingly, the seven roosters taking temporary shelter in that side of the barn, do not respect their boundaries. So far, I have found them roosting in the garden supplies stored in the milk room, along the tops of the room dividers, and nestled down across the tool crib. This is inconvenient as they are walking poop factories and have made small messes everywhere! And, to add insult to injury, they created a hole in their fencing and escaped last weekend in an attempt to return to the main chicken yard. Collin led the revolt.

Eventually, Sean and I were able to capture them and return them to their proper home and no harm was done. I captured some short clips of Collin trying to lure away some hens from the main coop yard and also, how eagerly we are greeted when we stop by for a visit- freezing temperatures and hurricane-like gusts of wind or no.



Thanks for stopping in for a visit. We're glad you came.
Sean and Sonja ♥

4 comments:

  1. That Collin sure can put on a show! He is right handsome, I guess if I were a hen I would be drawn to his swagger!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Goodness, it sure was windy that day! Roosters are so crazy! I really hope you can find homes for all of them. Good for you for trying :) Getting roosters is the only thing stopping us from hatching out our own chicks. We already have 2 and we can't keep any more than that.

    So glad to hear Miss O is recovering nicely! I bet she does like it inside. Also happy to hear Ellie is still doing well. I still remember your post about taking her to the vet and the vet telling you the best thing would be to put her down. So happy you didn't listen!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think you have the touch with those chickens. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loved the "Rooster Boogie." Does he give lessons?

    Becky

    ReplyDelete