Sorry i havent blogged the last few days but i have had a few distractions this end. Yes you have read the heading right....SCALPED!!
Mid week our little Flo managed, i dont know how, but managed to get herself stuck between the door that separates her, mum, and bluebell from 2 of the other girls penelope and gertie. While she was stuck these other 2 girls decided to have a very big go at her a scalped her. My poor daughter Beth shouted at me from the garden to say 'quick mum you have to come NOW its Flo'. When she has done this in the past there hasnt really been too much to see but she was right this time, poor Flo was so distraught and the same goes for Beth. So i quickly removed Flo into her hen house so she could try to calm down and my what a job the girls did. Poor Flo. I quickly popped back down to the house and got some things to clean her up, i gave her a quick look and tryed to clean the area.
As you can imagine it wasnt a pretty site and i too really didnt know what to do, so i phoned a friend. Down she popped with her husband to have a look and to give me some advice. They also gave her a quick clean with some warm salty water and to my suprise they told me that infact chickens are really quite tough, theres me thinking oh my god big wound, it will go into shock and will have to be put down. No as long as i keep it clean and she keeps moving and eating and drinking then she should heal ok she might be abit bald in the end but hey at least we will still have her. Mind you he did add that she might be a he.. but then again he has got this wrong before with one of his own chickens, so i reckon we will just wait and see..But one thing i do know is that i really did appreciate their advice, so THANKYOU zoe and co.
I just hope now that Flo recovers quicky because i have to be honest i really dont like all the blood and gawh that comes with it. One quick insite on how to keep chickens, or not.
Oh my! Poor Flo-hope she recovers quickly. What a nasty shock for you x
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering, you are in the hat :) Good luck. p.s Just read your post, I hope little Flo is ok!
ReplyDeletePoor Flo.. I couldn't really tell at 6 weeks for sexing my chicks... I thought 2 were boys as they feathered up much more quickly than the other 2... apparently cock birds feather up very quickly... the general information that I have collected is:
ReplyDelete1.Cock birds grow their comb and wattles much more quickly
2.Their tail feathers are pointier (however my three black hens had pointy tail feathers and I was quite fed up at the prospect of 4 girls... about 2 weeks ago the pinty feathers were dropped and short rounded feathers have replaced them!) phew...
3.The cock birds generally start to grow their saddle feathers which are very thin and pointy feathers that fall across their back at the base of their tail feathers...
4.the cock bird generally starts to grow new neck feathers that are also thinner and pointier ... (but im not sure if this happens in all breeds!)
5. My cock bird was never shy... if I walked towards him he didn't run away or show much fear of me... I remember him pecking at my feet whereas the others would keep their distance...
6. Usually a cock bird spurs ... which are an extra talon that grows on the inside of their legs about an inch up from their feet will be noticeable as a little mark and then form into a bump which eventually will have a talon.... however I have read that not all breeds have these...
7. I would not assume a crowing bird means its a boy... I have 2 girls that make a real racket... one even use to mount the other hens and mate with them... they mimic each other and its worth waiting to see if they have other signs of Rooster-ness.... sometimes the best bet is to wait it out and see if they lay an egg... which can be 24 weeks in some breeds... and if that falls in the colder/shorter days of the winter they may not lay until February... folklore says that they start to lay around valentines day... ;D
I hope this helps... and if I can help at all feel free to pop over to my blog...xx
i meant the prospect of 4 BOYS! lol
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