A beautiful sunny day today...no wind, sun with a moderate UV index so you could really feel it on your skin, and the birds singing to the stillness. I really should post some audio of it all.
Mixed emotions these days. Happy that guinea hen Miss Demeanor is fine and back with her banty crew. Turns out that suspected egg binding looks a lot like toxin exposure (I suspected pine toxicity since she had tremors, ataxia and dyspnea) But the morning after I brought her in to our 'hospital' (the downstairs bathroom) there was an egg, cracked all over from her effort no doubt.
Also happy that Mr. Soapy appears to be doing well-holding his weight and overall pretty bright. A far cry from two months ago when he couldn't even pick up his food--he'd miss his target by two inches. He hasn't been eating solid food so well though, and although he picks up his moulted feathers to present to me and does the typical chivalrous rooster behaviour, he still won't eat lovely treats like apple and he sort of picks up a piece of lettuce with dampened enthusiasm, so I figured the only thing left to rule out was loneliness. This is my only aggressive rooster for those who don't know him. I have to handle him carefully, and not antagonize him in any way. He has drawn blood on both of us. He just seems so conflicted-mostly due to fear and territorial behaviour. During this two months of his mysterious illness he has become calmer, and seems to seek interaction. He'll now fly to my arm from his cage (less scary than a big scary human reaching in and catching him) and then he lets me tuck in his wings and pet him while he goes to sleep. Not that this really surprises me...I've known how social and emotional these birds can be for four years now. I moved him out to his ladies this aft, so I'm hoping that he'll pick right back up again. I only had a little bit of time to watch them to make sure nothing went poorly-and he chased them a bit, then danced, then commenced digging for seed. I asked G to check on him later,and the report was that he was sitting happily on his perch, with one tiny hen on either side of him.
Lorpie is doing poorly, and I feel her end is near. Will have to see how the next few days go. She might be 'just a chicken' like so many people seem to think, but the truth is that we seriously wouldn't be here on this wonderful property and seeking this type of life if it wasn't for her. How many people can say that about their pets? Or even friends or family?
Also sad since Mr. White still hasn't appeared, and I found cat tracks on our front deck (our neighbours' murderous cat is a bird hunter) and while walking our fence lines this evening we found fox tracks. I miss him and the joy he brought to my days.
Had a fun time riding Winston and Diamond--both lovely horses, but I have to remember that Oakley is our priority and that to me means that Winston would likely be the better choice. More on that soon.
For now I have to go, since G has made me the most awesome GF bread and homemade soup tonight, and if ever I needed some comfort food....
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