Pepper and peppers

Well it's a gorgeous day today...buckets still lightly frozen overnight but the sun is making it feel perfectly pleasant. 

 

Guineas in new coop:
 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Pepper hasn't been herself lately, and I'd noticed a slight swelling on her left foot.  It wasn't hot, or puffy like with a soft tissue injury.  Radiographs last night showed this:
 

 

 

 

And yes, she has a spur in case you thouht they messed up the rads with another patient.  She's a super guard hen.

 

So the diagnosis is arthritis--she's been quite the active hen in her 3.5 years. Poor Pepper...Putting her on daily metacam for now.  She got to sleep inside last night.  Lorpie's room had been far too empty...

 

Wookie also had radiographs on her bumblefoot, but there was nothing to show that there was anything more than soft tissue involvement, thankfully.  She's such a heavy hen, I will always have to watch her closely. 3.13kg!!!

 

 

That's one fat foot pad. : (



This is what it looked like last week when I started treatment--and last night under anesthesia the vet poked around in there (I was there watching and doing anesthesia on Wookie and Pepper) she couldn't find a plug to remove, just like I couldn't last week, so we are managing with antibiotics, metacam, and bandaging (and scab removal when appropriate)

Today I cancelled my back rehab so I could stay home and rest--feeling a cold coming on and I don't want to miss my Amish spinning retreat this weekend.  They are neighbours of Wren Hill Farm Nigerian Dairy Goats (the nice ones we saw at the state fair!!).  Hmmmmm...

 

Bluejays keep mimicking a red tailed hawk and sending me on alert (I DO NOT want to hear that directly over the chook run!!) but the chooks seem to be able to tell the difference.  There was quite a stir earlier though, when I gave the alarm call for a circling Cooper's hawk...Even the ducks had something to say about it, and they rarely budge for anything less than an eagle.

 

As I'm writing this from up on the back deck I'm monitoring the (re)introduction of Venga's daughter Olive to the Pepper crew.(or 'Venga Choo' as we call her since she was Venga and Choo Choo's, or Baby Gonk, since Venga's nick name is Gonk-since that's what we think her vocals sound like).  Butterscotch (Miss Buff) is giving her a hard time and beats her up a bit.

 



That's right, I'm the boss hen now.



Poor Olive is scurfy and full of blood feathers so I removed her previous hen coat and replaced it with on that has removable shoulder coverage, since those feathers would easily be picked by the other hens.  Hens with new coats walk backwards, and make awkward leaps and flips in the air as they try to escape the straps pressing on their chests.  If it wasn't so sad it would be pretty funny...She's caught the attention of all the young roosters, like the new blond girl who shows up at school mid-semester--they are curious and not ashamed at their gawking. I just have to make sure she doesn't back up right against the fence, because I'm sure the roos wouldn't mind pulling her hair to tell her they like her--or worse.  The ducks also noticed the commotion--and walked over slowly with that menacing waddle, which terrified Olive since I don't think she's seen them up close before.  Her panic noises set everybody off...I just don't think that Ameracaunas every get the emotional maturity of some of the other breeds...But we love them and their shiny beards anyway. : P

 



Such a mess!!! To the untrained eye it would seem she was abused and neglected!

 



I think Winny is anemic again, so we're doing a Panacur powerpac treatment on him, which gets rid of any and all worms--including encysted ones.  The vet says he sees anemias at this time of year likely due to buildup of worms over the summer, and given that we don't really know Winny's management program of lack thereof at his old home, and that he's 24 years old and likely Cushinoid, it makes sense to be very aggressive with this.  Still think he has a penis infection so will either be calling the vet today or dropping off a sample which I will label "pene gunk".  I'm thinking it would only take 5 minutes to make a slide in house and see if it's a yeast infection. We'll see...

 



The banties are finally acting like banties again in their new runs--very grateful for all of G's skill and hard work putting them together in time for the cold.  We finally get to see them more, and they will be easy to catch and handle and socialize so from all standpoints especially health management this is a huge plus!!! Maybe today I'll get some nice high perches put up in there.

 

I also started painting the barn with some leftover paint I had--I think I like it...It's a bright burnt orange, and I'm hoping it will make the barn look more cheery (no windows in there) and cover up spots where Oakley has kicked the wall (he kicks sometimes when he's eating--thinking Winny or the sheep are actually going to take it from him).

Making grape jelly from the concord grapes I picked at the neighbours:

Basketful of jalapenos and cukes on top. October 13th harvest! What the????

 



Uber decadent treat from G---jalapeno poppers, and squash flowers all stuffed with the most amazing poblano infused cream cheese...Wow that was fun.  Deep fried in sunflower oil....Om nom nom..Sadly this is the only photo of the creation, since they were devoured as soon as they cooled...

Can't believe we were still harvesting peppers in October!!

 

I had some visitors last week...Our neighbour (who let us harvest grapes, apples, walnuts and who is giving us some free fencing material!! (I'm super excited about this--is that wrong??) Anyway, he brought his grandaughter over to meet some of the beasts. : ) 

 

Mr. Copper here was a complete gentle-chook, and Vivi was so good with him I wasn't afraid he'd get hurt.  Was mildly embarassed the yard was in  horrible state--chook feeders everywhere and I was moving, emptying and hosing down the chook tractors, raking up dirty bedding etc. It was quite a mess...Oh well! That's what happens in transition seasons--especally wet fall days...No wonder I was so incredibly productive that day--it felt like a Victoria day.

 



 

The lamby-kins had never seen a little girl before...they were quite intrigued.