There is always something.......

With all this dreadful news on the radio I have had to resort to Classic Fm for my morning listening...I know that the media has a duty to let us know what is happening with "the riots", the credit crunch AND a effing double dip recession, but, I for one have had enough of all the doom,gloom and depression and now am blissfully taking my cue from the mythical ostrich and am happily sticking my head into the sand.

Pirrie upset being away from his own hens

One of my Rhode Island Red girls had a swollen eyes over the weekend. "Bubble eye" can be a sign of a more serious respiratory infection and has to be sorted immediately as the infection can rage through a flock with devastating results.
I isolated the bird immediately and treated it with baytril and eye baths, The rest of the birds were checked and all seemed ok  (I make it a point of keeping hens separated into a whole array of small coops so potential infections can be hopefully minimised to one area )....but after discussion with my new vet we decided to treat the flock with  prophylactic antibiotics. Which is a decision I am happy I kind of pushed for..
(and no it was not the George Clooney lookalike vet ...mores the pity)


Yesterday, as the Rhode Island was more or less back to her old self, I caught, Pirrie, an old bantam cockerel looking slightly quieter than usual, and so I have isolated and treated him too. Good observation and knowing your animals is vital in keeping them safe. I just hope I have noticed the potential problem early.


I was discussing all this with the vet's nurse this morning. She had just bought four hens and I was trying to flirt with her just a little so that she would take one of my spare frizzle cockerels from me...and although she obviously knows animal care, she was taken aback just a little with the amount of work that is involved if you are to look after a  group of animals properly.


"When I started " she said ruefully " I thought you just stuck them in the garden and left them to it!"


........if only........