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Sep. 4th, 2012 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pacificpikachuI found Sarge the rooster dead this morning. :( He seemed fine whenever I checked on him, his feathers were just icky like everyone else's (it's molt time), but when I checked his body, he was quite thin. His feathers hid it well. I feel bad that I didn't notice before... Birds do hide their symptoms incredibly well, though. Considering he only had one eye and a crossed beak, it's possible he had some genetic or internal problem--oftentimes those physical deformities are signs of problems inside the animal, too.
He was hard to deal with and sometimes bothered the small ducks, so in a way it'll be easier (I feel bad even saying that but it's true), but of course I'd rather he had lived a long life. I just had no reason to suspect anything was wrong with him. I'm not devastated or anything, but it's always sad to lose a bird. I saw lice on him when removing his his body, so that rose the alarms.
I checked a few live birds and, yep, definitely some mites going on. Gross! This is a tough time of year for chickens, though, so it's not that surprising. Their immune system isn't as good during molt and I think the long months of heat take their toll, too.
So, I went through and dusted nearly every single one of my fowl. Almost 100 birds, all by myself! It was a dirty, straining, and somewhat toxic process, but I feel much better now that they've all been dusted. Now I have to do it again in two weeks and that should do away with all those bugs. Antibiotics in the water for a few sneezes here and there, too, and vitamin supplements in the feed.
Wizzy, the hen in my icon (who is nearly feral), was of course the hardest to catch. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to catch her at all, but managed to trick her by standing still for a long time and then suddenly grabbing her.
I've got to say, a cool shower when you're really nasty feels so good. *A* I don't like getting dirty, though I'm not extreme about that or anything, but I love washing it all off.
Anyway, going to chill for a while after all of that hard work!
He was hard to deal with and sometimes bothered the small ducks, so in a way it'll be easier (I feel bad even saying that but it's true), but of course I'd rather he had lived a long life. I just had no reason to suspect anything was wrong with him. I'm not devastated or anything, but it's always sad to lose a bird. I saw lice on him when removing his his body, so that rose the alarms.
I checked a few live birds and, yep, definitely some mites going on. Gross! This is a tough time of year for chickens, though, so it's not that surprising. Their immune system isn't as good during molt and I think the long months of heat take their toll, too.
So, I went through and dusted nearly every single one of my fowl. Almost 100 birds, all by myself! It was a dirty, straining, and somewhat toxic process, but I feel much better now that they've all been dusted. Now I have to do it again in two weeks and that should do away with all those bugs. Antibiotics in the water for a few sneezes here and there, too, and vitamin supplements in the feed.
Wizzy, the hen in my icon (who is nearly feral), was of course the hardest to catch. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to catch her at all, but managed to trick her by standing still for a long time and then suddenly grabbing her.
I've got to say, a cool shower when you're really nasty feels so good. *A* I don't like getting dirty, though I'm not extreme about that or anything, but I love washing it all off.
Anyway, going to chill for a while after all of that hard work!
