Ladybug Farm: Sigh...

It's been quite a day here on the farm.

This morning I stepped out to start my chores (which aren't hard anymore... I only have the one horse now!). My Mom called me from her yard and started over to my side of the farm. She didn't look happy. She wasn't. She had found pieces and parts of one of my chickens (her's were all still in her chicken coop) around her farm yard. We both headed off to see what we could find. She had seen one of my red chickens wounded, hiding in some grass under some stored irrigation pipe. We couldn't find her. We COULD find black feathers, some with pieces of chicken still attached. Not good.

We looked and looked and finally found the black chicken. She was mostly eaten and most definitely DEAD. Sigh... It was my Henrietta. She has been a favorite for the boys. She was always so friendly.

The missing red chicken was Xena, Warrior Princes. We looked and looked but couldn't find her.

I put the rest of my chickens in the fenced middle part of our driveway, with the ducks and two other chickies. Then we went to town. We were there for a couple of hours.

Then I went out to do my evening chores (again, they aren't hard... only one horse!) and looked around again for Xena. I have a small hay stack over beside Destino's pen, so I don't have to haul hay around when I feed him. It's covered with a tarp. I started remembering how Xena liked startle me, when I reached under there to get hay for Destino , she would pop out at me! ACK!

I walked around and around the little stack and noticed that one side, at the back, was moving around. Hmmmm.... I undid the front of the tarp and flipped it back and THERE SHE WAS!! Sitting under there all warm and dark trying to take care of herself. I picked her up (she has a LARGE wound under her wing and won't walk on that leg) and took her over to where I had put the other chickens today. I put her in the little house Hubby built for the ducks, which they never use. She sat in there for a few minutes, then hopped out on one foot and got a drink. When I fed the other chickens on the other side of the enclosure, she watched me carefully. I brought her food and she snarfed it right up.

Hubby and I talked about what to do with her injury... should we leave her outside (this was Hubbys vote... no chickens in the house), clean the wound, banadage it? Oh what to do!

I came inside and did a search and found a whole forum for people with back yard chickens! Cool! BackYardChickens Forum They had lots of helpful info.

I went outside to see what kind of wound treatments I have for the horses. On my way over to the horse trailer and shed, BIG HUGE RAINDROPS started falling... (Our hay was cut yesterday... it is a VERY BAD THING to have your freshly cut hay rained on... just great. Bring it on!)

I made it to my shed and the torrential rain storm hit. I rummaged around and found some iodine, looked out the shed door and saw Xena huddled up against the fence of the enclosure.

Sigh... great... one of the things the forum said was, "Keep them in a dark, warm place to help with the shock."

The middle of a rain storm in September is not a good place to be. Sooooo, I RAN across the farm yard and the driveway, reached over the fence and grabbed Xena, she was shivering and her eyes were closed, and headed for the house. Hubby and the boys were in the doorway... "Are you getting wet?" Ha ha...

I had water running down my face and dripping from my hair. My clothes were stuck to my body. I ran in, put Xena in the bathroom, and headed for the other bathroom, where I toweled off and changed my clothes... Wet??

So much for Hubby's vote of no chickens in the house! Xena is wrapped in a towel huddling in the warm, dark bathroom as I type. We are preparing to clean and medicate her wounds. Poor girlie! Good thoughts her way would be appreciated! She lays me an egg every day. Not always where I want her to, but oh well. She has always been my favorite chickie!