Life's Rich Panoply

[muninnhuginn]

Sickness

So Miss Daisy, refeathered and sweet-natured, wasn't well last night when I put the fowl to bed. She didn't come out of the run this morning, but I couldn't see much wrong. I left it for a while, planning to check on her later, with the intention of ringing the vet and piggy-backing a check-up for her on the already-scheduled cat programming appointment.

When I went out before lunch, she was sitting in the sunshine with the other two with her (not Miss Bluebell's usual style). I went out and saw what the newly-refeather rear end had hidden from me earlier: a protruding oviduct--and not looking good. I went back inside to confirm that what was required was a clean-up and reinsertion, planning to ring the vets if that was the case, clean her up, and then get a pro to show me how to do the latter.

Shit

That was when I found Little crapping behind the front door. Little, not Big. Cleaned up after cat. Squirted Feliway around. Will have words about her behaviour with the vee ee tee.

Death (1)

Confirmed my information, put on a clean pair of latex disposables and went outside again.

She'd--just--died.

(Her sad and confused companions were doing what hens do in this situation and crooning and lot and consuming the giblets. And they are sad and know she's dead. And eating one's friends seems quite respectful really.)

Buried her under the gooseberry bush with some bricks on top to prevent the curious disinterring her.

Death (2)

Rang M to let him know what had happened and, while leaving a message on his voicemail, watch the Siamese flying foxes play fishy football with a dead panda catfish.

Eggs

Before I went off to Middlesbrough last week, I found a stash of eggs. Eight of them, one just laid. I caught Miss Redly just prior to the act and had to leave her to it. She'd hidden in a corner of the lean-to outside the backdoor. so I brought the--huge--eggs in, blocked up the corner (to the best of my ability when there were folk waiting to get on the road), and shut the hens in the run.

This morning, since we'd had only a few, small, eggs this week, I checked. Miss Redly is a contortionist to have got back in her "nest". There were three huge eggs.

Three eggs.

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Poor Miss Daisy. And I had no idea hens ate their dead..!

[muninnhuginn]

They'll eat almost anything--definitely not vegetarians.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

So this image one has of peaceful chickens scratching around in the yard for insects, grubs and the like and running for corn scattered by a helpful human hides the fact they are plotting murder, mayhem and quite a lot of noshing of carcasses.. mini vultures in fact?!

[muninnhuginn]

Them's dinosaur eyes peeking out at you--attached to ever-empty stomachs.

I've a soft spot for vultures.

[ravenrigan.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a grim day. My cats pee in the hall too, does Feliway work?

[muninnhuginn]

Yup, Feliway works. (However, if you have a good sense of smell, it's quite an unpleasant odour.)

The vet suggests one ought to have one litter tray per cat plus one extra. He evidently doesn't live in a two-bedroomed terrace.

I love the cats in your icon, btw. Are they yours?

[ravenrigan.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think I may be theirs! Meet Macha(the fluffy extroverted one) and Maeve (the short haired, phlegmatic one). Machsie will jump at a shadow, or roll on her back and show her belly if she trusts you. I'm fairly sure she is the hall pisser. Maeve almost never moves off the bed unless she needs to eat or use the sandbox, miaows pitifully for strokes if you happen to be awake in "her" space, and won't budge unless you actually dump something on top of her.

We HAVE one litter tray per cat. They pee in one (at least when they don't pee in the hall), poo in the other. Go figure.

[wingedphaeton.livejournal.com]

what a rotten day: I am so sorry!

Have you resolved the probelms if Miss Redly?