Road to recovery?

We left her to settle down as we fed and watered the other girls.This morning we walked down to the allotment wondering whether we would see any improvement in Dolly. She was there and seemed a little more perky and was energetic enough to make my administrations difficult. I managed to get a bit more gunk out of her beak but it still doesn’t look right somehow. Her tongue is still across to one side but we saw her drinking independently and she was tilting her head back so it was definitely going down. The usual routine of syringes of oil, water and egg yolk followed and she wasn’t particularly cooperative. Although it’s frustrating, it’s a good sign. Cliff swung by and had a look at her and thought she looked ok. Clearly the stuff in her beak needs to continue to be removed as much as Dolly will let us. The only issue is it seems to bleed a lot. I am not sure whether it’s because there are lots of blood vessels in the soft tissue of the mouth or if there is some sort of cut or infection. The side of her beak feels odd, almost weak and she didn’t look particularly comfortable when we out her down. I worried that we had made her worse, but the gunk needs removing or it will be a source of infection.

We decided to call it a day after feeding the chickens and go for a long walk. We found a footpath and followed it into a nearby village. By the time we walked back to the allotment to feed Dolly, we had walked 5 miles. Dolly had settled into the nest box when we checked on her. She seemed really settled so we decided not to bother her anymore today. Before we left, we checked on our fruit trees, all of which seem to be growing. The peach tree has definitely died which gives us the opportunity to buy another type of tree. I also worked out we could probably fit two more in towards the back of the plot, near the fruit section. Question is, which trees to choose?

At home, the chicks are doing well and keep cheeping loudly. We are loving holding them and playing with them. It won’t be too long until they out grow the enclosure! Steve had a suggestion for the breed so I have added it to the list of possible ones. They make such a mess that we will have to fully clean them out every other day!

Tomorrow, I plan to get hold of a small table to keep in the shed to use when we have dinner down the allotment. The one I have picked out needs some sanding and painting but a mini project would be perfect to keep busy during the lockdown.