Slow and Steady

The rain has set in for the next couple of days so I times my walk to the allotment for a short break in between the showers. Upon arrival, I went to chat to Geoff and spent a while setting the world to rights. I had brought down some kitchen scales and Flubenvet – a chicken worming treatment. Over the last couple of days, I spotted a worm in some poo when cleaning out the coop. The Flubenvet is a powder mixed into the food for a week and treats all kinds of worms. I am still a little twitchy about our chickens after losing Georgie so suddenly. The fresh water contained a good dose of cider vinegar which also helps deal with worms. I measured out 2kg of food and thoroughly mixed in the right amount of powder. I was surprised at how easy it was and hopefully it will do the trick!

Back in the greenhouse, I put Pop into her wheelchair, got her legs and feet into the correct position and tried to distract her with fresh green kale. Leia was busy throwing around the shavings in the nest box before deciding that it wasn’t good enough to lay her egg. Rolling my eyes at the princess chicken, I opened up the top tier of the nest box. This has a thick layer of fresh bedding and a dark corner to lay in. She jumped up and enthusiastically rearranged the bedding to her liking and got busy laying her egg.

When Pop started to get fed up of being in her chair, I took her out. Initially, her feet are flat and her legs in the correct position. Today, with only a tiny bit of support under her crop, she managed to fully stand for a minute. Whilst this doesn’t seem a big achievement, it’s the first time she has stood in weeks and although she can’t maintain the standing position independently, it gives me hope that she will regain her legs eventually.