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Follow our adventures as we raise a tiny flock of chickens in suburban Bexley, Ohio.
Our chicken bloggers include Tami Taylor, a Welsummer, and Tyra, a Jersey Giant.
RIP, Betty, Joan, Sally & Peggy.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

and Peggy comes home...

After nearly a week at the vet, several kinds of antibiotics and a narcotic, and lots of hand wringing, Peggy has come home.



She's not looking so hot. And not feeling very good either, if her behavior is any indication. She seems to have suffered some brain damage -- at least that's what we're blaming for her change in behavior*. She doesn't seem quite sure how to eat and mostly sits in the corner. She could still be in shock. We rarely see her drinking, though she must be drinking some because it's been a week now & she's still alive. We're going to give her some time to bounce back and then consider whether or not she might do better in a big flock (we found someone with a big flock who has had success introducing lone chickens. He says with such a big flock, they always seem to find some buddies). I'm still not 100% sure she'll pull through, but she did show some interest in strawberries today. I'd figured that if she didn't even want strawberries, she was a goner.

Well see how this plays out...

For now, she's getting several hours of outside time a day (mostly hiding under a bush, but still...) and getting locked up tight in the garage at night...

Poor Peggy. I can't help but think that Joan & Sally had it better. And they didn't have it so good.

Regardless, we're looking at shoring up the coop. We're still not exactly sure how the raccoon got in, but we have a hunch that it was in a place where the hardware cloth had come a little loose. Maybe peggy will stay with us over the winter & be joined by some chicks in the spring.

There will probably be spring chicks, regardless.


*Someone on the backyardchickens discussion board said that seeming stunned for quite some time after an attack is perfectly normal. I'm still hoping she'll bounce back soon.

2 comments:

  1. Our offer stands. If she gets lonely (or cold) over the winter, we are super happy to foster her and then send her back to rule over the new brood of chicks. :) So glad she is back home. Allison is still a little, shall we say, calmer and and more reserved post attack. Maybe the two of them should get together and bond over the torture of being fed horse pills and not being allowed to go back to their coops. Good luck with your little girl. Hope to see better pics of her in the future.

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  2. Thanks, Jenni. It's really nice to have options! I think we'll be giving this a few weeks before we figure out what to do next. Thankfully it's not even October so we have a few months to see how things go.

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