Of the 6 chickens inherited from my neighbor, Red has always been my favorite. On one occasion I borrowed them to assist in the new vegetable area. 5 huddled in the furthest corner, Red came up to where I was forking up the soil and she focused on each upturning and snatched any worms or grubs that were unearthed. I was told she was rescued from a commercial operation and that was why her beak was snipped – to minimize damage amongst stressed confined birds. The bigger birds respected her and let her alone.
And all was well until last week when her behavior changed – not amongst the birds at the paddock corner scrounging for handfuls of seed, comb faded, more time in the coop than out. And last night I was sure she was at her end – standing in the corner with head drooped to the ground. I separated her from the others and this morning I set out to take her body for burial – I dig a deep hole for the departed and, when covered, mark it with a boulder. But there she was on her feet!
So I rolled out the “spa treatment” recommended at www.hencam.com. A long soak in an epsom salt bath. Which she enjoyed as you can see below.
Followed by pieces of whole wheat home made bread doused liberally with olive oil.
The least I could do for a real character. So we wait and see.
So what happened?? My hen Blanca was like this, too. One morning her head kept dropping to the ground and her wings were drooped to the ground as well. I thought she was a goner. But she recovered. And that was when I discovered the lice infestation, though it turned out most of them had lice.
Unfortunately Red is no longer with us. She never fully recovered and in my July 8 post “goodbye Red” I said my goodbyes and buried her next to a young fig tree.