Switch to Decaf, Carol
Carol got a little crazy with the nesting today.
She was very unhappy that Olly Astro wanted to sit in her nest. She gets cranky when Janet sits in the nest next to her, so she was doubly annoyed that Olly was bothering her, too.
I didn’t even know this sound was possible, from a chicken or any other creature. But Carol is truly the master of insane chicken sounds, from the early morning wake-up calls to these angry tirades when protecting her nest, Carol really knows how to get her point across, loud and clear. LOUD AND CLEAR DID YOU HEAR HER! Okay good. Just checking.
Also, O’Malley just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Memorial Day weekend.
Quacks and clucks,
Tiff and the flock
Meditation with Cindy Buttons
Today Ms. Buttons sat down next to me on the lawn and settled in for a nap. She sat very close so she must consider me one of her flock.
This video may look like Cindy Buttons is just napping, but this is actually “Meditation with Cindy Buttons.”
While you watch the video, take deep breaths. Relax and focus. Notice the side of her face puffing in and out. That is her sinuses moving while she breathes. Notice how her eyelid closes up from the bottom. See that tuft of feathers back beyond her eye? Those feathers cover her ear. If you relax until the end of the video, you’ll hear her wake up to the sound of the neighbor getting home from work. Lastly, she alerts me with a trill sound to let me know the neighbor is home.
And that is Chicken Meditation 101, with Ms. Cindy Buttons.
Random musings
Some people have said they have trouble telling Cindy Buttons apart from Carol. So here we have a side-by-side comparison. As you can see, Cindy is lighter in color and doesn’t have a tail. Carol has a small head and is darker than Cindy. What you can’t see is that Cindy will steal food right out of your hand and Carol screeches like a banshee in the early mornings. These are very individual traits that make them very easy to distinguish in person after you get to know them. Carol is a bit skittish but she loves to have her face petted. Cindy will sit on you and visit any time you sit down. Every chicken is an individual with a full, robust personality including likes, dislikes and funny quirks.
In other news, Lionel Ernest asked me to tell you that he is not a buff duck but a pastel call duck. They do look a lot like buff ducks but are of course smaller and have that distinguished dark brown chest. Lionel will sleep better now that you know he’s really a pastel.
He is doing well and likes to hang out with Danny girl, but I’m afraid he might be a little too short for her.
Lionel is still favoring his left leg since his foot is infected, but he is in good spirits and is harder to catch each and every day. You can also see in the background his nemesis Miles is favoring his right leg. Bum legs are all too common in little ducks, and that’s how they end up at our house.
O’Malley and his girls are doing well. Ramona is nesting again, so he spends most of his time with Petunia. I have told Ramona that we don’t hatch ducklings, and even if we did, there is a fat chance in hell that I’d ever let her hatch a Ramona-O’Malley baby. Can you imagine how monstrous and bitey that little duckling would be? I shudder to even imagine it.
Petunia is beyond her egg-laying years. She’s probably about 8-years-old now. It’s hard to say for sure since she’s a rescue, but I think she was young when she came to live here in 2006.
Olivia is our oldest feathered resident right now. She came to live with us three years ago and we think she is almost 11-years-old now. She is a tough cookie but I like that about her. She doesn’t trust just anyone, so it’s quite a compliment that she trusts me to pick her up and chat with her sometimes.
Well that’s about it for the random mid-week musings from ducks and clucks. Simon says “I love you” and wishes you a very good week.
Oh! We finally implemented a “like” button on our posts, so if you like ‘em… “like” ‘em.
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff & the flock
Carol the Alarm Clock
For anyone considering chickens, I give you… Carol the Alarm Clock.
Do you like getting up at dawn every single day of the year? Then chickens are for you! Carol used to be really loud when she was cooped up in the… well the coop, so I arranged for the coop to have an automatically-opening door at dawn so she could get out without me having to get up at dawn. But it turns out Carol doesn’t just want out of the coop, she also wants out of the aviary, because 800sq feet of aviary is cramping her free-wheeling spirit. It’s nearly 3-times larger than the smallest apartment I lived in when I lived in New York City, but Carol has a big personality that cannot be contained in such meager accommodations. We have to be very careful letting the chickens out in the yard when we’re not out there with them as we have raccoons in the neighborhood. So we really prefer the darkness of December when chickens sleep ’til 8am or later.
Let me leave you with this last thought if you’re considering chickens. In mid-June, the sun in Seattle rises at 5:11am. That means it’s light outside even before that, which means Carol and I will be awake around 4:30am every day for a few weeks.
If I’m cranky, just know it’s because I really need a serious nap.
Oh! Check this out.
Someone nominated us for a blog award from BlogPaws and we made the finals! We’re up against two ferret blogs and Pua the tamandua anteater, which is tough competition. We’ll find out in late June at the BlogPaws Awards if we’ve won. Check out their site here: http://awards.blogpaws.com/
Saturday routine
It’s a Saturday so of course we’re at the vet. Today Lionel Ernest went to the vet for a check-up to see how his foot is doing. I love taking new rescues back to the vet because they suddenly realize I am the best thing around, compared to everything else. Lionel stuck close to me at the vet’s office when he otherwise will have nothing to do with me. See Lionel? I’m not so bad after all.
“Get away from me, chicken!”
Olly Astro also came to the vet today to have a quick re-check after her sneezing and swollen belly from a few weeks ago. She is all better, which is great. She is a very good chicken and I’m glad she’s feeling better.
Lionel was briefly wrapped up like a burrito so the vet could draw some blood and make sure his infection is improving. He looks like he’s smiling here, but he was very angry and bit me when we finally unwrapped the Lionel burrito.
Lionel’s foot swelling is improving, but he’ll stay on antibiotics. He may need to have his foot opened up and cleaned out, but we’ll wait a few more weeks before resorting to that. For now, he has gained weight (1.1kg 10-days-ago and 1.3kg now), he’s feeling better and we’ll have his blood results on Tuesday.
Once we were back home, all the kids enjoyed the sunshine. Miles and Lucky look especially cute in bright sunlight with their stunning green heads.
Lucky is a perfect little domestic mallard.
And he loves his buddy Miles. “Yoga stretch!”
Together they spend most of their days and nights staring at Danny girl, hoping to get close to her. Unfortunately she is a little too handicapped and fragile to handle these two, so their unrequited love will always be just out of reach.
At least it gives them something to do together.
That’s it for today. Here’s hoping your weekend is a good one.
Quacks and clucks,
Tiff and the flock
Thief!
Jeez, Cindy Buttons. I was going to share my pizza slice with you if you’d just give me a minute. Turnabout is fair play at least. Olivia stole the piece from her and hid under a shrub and ate it all by herself.
Celebrate All Mothers
This Mother’s Day, our friends at Liberation BC are sharing information about what really happens to mothers on dairy farms all over the world.
Please take a moment to learn more about what happens to baby cows on dairy farms by reading “Why a cow ribbon?” And then get your own ribbon to help support mother cows everywhere.
You can also read up on some very cute rescued cows when you’re done.
Oh! And remember to have a very happy Mother’s Day!
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff and the flock
Duck loaves and chicken piles
This weekend has been a mostly relaxing one for the flock. The sun is shining, the pools are cleaned and the treats are plentiful.
Petunia shows her advanced technique for being a duck loaf. She has had a lot of practice, but she’s also a natural.
She and O’Malley are good friends, but she has moved out because Ramona is not very nice to her when she’s nesting.
“Why can’t you just be nice!”
O’Malley has tried to talk to Ramona, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.
He even tried singing, but the Ramona monster’s resolve is strong.
So O’Malley gave up and decided to just be a duck loaf like Petunia.
Chickens are a little bit different. When they lay around, they flop over in a pile instead of staying in a nicely baked sun loaf. Here are Cindy Buttons, Janet, Carol and Olivia showing how to make sun piles while also mashing plants. Very advanced technique.
Olly Astro is good at sun piles too, but she just wasn’t in the mood today.
Once all the loaves and piles were done, the special kids came out for swim time. Lester, Danny girl, Miles and Lucky ate some peas and took turns swimming in the tree trunk pool.
“Blurgle gurgle ha ha ha.”
Here Lucky shows how to talk with your beak full of water.
Then they both tried to reach the peas that I put in the pool.
Miles and Lucky both love Danny girl completely, but they are a little much to take all at once, so they wait until she is done swimming before they’re allowed in the pool.
“Please hurry I love you!”
Once I pluck Danny girl from the pool, all insanity and goofiness begins! Miles and Lucky LOVE to splash up a major storm. See why this is a bit too much for Danny?
Lucky will dive and flap.
And Miles will try to push him out so he can have the pool all to himself.
Then it’s time for some preening in the sun.
“Gotta keep the feathers lookin’ good for my lady.”
Once all the other kids had their turns, we put them away and let little Lionel Ernest come out and take a swim.
He is still a bit skittish, but he is improving slowly and has even started quacking at me.
He’s really good at splashing, and even found a few peas left at the bottom of the pool.
Then he flapped off the water and went back to his pen to rest and recuperate some more.
Simon prefers to watch, but only from a safe distance.
Lastly today, we had an unexpected call from a friend about an injured crow. Our friend Rachel said the crow was dragging one wing and hopped into a patch of grass. She kept an eye on the crow and I came over to help catch it. Unfortunately, the crow was really easy to pick up, which could mean she’s very injured. But we caught her and I took her to PAWS where they’ll be able to help rehabilitate her if she can recover.
Just another wacky weekend with the duck loaves and cluck piles… and a crow.
Here’s hoping for a great week ahead.
- Tiff & the flock
Janet and Carol, a friendship
Janet and Carol were sitting in the sun together this afternoon.
Janet reached over to preen Carol with her beak.
And Carol returned the favor by preening Janet’s cheek.
Janet and Carol came to us at different times, under different circumstances. But as you can see, they love each other’s friendship now, and are great companions to each other.
Janet was surrendered to a veterinarian after she had a prolapse and egg-laying issues and her owners didn’t want to pay for it. Carol was found wandering the streets of Seattle and taken to the Seattle Animal Shelter.
Ramona photo bomb!
Chickens are extremely social and emotional, and enjoy the company and care of good friends. Almost as much as they love sunshine.
Janet and Carol are a great example of the importance of good friends.
Quacks and clucks,
Tiff and the flock
INCOMING: Lionel the little buff duck
This little buff duck came to us this evening from PAWS, a great wildlife rescue organization in Lynnwood, WA. His name is Lionel. He was dumped at a place called Country Village and he has a foot injury. He isn’t a wild duck, so PAWS couldn’t rehabilitate him for re-release to the wild. He doesn’t belong in the wild because he’s a domestic duck. So he came to us.
Lionel is unfortunately very skittish and really scared, but he is safe and warm and will get some veterinary care for his foot injury tomorrow morning.
I always hate to see new little ducks come in who are so scared and sad, but I am hopeful that Lionel will feel better and make friends with our other gimpy ducks once he has some medication.
For now he is kept separate from our other ducks until the vet clears him as healthy and free from parasites. I was going to keep him in the house, but he is so skittish and afraid of people I decided to keep him near the other ducks. So Lionel is set up in an enclosed soft crate in a pen with Petunia, Olivia and Cindy Buttons. I wanted to put him near Lucky and Miles since he speaks the same language, but ducks are like little dinosaurs when newbies arrive, and Lucky went ballistic over the new guy. Lionel doesn’t have the energy to deal with aggressive, cranky ducks, so he’ll stay in a peaceful pen for now until he feels better.
In other news, Danny girl’s test results came back and she is completely free of lead and infection. In December when she arrived, her blood lead count was .36 and a normal reading is .02-.04. She was very near death. Now her lead count is back down to .02 and her blood count also shows no infection. I wanted to be sure because she still stumbles pretty badly. But this is as good as she will get for now, which is just fine. She can get around good enough to feed herself and swim, and she is enjoying her life, so we are happy with her progress and glad to know that this is her new “normal.”
Lionel goes to the vet in the morning and as soon as we know more we’ll post an update here or on the Facebook page.
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff and the flock
