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Chido posted:I don't have ay crate big enough to keep him isolated during the day I don't have chickens, but the general rule is that you shouldn't pick off scabs because scabs provide protection against dirt and bacteria while the new skin grows in. I think that the Neosporin, periodic Epsom salt baths, and scrubbing should be enough. Again, I know more about people wounds (lots of first aid classes) than chicken problems, so others may be able to offer better advice. Poor Roo. 
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May 20, 2012 03:32
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I don't know how Roo walks, but he often gets his feet hurt. I have pine shavings inside the coop, he sleeps on a flat section of the coop that is filled with shavings, and he spends all day walking on grass and dirt. From what I saw after checking his feet, he peeled some skin off one toe, ripped a toenail off last week (still can't figure out how he did that), and he got bumblefoot. Being big, fat, and clumsy is not good for his feet @_@. That doesn't stop him from being a dick and sit on his hens all day long 
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May 20, 2012 03:41
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Chido posted:I don't know how Roo walks, but he often gets his feet hurt. I have pine shavings inside the coop, he sleeps on a flat section of the coop that is filled with shavings, and he spends all day walking on grass and dirt. From what I saw after checking his feet, he peeled some skin off one toe, ripped a toenail off last week (still can't figure out how he did that), and he got bumblefoot. Being big, fat, and clumsy is not good for his feet @_@. Is he scratching about in hard dirt or rough stones very vigourously? One of my hens caught her claw digging in some stones after getting a bit too excited by the digging prospect.
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May 20, 2012 04:06
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We got some garden bricks that circle the trees, but besides that there are no big stones or hard surfaces that I can think of.
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May 20, 2012 04:20
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All it takes is a tiny opening, the bacteria lives in the dirt and in it goes. He could have stepped on a rose thorn or anything that punctured his foot. BTW, he's torn off the same claw that Dinner has. True brothers. What doofuses. If you go the booties route, he WILL peck at it and try his best, all day long, to tear it off, aided by the hens. That's why going with a pair of toddler sneakers with his foot pad wrapped in gauze inside of that is how to do it. HE WILL HATE THIS and be all weird about walking around in shoes, be warned. You need something tough enough to stand up to being worn in the yard and keep out dirt & moisture, but light enough so he can walk in them. The wound needs to be cleaned out normally--soak his foot and use your best judgement, but usually Bumblefoot wounds have to be totally opened up, squeezed out, scooped out (this is every bit as gross as it sounds, *bleck*), washed out, packed in Neosporin and bandaged--this is what makes it such a pain. Check out photos on Google and YouTube vids for guidance. His wounds may be small enough to where you can get away with cleaning it really well, slathering on some Neosporin and going with bandages and shoes. Use your best judgement. 
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May 20, 2012 07:03
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Could you make a chicken e-collar? Or ones around his feet over the booties?
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May 20, 2012 07:17
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I'm not very familiar with what kind of toddler shoes. There's a Payless shoestore at the mall where I work on weekends so I could go tomorrow and check what shoes they have that I can use for Roo. I'll also finish getting the supplies I need (hopefully I can find a sharp paper/cardboard cutter at CVS), and then go  on Roo. Edit: they sell sandals for babies right now... I could buy a pair, cut one of the straps to make room for his toes, and strap them. His feet will have a "sock" bandage on each, so it might hold in place. I don't have any extra wire atm and usually I'd isolate Roo in my bathroom with food and water, but with my mother here I can't do that . I'm gonna talk with my BIL and ask him if he could help me make an enclosure for Roo in the back under the orange tree. It may take a while but the shoes should help for now.I promise I'll take pictures of his humiliated self! Chido fucked around with this message at 07:36 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 07:31
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Also, thank you VS and everybody for helping me with advice and all the information you've given me and helping me take care of these chickens. I can't believe it's been a year now since we got our first three chickens, and it's been an awesome experience. Well, with the exception of dealing with Spaghetti's wounds last year (omg I could see her muscle through a wound she had on her back), a mini epidemic of "chicken flu" (they had fluelike symptoms, all cleared, and now I'm gonna learn to do a foot surgery You guys deserve the biggest  ever!I just wish more vets would see chickens and that it wasn't so expensive. I think having my old dog's teeth cleaned and any occasional issue was cheaper than having rusty seen twice for a tongue infection No wonder why there are so many DYI guides for chicken first aid online, apparently chickens are more exotic/less important than other pet birds .
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May 20, 2012 07:53
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Chido posted:I'm not very familiar with what kind of toddler shoes. There's a Payless shoestore at the mall where I work on weekends so I could go tomorrow and check what shoes they have that I can use for Roo. I'll also finish getting the supplies I need (hopefully I can find a sharp paper/cardboard cutter at CVS), and then go Chido, the type of knife you want is called an Exacto knife. They usually sell the knife with a little box of blades. I'm not sure that CVS would have that as that sort of item is sold at either an art supply store or at a hardware store. Walmart might have Exacto knives, but no idea where they'd stock them: in school supplies, or hardware or crafting. A large Crafting supply store like Michael's would definitely have Exacto knives. You'll need alcohol to sterilize the Exacto blade with. And you'll need sterile saline solution to wash out the feet wounds with. I guess you know not to pour alcohol directly onto Roo's feet wounds as that would really sting! Any type of baby shoe, you'd want to have his feet covered as much as possible so that he couldn't peck off the gauze bandages, so I'm not sure that sandals would work so well. A toddler sneaker would be good -- it's lightweight and sturdy. Ugh. I guess you know to watch the gross videos on Youtube.
Inveigle fucked around with this message at 09:24 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 09:21
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Yeah, I've seen the video in youtube . I don't wanna cut Roo's feet unless I have to, and while the skin was hard, I didn't see any swelling, so I'm gonna begin the treatment with soaking and the neosporin. I'm familiar with doing some basic first aid care, so I know how to disinfect and care for the wound. I'll try to peel some of the scab to help the neospori enter the skin, but if I have to, i'll cut it open. I'll check if they sell that knife in Staples. Also, I forgot to add the link to the sandals I saw in payless. http://www.payless.com/store/produc...isplayName=Boys They might work, maybe?
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May 20, 2012 09:46
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I wasn't going to post about it, but all the talk of bumblefoot made me want to share. Today the guinea hen our family had taken to calling Bumble (even though she didn't seem to have bumblefoot) died. Her feet were huge from the day we got her, but didn't have any sores and never felt hot; they were just MASSIVE. She always looked a bit runty and sad, but acted healthy and fine until yesterday, when she suffered a prolapse.  The whole family feels terrible about it, though I don't know if we could have done anything.If there's an upside, it's that the other two guineas – Pogo and Peep – are as healthy as ever. They seem to be a married couple! On one occasion Peep was attacked out of nowhere by a Bichon Frise, and afterwards spent the day hiding in the woods; Pogo kept running around the house, jumping up on sheds and in trees, being noisier than usual trying to figure out where her man went. They'd be lost without each other, so I guess if we had to lose a guinea at all, it's better that it was Bumble. We also have two roosters and four hens – we were originally planning to have the red rooster, Cogburn, for dinner when we got LaBoeuf and the guineas. Then my mom decided that LaBoeuf couldn't handle the whole flock on his own, so now we've got two roosters crowing around the property. The only hen with a name is Droopybutt, because she's the only one with a distinguishing feature.  They're mostly my mother's birds, and she just takes the overflow from one of her friends, so I don't know much about breeds. I feel like Cogburn and the hens are probably Rhode Island Reds, if only because they are red as hell; LaBoeuf is a big white fella with huge green tailfeathers and a massive bosom.Would anyone be interested in pictures of Pogo and Peep? I know this is mostly chickens but I thought other birds might be welcome (and guineas look hilarious).  Some of the only pictures I have right now are from the day we brought them home, and a more recent one of a hen planning revenge on Cogburn. We, uh... we really need to get them some aprons.   This is kind of a depressing introduction, in retrospect.
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May 20, 2012 10:12
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Chido posted:I'll check if they sell that knife in Staples. Staples would carry Exacto knives, yes. Might a child's sneaker work better to cover up Roo's entire foot? Would you still have to cut holes for his big toes to poke out? I'm just thinking that sandals have too many openings which would allow Roo and the hens to tear them up easier? How big a shoe would Roostroyer need anyway? I was poking around and found this link to chicken booties on the backyard chicken forum. I wonder how hard it would be to make these? http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/654496/new-neoprene-chicken-booties-for-show-injury Payless has a plain white infant's sneaker for $15 and Walmart has some infant's sneakers for $8 in black or pink. But I'm not sure how you'd engineer them for Roo's big feet and whether or not he'd need a toddler-sized pair. Inveigle fucked around with this message at 14:50 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 10:41
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KentuckyFriedBonBon posted:At first glance, your chickens look like circus performers, with one balanced on the other's tail. Had to do a double take at this one.
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May 20, 2012 15:01
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Roo's feet are almost as big as my hand. I thought the sandals would work because they already have openings, including the one in the back for Roo's back toes. I contacted the seller of those booties asking her about how to make them, hopefully I'll get a reply. I never thought I'd have to buy shoes for a chicken, Roo is one spoiled princess 
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May 20, 2012 17:06
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Chido posted:Roo is one spoiled princess I'd be willing to bet money that you could find some literal Disney Princess toddler shoes on clearance to shove his feet in.
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May 20, 2012 17:13
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You might be able to just use foam wrap tape, it's made for athletes and is pretty tough stuff. Just pack the wound with ointment and gauze, then wrap with gauze, then wrap over the gauze with foam tape. It's water resistant and stands up to a pretty good amount of punishment before it needs to be replaced.
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May 20, 2012 17:24
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Ok, the list of what I need to buy: -more epsom salts -non stick gauze -foam wrap tape -self stick bandages (if I need them) -exacto knife -neosporine -toddler shoes (princess theme if available )I have iodine so that one won't be necessary. Roo's feet are 5 inches long and roughly 5 inches across from toe to toe. Any idea what shoe size that would be? Edit: that rooster is soo pretty! I love his tail!
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May 20, 2012 17:31
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Chido posted:Ok, the list of what I need to buy: Make a tracing of Princess Roo's foot and take it with you to WalMart and try to find a shoe that will fit his fat feet. Hopefully there will be some fabulous pink Disney shoes on sale. Remember to avoid the color red because the hens will peck at the red! WalMart will also have generic neosporin ointment, saline, gauze, and generic-brand medical tapes. You might use the cloth medical tape to wrap around the gauze to keep it on. They might have a waterproof tape, too. Check out everything on the shelf in the first aid section.
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May 20, 2012 17:39
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:I'd be willing to bet money that you could find some literal Disney Princess toddler shoes on clearance to shove his feet in. Casting my vote with this. Chido, if you go the toddler shoe/sandal route for Roo, be sure to get the girliest pair of shoes you can find. Pink, glittery, Disney Princess print, whatever the store has. He will be so beautiful. It'll even match his dress!
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May 20, 2012 21:26
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I had an extremely busy weekend, but the Cluck Palace is finished enough to move the ladies in. Got the siding on today - still need to put some trim on the roof but otherwise the siding is done. I still don't have stairs, but I decided to focus on finishing the interior to get the chickens moved in as soon as possible. You can see their temporary run in the foreground.  Here's a shot through the door, this is as clean as it will ever be. The flooring is as 12x12 piece of vinyl flooring. The building itself is 10x10 (exterior), so I had a little over 9 feet of actual floor space to cover. To simplify clean up, I ran the extra vinyl up the sides. This sounds way easier than it actually was, but in the end I got it in there and was only off in my placement by about a quarter inch. I still can't believe how accurate I was, to be honest. That job was horrible. Also, vinyl flooring adhesive makes a great leg hair remover. Yes, that is wood trim around the windows and in the corners. Gotta be classy, after all.  The ladies inspecting their new digs. I'm going to hang their feeders and waterers, but for tonight, they're sitting on the floor. Just didn't have the energy.  There is still a lot to do - I'm starting the run next weekend. The underside of the coop will be fenced in so they have a shady spot in the early morning / afternoon. I then need to build a porch and stairs so I can stop using the ladder to get in and out. This will probably be the last thing I build. Inside, I need to make hinged frames with hardware cloth for the windows and hang their nesting boxes (no real rush there since they're 10 weeks old this week). I want to get a screen door (which I'll have to reinforce with hardware cloth) for the summer nights too. I need to build some roosts for them as well - might try and tackle that this week. So yeah, busy weekend. I even manged to get a double IPA going. Work's going to feel like a vacation tomorrow. LordOfThePants fucked around with this message at 02:15 on May 21, 2012 |
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May 21, 2012 02:12
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I missed my bus on my way to work so I didn't have time to go buy the booties before work . I did buy the first aid supplies on my way home, but the shoes will have to wait . I did get some sport waterproof tape to wrap around the gauze, and I'll see how that works. If he doesn't manage to take it off, then sorry guys, Princess Roo will have to remain a Cinderella XD.
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May 21, 2012 02:57
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Man! Those are some fancy chicken digs! Or maybe our chickens are just slumming it.  I think this picture is actually from the old coop but the new one doesn't look much nicer. Gratuitous bird pics are always good, right? I'm just going to assume yes. Pogo and Peep (can't tell them apart unless they're pogoing/peeping)   LaBoeuf being his handsome self, Cogburn cannot believe you are impressed.   
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May 21, 2012 09:42
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Sorry, this post is gonna be half whining, half rant. I tried to treat Roo's bumblefoot today. I was gonna have my neice and my BIL help me, but my mom offered. As a general rule, I don't let my mother help me with anything. She was insisting so much that I cave in and let her help me. So for the 20 minutes that I tried to remove the scab in Roo's foot and treat the wound, my mother said: - you know, when I was a kid we'd just let the chickens out and nature would take care of it. - you gotta cut the scab faster. - why are you removing the scab? the scab is there for a reason. - You shouldn't bandage it, just clean it and let it be. (that after I managed to crack the scab and get some blood). - just soak it in water with salt and it should be ok. -why are you putting that plastic around the gauze? (waterproof sport sticky bandage), you have to let the wound breathe! - Random comments about how much weight I've gained lately. -More comments about how dumb it is to bandage Roo's foot and how I should just let it "breather" aka let him walk around with a bleeding cracked scab. Apparently the fact that the would would get dirty again is not important. At that point I'd had it and just told her that if she was gonna help me, then help me, if she was gonna criticize what I was doing and try to make me do it her way, then to shut up. This is why I try to have as little interaction with my mother as possible, she always tries to be the loving center of everything, and whatever any of us is doing, of course she has to tell us how to do it better (when most of the time it's just stupid bullshit she is saying). She can't loving understand these chickens are pets, not farm animals, and then of course she has to make all those stupid comments about me being so much into my chickens that I'd even brastfeed them if I could. I still love my mother in a way, but she can be a oval office and she can go gently caress herself, I don't need her to crush my self-steem and make fun of me just because she's jealous I'd rather spend time with the chickens than talk to her. So now I have to wait a few days until my BIL has time to help me with Roo, because I couldn't finish today. Edit: and now she laughed at me after seeing the first aid supplies I bought for Roo. Spending money on my chickens is so dumb because they are just chickens and it's silly how much I worry about their well-being. Chido fucked around with this message at 03:59 on May 22, 2012 |
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May 22, 2012 03:50
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You know, if I were closer, I'd offer to come over and take a swing at your mom. What a dick. At least you tried to help out with the goofy featherball (fluffball?). I don't suppose the supplies are supple enough that you could form something, slide it on and tape it real, real quick while he's being an angry chicken, huh?
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May 22, 2012 04:22
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Tell your mom to suck your fat white cock 
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May 22, 2012 04:22
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Well the scab is cracked but still attacked to his foot. I did bandaged it and as far as I could tell, he can't take it off. I just had to put up with my mother's poo poo while doing it, but I guess having Neosporin and the bandage on top of the mostly intact scab is better than nothing. If you lived closer FB, I'd ask you to help me with Roo because I was almost at the sight of blood.
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May 22, 2012 05:08
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Oh yeah, I got now 5 chickens wearing a saddle. This is how they all react to the saddle. 
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May 22, 2012 05:39
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Chido posted:Edit: and now she laughed at me after seeing the first aid supplies I bought for Roo. Spending money on my chickens is so dumb because they are just chickens and it's silly how much I worry about their well-being.
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May 22, 2012 10:44
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Chido posted:Oh yeah, I got now 5 chickens wearing a saddle. This is how they all react to the saddle. I think you found the kryptonite for your super chickens.
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May 22, 2012 11:30
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What breed of chicken is this? He's really pretty! Thanks for posting your chicken photos! I love seeing what kind of chickens people own! And awwwww, Chido, I'm sorry your mom was being a jerk. I guess she doesn't understand that Roostroyer is a special pet. How did Roo take to having his feed bandaged? I guess it's a good thing your mom didn't see the SHOES you intend to buy for Princess Roo!
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May 22, 2012 12:12
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Well Roo still has his bandage on. I just went out to check on him before leaving for work, and he is walking normally. I didn't see him try to remove the bandage yet, and the other chickens are not trying to rip it off either, yet. He does lift his bandaged foot when standing still, though, but I don't worry about that. Scab is still on, I don't know how effective the Neosporin will be with most of the scab/thickened skin is still in place, but I'm gonna give it a couple more days, then try to peel more off and put a new clean bandage on it. And seeing the drama from last night (passive-aggresive mom), I think I'll wait on the shoes until she is gone in hopefully 2 weeks. Then I'll just get the shoes for Princess Roo... for science! Edit: forgot to add, we did the bandaging late in the afternoon so Roo would go to sleep soon afterwards. As soon as we let him go, he ran to the run... and chased and tried to furiously sit on as many hens as he could catch. WTF Roo, I just tried to cut your foot open and you suddenly wanted to sit on everything? Chido fucked around with this message at 14:57 on May 22, 2012 |
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May 22, 2012 14:48
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Chido posted:Oh yeah, I got now 5 chickens wearing a saddle. This is how they all react to the saddle. Next time put like a doll on the hen's back. Ride 'em cowboy!
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May 22, 2012 15:17
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LordOfThePants posted:Yes, that is wood trim around the windows and in the corners. Gotta be classy, after all. That's a really nice coop set-up! I imagine there will poop all over the walls in just a few days.  Please post a pic showing the nesting boxes once you get them in the coop.
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May 22, 2012 18:13
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Chido posted:Edit: forgot to add, we did the bandaging late in the afternoon so Roo would go to sleep soon afterwards. As soon as we let him go, he ran to the run... and chased and tried to furiously sit on as many hens as he could catch. WTF Roo, I just tried to cut your foot open and you suddenly wanted to sit on everything? You emasculated him, he had to recuperate his machismo.
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May 22, 2012 21:18
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Chido posted:Oh yeah, I got now 5 chickens wearing a saddle. This is how they all react to the saddle. I think you broke her.
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May 22, 2012 21:23
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AcetylCoA! posted:I think you broke her. You think?  Flake + saddle = derp 
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May 23, 2012 00:48
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Chido, I understand about moms. My mom used to treat me like that. You can hope she ends up with dementia like my ma. I used to be criticized all the time too, why don't you wear make up anymore blah blah blah - weight issues - blah blah blah. The important thing is we are happy with ourselves. Yes, I paid $1,200 to have my cat's tail amputated! Animals do not judge us for our looks. If I were close I would come help you with Roo boy!
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May 23, 2012 03:00
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Thank you piscesbobbie! In other news, Roo somehow managed to break one of his spurs completely in the hour I took a nap. The spur was just holding by a bit of tissue, and while my BIL was holding him and my mother was checking the wound (I was inside grabbing the bandages and first aid stuff to wash and treat the wound), Roo managed to removed it completely. I don't know if it will grow back, it broke off completely at the base. For once my mother was being nice (or her version of nice), and she washed his leg and put on the bandage... while telling me I should just put on the gauze and nothing more, that I shouldn't wrap up the gauze in the watrproof tape I bought, etc. I tried to ignore that and told her to just humor me, and we finished bandaging his foot. Dammit Roo, stop hurting your giant footsies! This is the tape I'm using, that one is ok to use on top of the gauze so he can't rip it off right? I thought for a second the spur had got stuck in the original bandage on his foot, but he broke the spur in the bandaged leg, so that couldn't have happened. http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/s..._new_crumb=true
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May 23, 2012 03:42
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Chido posted:Thank you piscesbobbie! In other news, Roo somehow managed to break one of his spurs completely in the hour I took a nap. The spur was just holding by a bit of tissue, and while my BIL was holding him and my mother was checking the wound (I was inside grabbing the bandages and first aid stuff to wash and treat the wound), Roo managed to removed it completely. I don't know if it will grow back, it broke off completely at the base. For once my mother was being nice (or her version of nice), and she washed his leg and put on the bandage... while telling me I should just put on the gauze and nothing more, that I shouldn't wrap up the gauze in the watrproof tape I bought, etc. Wow, he's just falling apart. Poor Roo.  You are a beautiful, caring, and thoughtful person. If only everyone took care of their pets as well as you do, the world would be a better place.
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May 23, 2012 04:13
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Chido posted:Flake + saddle = derp The photo is so adorable. I'm really amazed at how tame your chickens are, Chido.
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May 23, 2012 04:36
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