Because I am a total crack head I like to get up around 4- 4:30 in the morning. But today, I just couldn’t do it for some reason. It might of had something to do with the fact that last night I ate an entire plate full of garlic mashed potatoes. We were at a thing for the HH’s work, and it was the only food I wanted.
The alarm kept going off, and I kept re-setting it as if I was promising myself I would get up in just a few more minutes.
Betty White only sleeps like 2 hours a night. Why can’t I?
So many freakin eggs.
Matilda is still hanging in there.
When I check on her every hour or so I talk to her and she raises her head a little. Which is encouraging, even if she isn’t really moving much.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced she flew the coop sometime on Friday afternoon and returned after we had locked up the coop for the night then was later attacked by something because she was out in the open.
Many of you have said that the cold would not have been a factor, and now I agree with you.
After checking her over, she has no obvious signs of injury {so I’m thinking a hawk may of nipped her because if it was a coon, there would have been feathers everywhere.
Also, she is not compacted {YES, I checked} so I’m really leaning towards her being attacked by something theory.
I have been able to feed Matilda warm oatmeal 3 times and water and or sugar water a few more than that.
The nice lady at Target gave me a syringe. Is that a syringe? I asked for an eye dropper and that’s what she gave me when I told her about my chicken. I think she was afraid to ask me any questions. I’m not sure if it was because I hadn’t showered yet and was still wearing yesterdays garden clothes that were covered in dirt and looked like a complete nut, or if everyone in town goes to Target for free syringes and they have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy. I have no idea.
I found a giant box of corn dogs in the freezer.
Apparently the boys bought them while The Girl and I were out of town. They said they count as vacation food. I just rolled my eyes and pretended to gag myself. Corn dogs are gross.
I also stared at this giant heap of mail that’s been collecting on the counter since early last week. I wish it would just go away.
Monkey Boy and I went to the pet store to buy Lucy one of those giant 30 pound bags of dog food. As we were looking for something for her to chew on {other than Ichiro} a nice sales lady told us we needed this giant smoked bone.
So far she likes it.
We also stopped by Costco for a snack. Cherry almond dark chocolate clusters. Yum!
Coconut water. Not so yum. Have you tried that stuff yet? Oh my word it’s bad. The only way I’ll drink that again is if I’m stranded on a dessert island.
When I spotted the sample lady passing out Advil PM I told her I was having a bad day and “Would this knock me out tonight because I could really use some sleep?” She just looked at me and said this is a gentle sleep aid, not a sleeping pill. She had no sense of humor whatsoever.
But I took it anyway.
It’s been a long day, and I don’t want to sound like a Debbie Downer, but I’m tired.
If I could sing and play the banjo, surely I’d write some sort of country western song, because it’s been one of those long, drawn out days, and bedtime cannot come soon enough.
Peace Out Girl Scouts,
Here’s hoping tomorrow pans out a little better.
~Mavis
Alvada Owen says
Hope the little hen makes a full recovery.My son got a hen for the other little hen we have since we had to get rid of the rooster.He got so mean we were afraid he was going to injure my grandson.After a few days of getting the new hen named Pretzel the other hen named Percy(my grandson names all the critters after Thomas the Train characters lol) became very sick.She couldn’t walk and was gasping to breathe and was lifeless,not wanting to tell my grandson a lie(he is 5 years old) I told him I didn’t think she was going to make it.Big tears swelled up in his eyes and he said “oh mawmaw I know you can save her”and that really tore me up.I sent my daughter-in-law to Tractor Supply and got some Tetracycline powder and mixed it in their drinking water.Percy was so weak and sick I had to use a syringe and give her a little at a time.In another water bowl I mixed a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a gallon of water.Disinfected everything,put in fresh bedding.And I am so happy to say she survived and is healthy,I let them out today and they had a ball scratching in the dirt,rolling around in it and eating worms.So don’t give up on your hen,I hope she is back to normal soon.It is amazing how attached we get to critters!!!Keep us updated,and I hope you get some sleep as I am going thru the same thing.
Carrie @ Rhubarb Sky says
Oh! sending a big ol hug your way. sounds like ya need it! Here’s to tomorrow!
Jennifer Jo says
1. Maybe you’re getting sick?
2. How many hours do you normally sleep each night?!
3. I don’t like coconut water either.
4. I love mail. It makes me feel important.
5. Night-night!
Destini says
Sorry about your chicken.. She really does look like mine did when I took her to the vet and after x rays fluids and meds with nothing working, they said she must have mareks virus. It’s very common in chickens and they get kinda paralized. 🙁 I hope thats not the case for Matilda. Mine were supposed to be vaccinated for it but the vet told me its not uncommon to miss one or two in the thousands that are processed.
Carol says
Sweet dreams, Mavis. You have more than earned a great nights sleep!
Annette says
Things will be better tomorrow….rainy but better. Get some rest!
Bridget P says
Sorry you had a downer day! I blame it on the daylight savings!! I mean really how rude to make us lose out on a necessary hours worth of sleep!! cyber hug (((((hug)))))! I so love your garden! I am anxiously waiting for us to close on our house so I can plan my raised beds and get things going!It has been a long process for us and the paperwork part of it can’t be finished soon enough for me! I too am planning on planting some spuds this year and lots of cucumber (my honey has a pickle addiction)! Hope you have a better day tomorrow!
Heidi says
I’m blaming everything today on daylight savings time. I can’t figure out why we can’t adjust the time by half an hour and then never have another daylight savings time?
Bridget P says
I don’t know, sounds cool! My mathematically challenged brain doesn’t understand this whole savings time madness! Oh well at least we get the illusion of longer days soon!
crlzmmr says
Be careful with your dog and that bone.
I’m not sure if a Puggle’s jaws are strong enough
but my dog ( a miniature German Shepherd type )
managed to splinter that bone.
I’m picking up the pieces and thinking:
“This cannot possible be good for her intestines…”
Kari J says
Cold raw carrots are great for puppies to chew on. I hope tomorrow is a better day. It’s finally nice enough here to go outside. You’re garden has inspired me to double my garden this year. Thanks for all you do.
LaToya says
Awww you sound so sad, Miss Mavis. 🙁
I went to Whole Paycheck and there was a deal on coconut water. Thought I’d drink one a day for some sort of hydrating health thing. It was absolutely GHASTLY. I mean just horrid. It had an oily smell to it and just. Gah. What a waste of money. And I like coconut. But man. Coconut water? Abort.
Jeni says
While it is terrible to drink, rice (white) cooked in coconut water is delicious!! Try it!
Heidi says
I’m sorry you had a bummer day:( You get more done by noon then most people do in an entire day. You should stay in bed drinking tea and watching documentaries tomorrow with Lucy.
Justs an FYI~ Sadly a hawk got one of our chickens a few months ago and then came after another before we were able to put up some netting to keep them out and even though the second attempt by the hawk was short the feathers were flying. They were everywhere within a minute or two.
Hope Matilda has a better day tomorrow too.
Sophie says
The coconut water is gross. We also tried it at Costco on a sample day. My 8 year old looked like he wanted to puke.
I love corn dogs, just not the frozen ones. Pronto pups are my favorite, but homemade mini bites are the best because you can use really high quality hot dogs.
I know nothing about chickens, but I am sending good thoughts to Matilda.
Sophie says
Oh also, I just read yesterday that you can freeze eggs! I never knew that. Might be a good way to save them for all the fall and winter baking you do!
Donna U says
Hi Mavis,
I found this discussion of an herbal treatment for Marek’s that sounds promising.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/135247/st-johns-wort
Hope your sweet chicken gets better.
Stacey says
Not all days are the same length, even though all days have 24 hours (except Saturday which only had 23.)Hope a new dawn brings a brighter day. Blessings
Knitting with Olof says
Hugs. I wish I got up at 4:30 like it ain´t no thing. Get me up before 6am and I feel ill. But I´m also here at 11:55 writing. LOL Sweet dreams and I hope tomorrow is so much better.
Becky says
Praying you have a better day tomorrow.
Katharine says
Hi there,
I’ve never commented before but thought I’d drop a line in case you wanted a vet rec for your chicken. I’m not sure exactly where you are located but if you’re not far from Seattle, there’s a clinic called Bird & Exotic Clinic in the Fremont neighborhood, off of Aurora. They’ve got a bird vet there who would surely know something about chickens. Even if you can’t make the trip, it might be worth giving them a call and asking for a suggestion? Feed stores/granges would probably have an idea as well.
Hope you are feeling better tomorrow!
Julia Smith says
I’m going to pray for your Matilda. I hope she gets better. I also hope you get to feeling better too. I’m sending a big comforting hug to you from Alabama.
Susan Reid says
Cocconut water is Dis-gus-ting, and them some….uugghh!
thesalemgarden says
ay yi yi… hope you slept last night and that today is much, much better Mavis!
cs says
Don’t give up on coconut water…the stuff you buy packaged is NOTHING like what is actually in a coconut! If you are ever in Hawaii(I grew up there) or anywhere that you can find a really fresh, young coconut, you have to try it again! It is YUM and so refreshing! 🙂 Hope Monday is a better day.
Michele says
Coconut water is gross. I am not sure what the draw is. Any flavor pure nastiness.
You Can Call Me Jane says
So sorry you had a rough day, dearie. I’m sorry about your hen. I hate to be the one to say it (and this isn’t going to make your day any better) but she may need to be put down. I think it might help you and would help her for sure. I”ve never had a chicken “bounce back” from something like this, so that’s what we do. We occasionally have a hen that just dies- with no tell-tale signs of injury or attack. I understand totally if you can’t do it, but I thought it should be said. Hugs to you, sweet friend.
Michelle says
Oh my…I’m so sad for Matilda. I hope you are able to nurse her back to life…someone else mentioned cider vinegar…I read that was good for chickens, too. Sorry your day was lame…chin up. xo
Desi says
Hope your days go better this week.
Erin says
As someone stated in an earlier comment, please be very careful with that bone and be sure to supervise your dog whenever she has it. If she breaks off any small pieces, you need to grab it immediately before she swallows it. Same goes with rawhides.
Instead of real bones, I’d suggest either a Nylabone or bully sticks. Nylabones are made not to break apart so she won’t need to be supervised when she has it, but your dog will wear it down over time. Plus they are good for her teeth. Our dog loves hers, and she makes them last 1-2 years so it’s totally worth the $9. When our dog was a puppy she preferred the smaller clear, flexible bones (anything bigger was too large for her mouth) but now we only buy her the ~6 inch hard white bones. We have a Boston Terrier which is similar size wise to a Pug.
Bully sticks are dried meat that dogs chew on, it’s kind of like tough jerky. The longer the better for these sticks because you have to take them away once they get to be a couple inches long to prevent your dog from swallowing them. These were really good for our dog as a puppy because she couldn’t chew very hard and a 12 inch stick would last a few weeks. But as she got older and stronger, she could finish these off in a few days so we stopped buying them.
Hopefully this is helpful!
CathyB says
Erin,
Your comment reminded me of when our Golden was a puppy. She chewed on everything! So we got her a Nylabone (the largest size) and she chewed it to smithereens in 20 minutes flat! That was the last one she got. But yes, Nylabones are great for normal dogs!
Mavis says
Holy cow! 20 minutes? 🙂
Deb Mulligan says
Hi Mavis,
I wanted to recommend the vet we used to take our cats to prior to their passing. He actually specialized in avian medicine and poultry. If anyone can help you with Matilda I think he is the one. Here is the link to his web page: http://www.bellevuecrossroadsvet.com/
I love reading about your gardens and chickens. I have vegetable gardens, just no chickens. Maybe some day.
Mavis says
Thanks Deb.
Jennifer says
My kids and I love the Sobe Life Coconut water. It is a great treat to grab in the checkout lane at Target. So, when I saw coconut water at the store, I was excited to give it a try. It was disgusting, I mean really gross. It did not taste anything like Sobe. In fact that stuff should come with a warning label.
Cynthia Byrd says
I hope you get good sleep tonight and that tomorrow is a good one for you. Thank you for posting that you too have these kind of days. I am always amazed at all you do and it is nice to know you too are human. Love your blog and all the pictures!
Carolyn says
Sick chicken? Give her a soak bath in epson salts, its full of magnesium and should perk her up asap. You can also offer her some water with a little epsom salts in it but I would definately give her the soak bath/Carolyn
Shari King says
Oh my, I so agree! This Monday has been an uphill climb all day! I’m blaming it on the time change…
Birgit says
Hi Mavis, for the sick chicken check out
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
which has lots of expert DIY remedies for “chicken ER” (not just problems with feet, also frostbite, infectious diseases, general palliative care while recovering, DIY supplements to regain strength etc.). Also links for homemade Cornell-developed feed recipes for starters, breeders and egglayers (saves a lot of money, besides, homemade is non-medicated which is fine for chickens at home that live in clean conditions, as opposed to “chicken factories”). If you do the chicken sling, please post a picture 🙂