Let's look at this day, shall we?
A beautiful sunny, rather warm, morning greeted me as I pulled the little red sled with water and hot slop (hydrated hay cubes and timothy pellets with some oats and beet pulp for good measure) out to the donks. I open the gate and for the five millionth time this winter am stopped in my tracks as donkeys completely block my way. They will not move.
Finally the crowd thins and they descend upon the slop bucket (still on the sled) before I can proceed two feet. I get through the crowd and try to get some slop into one of the feed bowls and four donkeys crowd me until I fear for my safety. Again, this has played out so many times I could spit. So you say, well, why the heck don't you try another approach. I have no idea how to get through the gate and get the slop into four bowls without them causing a ruckus.
Finally they are eating.
The scene in the barn is disheartening. Manure from one end to the other. My routine is to clean up manure at the end of chores, but this morning I couldn't walk back and forth from the coop door to the end of the barn without tripping over little frozen manure golf balls. I had cleaned up manure yesterday morning, yesterday mi-day and yesterday evening and there was even more this morning.
I am sick of manure.
Now to clean out the chicken coop. I fling open the door and ten chickens rush out into the barn, pecking, talking, finding their way into the hay aisle. Good, now I can have a little elbow room to clean the coop. No. As soon as I step into the coop and start to clean they come rushing back, sure I am about to spread treats in every corner. It takes several trips back and forth and for each trip I have to take mintsy little steps for fear of stepping on someone. And, this happens e.v.e.r.y morning.
The last thing to do is put some Purina Enrich into each donkey feed bowl. It is often knocked out of my hand before I can get it into the bowl. Patience = 0/
At last morning chores are done and I am outta there.
Rick and I decide to have breakfast out and upon our return I notice the donkeys surrounding the only remaining tree in the pasture. A lovely wild crabapple tree. And they have stripped the bark. It has beautiful spring blooms, provides shade for the chickens on hot days. And it is decimated.
And I ask myself why I have these damn animals.
Because you love them and you wouldn't know what to do without them!! Give them a good telling off and smack those furry bottoms - that's my advice. On the subject of advice Janet, I wonder if I may pick your brain on the chicken front. For the past two weeks Rose has been acting very strangely. She will not entertain jumping down from anywhere, even just an inch or two from her coop into the run. She is fine in herself, eating and drinking well, tail up and very alert. I have checked her for bumblefoot and her pads seem fine. She did have a few funny looking scales on her legs so I have treated her with a Scaly Mite solution in case she had mites and they were causing her discomfort. When she walks she lifts her legs very high up and appears a bit wobbly at times. I was wondering if her eyesight is going a bit as she is one of my oldest girls and maybe she can't see as well these days. It is a complete mystery to me and I wondered if you could shed some light on it. Thanks Janet.
ReplyDeleteLouise, as I started reading, I might have guessed she's broody, but as you further described her activity I thought not.
DeleteSorry to say I don't know.
How is she doing now?
Hi Janet. Rose is not doing too badly. She was out in the garden yesterday afternoon and was walking fairly normally. I am putting it down to her eye sight not being so good. As long as she still has quality of life and eating well I'll let her be. Think this could just be an age thing.
ReplyDeleteLouise, how old is she?
Delete