Olly Astro went back to the vet today for a re-check. She had blood drawn to check if her infection is improving. We will know those results on Tuesday.
Until then, she seems okay. Here she is talking with me after taking her evening pill. She is a good conversationalist.
So fluffy. So very fluffy.
This week has just been full of a whole bunch of random stuff.
On Saturday, Olly Astro and Flapper went to the vet. Olly seemed to be a little under the weather, so we took her with us when Flapper went in for his regular maintenance visit.
As you can hear, Olly was not at all excited to be there, and she lodged many verbal complaints. If she’s sick, we caught it early, so she’s doing just fine. We’ll have blood work results on Tuesday.
Flapper visits his surgeon every 6-8 weeks to have scar tissue cleaned up from a surgery he had two years ago (by his previous surgeon). He had a granuloma tumor at the base of his phallus and had major surgery to remove it. It “cured” him, but he has had recurring problems with scar tissue building up and blocking off his system so he can’t pass waste.
It seems to be improving, and we’re able to leave more time between each vet appointment. He is put under anesthesia and he does just fine. He runs for the door when they’re done, but some extra grapes seem to make everything okay. This time he doesn’t even seem to have any discomfort, so I hope it continues to improve and require less maintenance.
Both Flapper and Olly Astro are on antibiotics… Flapper to ensure he doesn’t get infection from his scar maintenance, and Olly in case her pneumonia or infection is back (she had pneumonia treated for 8 weeks before she came to us). Also, Simon gets a steroid every morning, so right now that means we are pilling a duck, a chicken and a cat every morning. Oh joy! So far, Olly Astro is the toughest patient.
Simon is doing well. He is such a sweet guy.
He has taken on a night shift job as “Chief Bug Monitor.” Once all the chickens and ducks are asleep, he likes to sit on the deck and watch for bugs. He especially likes moths. I sit in the dining room to keep an eye on him, and after a while he’ll come back in to tell me all about the bugs he found.
Janet is doing well. She has a one-track mind: Treats!
She’ll follow me just about anywhere to make sure she’s not missing out on any surprise treats. And did you notice she is hanging out in the main area now? She and Olly Astro are finally getting along with Olivia, so all three of them share the aviary space with Chewy and Flapper now.
Olivia is still good friends with Chewy, whether he likes it or not. She likes to guard him when he’s in the big nest. But he thinks it’s more like being held prisoner.
He’d rather be in the ivy hidey-hole we’re making, with his buddy Flapper.
Flapper continues to be a bright light in my life. I’m happy he is in good health and enjoying life. It’s not easy with arthritis and scar tissue, but he is doing well and seems happy… especially when he has grapes.
He is just about the sweetest kid on the planet, and I’m glad he lets me hold his beak for him.
That’s it from our house this week. Oh! O’Malley and Petunia are doing great too. They just didn’t pose for photos today.
Hope your week was a good one, and we’ll see you soon, with even more stuff!
Okay Flapper. It’s time for bed. Let me tell you a story until you fall asleep.
Once upon a time there was a beeeeautiful ducky.
Are you sleeping yet?
He had a natural charm that made everybody smile.
How about now… Are you snoozing now?
Everyone said he was not only charming, but also veeery handsome.
I think you’re getting sleepy now.
Uh oh! Will we hear how the story ends???!
Too bad Olly Astro had to bite Olivia on the butt. I guess we’ll never know how the story ends now. Oh well… g’nite buster.
Good night, everyone.
P.S. Olivia is fine. Olly Astro just snuck up on her and scared her. She has a flair for the dramatic arts. Next time when we’re startled we’ll try to not film up our own nose.
This is a video of Petunia, Olly Astro and Janet enjoying their afternoon corn treats. That noise at the beginning is Petunia’s very happy sound. She loves corn treats.
Later, O’Malley thought he could get treats faster if he came inside and helped me get them from the refrigerator. His chicken posse followed along to back him up.
While the ducks and chickens enjoyed their treats, Simon sat with me and watched the little birds that fly into the yard. He knows he is not allowed to chase them, but he sure loves to watch them.
Then Flapper requested that I be his “Official Beak Holder” for his evening nap.
Of course I am more than happy to hold his beak. Anything for my buster.
Happy long weekend from Flapper and the whole motley crew.
We get a lot of emails from new duck owners who are upset when their ducks turn into aggressive biters. Ducks bite. Especially drakes. Hand-raised drake ducks can bite a ton, and it hurts. Muscovy drakes have a ridge on their beak that makes the bites even worse. They bite because they love. This is one reason we never recommend ducks for families with dogs or kids. Even if your dog would never chase your ducks, your duck will chase your dog! Here O’Malley demonstrates his persistence in wanting to bite me. This was one of his calmer moments.
P.S. I love this duck. He is a lovable biter and he’s my good buddy. He just reminds me a little bit of Hannibal Lector.
Olly Astro and Janet are always excited to come out of the aviary when I get home from work, because I have corn treats waiting for them in the yard. O’Malley of course helps me do everything. He thinks he is very helpful.
Flapper had his treats in the pool.
Then I told him a bedtime story and tucked him into his nest.
“Once upon a time there was a sweeeeet duckling named Flapper.”
Good night everyone.
“From Chicago to Houston to South Portland, Maine, the urban chicken movement has taken hold. More and more city folks are raising the birds right in their own backyards. Some love the idea of fresh eggs; others appreciate the back-to-the-land aspect of tending to a flock.
There are animal rights advocates, however, who worry about the long-term welfare of the feathered fowl. As the number of city dwellers with chickens has risen, so has the number of birds being abused and abandoned. And local animal control departments are finding stray chickens everywhere from neighborhood alleys to downtown parking ramps.” – MRP.org
Meet Mary Britton Clouse, the founder of Chicken Run Rescue.
This is a story well told by Minnesota Public Radio. In our short time of having chickens here at Flapper’s house, we have seen the many problems with urban chickens first hand. People who view chickens as food or egg machines often times view them as disposable, or balk at the idea of taking one to a veterinarian if she gets sick. It’s cheaper to just throw one away and get another one, right?
Chickens are not egg machines. Chickens are not stupid. Chickens need more space and care and consideration than most urban farmers realize (do not follow the guidelines for space requirements set up by factory farms!)
Chickens and ducks deserve to live free from suffering and cruelty, just as every other animal (including humans) does. Just because chickens are cheap and disposable does not make their suffering any less real.
Chickens are not a fad.
Flapper loves to preen his feathers when his pool is fresh and clean. But he does not like to share his fresh clean pool, and will charge anyone who comes near it… like Olivia the chicken.
Tonight after work we went to pick up Olivia’s new friend at the vet’s office. The vet said that they have received quite a few dumped hens and roosters this year. It’s an unfortunate side effect of the increase in “urban farming.” People get chickens but then aren’t prepared to help them when they get sick and need medical care. Some try to get help for the hens, but just can’t afford long-term care. Others wait too long to get medical treatment for their animals, and then they face a long recovery. That was the black chicken’s problem. She had severe pneumonia but has now recovered, once she was surrendered to the veterinarian for long-term care.
Anyway, we went to pick up the beautiful black chicken named Olly Astro, and this is what we found.
Wait a minute. One… two chickens? It turns out that Olly Astro has a friend. They have spent weeks together and are pretty good buddies.
The friend has recurring prolapse problems, and that’s too much trouble for her other home to deal with. So Olly Astro asked if she could bring her friend with her. It’s not like we’re adopting two chickens. We’re just adopting Olly Astro, and Olly Astro brought a friend with her. Got it?
Olly Astro’s friend was boxed up to go and joined us on the way home. She looks pretty ready to me.
Once home, the beautiful Miss Olly Astro began hunting for bugs and taking dust baths.
Her pretty friend thought that was a great idea, and the two of them enjoyed hours of bug hunting and dust bathing while I got their new aviary space and night pen ready for them.
Olivia voiced her opinion about the new girls while they played in the aviary for a bit. Olivia is not too sure about these new friends yet.
She stood outside their area and gave them the business.
After a while, I decided to just move Olivia’s night pen over by her duck buddies Chewy & Flapper so the new girls could have their own night pen. Olivia seemed to accept those terms… for now. But she reserves the right to protest more in the future.
Olly Astro and her friend settled in to a little more dust bathing and some eating, and then got ready for bed.
Bedtime was hilarious, as Olly Astro and friend were not so sure about their new routine. I tried to get them to settle down and nest, but they wanted to roost. So they flew up to my shoulders and sat on my shoulders and told me to hold still. That wasn’t going to work all night, so I repositioned a perch for them and placed them on it. They reluctantly accepted those terms and are now roosting in their night pen comfortably.
Tomorrow they will have their own section of the aviary and their own breakfast treats of peas and romaine lettuce. We haven’t settled on a forever name for Olly Astro’s friend yet, but as soon as she tells us what she wants to be called, we’ll share it with everyone.
Good night chickens. Good night ducks. Good night moon. Good night people.
Sometimes people we don’t really know, but who follow Flapper’s blog, want to drop by and meet him. This past weekend two nice people came to meet Flapper and they brought him treats. They know the way to his heart. Check out this video of us all just hanging out and talking.
It was private when I posted it before, but I think it’s fixed now.
Quack on.
