This morning was the hardest frost of the year yet.
The view from our bedroom window
A very frosty garden
The bird bath was frozen solid. The waters in the chicken run are more sheltered but there was ice on one of the chicken’s water dishes. The metal one was okay. As it’s their last day of tylan in the water the water couldn’t be changed so I broke the layer of ice. I felt sorry for the girls having to drink their water so cold as I would usually change it but they must have their last day of the tylan.
Freckles and Dandelion are still sneezing. At bedtime I spent a bit of time with them and I realised that Dandelion has a whistle to her breathing. When I started the treatment I was finding it difficult to tell if the breathing sound was coming from Freckles or Dandelion and I now wonder if it was Dandelion all along or if it was both of them.
I am a bit worried that we are finished the five days of tylan and yet the girls are still sneezing and Dandelion still has a whistle to her breathing. I will be keeping a very close eye on them. I seem to remember that I read somewhere that you can treat again three weeks later. I can’t find this information at the moment so I may ring the vet next week and ask her advice. I will also ask, that if I do use my last dose of tylan, would I be able to order some more from her to keep in stock for the future.
The weather is forecast to be really cold which makes me worry about the little girls. Freckles was fine last winter but this will be the three amigos first winter as we got them in February. I hope they will make use of the shelters. They have been snuggled up close together at night apart from Freckles but she has been right up against the shed door.
I am still worried about Freckles and Dandelion but I will just have to keep everything crossed and keep a close eye on them.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
They are saying it is going to be a very hard winter, this year,
not suprising, as we have not had one for a few years, hope the girl will all be ok.
Not much more you can do for them , to keep them warm, Maybe put some straw in the run.I don’t know if thats a good idea, or not.
I have a deep layer of pine shavings in the chicken shed (twice the summer depth). Straw in the run wouldn’t make a difference and would get mucky. I don’t really think there is anything else I can do to keep them warm but thank you for trying to think of something.
I think it is a really good idea, alwasy to have some tylan in reserve. I’ve had to break ice on water several times this month although, strangely, the metal waterer never freezes over – or, at least, it hasn;t yet.
It’s odd you say that because yesterday the china water bowl was frozen but the metal one wasn’t. It has to be very severe for the metal one to freeze.
I think it is good to keep some tylan in reserve at all times. I have had an idea. I have been using one teaspoon of powder to one litre of water and putting it in the two water containers. I could use half a teaspoon to half a litre of water and just use one water container. The metal one is most popular and most of the water in the other dish gets thrown away. That would spin me out another treatment.