Dr. Noah's First Patients

Well, today has definitely been a learning experience.  On several fronts.

It started first thing this morning.  Elijah went dashing out the door to run the trash to the road, since he forgot last night.  He noticed a chicken laying by the coop door, panting.  That's not good, especially since everybody else was tucked safely inside.  Something was wrong since she missed coming into the coop the night before.  Something chickens don't do.
By the time I got out there to see what was going on, she was already on her last leg.  We put her in her own cage just in time for her to die.

That would have been sad enough.

But later on that morning, another chicken was found laying on its back in the backyard, feet straight up in the air.  That's also something that chickens don't do.  This particular chicken was discovered while I was out shopping with Ruthie, buying supplies for her Science fair project.  I got a call from the Dr. and his trusty assistant, Nurse Graci, informing me that the chickens had been diagnosed with fowl cholera and I needed to promptly go to the nearest Tractor Supply and get some antibiotics.

Like I know what that's supposed to mean.

So, Ruthie and I went to the TSC and browsed the handy chicken care books to try to figure out what to buy.  They don't exactly have a section for chicken antibiotics.  But the thing I love so much about that store is that the people who work there know their stuff.  An old farmer helped me.  Lo and behold,  you really can buy tetracycline.  For like five bucks.  And it makes 100 gallons.

(As you know, I'm pretty attached to these quirky birds and it makes me surprisingly sad to lose one.)

The thing that was so cool about the whole thing is that so far.... nobody else died.  We had to completely clean out their coop and disinfect everything.  Noah is faithfully mixing up the antibiotics into their water and they're doing better.

Even this one...

She's still on quarantine.  We've been feeding her with an eye dropper.  But at least she's not out in the backyard with her legs up in the air.

It's been neat hearing the doctor and nurse talk about how they researched the problem and figured out what was wrong.  And saved the chicken's life.  Noah really does want to be a doctor-- a veterinarian.  Graci wants to be a nurse.   They did a good job.

 That makes it a good day.