Goodbye Hen

I'm sorry to report the passing of our sweet chicken, Llewelyn. Oliver and I found her dead in the garden, partially buried by Ethel who didn't want to leave her side. "Don't cry Mommy, I still love her," Oliver offered as we collected flowers in the garden for Llewelyn. Pop came over to help dig a proper hole for her.


Oliver delivered a short eulogy. "Llewelyn died so hard. Then we put her in a hole. Thank you for the eggs." Oliver is a big fan of the song "Old Blue."

I'm sad that I wasn't able to save her, but feel some solace in knowing that Llewelyn's last days were so special. I am grateful for pets like her who add meaning, happiness and sometimes sorrow to our lives.

Llewelyn and Ethel

I thought I would give you an update about the progress of our kitchen table chickens.

Ethel, who was attacked by a fox two weeks ago, is still healing from her wounds. She started with three large lacerations, two on her back and one on her leg. The two on her back have healed completely but the one on her leg has slowly been closing. We have been doing daily wet to dry dressings on the advice of some of my nurse friends. It seems to be working but Ethel hates every moment of it. She actually pecks me when I change her dressing. I love her attitude.

We thought Llewelyn was a goner about a week ago. She was hardly able to move and would only drink when we syringe fed her. She has been on Bactrim for about a week and a half and has slowly regained her strength and balance. Both chickens live in the garden during the day, eating our vegetables and bugs, then move back to the kitchen table in the evening. Llewelyn and Oliver have a great time together. I took some pictures of the two of them this morning.

The morning started with a back massage.

Then Oliver sang to the girls (um, I think this might be something he picked up from me).

Oliver and Llewelyn went for a walk.

Oliver decided to take Llewelyn to his trampoline.

Llewelyn waited patiently while Oliver jumped.

Next the pair went over to the tire swing. Llewelyn enjoyed watching more than riding.

A little tree climbing?

Then back to the garden where Llewelyn helped Glenn (by eating bugs).

He's Got Skills

Oliver won first place at the Mid State Fair for his Crab photograph. He got a check and a nice blue ribbon. I got a disgraceful honorable mention for my Thirsty Bee photograph, no ribbon, no check. Oliver wanted to know why he won and I didn't. "You must be the family photographer.," I said. Oliver took this information and decided he really is the best photographer. He now wants to use my camera and is often showing me how to take good pictures. This week Oliver may have finally convinced me that he has superior photographing skills. I might just listen the next time he tells me to get closer to my subject or advises me to get down in the dirt to capture a mushroom. Here are our fair photographs:


Below you will find an example of an Oliver versus Mommy shot. I was trying to take a good picture of Llewellyn in her cage for the blog.

Mommy's Shot:

Oliver's Shot:

As you can see Oliver's photograph is interesting and conveys more emotion. My picture focuses on the cage while Oliver's picture captures the essence of the chicken.

A few nights ago Oliver and I heard an owl in one of our oak trees. We went outside and quietly sat on a bench in the dark waiting to photograph the owl. Bats started flying close and for the hundredth time I tried to get a shot of one. They are so fast and impossible to see. I was excited to get this picture of a bat. Can you see it?

Oliver then asked if he could try to take a picture of the bats. I rolled my eyes and handed my camera over. He held the camera up took aim and as the flash went off we could both see a bat light up in the sky. "Oh my gosh! You actually got one!" We were both laughing as we ran to the house to download his picture. I just love it. I'm only a little jealous.

How My Dining Room Table Turned into a Chicken Infirmary

Llewelyn should have been a rooster. She was sent with our order of chicks as a “packing peanut” Barred Rock (or Dominique?) rooster. We found homes for our roosters one by one but couldn’t seem to part with Llewelyn, our smallest and spunkiest rooster. Finally when our rooster Carlos began developing his waddle, we knew Llewelyn was a hen. And what a fine hen she has been. She is by far the best flying insect catcher and the most comfortable around humans. She will often lounge with me on the back deck or sit with me on a bench near the coop. Yesterday, when she jumped directly on my lap, I knew she wasn’t feeling well.

Last time we had a sick chicken (about a year ago) our local veterinarian thought we were crazy to spend money trying to save a chicken. The chicken ended up dying and we realized the vet visit, while expensive, did not help at all. After our chicken passed away, Glenn found a website that reviewed chicken examinations and treatments for sick poultry. We did an exam on Llewelyn and found that she was dehydrated and seems to have lost her balance. I took her inside and began feeding her an electrolyte solution with a syringe (which she will happily drink). It was during one of her feedings that I happened to look out the dining room window and see a fox running toward our chickens.

“FOX, Glenn, FOX,” I screamed as I ran out the back door toward the chickens. Glenn was right behind me as we reached the chickens. We were able to see the fox stop and stare at us for a moment before he started running into the bushes, one of our chickens in his mouth. Glenn ran toward Pumpkin’s enclosure to let him out as I continued after the fox, screaming like a maniac. Before Pumpkin could even begin chasing the fox (Pumpkin is not fast enough to actually catch a fox, don't worry), our chicken Ethel stumbled out of the bushes and ran past me toward the house. I couldn’t believe the fox dropped his prey, our oldest and sweetest chicken, Ethel.

Once Glenn was able to catch her, we recognized that Ethel’s injuries were grave. She had three large lacerations and we could see her muscles and bones. I immediately called our local emergency vet clinic and was told that the veterinarian who sees chickens was about to leave, sorry. I called another emergency clinic and was told that the veterinarian did not see chickens.

Desperate, I decided to fix the chicken myself. We drove down to the clinic where I work as a midwife, and I gathered a few supplies. Glenn and Oliver were my assistants and we slowly put Ethel back together. She was amazingly brave and never struggled.


We have two chickens on the dining room table, one injured, one sick. Please send healing vibes to Llewelyn and Ethel, two wonderful hens.

Spiders, Swelling and Super Neighbors

If Oliver could tell this story he would tell you this morning was the best morning ever. I personally have had better. The day started for me with a strange sharp sensation in my shoulder. I rubbed my shoulder and was surprised to find a raisin there. Then I opened my eyes and realized there were long, creepy legs everywhere and the raisin was actually a smashed spider. (Oliver is holding the pieces of the spider in the photogrpah below).

I have a bit of a spider phobia so having one smashed on my body was not the best way to start a Saturday. I went into the bathroom and noticed that my eyes were looking strange. Oliver and I watched as one eye started developing hives and began swelling. Recently at work we had anaphylaxis training so I was especially concerned that my eye had started swelling quickly. I drank some liquid Zyrtec and hoped for the best.

About ten minutes later, I began having difficulty swallowing. Glenn was at work and I was home alone with Oliver. Although we live 20 minutes away from the nearest hospital, we happen to live across the street from our local fire station. We walked over and found four young firemen doing their morning workout regimen and I instantly wished I had taken the time to put on a bra. (Below is a picture of Oliver and his cousin Owen waving at the fire truck last Spring).

The firemen had no access to an EpiPen and decided it would be best to call an ambulance. They sat me in the fire station, gave me some oxygen and took my vitals. This is where Oliver's life got really good. Oli was given a fireman hat, stickers and a bracelet. Then two of the firemen asked Oliver if he wanted to play in the truck. As we waited for the ambulance to arrive we could hear Oliver over the loudspeaker, "Hi, Mommy! I love you Mommy!" One of the firemen came back in to the fire station with a walkie-talkie. Oliver apparently wanted to talk to me. "What's your 20?” he asked. The firemen with me told me to say, "The fire station. What's your 20?" Oliver listed the number of his engine.

Over the loudspeaker Oliver announced, "The ambulance is here Mommy!" The Zyrtec seemed to be kicking in by the time the ambulance arrived, and after an assessment, I was cleared to go back home. I found Oliver on the shoulders of a fireman looking for lizards. We walked across the street to our property and Oliver asked if I could get a spider bite again soon. We'll be back at the fire station tomorrow with cookies. Thank goodness for our great neighbors!

The Dos and Don'ts of Rattlesnake Relocation

Pumpkin tried to attack a rattlesnake last night. Grammy heard him barking frantically then observed him trying to bite a small animal. She promptly pulled Pumpkin off his prey, an adolescent rattlesnake. The snake was pissed off. We watched him carefully as he rattled his tail next to Pumpkin's dog house. There were two sensible options. 1. Kill him. 2. Leave him alone. Kill him was out. We also didn't want to leave him in Pumpkin's enclosure because we knew Pumpkin would be all over him in the morning.

Luckily, we had been drinking wine, which helped us come up with a more creative plan. This is what I learned from my experience last night.

DON'T wear old, baggy jeans for snake removal when your bum could potentially be in all the photographs.

DO put on bee gloves and boots for a false sense of security.
DON'T assume you can lightly nudge a snake and it will crawl into a recycling bin. The snake will quickly crawl under the bin toward your feet.

DO sneak up behind the snake and flick it into the recycling bin.

DON'T drop the bin as you attempt to stand it up. It will make everyone watching you jumpy.

DO make sure your toddler has a healthy fear of rattlesnakes (but don't freak him out too much, snakes are cool).

DO drag the recycling bin as far away as possible from your house.

DON'T do it when the neighbors are watching.

DO let the neighbors know that you have a squirrel in the recycling bin if anyone asks.

DO relax and enjoy another glass of wine knowing that you worked hard to relocate a snake, and put yourself in danger, but the snake will likely be back in the dog's enclosure by morning.

Do you want to make lip balm?

I thought it would be kind of fun to do a tutorial on my blog. I was trying to think about what I do that not many people know how to do. My work experience in the veterinary and medical fields has provided me with a few talents I considered sharing. Hmmm, I know how to express a dog's anal glands, I could share that with the world. Or what about treating genital warts? It's a useful skill occasionally (although you do need to have access to acid or a cryo tank). All of my ideas seemed a bit inappropriate. I finally decided to share my side job, lip balm making. And don't worry; I wash my hands really well.

So, here it is, step by step.

Step 1: MELTING THE BEESWAX. We get raw beeswax from a local guy who uses no chemicals on his hives. Glenn then filters it and saves it in these handy one ounce molds. I know one ounce of beeswax will make one batch so it saves us from having to weigh the dry beeswax. We use a double boiler to melt the wax. Beeswax is highly flammable so never leave it!


Step 2: HEATING AND MIXING THE OILS. We heat organic almond oil and organic jojoba oil in a little pot (never over an open flame). Then we add to it heated coconut oil. I like to use about 50% liquid at room temperature oil with 50% solid at room temperature oil (coconut oil)/beeswax mixture. You can change the ratios depending if you want a hard or soft lip balm. I add the beeswax last. Keep the temperature just high enough to keep the beeswax melted.

Step 3: ADD THE ESSENTIAL OIL. This is the last step as the essential oils will burn off quickly. I used organic lavender oil for this batch. Don't attempt to take a picture of yourself during this step as you will lose count of the drops. I do about two drops/tube of the lavender oil.

Step 4: POUR THE MIXTURE INTO CONTAINERS. If you have a toddler, he or she will start begging to be held during this step, then throw a tantrum as you frantically try to pour the mixture into the tubes before the oil burns off. I recommend a Winnie the Poo video. This part takes practice, but is easily mastered. My sister invented our handy lip balm holder (you can buy holders for those round tubes, but not for our oval tubes). If we ever make it big with our business, I'm giving her ten dollars of gratitude. So you want to fill up the tubes (if you are even using tubes, you can pour the mixture into any old container) to 2 cm from the top. Wait until it has cooled then fill it the rest of the way. Let cool completely, then cap.


It's totally easy and my lips have never felt better. Feel free to e-mail me if you need more info. Maybe I will write about something more challenging for my next tutorial, like the hand maneuvers for delivering a baby. You never know when you will have to deliver a baby on the side of the road (I keep hoping but to my dismay it has never happened). I'll leave you with a pretty picture of the bees in our artichoke plant. I hate having an entire post with dull pictures! Jess