I noticed Cheese (our drake Pekin) leg looking a little swollen and after an investigation he has bumblefoot on both feet. (“Bumblefoot is characterized by swelling, sometimes redness and often a characteristic black or brown scab on the bottom of the foot. Left untreated, serious cases of bumble foot can be fatal as the infection can spread to other tissues and bones.” – The Chicken Chick) So Wednesday night he had a little surgery and spent his night on the porch. Today while the hens went out I was able to grab Quackers and check her out (she’s had a limp for about two years now so I’m always hesitant to chase after her but it needed to be done) and she has a small bumble in one foot and now reunited together on the porch as things heal up. Bumblefoot is treated by soaking the infected foot to loosen the large black scab and then remove some of it, exposing healthy tissue underneath (blood is a good sign after cutting) drying and covering it to keep it clean. This procedure is done for however many days it takes until the black scab/bumble to be completely removed.

Over the summer our bantams mated with an average rooster and we had chicks for the first time ever! After some drama and an unfortunate animal attack, we lost one mother hen and chick, but these two survivors are now living in our garage. We had two bantam hens sitting on the eggs and it appears both were successful in mating. So this black one is a day younger than the yellow and it’s beginning to seem like I am the owner of yet another rooster; this one will be called Napoleon. So he, the yellow chick called Sunshine and their mother Bonita are currently living in the garage until we are able to get them a coop away from the old coop where a predator got in.

For our anniversary Ryan and I took a trip to a bee keeper farm and learned about beekeeping! This sourwood tree gives the most amazing honey and we hope to add bees and these trees in the future.