Happy birthday *achhoooo!!*

Mike and Pip's first birthday was okay...I didnt know what special to do. I just gave them a cuddle :)

Next day i find Micro sneezing (poor thing, her whole body, tiny as it is, shook) and Pip was coughing and both of them were wheezing, and were lethargic. I figured they have a cold (the constant rain and its late october now) so I googled my ass off, researched like crazy and concluded that they have CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disorder) where all the above symptoms are characterised.

Best medicine for it is Tetracycline or duramycin or Oxytetracycline. U can use erythromycin too. I obviously dont know much about it, so its best to ask the experts... Why arent there enough chickens doctors here, i dont know! :/ ugh!

Today i held Pip and Mike one by one while dad opened up their tiny mouth and pused erythromycin syrup for babies down their throat using a syringe without a needle. Pip hated it at first but then finding it sweet to taste, gulped it down like a good boy. Micro, on the other hand, scratched me (and i could not even man handle her, she is so tiny!) and when dad pushed the medicine down her throat she started gasping, sneezing, and was pretty much mad at us.

Apart from the meds, i made sure that they were as dry as possible, and warm. I gave them warm water and brandy (which they enjoy ;) haha) and also their food consisted of puffed rice, garlic, ginger, chillies and so on. It tends to keep them warm. I plan to do this the whole winter...i hope they stay healthy!
There is nothing more awful than having your babies fall sick!

They are getting better...Pip wasnt calling for the past two days, but today i heard a faint coodookoo and I was so happy!

Babies, i tell you... <3

xoxoxo

Three more days!

In three more days, Micro and Pip will turn one year old!! I can't believe a year has passed! I feel like a parent who's baby just turned one. Correction; Fraternal twins!

Gosh, its been a hell of a journey- from their first night with us to their poopoo cleaning to egg laying to whatnot. AND I LOVE THEM SOOOOOO MUCH!!!

What special thing do i do for them on their birthday? hmm..

Back when their poop amount was manageable. Those were the good ol' days..

And now, when i wish there were Chicken Diapers available in the market.

Happy birthday, dear babies!! <3 I love you.

Italiano!

I did a bit of research (you know how Google makes us want to know more) and turns out, Leghorn chickens are originally from Italy.

Mike and Pip might not know but their ancestors used to run on Italian pastures and peck on Italian worms and seeds.

Ignorance is bliss, so I am not telling them anything about this.

xoxo



That goes for pipette.

Yellow alert!!

Micro and Pipette are dead scared of the color yellow. How did we find out?
Well one day we tried feeding them a few petals of a yellow marigold flower...and I kid you not, if my chickens were human, you would totally hear a shriek. And then they both ran far far away grom the harmless petals...

Then one day we tried feeding them food with some turmeric. The two needed time to bond with the food that day, unlike other days where they just gobble up the yummy parts.

Another day, my friend presented them with a yellow ribbon, thinking that they might play with it or something. Instead you could see the two of them hyperventilating and running about with sheer terror.

They were yellow when they were babies...I wonder why the colour scared them!

When they were babies, i would hold them in my hand, and it was winter so I usually wore this yellow sweater. Were they scared even then or did I classically condition them??

The post egg-laying break

Last time Micro laid an egg was on the 3rd of September...and today is the 8th of September...I have a feeling she is going to lay whenever she feels like. The egg on the 3rd was a birthday gift, i suppose!

She is still a baby...just 10 months old. So no pressure...

Lay as and when you like! :)

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Pip, on the other hand, is shedding feathers or whatever you call it. His big bunch of tail feathers has now ended up with just 3 of them hanging onto him (which is a very funny sight)...and i guess soon enough he'll have newer prettier feathers! Right now, there are feathers lying around everywhere. Some i take , make a wish and blow it into the wind, some i keep with the agenda of making a quill, and some i have to dispose because they are too dirty.

I wonder how and why he is so nice, clean and well maintained, whereas Micro is a dirty lump of feathers. She is so...blah! Probably because she knows that there is no way in hell that Pip is going to meet another sexy hen. So why bother?

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p.s- Micro is very pretty, just by the way <3

The Perfect Egg!

The other day I go upstairs to check on Micro and Pipette and I find the BEST birthday gift ever!
A small but perfect egg that Micro laid and she was least bothered about it! haha!!

Here is the egg:

Laid an Egg at last!!

Everyday before going for college, I feed my chickens at around 7 am.  So on the 31st of August when i went up tp the terrace to feed them and wish them good morning, i see that Micro, my baby hen of 10 months, has laid an egg!! finally!

Only sad part, the shell was weak and soft so when i found it, it was all cracked and broken.
Weak shells in eggs can be for various reasons such as:

1. Malnutrition
2. Not enough calcium in the body
3. Stress
etc..

I decided i will have to feed Micro ground oyster shell because that is good calcium for her, apart from a healthier diet. And i will also have to keep her and the rooster Pip, apart because Pip is a bully and Micro is often scared of him and that stress might be hampering her eggs.

Oh also, never let your chicken eat up her own egg. Not good.

Since this was just her first egg (my poor baby!), I am hoping that her eggs will get better and stronger by the time she is a year old!

I love the 2 munchkins!
xxoo