Operation Save the Chicken - a Follow-up

So, a month ago, I discovered a chicken that was wandering around our apartment complex. Upon closer exam, I realized that she was once a pet and would not survive the winter. I needed to do something about that. I immediately started Operation Save the Chicken. You can read about the rest of the story here if you are just now tuning in.

It has been a month since little Bella was rescued and given a new home. I thought it was time to give a follow-up on how she is doing. Mainly because I am SO happy with the decision that was made in rescuing her and the home she went to.

Bella went to a home that already had three hens and they weren't necessarily looking for another egg layer. If she did lay eggs, that would be great. We were fairly certain that she was "dumped" because she was older and past her prime. We figured she didn't earn her keep anymore. We were right, she isn't laying any eggs.

Just like any situation, Bella took a little time getting used to being around the other ladies. They are younger and she felt a little out of place. However, it is amazing what cold weather does to your perception on life. We had a COLD blast of arctic air recently and the gals bonded in the nice cozy chicken coop. She is quite happy with her new girlfriends now.

She is spoiled rotten. Her new owners got them some "scratch" food to have as a treat and she loves interacting with all the family members. She is a little possessive of having a real home right now and keeps very close tabs on the chicken coop. Even with the arctic air, she stays warm with her fellow girlfriends and a heat lamp. She still loves to tell ya tales and will get to live out the rest of her life as a pet who is very loved.

Operation Save the Chicken!

So, my husband will tell you that I am a complete sucker when it comes to creatures. I see abandoned or stray animals and my heart softens. My husband would prefer to simply call animal control and let them do their job. However, I know that their job is to capture animals in any way possible, give them a look over, and then put them in the shelter ... which usually gives the poor creature anywhere from three days to two weeks before execution.

Okay, so it is humanely done ... but still! They didn't ask for their life and they didn't ask to be put to sleep because of it. Enter Operation Save the Chicken.

So ... Monday ... driving to our errands with the kids, I see this thing that doesn't look right in the woods. I snapped a picture and drove a little closer ... sure enough, in our woods we have a wandering chicken!

This chicken appeared to have her wings and tail feathers clipped. I knew she wasn't wild and she didn't move at all when people approached her. She was also super stressed and it was beginning to get cold. This just would NOT do! I talked to a friend who I knew already had a few chickens herself and she was more than willing to take this poor girl.

So .... I told my hubby that if I could get a pet carrier, I was going to catch her and rehome her. His response?

"We don't have a pet carrier."

I love you ... really. LOL I have TONS of friends that I knew had a pet carrier. So I contacted one of them yesterday. AFTER making sure the poor girl was still pecking at the grass and watching cars.

*note - I did talk to neighbors and found out she had been here for at least 3 days and she didn't belong to anyone around here.*

I initiated #OperationSaveTheChicken after taking Monkey to the bus stop. I put out some corn and she went CRAZY.

My friend showed up with her pet taxi and we used love, coaxing, corralling, and a duster with an extender to get the girl out from under the car and into my friend's arms. Once safe inside the pet taxi, we got her into the warm house, gave her some more corn, and got her some water.

She then went to sleep. She was SO happy. Later in the evening, my friend came and got her. She sent me pictures this morning. I was informed she was talking to her new roommates, ate all night long, and was overall very happy.

New roommates

Very happy little girl

My daughter (Peanut) wanted to name her, but I kept telling her that she wasn't ours to name.

So, what about you guys? Do you have a soft spot for poor creatures that have been abandoned or are strays? What measures do you go to in order to get them a safe home where they are happy?

I love my vet

Even though I have to drive about 20 minutes to get to them, I wouldn't trade them for anything. Johnny went to see the vet a month ago and was officially diagnosed with anxiety. He gets anxious when we leave him or when he is around strangers (even if they shouldn't be strangers). He was given doggie prozac and doggie xanax. He was given the xanax for only 2 weeks and I was to give the prozac for a month and then go in for a follow-up. So, Monday was the follow-up visit. He is doing much better. He doesn't bark as much when we leave, in fact it is more of a rarity when he barks. He does still bark at strangers so he is not good to go with dog parks, PetSmart (except before store hours when we go to daycamp - although it is better for him to be in the side or back playroom so he doesn't keep seeing people walk by), etc. While getting our check-up, we found out he has a bacterial/yeast infection in between his front toes. The vet said that normally a vet would say let's do a series of things to treat this but he wouldn't want to do all of them for his dog so he told me what he would do. Wash his feet with a special prescription shampoo once a day for 2 weeks, then every other day for about a week or 2. So instead of spending $50 alone on his paws, I spent $16. Johnny isn't very appreciative of the foot baths though.

Also, we were originally going to have Johnny on meds for a year to a year and a half and now we are looking at only 6 months. We are hoping that by summer Johnny will be calm enough to be able to handle strangers and us leaving.

Johnny Gets Christmas

At least in his mind he will get Christmas on Saturday. We don't have the $65 to board him and let him play while we go get Jayme and return, so, he is coming with us. He will make the 5 hour round trip with us, then we will let him play in the back yard of Aunt Amanda's house for about 3-4 hours. Then we make the trip back. To him, this will be Christmas. The only bummer part will be having to give him meds on the road. He has been doing much better already though and we have only changed a few routines. I think that part of the barking (when we are home) is due to boredom. I bought him a nylabone though and those are supposed to last days and he demolished it last night only a few hours after I gave it to him! He is a chewer. He loves his new roundabout toy. The picture doesn't show his but I gave him a purple hippo.



He can play with that thing for HOURS. We are going to work some more this spring on his leash skills when I take him to the park. I will buy him a gentle leader and we will start with that. With how bad he is, I think a choke could be detrimental to him. I am hoping that if I can get him leash trained, the kids can take him on a walk, OR they can ride their bikes while I take him on a walk. While I am training him with that, we will be able to work on our people skills. He still thinks he is a watch dog and that just won't do in an apartment complex.

Today is my 7th day of work in a row and I am tired. Yesterday I got off an hour and a half early so that I could rest and go grocery shopping. Tonight I will work the full time because I need the hours but also because I am off tomorrow. We are going to go to Science City in the afternoon. I was given a membership as a gift and the kids have been dying to go. Then I work again on Friday but I will be looking forward to Saturday so that day should fly by. I hope that I have Monday off so that I can have a day off in between each work day for a few days. We shall see.

Oh, I also updated my kcbusymom.angelfire.com webpage.