Not only is he beautiful, but he's kind and gentle and a lovely rooster. He never fights unless he feels threatened, he always waits till the girls eat first, and he is constantly vigilant, watching for birds of prey, coyotes, raccoons, and any other creatures lurking in the neighbourhood who like to eat poultry. He's also pretty okay with being cuddled, although I have yet to meet a chicken who really likes it.
Yesterday Momo was sneezing a lot... I laughed. A chicken sneezing is a funny sound. Kind of like the way I laugh when he tries to crow.
Today he was obviously sick, so I brought him in the house. The other chickens will peck at a sick chicken, and who knows if he's contagious or not. Momo has been in a box in my living room all day. He's gasping and wheezing and has a rattle in his chest when he breathes. He's also coughing up blood. It doesn't look good. I posted the story on facebook and a couple of people thought I should take him to a vet. What they don't understand is that chickens are kind of like goldfish. They are wonderful pets, but when they die you just get another one. Spending hundreds of dollars on a vet every time a chicken got sick would be ridiculous (as much as I would love to), so I just try to make him as comfortable as possible and hope for the best.
Rest in peace my beautiful boy...
Update: Norm came to bed at 12:25 last night and I woke up. Momo was gasping in the most heartbreaking way and Norm said he'd been resting quietly and the gasping had just started about 5 or 10 minutes prior. I couldn't stand it so I went down to sit with him. I put him on my lap and held him while he strained to breathe. He was exhausted and I could tell he wouldn't last long (and if he had I was contemplating murder). It took about 20 minutes for Momo to die, and I am so glad he didn't linger because it was horrible to watch. Now I can imagine a parent with an asthmatic child.
So now there are eight... my girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment