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Sherbert

Sherbert has now made a full recovery and is once again ruling the roost.

Update on Sherberts ear infection

Since I last posted, Sherbert's ear infection has progressed and now the plug of puss that was blocking his ear has expanded to the point where it was popping outside of the ear.  I took photographs (see below) and then managed to catch him to examine his ear closer.  When I touched the plug, it actually fell out.  So the good news is that Sherberts ear is now clear, and hopefully it will now shrink back down to normal size and Sherbert's problems will be over.

Ongoing problems with Sherbert the cockerel's ear infection

Sherbert has been unwell for quite a while, and initially I thought that it could be Mareks, as his symptoms were lethargy, inability to balance, stumbling and walking as though he was drunk, refusing to perch. Since then he has had problems with puss accumulating in his ears.  This started with one ear - which cleared, and now the other ear is affected.  Since his ears have become swollen with the puss, the rest of his symptoms have become less obvious and he is brighter and more lively - back to being impossible to catch. The photos below clearly show how swollen the infected ear is, in relation to the normal ear.

Giving to Charity

For my Uni course I am working on a charities project.


If you could take the time to fill in this short questionnaire, I would be most grateful. Follow the link, there are only a few questions over two pages.

http://www.smart-survey.co.uk/v.asp?i=42653gnxfe

Chicken red mites

The red mites have claimed the life of one of my favourite Maran Bantams and proven to be extremely difficult to eradicate.  I have bought practically every treatment on the market, and am now finally beginning to get to grips with the problem.  I have developed a three phase attack:

1. I clean the bedding out the hen house weekly, and give the empty house a thorough spray with disinfectant before scrubbing down and hosing out. 
2. When it goes dark I regularly when it goes dark and spraying any mites that I see with fly spray.
3. When the birds roost, I catch them and liberally coat them with mite killing powder.

I am really concerned about the amount of chemicals I am subjecting the hens to, but I am more concerned about losing any more hens to red mite.

cricket

I do enjoy watching the cricket at the weekend ,Oakamoor top pitch on Saturday 25th June