Day 377: news'n'stuff

Well, prompted by my girlies' Auntie ("Hello Sis!"), I thought I'd update the blog. Don't know what with but here goes.

I've at least updated the egg count spreadsheet. Somebody laid the 1,000th egg on Day 369! Yup, Wednesday 1st September. I don't know who did it - but I do know who DIDN'T and that would be Tallulah.

Tallulah hasn't laid an egg (or so we think) since Sunday 8th August - so over a month. Except yesterday, when there was wonky shaped, large egg that looked suspiciously like hers! But why would she suddenly spring into action? Hmm maybe Sophia is starting to lay funny shaped eggs now? It's a sign of age - but she's not even been laying for a year yet!

The next thing I noticed is that, not only has Tallulah gone part-time (or practically retired), but the others have started skipping days and their egg weights are down. I can think of two reasons; it's either because the days are drawing in (the girls are in bed by 8pm - well I say "in bed", four go in the Cube and 2 snuggle down on top so I've started putting those two to bed myself!); or it's because they have (ewwww) WORMS!

I saw a single live worm on top of the Cube the other day - probably not your common garden worm... and for a worm to come out in poo still alive, well it could be a lone worm but also it could be that the girl who pooped it has a heavy worm burden! The girls were last wormed just over 2 months ago - so that does it, they're all being Flubenvetted this week (inormally a 3 or 4 times a year thing). My thinking is that, if they didn't all get their fair share of the treated food last time AND they've been free ranging throughout the summer holidays eating mud, then their worm burden wouldn't have been cleared so time to do it again.

I think the worm was little Gabrielle's (the one with the hair do who lays bluey green eggs) as she never really tucks in heartily, often being chased away. So, she's been getting private medicated porridge morning and night :o) She's still small and slightly skittish but a really pretty little girl!

A quick bit of news about the others - Angelina (the white one who lays white eggs) has been sneezing and coughing a little (the drop in night-time temperature?) so, for the last couple of days, she too had private medicated porridge morning and night, with a splash of poultry tonic to perk her up a bit, and she's sneezing and coughing much less now.

And then, this morning, Sophia did a splatty poo. She went off to lay straight after so it could just have been a forerunner to the egg - and there's plenty of solid poos all around the run so it hasn't worried me. But just in case, she too had private medicated porridge this morning and tonight.

Which just leaves Tallulah (who wasn't well a month or so ago), Roxy (who's still moulting around her neck) and lovely, chirpy Xena. So what the heck, they all get porridge twice a day too.

Spoilt? But they deserve it, don't they?!

PS Did I tell you, the roof leaked so we've completely redesigned and re-erected it? Took us a couple of days over the bank holiday weekend but it seems to have done the trick!

PPS Daft cat's ashes are home, in a pretty little bone china urn that I bought on Ebay. She'll be coming with us to the new house, where we'll bury her ashes (possibly in a plant pot so we can take her with us if we ever move again). Bless her xxx