Wilma, A Freewrite

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This is Wilma. Wilma is my oldest hen, the only one left from my initial flock. Chickens are supposed to stop laying eggs when they get as old as she is, nearly ten, but she still tries. This has created a health problem for her.

You see, if old chickens try to lay eggs, it results in a protein deficiency (as I understand it - my daughter did the research). The first sign of a problem was that she suddenly could not walk or stand very well - she'd run in uncontrolled circles around and around, looking very much like a drunk trying to go for a run. She would careen around in ever decreasing circles, often falling on her face. Now and then she'd manage to arrive at her apparent goal: the water, the food, or the treat I had just provided for them all. It was hard to watch and I was afraid she would starve to death because she could not get to the food.

The remedy for this ailment is increased protein in the diet, so now I isolate Wilma and give her nice portions of egg yolks, sunflower seeds, meal worms and pine nuts all to herself. I wait until she settles somewhere so that I can put it right at her beak, otherwise she just flails around the run and can't really get to it. The good news is that she showed improvement within a few days, and can now at least stand still.

So now I have to schlepp out there every day to make sure Wilma gets some extra protein from me.

end of freewrite


Here's a picture of my ladies having a nice treat. Since I can't see what the treat was in this pix, I think it must have been sunflower seeds. Wilma is at the bottom right. She's so beautiful, a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

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But here's a shot taken a short time before the last one, in which we can see Wilma crashing the party.

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This is my entry to @mariannewest's daily freewrite challenge.
Please join us!
Great peeps!

All images are my own unless otherwise stated.
The adorable page break of the barn is by @thekittygirl.


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26 comments
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I’m so glad you found a remedy for Wilma. May she live a long healthy life!

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We had a Barred Rock who was the pet and she lived until 9.5 years old. She never had a protein issue, as we always fed extra animal protein every day to the entire flock.

Your Wilma has very lovely coloring, love the lacing!

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What did you use for extra animal protein? I've been putting dried meal worms in with the feed.

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My husband is an avid deepsea fisherman and loves catching pollock. We don't like pollock, but the hens do! So he gets to catch all the pollock he can, and we grind it raw, package it in daily allotments (1/4 oz/bird/day) which for our flock of 18 is 4 1/2 oz/day. We feed it every day, in the morning.

He's actually going out tomorrow to start on our fish for the coming year.

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Again, I have no idea how you do all you do. Thank you! I'll buy some nice fish for them and do the same.

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The little red-head with the punk haircut is adorable.

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She's pretty funny too. Always seems angry.

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Poor Wilma! I've never run into that problem before. I've had some old hens but they don't bother trying to lay. I have always wanted a silver laced Wyandotte. I've had the golden ones and they are also beautiful, but the silver are amazing. I'm glad you found a way to feed the poor old girl.

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There's a golden laced in the top left of the group photo, Barbara. I actually saved her from a fox. A mere second later and he would have made off with her but as it was he chose something smaller to make his dash away from me with. She would not leave the run for a month after that, and I won't let them free range anymore unless I am out there with them.

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Congratulations - your Wilma post has been nominated for the Friday Favorites!
And I'm still scrambling /pecking through URLs and formatting codes

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Sweet. BTW my notifications feature was wonky for a few days so I am just getting to all the comments you left me a couple days ago. It's so hard to keep up around these parts! xo

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So now you "have to schlepp out there every day to make sure Wilma gets some extra protein" - lucky Wilma! Anyone else might have set her out on the dinner table for your own extra protein. I didn't say that!!

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She is way too old to be tasty. Maybe soup. No, my girls are beloved pets. I could never eat them. I would not make a good livestock farmer.

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Nor would I!
I can't even kill spiders, crickets, and grasshoppers. I take pity on the occasional ladybug in the house. If hundreds get in (this happens in the fall, all too often) my sympathy runs out. Otherwise, "live and let live" is my m.o.

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check out goldenoakfarms comment on what she feeds her chickens! Of course she out does everyone. I have no clue where she finds the time and energy.

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Good to hear you found the right food to help her to stabilize once again @owasco a lovely looking hen!

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Wow!! i had no idea. And 10 years old is a very good age for a chicken for sure!

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Wilma is an inspiration for chickens around the world! Hope she lives to her 10th birthday and beyond to become "The Betty White" of chickens!🐓

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lol she is a bit like Betty White. Top of the pecking order. The others don't mess with her when she does manage to get stable enough to eat. Thanks for that comment it was a fun one.

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(Edited)

Chickens are awesome. We had chickens when my son was little and he has loved them ever since...basically as soon as he could walk he started running up to them and catching them and carrying them around with him. It was funny to watch because he was so little it made the chickens look bigger than they really were. Wilma is beautiful I'm glad to hear the diet is working!

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