4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[HENthusiastic]

Matilda had a very traumatic visit to the vets today. Healthwise, she was given a clean bill of health, but...................................

Matilda has seen the vet 3 times before and each time has behaved impecably. However, this time while we were waiting she was a bit more restless than usual, but when we went in, she had a right panic attack ! She started flapping wildly, so much so that she managed to get off the table and plopped onto the floor. She was desparately trying to get away and when I got her back onto the table (she usually sits very patiently) she was cranning her neck, her beak was wide open and she was doing really big pants! We couldn't work out what was wrong with her, she was in such a state that the vet held her oxygen tube in front of her in an attempt to calm her down! Then the vet had a moment............. her previous patient had been a FOX and he was still in the room just behind us (under aneasthetic). The poor little petal had been able to smell him. The vet did her examination as quickly as possible and OH took Matilda back to the waiting room to calm down again. Poor little thing. The vet had forgotten to give her a quick steroid jab, but didnt want her brought back in and stressed out again.......... so she gave her her jab in the car! The poor thing. As far as I know shes never seen a fox...... but she sure knew that smell was baaaaaaaaaad news!

[Tiggy]

poor girl

[chelsea]

Cripes poor Matilda....sounds like she was really freaked out. That must have been one smelly fox!

[Carol U]

Wow! Isn't it incredible that a chicken who has never met a fox can sense the danger just from a smell? Poor little thing must have been terrified.

[Seagazer]

Oh bless her. Sounds like you have a very good vet.

[Groovychook]

Oh, poor Matilda!

Hope she recovers soon!

[sandyhas3chucks]

oh bless her cotton socks, to start with I was going to say it was cos she felt better!!!

Poor little love.

[poachedegg]

Poor Matilda - hope she is feeling a little calmer.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Poor little thing, that must've been terrifying for her . Good that she's had the all clear .

 

Did you find out how the vet had a fox in .

[Egluntyne]

That is really interesting.

 

I hope she feels better now.

[laurmurf]

A clean bill of health must be the first reassuring news you've had in ages about Matilda! What a great vet to think of her needs and how to offer patient care in the best possible way. Good news and very interesting too!

[Trish]

poor love3, but clever too to know that the smell was a wrong hear. Glad to hear she's well though.

[Plum]

Poor Matilda, hope she's ok now. Her instincts certainly work. Have you calmed down?

[HENthusiastic]

ANH; the vet I take her to does a lot of work on 'unusual' animals! She is called an "exotic and avian" specialist, but she also does a lot of work in connection with a rescue animal sanctuary and sees a lot of ill swans . Last time I went to see her, she came out of the room carrying a fully grown swan ! Apparently the fox had been taken to a vets "down south" and the vet there couldn't work out what was wrong with it, so it had been transported up here for her to look at.

 

She is a fab vet and lovely with chickens. She is always talking to which ever chicken Ive taken in to see her. She also phoned me at home to offer advice on her day off on Christmas eve! We are very lucky to have found her.

[Guest]

That just goes to show that chickens do have a built in awareness of foxes - interestingly!

 

Good vet though!

 

Louise

[C&T]

Oddly we had a very similar experience a couple of days ago. The chickens were free ranging around the garden, with the run door open, when they started making a load of racket, and they ran up to the back door.

 

Fearing the worst, OH ran out the back door to see what was wrong, and a cat was sitting in their run. There was no fighting or anything, and normally the cats don't worry the chickens at all, but they hated the cat being in their own run.

 

(Poor Fred charged into the house as soon as the back door was open at left us a gift on the carpet.... )

 

That night they refused to go to bed, and we had to chase them round the garden in the dark and put them directly into the eglu through the egg port, as they were scared stiff of being in the run... Fortunately next day they were ok.

 

They aren't daft!

[mostin]

Poor little Matilda, how strssful for her. But your vet is so good. how kind of her to give her the jab in the car to save her any more stress.

 

So interesting how she knows the smell of danger, even though she's never been in the wild.

 

Glad she's feeling better enough to be such a feisty girl .