the bradley bunch Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 i'll just let you know before i carry on that my little chicken is ok now, and that there is a happy ending to this story. it all started on Tuesday afternoon when i was out in the garden with the girls letting them have a last bit of FR before putting them to bed. i was poo picking at the top of the garden when out of the corner of my eye i saw what i thought was our tabby cat max prowling at the bottom of the garden, but when i looked up i saw max was up on the fence by me and looking in the direction of the other cat i had glimpsed. i instinctively looked back and saw this other cat hiding in the grass in a pounce position, i thought it was just stalking the wild mallards (who have taken up residence at the bottom of our garden which backs onto a canal) and it wouldn't have a chance of catching one, but then i glimpsed the black feathers of my chick Kinuko (aka 'nuko') in amongst the leaves of the weeping willow tree. i shouted something and ran down the garden towards her as the cat pounced, i reached them just in time (i thought) as the cat scarpered out of the garden, but as i looked down to reassure nuko everything she was lying on the floor. i scooped her up in my arms and ran to towards the house, as i ran i looked down at her limp body in my arms and saw her closed eyes. please god no i thought, as i reached the house i hammered on the lounge window to my husband inside, and her little black head suddenly popped up & looked at me i was so happy. i told hubby what had happened and we checked her over, thanking god that she'd come round completely unscaved. we decided it must have just been her natural instinct to go floppy when the cat pounced, and when she realised it was me holding her she came back to life! she was still abit shook up and didn't want to be put down, so i rocked her to sleep in the garden hammock and then put her to bed in her nest box. the next morning she woke up looking fine & dandy and happily free-ranged around the garden with her sisters. i was so relieved she was ok, but i was still annoyed at the cat. the other chickens had no problem sticking up for themselves against the neighbourhood cats, most of whom had been given a peck or two to put them in their place! (including our max ), but nuko was still only 20 weeks old and very naive, so was an easy target on her own. normally the other girls would call out when a cat entered the garden and nuko would huddle amongst them (they must know that she is vulnerable), but they were up the top of the garden when this happened so like me must not have seen the cat until it was ready to pounce. you see nuko has struck up a very strange relationship with a juvenile wild mallard! he waits at the bottom of the garden for her every morning and they spend most of the day together, so she is normally at the bottom of the garden with him. on occasion he has even walked her up to the hen house when it's time for bed and given her a little goodnight quack (u can't make this stuff up! - we've named him Darwin, but that's a story for another day ). anyway, so the next day everything seemed to be ok and i began to relax a little, i nipped to the toilet while my mom who was visiting took over watching the girls, when i heard Lulu making a right racket. i looked out the bedroom window and saw Lulu was shouting up towards the house, and my mom was running down the garden towards the canal where the others were all looking bemused. mom looked up at me as bemused as the chickens...where was nuko? all i could think was 'oh my god the cat's got her', i ran downstairs as fast as i could and as i ran down the garden i could hear voices shouting across from the canal tow path - your chickens in the canal as i reached mom she told me how she'd spotted her swimming further down the canal, but that she'd lost sight of her amongst all the weeping willow. oh my god i thought, i climbed over the trees & branches of the woods next door to our house, scouring the water for her. the children across the other side shouted - there she is. i looked to where they were pointing and saw her body washed up in a corner amongst some tree branches that stretched out into the water and had caught her. 'no no no' i thought. i tried to get to her but i just couldn't reach, i shouted to my mom to hold onto my jumper because i was slipping into the canal. as i submerged myself into the water i realised how ice cold it was. i managed to get a grip under her with one hand and pull her towards me. i huddled her close to my body, holding her in one arm as i used the others to climb back through the trees and branches into the garden. next thing i know i was in the kitchen, her lifeless body wrapped in 2 towels mom had gotten me. i was rocking her in my arms and begging her to wake up, as tears ran down my cheeks i pleaded with god, i pleaded with her, please please please i asked. then her body suddenly went into shock. in a way i was relieved that it was at least doing something, but i was so scared. her eyes rolled back as she fitted in my arms. after a minute or so the fitting became less violent and she was just shaking in my arms. i didn't know what was the right thing to do, but i just acted as i would've with a human, i begged her to stay awake 'stay with mommy' i kept saying over & over, everytime she heard my voice her eyes would open back up again. my mom got a box and filled it with straw and a warm heat pack. the towel she was wrapped in was soaking wet & cold by this point, so i took it off her to put a new warm towel round her. as i removed the towel i could see all of her feathers were puffed out and she was still shaking badly. her body was soaked. i quickly dried her as best i could before wrapping her up again in 2 dry towels, and placing her in the warm straw filled box. i knew i had to get her warm but not too quickly, so i sat the box next to me on the sofa and continued to stroke her so that i could feel her body temperature. i kept talking to her to stop her drifting away, eventually the shivering began settle. i let her drift off into sleep. i suddenly realised my clothes were soaked through and how cold i was myself. my mom got me some warm clothes and a heat pack too and wrapped me in a blanket. i stayed by nuko's side praying that she would be strong enough to wake up. half an hour later she opened her eyes & looked at me, she was still weak but managed to pop her head up out of the box, before drifiting back to sleep. i fell asleep next to her, but was awoke by my little baby climbing out of her box and onto my lap she snuggled up into my blanket and went back to sleep, she was still damp but she was warm now. i gently stroked her with a towel as she slept on my lap, getting her as dry as possible. i then gave her some nice warm porrige and popped her back in her box to sleep. mom had put the other girls away but told me how Doris (our top chook) hadn't eaten any of her treats and had gone straight in the hen house to bed...she was missing nuko already . i prayed that in the morning i'd be able to give the girls back their little sister, then i cried myself to sleep. my thoughts couldn't escape the image of her little lifeless body washed up in the canal, and my sleep was filled with nightmares of the day's events the worst thing is that my hubby is away on a business trip, so i haven't even been able to turn to him for some comforting cuddles. the next morning i looked over to her box & watched her sleeping, i whispered her name and she looked up at me with her usual bright loving eyes i thanked god for watching over her & keeping her safe. i feel it is a miracle that she was saved. her sisters are happier than ever to have her back with them, and now instead of being at the bottom of the garden with the ducks she sticks to them like glue wherever they go. i still don't know what happened to cause her to fall into the canal, passers by said there was a burst of commotion before they spotted her. i think she was chased in there by that cat, but i'll never know for sure. for her to lose her bearings like that she must have been frightened to death (almost literally) by something. i'm just so thankful to the people who were there to help us find her. now the memory of what happened is haunting me, i keep playing it back in my mind & i feel like i just want to burst into tears constantly. it's silly because she is safe now, but i keep thinking of all the 'what ifs'. i really thought i'd lost my baby, and it was the worst feeling i've ever experienced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 What a turbulent couple of days, I am glad your hen is ok now Maybe its worth re-thinking your free ranging policy though as it doesnt sound like a very safe environment for free ranging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the bradley bunch Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 yes as soon as hubby get backs he's going to put some mesh fencing across the bottom of the garden so that they can't get to the canal. it's a shame though because it means that they can't play with the ducks, unless the ducks fly-hop over to them...although i think they'll just put up with talking through the fence tbh i'm gutted because i think the wild fowl interaction they get is brilliant for them but obviously they're safety has to be priority Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I guess normally they would be inclined to stay away from the water but if they get spooked as you suspect then its a very different situation - they dont think straight when things like that happen (in fact I am not sure that chickens think straight at any time!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 What a chicken! You saved her twice. Glad she is OK. She is lucky to have just a good chicken mummy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolly Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 What a terrible time for you both but it's lovely to hear she's recovered and doing well. I would definitely recommend putting a fence up at the bottom of the garden now though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickiepiggies Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I was glued to this for 10 mins i'm so please everthing turned out ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Wow. That is a super lucky chicken and you are a great mummy to her. What a lovely relationship you have with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodinparts Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Amazing story - so glad of the happy ending...and thanks for the reassurance before we started! I hope you and Nuko can both have a really peaceful weekend, after all that drama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lougarbard Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Oh My God - what a traumatic couple of days for you!! Thank goodness the little one is ok! I still keep meaning to reply to your message! will try to take some up to date pics and send over weekend! take care. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daxigirl Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 What a chicken, I didn't realise that they had nine lives too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the bradley bunch Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 thanks everyone for your replies little one is doing amazingly well, and yesterday plucked up the courage to venture back down the bottom of the garden - much to the delight of her mallard bf who actually 'beak kissed' her before they proceeded to spend the day sat side by side 'people watching' from the side of the canal hubby says i have to get some photos of the 2 of them together ps. fence posts have been bought and some wide garden mesh purchased so the chooks can still interact with their ducky friends - and we're hoping darwin (nuko's bf) will feel comfortable enough to 'fly-jump' over the mesh (it will only be waist high) to be with nuko ...if not we'll have to think through another plan of action I still keep meaning to reply to your message! will try to take some up to date pics and send over weekend! take care. x i'll look forward to the pics...and to learning the sex of your little one! (the suspense is killing me! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
