That’s what I named it because the whole time Jim was assembling it, he GRUMBLED! (He cussed a little too.) Basically any pre-fab chicken coop is not going to measure up to his exacting standards. He really wanted to build a nice coop for Daisy, but the boy is tasked up the wazoo and frankly I didn’t want to keep a chicken in my living room until 2016.  Although I did my research to find a nice house for my sweet chicken, I have to admit that it is a far cry from the palace he built in 2011 for Rosie, Daisy & Violet.

Go here to see that work of art!

The House That Jim Built

Well, I think this little coop is very cute and functional and Jim can just “scratch his mad place”.

I was going to attempt construction myself until I unloaded all the parts!

I was ordered to stay out of his way, but I did find something constructive to do while I watched the assembly.  He wouldn’t even let me take any pictures of him building it!

I put all the parts in order by letter and number. I’m sure this was a tremendous help.

Almost finished!

Voila!

See!  It’s adorable right?  Jim is going to reinforce a few things, and we need to make the ladder easier for her to climb but otherwise it’s a fine place for Daisy to sleep and hang out in when we’re not home.  She spent her first night in here last night and although she has a little roost inside the loft, she prefers to sleep in the nest box.  Leave it to my smart chicken to find a better way to get her ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs.

I always wondered why chickens hung on to a perch all night with their feet when they could just snuggle into a nest box instead.

Rowdy likes it too!

I checked. She didn’t lay an egg. 😦

I’ll share some photos of two sweet kids who have lived next door for almost two months.  Christian and Adeline have been my little tenants in the Pink House and they are leaving on a new adventure this week.

Daisy, meet your neighbors.

Their dad is in the Air Force and the family is in transition while he trains for a new assignment. Their mom Jennifer stayed behind with the kids to finish a masters degree.  Whew! I’m tired just THINKING  about that!

Buster has learned how to hide when he’s not in the mood for company.

It’s been fun having them next door, but I must admit I’m excited to have my Pink House to play in this weekend.  I have a few small improvements to make inside and I’ll make sure to show updated pictures when I’m through.

Stay cool!

(The above sung to the tune of Vanilla Ice’s only hit)

Daisy is almost well, but we have about 4 more days of antibiotics until she has a clean bill of health.  Her breathing is almost normal but during the worst heat of the day she comes inside to rest in her enclosure.  But when she’s outside, boy does she make the most of it!  Check her out taking a dust bath in the back yard.

Yes, she’s tearing up my apple tree roots, but for now I’m OK with that.  I do need to make her a proper dust bath so she doesn’t create a huge mess in my back yard.  Farm chickens make their own dust baths because they have an entire barnyard in which to do so.  Urban chickens however, will make your yard look like this if you don’t create a place for them to bathe…

Like this.

…and this

…and this. What? I’m a chicken!

It’s OK Daisy girl.  I’m going to commandeer Buster’s herb garden so you can create your own “chicken-spa” area.

It’s OK Buster, I can buy you herbs at the Piggly Wiggly!

I made an extensive post on chicken dust baths way back in December of 2011 when I had my three pet chickens.  Here’s a link if you’re curious about how to make a dust bath and why they’re necessary for ultimate chicken health and happiness…

Dust Bath Redux

So Daisy is enjoying being back home and if she’s lonely for her other chicken pals, she doesn’t squawk about it.  Her coop arrives today from the Home Despot and Jim will put it together tonight to see if she approves.  For now she stays in the house at night and makes a quiet little “bok, bok, bok” in the morning around 5:30 to let me know it’s time to go outside!  🙂

A few folks have asked if Scrappy is happy with her new home and new mommy.

What do you think?

🙂

Yes, the kittybunnychicken is a bit “chicken” obsessed at the moment.  Indulge me while I revel in having a sweet chicken again!   I mean really…just look at her!

Wouldn’t you want to CROW about your pet if she were this pretty!

I took Daisy to the vet last week and Dr. Glasscock gave her a thorough examination.

You said we were going to Disneyworld! 😦

Dr. G got to see her struggle breathing and she listened carefully to her lungs and looked down her beak. Turn up the volume on the clip to hear her wheeze. 😦

Daisy was a pretty good patient. It helped that I brought grapes to coax her out of her crate and back in again. 🙂

This is not the first time Dr. Glasscock has looked out for my little yellow girl.  In May of 2011 Daisy was attacked by a feral cat and almost died.  Dr. G did surgery on her and kept her at the vet for a couple of days.  Daisy survived and the only lasting effects are a very funny walk and an eye that won’t open all the way.

May 2011

If you’d like to read that saga you can go here to my old blog mychickendiary.

April 2011-February 2012

 http://mychickendiary.com/2011/05/18/near-tragedy/

http://mychickendiary.com/2011/05/19/driving-miss-daisy-home/

She took a guess that Daisy had trachea worms which cause the throat to swell making it hard to breathe.  She suggested keeping her indoors while she recovered and she gave us two meds to give her every day.  Jim rigged up an indoor “coop” for her out of some dog fencing that my pal Susna gave us.  We’ve used that fencing a million times for different foster pets and it really came in handy for Daisy’s indoor house.

Not pretty, but it does the job.

We keep Daisy in if the temperature rises above 80.  That’s means she’s in most of the day and she only goes out in the early morning and evening to get exercise and do her chicken thing.  I think she’s a little bored inside, but her breathing is MUCH better and I let her walk around the house 4 or 5 times a day.  The cats are very confused, but after living with us for years, nothing really surprises them. 🙂

She has a nice nest box, but a couple of days ago, she decided to lay an egg right out in the yard.

lower left corner

Most chickens prefer to lay their eggs in a quiet, dark place, but our girl doesn’t want to waste any outdoor time so she just made a speedy delivery instead.

She’s also getting lots of treats to speed her recovery.

The girl can go to town on some corny cobb!

If the weather is cool enough and I have to leave the house for a bit, we also have a nice area outside where we can let her play in safety.

I used some oak tree trimmings to make a shady canopy. I have way too much time on my hands.

I just heard from the Goodwin Animal Hospital that Daisy’s “sample” did reveal that she has a trachea worm.  This means the meds Dr. G already gave us are working and that Daisy is on the road to recovery.  We ordered a nice chicken coop for her and it should arrive soon.  When the heat breaks, she can be livin’ large outside like a proper urban chicken!  I need to thank my dear pal Debbie for letting me take this girl home again.  I know you miss her my friend, but I am so happy to have her back.  Come visit!

No, never fear–I don’t intend to toot my flute and lead your children off a cliff.  But when you have a pet chicken in your back yard, the children will come.

Sara, meet Miss Daisy.

This kid is fearless and normally I’d be happy to let her chase my chicken around my yard, but since Daisy is sick I asked her to refrain this time.  She complied and offered Daisy some of her tasty snacks.

Who knew chickens like Cheerios?

She did have a question about the weird little brown guy in the yard.

Can I chase this bunny?

Heck yeah!

Run, Buster, Run!

Daisy had her vet appointment with Dr. Glasscock yesterday, but I’ll elaborate on that later.  For the time being, just know that Daisy is under excellent treatment and we’re doing what we can to get her well.  For now she stays inside if the temp is above 80 but she does sleep on the porch at night.  She was having some trouble getting on her roost by herself so I made her some “steps”.

Ooop…

Si…

DAISY!

🙂

Of course I brought Daisy home to live out her chicken days with me!  Debbie cried when I took her but she was happy that I was going to give my little yellow bird a life of pampering and ease in her old age.  I have missed having chickens so much and Daisy has brightened up our back yard with her happy personality and bright yellow plumage!

Dig my new crib!

She sleeps on the porch at night for safety, but during the day when I’m home she scratches around the yard. We’ve even reestablished our old routine of “chicken time” in the evenings.

These chubby toes look delicious!

Nope! They taste like toes! 😦

That’s more like it!

She’s still sick and during the hottest time of the day I bring her indoors to have a break from the heat.  I keep the fan on outside on the porch and she comes up there to eat and drink water several times a day.  There’s also a baby pool for her in the back yard and I have lots of shade trees for her to peck around.  Her breathing is great in the morning, but by noon she’s struggling and has to keep her beak open to breathe.

Why does Mulder get to stay inside all day?

I could get used to this!

I have an appointment for her with Dr. Glasscock tomorrow afternoon and I know she’ll fix her right up!  Jim made a temporary perch for her on the porch and she sleeps peacefully there all night until the sun comes up. We’ve ordered a coop kit for her, but until it arrives we’re doing fine with her temporary bedroom.

Nite mom!

Daisy is already getting young visitors and I’ll post some cute pictures of Miss Sarah tomorrow.  She shared her treat cup with her and I learned that chickens really love cheerios!

My friend Debbie sent me a funny series of Daisy pictures I wanted to share.  Daisy is an old lady now and she lays eggs infrequently.  Here she is laying her egg on the go!

Hmmmmm…do I have time to get back to the nest box?

Naaa…this’ll just take a second.

Here you go mom! Enjoy your breakfast!

BAM!

The pictures made me miss the old girl so Jim and I drove out to Tuskegee to see Daisy, Debbie & Walter. For new readers I’ll give the Cliff’s Notes version of Daisy’s story.  In 2011 I had three lovely pet chickens in my back yard.  Because of a complaining neighbor my chickens were evicted from my yard and my neighborhood.  Daisy, Rosie & Violet went to live with a kind friend who loves chickens and had many of her own on a great farm.  Rosie & Violet had violent deaths at the hands of wild dogs and Daisy was injured but she survived and has lived with my friend since then.  I go see her once in a while and she always remembers me.  I think it has something to do with the fact that I always bring her grapes. 🙂

Jim always preferred blondes!

Daisy has been sick for a long time with a respiratory infection and she wheezes when she breathes and she has a bad cough that sounds like someone stepping on a dog’s chew toy! I shot a little video of her wheezing and coughing.  It’s just 30 seconds long.  She coughs right at the beginning and then right before the end.

It was sad to see her sick.  Notice how she has to keep her beak open to breathe. Debbie suggested I take her home with me so I could pamper her and give her a fun easy life in her old age. Hmmmmmm…what do you think of THAT idea?

🙂

Sorry to leave you hanging last episode.  Yes, Scrappy has a new home and a new mommy but it took a complicated series of steps for this precise military operation to come about.  I’ll give you the timeline of events:

Scrappy prepares for her “surgery”.  We left the details vague, but Buster was very reassuring.

You won’t feel a thing Scwappy and you’ll get some weely cool pain medicine.

I left her in the very capable hands of Miss Tayunia who assured me that Scrappy would get extra special attention.

This seems like a vewy nice lady.

Scrappy made it thru the surgery with flying colors and came home to recover. She did not act like she had just had a few organs removed from her tummy.  In fact, the kid was as high as a kite and acted completely crazy!

Yes, Scrappy did this!!! (photo credit Amy Kelly-my friend, neighbor and awesome pet sitter)

While all this activity was going on, my blog was being shared by some of my friends in my home town of Purvis, MS.  One of my good high school pals (Go Tornadoes!) forwarded my blog to a friend who lived in Wiggins, MS.  (Thank you Renee!).  This friend was finally looking for a kitten to adopt after she had grieved for a few years over her beloved kitty who died.  She contacted me regarding Scrappy and we began figuring out how to make this kitty hers.  Meanwhile, my nephew and mom had arrived for a visit and we decided it would be simple for them to take Scrappy back when they go home since Scrappy’s mom actually works in Purvis.

Mama fell in love with Scrappy and gave her lots of attention while she recovered from surgery.

This is my nephew Philip.  I’m just throwing in this picture for some eye-candy for the young 20-something ladies out there! (Meggie-get a load of this!) 🙂

Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Philip!

So…when it came time to go, we put the Scrapp-inator in a little carrier and Philip whisked her off to Mississippi where her new mommy was waiting for her.

Sorry the picture is dark. look close to see her little face peeping out of the side.

Now, I want to say a few things about how all of this happened.  Scrappy is my most beloved foster kitten for several reasons.  First, I kept this little girl for over a month.  We are certain she would be dead if Mike had not brought her to us late one night after she had survived on her own for several weeks.  Second, Scrappy’s personality and joy for life makes you happy just to be in her presence.  And third, this is the first foster I’ve ever actually adopted out myself and been able to choose her new owner.  Usually I bring my foster kittens back to the shelter and assume (hope) that they will all go to loving homes. This time I was honored to “meet” Ms. Donna G. through phone calls and email and realized that this lady would be a wonderful mom for my sweet, crazy little girl.  Donna is a professional photographer as well and promises to send photos and updates of her new baby so I can share with my readers.

I love my new mommy! Isn’t she pwetty?

So final thanks are in order to everyone who helped make this happen. Thank you to the Montgomery Humane Shelter for shots, meds, spaying and overall support and advice.  Thank you to Mike Darnell who finally was able to catch her and to all the neighbors who tried for weeks to grab her and get her help.  Thank you to Goodwin Animal Hospital who treated Scrappy for a variety of problems and who gave me a discount on services because she was a shelter kitty.  Thank you to the Montgomery Emergency After Hours vet on duty who absolutely saved her life the night we got her.  Thanks to my wonderful pet sitters, Amy, Brenyn & Caroline who cared for her while we were out of town on two occasions.  Thank you for Philip, who drove 280 miles to deliver her to her new home, and finally thank you to Jim, who gave Scrappy lots of gentle love and who footed the rather extensive bill for her medical expenses. And of course, thank you to Donna. I hope you have many years of fun with this sweet, crazy little girl. I really love a happy ending.

Scrappy

I want to update you on my foster Bunny Caramel (renamed Honey by her new mommy).  You’ll remember we met in Enterprise, AL to make the switch.  By the way, if you’re ever in Enterprise, be sure to admire the Boll Weevil Monument in the center of town.

And if someone would please let me know exactly what the boll weevil did for the town of Enterprise in 1919, I would be most grateful.

So Caramel/Honey was placed safely in her carrier with lots of goodies for her trip home.

This lady knows what bunnies like to eat!

Honey had to stay indoors for a while since she was recovering from surgery, but as soon as she was well Mary put her in her new habitat to meet her new husband, Bugsy.

Typical bunny greeting.

Honey’s habitat is stylish and comfortable, with all the amenities a bunny could desire.

Hmmmmm…I may want to change those drapes to a “honey” color.

Mary’s buns share space with many other domestic creatures so it’s never boring and there’s always something colorful and noisy to look at.

Still Life With Chickens

Who you callin’ noisy?

Recently Mary made a discovery that let her know that some of her “un-fixed” bunnies had made acquaintance with each other, probably by way of the underground tunnels these guys dig year round.

BABIES!!!

These guys look suspiciously like Honey’s new husband Bugs!  Those days are over now Bugsy!  You’re a one-bunny man now!

I’ll keep a close eye on him. Besides, how could he want hamburger, when he has steak at home?

Food references are probably not best used with animals at the bottom of the food chain Honey.  Plus your name is HONEY!

THE END?

PS:  Scrappy found a home today.  More on this later. 🙂

I take Scrappy back to the shelter tomorrow unless some kind soul who is reading this wants to add a great little pet to their home!

Pick me! Pick me!

Pardon the summary, but for those who don’t regularly read the blog I’ll give you the 411 on this crazy little girl. Exactly one month ago today, my neighbor Mike Darnell brought me a starving kitten who looked to be about eight weeks old but weighed only one pound.  She had struggled to survive for many weeks in our neighborhood but eluded capture because she was terrified.  Several of my kind neighbors tried to get her, but Mike was only able to grab her because she became too weak to run.

Now I’m vewy well-wested.

She endured medicine for her eye infection, skin condition and a nasty cold which made it very hard for her to eat and drink because she had trouble breathing and couldn’t smell.  After six vet visits…

I’m getting weeely tired of this!

(Thank you Goodwin Animal Hospital) she is healthy, and happy and ready to leave the comfort and safety of the Burlingame Animal Rescue Ranch and Petting Zoo. I’ve tried hard to find her a home, but the Montgomery Humane Shelter will do a good job screening folks to give Scrappy the home she deserves.  She’s with me for another 24 hours though and if you want her (or know of someone who does) I can adopt her from my home.  PLEASE CONSIDER ADOPTING HER!!!  This one is going to be very hard to bring back. 😦

Notice Mulder “hugging” her with his tail.

Hide me Mr. Mulder. I don’t want to leave the Waters.

Thanks for sharing your sunbeams with me Rowdy.

Phone lines are open!!!  Scrappy says PLEEEEEASE!

No, I’m not making dessert.  Caramel’s new mom decided to change her name to another tasty sweet.  I like it. 🙂

Mary and her Honey Bunny

I met Mary at Enterprise, Alabama for the switcheroo.  Mary lives in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, so Enterprise is about half way.  Caramel/Honey Bun is now at her new home with her new mate Bugs.  Mary will send pictures of the duo soon.  Meantime, check out Mary’s new blog about her bunny rescue home. http://forevever21bunnyvillage.blogspot.com/2015/06/once-upon-time.html

She’s new at this, but already her posts are great.  Great job friend.  Keep it up!

Meanwhile back on the Burlingame Kitty, Bunny, Chicken, Bird & Turtle rescue ranch I have reached a new record for the month of June.  SEVEN TURTLE RESCUES!  Yes, I’m patting myself on the back.  So what.  It’s a miracle that I’ve been able to put seven creatures in my car on busy rural roads without getting killed or maimed.  My routine is to bring these guys home for a back yard stay and then release them into the lake in front of my house.  I’ll document one “catch & release” here…

Into the back of my car, where I always have a turtle box.

Next to the shore…

Out of the box…

SPLOOSH!

Usually they pop up out of the water and swim to the other side. 🙂 I wonder what they are thinking during this unusual adventure?

I know you want some Scrappy news and I promise not to disappoint.  Our little foster kitten is still living with us and we love having her.  She was scheduled to return to the shelter for her surgery and final shots but she had an ongoing skin/fur issue that we needed to clear up first.  Plus her eye is still watering and we have to keep medicating it until it heals.  She had a terrible eye infection in both eyes when we got her 3 weeks ago and although one eye is totally cleared up, the other continues to water and has a small ulcer in it.

Hi Dr. Glasscock. You has pretty hair.

Doc assures us it doesn’t hurt and she can definitely see out of it, but it may always water for the rest of her life.

She has captured our hearts and we’d love to find her a great home nearby or at least with someone we know so we can keep up with her life.  As a last resort we will take her to the shelter but I haven’t given up on my quest. Here are some heart-breakingly cute pictures to sweeten the deal.

My daddy is the bestest!

The doctor is nice but do I HAVE to keep coming here?

Dreaming of meeces.

And here are some random photos that just need to be seen.  Deal with it.

I don’t normally cuss, but this is a BIG ASS STRAWBERRY!

A girlfriend from Virginia visited me last week.  We became friends many years ago at Reese AFB, TX where our husbands flew the T-1. She and I had lunch at Garrett’s (a nice restaurant near my house) and the cute little cook came out from the kitchen to say “hi”.

My kid, Hannah and my pal Denise. Hannah made my salad and personally served dessert which she also made. I gave her a thumbs up. 🙂

Hmmmm…what else do I have in the vault?

FIVE FOOT CHICKEN!!!

Someone seriously needs to buy this for me.  Go to Prattville Pickers and ask for the giant chicken. It’s priced quite reasonably at $144.00

Well, I think that’s it for now.  Keep it weird people!