Another part of the Jolene the Franken-Chicken Saga...

We had to do one more addition to the saga that is little Jolene, our Franken-Chicken (aka Fiberton's Monster.)

If you missed the previous posts, you'll find why she received that name here and her health updates here.

In our latest installment, we must reveal a new name for Jolene.... Joe!  Now that Joe has grown up, we now know that Joe is a rooster!  And as for Dolly, who we thought was his sister, well, we are now calling him Donny. (As you can see by Joe crowing below...)

Ric was not having it....

"Ric, I think the combs and wattles on Jo and Dolly are really big. They might be roosters." I tell him one morning.

"Nope.  That is just their breed.  They are fine.", he says defiantly.

Later that week...

"Ric, I need you to watch this video of Jo." Here I produce video of Jo crowing...

Here's the thing, and probably why Ric was trying to pretend otherwise, but last month we had to do the not fun task of culling 4 roosters , as at that time we had 6 that we knew of.   They were fighting, and would not give the girls any peace, so they were not able to free range.

That being said, Joe and Donny are very domesticated and let us pick them up no problem.  And so far, it seems that the roosters have taken on their own family units.  Our hope is that it stays like this, and we can keep all 4 roosters.

Our family units include:

• The two Kevins (the sorta wild roosters) and their hens: Girl Kevin, Falcor, Artax, Donkey and Giraffe
• Donny and his 2 girls: Barbara and Dixie
• And finally Joe and his gal, Atreyu

So far so good!  We hope to add some more chicks to the mix very soon!  Today my job is the get a special space set up for the new additions that is outside and not in our bathroom this time.

- Ash

PS - And speaking of chickens, keep an eye out for our new podcast episode coming out very soon on....Chickens!

Update on Jolene, the Franken Chicken

For those of you curious, little Jolene is doing great! She has been enjoying living out with the rabbits, as she gets the little leftovers they drop, and she keeps little mice and such at bay.

As you can see, some of her feathers are even growing back! Soon she will be able to roam free with the other chickens (even though we enjoy having her with the rabbits!)

So glad this silly little girl is doing so well! Thanks for the concern from all of our readers!


- Ash

Jolene, our FrankenChicken.

Literally just after I post about keeping it real, we have some new mishaps on the farm.  I am going to start a new series each week with one interesting or funny happening (or mishap) on the farm. So, without further ado, we present....

(Oh, also, squeemish alert for below, I am gonna show a chicken head wound.)

Friday, after getting home from work, I went to close up the chicken coop doors and just happened upon one of the girls with quite an alarming head wound. (I usually just close the doors and say goodnight...luckily one of the chickens was being a little shit and I had to look into the coop more inventively.)

 Heads up, its not a very pretty sight below.  Not sure if she got her head stuck in something or what quite happened, but needless to say, she had to come inside for some medical attention.

First, I took a quick photo to send to Ric while at work. When I told him Jolene was hurt, he (I think), thought I was going to show a little pecking form the roosters.  (Let's just say that sometimes my alarm levels are very similar for minor things as it is for major things...oops!)

Sorry, it is gross.  But boy oh boy, that has got to smart!

She was in surprisingly high spirits and, after cleaning the wound a bit and spraying on some good ol' Blu Kote (which anyone should keep on hand. It is indispensable!), she ate and drank and seemed to enjoy getting to hang out in the bathroom.

Post Blu Kote and cozy home for the night.

Saturday she continued to relax in the makeshift home in the bathroom, eating and drinking like it was no big deal.  After work I came home and cleaned the wound again.

Don't mind the messy bathroom....

She was a good little patient and after a little more Blu Kote she settled in for the night.

We doubt that she will grow feathers there again, but if we can keep it clean and free from infection, she can join the others soon.  In the meantime, she has taken up residence in the area where the rabbits are housed, happily cleaning up food they have dropped and doing quite well.

We will keep you updated on her condition.  For the time being, little Jolene has a new nickname of our FrankenChicken. (Or I guess technically it should be Fiberton's Monster?)

Ash

PS - Ric and I are arguing over this... should she get a hat or a wig? Thoughts?