State of play today

Snowdrop has been up and about all day.  She has rested a few times but as she is full of antibiotics thats not surprising, they make me feel like death warmed up too.  Actually I am allergic to most of them so am being really careful not to stick myself with the needle.  The worst one was when Action Dog was on them and I had to crush the tablets and pop them on her tongue.  It's the only way I can get tablets down her because she can't spit them out if they are powder.  Anyway, one night she sneezed as I put the dust on her tongue and I got a face full.  Oh was I paranoid that my face was going to swell up and I would look like Shrek.  Antibiotics are wonderful things but they just don't agree with me.  Anyway, I am waffling as usual and not getting to the point which is not good as this is only the first paragraph!  To sum it up I am feeling increasingly encouraged by Snowdrop's progress.  I didn't hear any sounds on her chest today but the washing machine was on and that might have masked it.  To be honest I am doing everything I can so I am feeling that ignorance is bliss and I don't want to know what her chest sounds like!

Primrose had some trouble this morning.  I noticed she had a bit of a runny bottom and that she had something nasty looking dangling from it.  I won't put anyone off their tea and describe it.  I went and got my rubber gloves (thank you to whoever invented them), grabbed her, tucked her under my arm and had a good look at the area in question.  What I found was a soft egg shell half in and half out of her vent.  I wasn't really sure whether to leave it alone to come away naturally but in the end I decided to gently pull and see if it came out, which it did.  It was all rather gory and a bit bloody, poor girl.  When I went to clean the coop I could see where she had laid the egg because there was some watery blood and the contents of the egg on the floor.  I was happy that it hadn't broken inside her because that would cause peritonitis and she would probably die.  At least now I know who is laying the other soft eggs.  I've ordered some Cod Liver Oil from my friendly local pet shop.  It's meant to help with calcium absorption.  Cross everything!

I was advised last night by Owlmomma to remove Esme's egg for her own good.  I felt like a baby thief when I dragged a kitchen chair down the the dovecote,  She looked me in the eye as I climbed up and made me feel even worse.  She didn't fly off when I slipped my hand underneath her into her nest (heck this is starting to sound like a bad porn story!) She didn't even peck me, just looked worried.  I took her warm little egg away and she just sat and watched me.  It was horrible.  I was shocked when I saw the egg.  It was tiny, half the size it should have been and the poor girl has sat on it hopefully for weeks trying to have a little baby.  Honestly the whole thing broke my heart.  To make absolutely sure I wasn't a child murderer I candled the egg, even though it was obvious there was no chick.  Unless she had stolen a blue tit's egg that is.  She is still sitting on the nest now.  If she doesn't get off in the next few days I will have to shoo her off and pull the nest itself out which will make me a home wrecker as well as a baby snatcher.

On the left, Esme's tiny egg.  On the right a dummy pigeon egg of the correct size.