Meet the Crazy Coop Aug 30 at the Crazy Daisy Fall Festival!
Esther the Easter Egger
The Chick Who Lived
Esther is part of our second clutch of chicks, purchased as a day-old chick from our local feed store. Her name comes from being born a few days before Easter Sunday. An adorable yellow poof ball with a little orange spot on her head, she was hatched friendly and full of attitude!
Unfortunately, after only a couple of days we realized that something was wrong: her crop was hugely swollen, rock hard, and dark in color.
A panic inspired search brought up the possibility of sour crop, and I started diving further into research of home remedies.
My studies made me doubt her diagnosis since it didn't seem likely that a three-day-old chick should have crop sickness, but we separated Esther (much to her dismay), giving her clean water, a heating pad, and monitored softened food every couple of hours. Some organic olive oil in a dropper twice a day helped to clear her crop, and after a few absolutely awful days (her words!) she was back to her bubbly little self.
Small But Mighty
Esther's growth was stunted, which quickly became obvious when compared to the growth rates of her clutchmates, which included two Brahmas (Kris and Anna), and a White Plymouth Rock (Blanca).
When it came time to move them outside, it was clear that Esther was still too small to safely be outdoors. I put her back in the brooder with our newest editions in clutch number three, and after a few very sad hours of being separated from her original flock, she adopted the Americaunas and Jersey Giants with all the fun and love a chicken can offer!
Sweet & Sassy
If Esther weren't a chicken she'd be a terrier dog! She's smart, friendly, full of the energy, and loves to hang out with anyone and everyone. She'll run up to beg for pets, enjoys a good cuddle, and is quite protective of her little flock. (Or is that jealousy when someone else gets attention?) When Esther has something to do, watch out! She may be the smallest hen but she'll steal your heart in an instant.
Her trial inspired our first developed product and was (rightfully) named in her honor: Esther's Crop Elixir. I was able to take what I learned nursing her back to health and couple it with continued research. As of this writing nearly all of the chickens have used the essential oil infused drops. Not only has it helped with congested crops, but one of our little Jersey Giants, Vinny, kept getting ill, even after being raised on pre and probiotics and Nuggie's Maintenance Mix. After a few doses he started to grow rapidly and is no longer the timid little chick he was when we first brought him home. And the rest is history!
Thanks for sharing your time with our resident Easter Egger, Esther. What have your EEs been like? What have you learned from your flock? Do your girls lay colorful eggs? Let us know!