Under the Weather

Some of us are not feeling our best today. Coughs, sniffles and some chills. A mild flu, maybe? The weather has turned wet. I stepped outside and tried to snap a picture of a squirrel...he was so fun to watch, scampering through the trees. I don't know what game he was playing, but I think he won because I never did get a picture of him. What I did get was this:

Rather blurry, but I like the raindrops on the branches. Rainy, under-the-weather days are good for sharing a book....
...or enjoying one on your own...

...or maybe a game...

We aren't the only ones around here who are not in top form. Our chickens are looking like they are ready for the butcher, preplucked.

Only, they are laying hens, not meat birds. They've had this problem for a while. We let them free-range for several weeks, hoping that if they were pecking at each other, a little more space would solve the problem. It wasn't helping, and we weren't appreciating the 'gifts' they were leaving all over the lawn and porch. So back in they went. Next we tried a lice treatment and repeated it after 10 days. That seemed to improve things for a little while, but before their feathers could grow in completely, they were looking bare again. My current theory is that they have a persistant lice problem which causes them to pick at themselves, and then the others, nasty creatures that they are, pluck out the new feathers as they come back in. Our plan now is to repeat the lice treatment and let them free-range again until they are completely over this. If you have any advice for us, please speak up! We want some feathers on these gals before the weather gets any colder.

Free-ranging chickens look so homey, don't they? Just watch where you step. :)