goodbye belle

belle died. well, actually we had to put her down because she just continued to get more and more sick and weak. she would eat just fine, but would continue to lose weight. and eventually couldn't even stand. one of the major contributing problems were mites/flee infestation. she was covered, i couldn't even hold her for more than a minute before i was covered with mites! so that really lowered her immune system so she couldn't fight back. i tried giving her antibiotics, protein (cat food, cooked meats, flax seed), and fatty foods (cheese, whole milk, breads, yogurt...) to help her gain weight and boost her immune system, because that is what also gets attacked with mites. and i also used this powder call diatomaceous earth (DE). it kills the mites by rubbing the power into their feathers. if you see just one mite on the chicken (usually around the head and vent area), you must apply DE right away. because when there is one, there is one hundred. wear a mask when applying, because it is bad to inhale the DE. on a very infested bird, apply at least once a week. my other chooks had mites but the DE got rid of them. i even had to bathe them in a sink full of warm water and soap. (it got rid of a lot but, giving them a bath should be your last resort because it can make them very stressed). also, spread the DE all over the ground of the coop and where they take dust baths, even if they don't have mites. the best way to cure mites is prevention.

unfortunately, when something this serious happens to a chicken, you will have to know when to draw the line. there are vets that will treat chickens, but after all, it is just a chicken. belle was like my baby, she loved to be held and wrapped up in my jacket and would fall asleep in my arms immediately . but i have other chickens chickens and other animals, and if i took her to the vet, he would probably say there isn't much you can do to help and treating belle would have cost more than all my chooks put together! so one does have to draw the line at some point, i did after i spent $25-30 on her, but in the end it was hopeless.

on the bright side, i will always be grateful for this learning experience for the future, and know how to handle this kind of a situation. it also introduced me to DE, which really is a chicken lifesaver, and i will be getting two more girls from a friend as a favor for her. yay!