“Oh the north wind does blow, and we shall have…feathers.”
Just as Miss Effie Chicken – ex-batt, big sister extraordinaire and international chicken celebrity – was settling down to the quiet life with her bantam babies, Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, decided that the wettest, windiest winter ever to blow through Cornwall was the perfect time for Effie to moult.
Effie had been sporting this season’s latest look of sparse neck feathers and a bare crop for a few weeks but one day, a particularly strong gust of wind resulted in a flurry of feathers flying off our precious girl and every subsequent gust blew away a handful more. A few days later and little Effie was looking rather bedraggled and semi-naked.
Well, what’s a girl to do?! It is no way for a superstar diva to look at all!
Cornwall’s most precious chicken deserves only the very best treatment, so all the stops have been pulled out to bring Effie through her moult – she has been having sardines every other day to increase her protein levels and help her grow her new feathers, she has been having Total Moult solution in her water, she has spent the wettest and windiest days inside the human’s coop, warming herself by the fire and she has had extra soft bedding in her coop at night, with a blanket tucked over the roof to stop the wind ruffling those oh so beautiful feathers! And, of course, she has been having extra loves and gentle strokes!!
And sure enough, her new quills have emerged and her gorgeous new feathers are at the delicate paintbrush stage. Like the brave girl that she is, she has barely complained and, in fact, has remained very happy and upbeat throughout the whole ordeal. Her bantam babies have given her a new lease of life and filled her little heart with so much happiness that nothing as mundane as a moult will prevent her from enjoying every single day with them.
In all seriousness, at over two years free and with the truly horrible weather we are currently enduring, I am well aware of the dangers a moult could inflict on Effie’s beautiful little body. I promised Effie I will bring her safely through her moult and I will make the same promise to all the kind hearted people who have been following her story over these past two years and who love her almost as much as we do.
Effie is surrounded by love, and the strength of that love, combined with the best care we can possibly give her, will ensure that by the spring, Miss Effie Chicken, that most beloved of girls, will be basking in the spring sunshine, feeling its warmth on her resplendent new feathers.
<
Oh I do so hope Effie comes through her moult and is fine.
I lost Babs today 😦 – she came through her moult in December, and seemed fine, but finally went downhill over the last few days. Sad, but she had two years free from the cages so had a good life here with us 🙂
Oh no Sarah, I am so sorry, poor Babs 😦 but as you say 2 years free is a fabulous retirement, full of love xx
Thank you Jo, and wishing Miss Effie the very best of good health asap 🙂
So sorry for your sad loss. At least it wasn’t a long illness, and she knew she was loved.
Thank you June – she certainly was much loved 🙂
We all know you are the very best carer for little Miss Effie, and she knows it too. I’m sure she enjoyed sharing the Human’s coop for a while, but her little ones must miss her.
I shall look forward to spring and photos showing her beautiful new feathers.