I've posted lots of egg pictures recently, but I couldn't resist posting a couple more...
Remember the really HUGE egg? Well, here is its opposite:
I've seen eggs smaller than this in a robin's nest, but from a chicken? I'll have to take a picture of it frying to show you later...Maggie has been doing something strange lately, so I called the vet and arranged a farm call. Yes, some doctors do still make house calls!
This is Dr. Brett, Mr J and one very dirty Maggie Mae. Luckily Dr. Brett had good news for me. She has a skin fungus (a very simple remedy) and she has old-timer's... Yes, she's just old and having a few problems that just come with the age. (eightyish in people years)
Maggie has lost a few teeth, and it is more difficult for her to chew her food. The strange habit she has developed is just a symptom of her food not being chewed well enough, and getting stuck in her throat. It is time to make a major change to her diet. She'll no longer be tossed flakes of hay while corralled with the other horses. I'll chop grass hay for her. She will also get soaked alfalfa cubes and more senior feed, perhaps in a mash. Plus it's time to up the calories to add fat for winter.
Horses, just like people, have different nutritional needs as they age. It's a bit more work, but it means better health, and perhaps a longer life. Maggie is definitely worth it!