Farm Folk Apothecary

12/06/2024

A few clues to what's coming soon...

02/06/2024

Elfie says the green is back & we’ve been doing the rain dance! Lots of worms about 🪱

16/05/2024

A stunning autumn morning 🍂 the serenity of nature is so lovely when you first wake up and see the first light of day.

13/05/2024

David Beckham has the chicken fever 😍

09/05/2024

“There were three in the bed, and the little one said ..” yep 3 fat boombas taking up one nesting box. Silkies love starting their season when everyone goes on break!

08/05/2024

Appropriate reading for the plane flight home is a must 👌

04/05/2024

Missing my little darlings but nice to have a break. 🖤

22/04/2024

Happy hour 😍🍸

29/03/2024

Owning chickens is one the best joys in life. But it can sometimes be heartbreaking. We out live generations knowing it’s part of owning animals. But it never gets easier when we have to say goodbye. And some just have more hold over your heart than others.
In this case , it’s muffin. My oldest & dearest silkie I’ve had from the beginning I had to end her suffering of old age today. And today was just one of those days I unleashed oceans of tears for this sweet girl who lived her best.
I will dearly miss you my muffin tin 💔

28/03/2024

Some of this years cutie patooties. All grown up & mingling with the adults now. Can’t get enough of bearded 😍

28/03/2024

😂 I’m sure a lot of you can relate

23/03/2024

I could watch these cuties dust bath all day 🥰 but where is the rain? Please give us some autumn greens 🙏🏽

14/03/2024

🤣🤣

07/03/2024

Growers out and about , starting to find tiny green shoots 😆 have you got any grass yet?

01/03/2024

What’s the next best thing to owning chickens? Alan Ritchson with chickens 😍

27/02/2024

I found this very old photo from about 8-9 years ago of my very first silkies & when I fell totally in love with them 💕

23/02/2024

Worth a read- sometimes I forget my mask 😷

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis

It is a syndrome caused by the repetitive inhalation of antigens from the environment in susceptible or sensitized people. Common antigens include molds, bacteria, bird droppings, bird feathers, agricultural dusts, bioaerosols and chemicals from paints or plastics.
We often get asked why our business partner Venessa Chickens Poultry had to close her business quickly.
Around OCT 2023 She thought she was just a bit unwell, not getting better, short of breath and cough... maybe long covid?... Chest X ray, Dr said all clear, antibiotic will fix it. 3 courses of different antibiotics, still not getting better. By early December, she has already finished hatching and there were no chicks around.... still getting worse day by day. Unable to breath properly, even walking down to the pens became hard.
4 months later, finally after a CT scan in Feb 2024 She was diagnosed "Hypersensitivity pneumonitis".
All the chick fluffs in the hatching room (Even with well ventilated windows), brooder & coop cleaning, looking after her chooks. Her love of chicken was slowly taking over her lungs. She has always had animals in her life, had chooks for a long time - never had an issue. But the past few years of active breeding "without caution" has caused this tragic outcome.

Yes, it won't affect for people keeping a few chicks for 6 weeks for fun, but

Do you breed chicken every spring?
Do you hatch a lot? grow lots of chicks during breeding season?
- Think about it, where does all the chick fluffs go...?
Do you clean multiple pens?
-Dust from the bedding, soil, feather dander, dropping particle and so on x repeat.

"Oh I have strong lungs, it only happens to those unlucky people"
- Venessa is the 3rd poultry breeder we know came down with this same illness. We have also heard many cases in pigeon breeders.

MASK UP, please
We must look after ourselves as a breeder to do what we love for a long time.
We wouldn't wear it all times around chickens but we will 100% wear it when we clean up the brooder & pens.

Don't test your limit - It will be too late when you find out.
It is always better to be "Safe" than sorry.
We are sharing this story with Venessa's permission, who is currently on very strong medication to reverse the damage in her lungs. We wish her a speedy and full recovery. 🙏💖

More info :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersensitivity_pneumonitis

20/02/2024

Finally our 40 plus heatwave is over ( for now ) and everyone who took time off inside is now ready to go back out and feel the ground under their feet again. Let’s hope there’s no need to come inside again & the rest of the summer is normal 😆

19/02/2024

🫶🏽

11/02/2024

Guess what I’m making? 🧵

11/02/2024

🙈🙊

08/02/2024

How polish keep cool

07/02/2024

Your pellets arnt the only source of protein your birds can get. Try a mixed feed, I find my birds love to pick through things they need. At certain times of the year they will completely leave most of the pellets choosing to pick sunflower seeds & other seeds and grains.

06/02/2024

A day I never wanted to come has arrived.
My sweet Vivian , queen of the coop, first for food & classy lady passed away this morning. She was a hardy girl who never got sick, so It was a big surprise to see her come downhill in our heatwave last week. I was hand feeding her and keeping her on a very comfy bed I made the last few days positive she would make a full recovery.
My heart is broken to have you gone vivi I will miss you so much & the coop will be so different without you. 💫💔

04/02/2024

For all of you contemplating silkies, or have a friend who needs them but hasn’t taken the plunge yet, make sure you grab one of these adorable mini silkie plushies from the Silkie Club of Western Australia . One of the creative members in the club Jane Strapps has made a limited addition in an assortment of colours . So be quick to grab one before they all go!

02/02/2024

😂

31/01/2024

If you live in WA, then your enduring this stifling heat at the moment too. With 44 degrees today I had 2 emergency bolts to the house to save some very almost lifeless hens who were hanging on by a thread. Thankfully sweet fleur picked her head back up after half an hour of ice packs & air con. Unfortunately a few of our chicken friends lost a few birds today and we feel so sorry they didn’t make it through. Please stay cool everyone, tomorrow will be even worse. Get up extra early, get the pens wet down & electrolytes in the water for the first drink of the day . Hopefully our fluffy butts will make it through the next few days🫶🏽

28/01/2024

When it’s too hot for a beanie , scarf & ear muffs..