Great advice from maggie. :) Chickens are funny...people have been so mystified about them ganging up on a weak flock member with intentions to kill, and having that flock member basically just lay down and take it, that they have done studies on it...with no clear answers as to 'why'. :( Along with Maggie's advice, I'd also allow her out when you are RIGHT THERE to supervise and play Head Roo. Have a 'zero tolerance' policy when it comes to pecking, chasing and bullying, and don't even ALLOW any other bird to get near her. Show your flock that this hen is under YOUR protection and act like a mother hen--chase away any interlopers aggressively (just a little further than you think necessary, it makes the point nicely), growl "Nooo--!" in a loud warning tone when another bird approaches 'your baby' and push away any bird that doesn't respect your position as Head Rooster. This is truly what chickens understand. There is a great page on taming roosters that also works for other chickens and explains chicken psychology in a great way here: http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html After you do this once or twice you should be able to step back and allow the flock to intermingle safely once again, although the hen is most likely now going to be at the bottom of the pecking order. Hope your mother in law gets well soon, good luck! :) Velvet ~:>

Hi Lisa, I really know nothing about bird illness. The only thing I could think of was the relatively sudden change of air temperature (it's been the same here in Massachusetts - unseasonably COLD - but I bet it's even colder where you are). I did read that sudden changes in air temperature can affect birds' energy levels (a study done in Scotland). But I don't know whether the way your bird looks could be explained by something like that. Our birds here are still pretty lively and doing the usual things. Is the bird eating or drinking? Is it losing feathers? I wish that I could be more helpful. Would the Cornell Lab of Ornithology site have information? They seem to be a good place to refer to. Best of luck, I know you care so much about the birds.

He or she is a bird, s/he is used to being outside all the time, even in the rain, so s/he may not feel as bad about the situation as you do. Bring him in, leave him out, or take him to a wildlife rehabilitation center, there still may not be much you or anyone else can do for him if he has internal injuries. Depends on how involved you want to become. I worked at a wildlife rehab place for five years. There is only so much one can do. You can try to help if you want, but realize that sometimes carp happens. Try to find a local nature center or library or someplace that can give you the number of a wildlife rehabber. Maybe just talking to that person on the phone can help you assess what can be done. Often, when birds break their wings, especially if it is small bird, they can't bet set and can't ever fly again. Sometimes they can, but the failure rate is much higher than the sucess stories. I'm not trying to be callous, I know how you feel, believe me, any compassionate person would feel the same. But this is a bird's life. This happens to millions of birds all the time, you just don't see it. Window crashes are a huge cause of bird fatalities. Some even argue that it is the number one cause of mortality, even beyond predators.

Thank you all so much again. Sirius, I would guess this took me between 40-60 hours, not really sure. I drew the flowers and vine on the basin and the flowers and "twirly part" of the base on roughly with chalk cause it will come off so easily. Other than that I didn't have a clue. I kept seeing the twirly part of the base in my head but could never get that how I wanted it. Don't ya just hate that? I ended up taking some whole secions off after I had thinsetted them. Just wiped the thinset off and scratched it up a little for tooth and did it again. The marbles were last because I couldn't think of anything else to do and I wanted to get it finished. All this is to say, as much as I bumbled around on this, you can certainly do it! Now bama's birdbath, that's a beauty of a bird bath! I could never cut glass like that (although it's giving me an excuse to order a Morton for myself for Christmas).