I took the food out like you suggested velvet, and it does look a bunch smaller. hubbie said the same thing about the feathers covering the other chicks crop. This hen is a leghorn and is supposed to be the same age but is twice as big as the new hampshire and sexlink chick. when we first brought her home I was a bit concerned she kept having to sit down a lot and ate from that position also i think she was just so big she had trouble holding up her own weight. Its pretty much what I expect from getting her from a dealer that orders batches from a hatchery. We are keeping a close eye on her. thats probably why I even noticed the lump. I think her feathers are already starting to grow in though. she has some really white downey feathers coming in under her wings hubbie says they wouldn't grow that fast. but I tend to really feed all my animals, and family. Its a mother thing I think. LOL so maybe the good feed and accomodations is already making a difference. thats my wishful thinking anyway. S . thanks for all the info. Velvet you are just too good to be true. CI

Where?...Are you male or female? Have you ever had any sort of cancer? Is it sore? Of course you know to get to a Dr as soon as possible... Scary stuff! Linda C

hey mojo pals! I've been MIA...got off the train for a stretch and missed it when it left the station... I am trying to get back on....I've had a physical and lots of tests and I am perfectly healthy supposedly...no diabetes, no thyroid probs, no Lyme, No "female problems", low cholesterol, the lump in my neck went away...so why do I still feel only about 75% most of the time?? I *am* within inches of being diagnosed with glaucoma...my pressure has been high for years and though my fields test come out fine, my optic nerve is showing some thinning...I go to talk to the doc on Sep 28.. to top it off, at my last competition on Oct 8, I turned my left ankle pretty seriously. While I am fine to walk on it with no pain, any lateral movement still hurts a month later and there is often tingling up the outside of my leg.... I called my doc yesterday and they wee supposed to get back to me about heading over for x-rays...I am still waiting... I think I will start to get back into upper body workouts, instead of just letting everything slide until my ankle feels better... looking forward to a fresh start on Part 5.... Nancy

Thank you so much, Carol, you are the kindest person, and I know you have your own burden to carry. Caring about each other amidst all the bad national and world news is so sustaining and helps in every way. By the way, I can't recall (most things), but have you joined the gardening forum that many of us are streaming to? I loved coming here for so many years, but recent events have left a bitter taste in my mouth. So many of us are over there now, and it's a very friendly and easy to use site. I hope everyone who reads this will wander over there and decide to join. It's the Roses Forum in the National Gardening Association and so many of us have joined there that hopefully you'll all feel right at home. I'll often come back here, also, but too many annoying and frustrating things have happened here, and it's just not a welcoming place any more. So sad, after all these years, but sometimes we're forced to move on.