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Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-21 19:55:08
It don't seem possible my last post was complaining about the crappy weather. What a huge difference I am now about to moan that it has been to hot for me Ha ha Poor weather it just can not win. Was a tad cooler today though and the sun was still shining so I managed to get some of my garden tubs painted up. They are quite old as is the tub of masonry paint I use on them, but it cheers them up and they keep going for yet another year. So nice also to get the grass cut yesterday.

Posted by nanny north in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-21 19:47:06
Do say hello to Shobhna from us xxx

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-15 01:33:01
Posted By: nanny northThinking of you with love Diane, I know how special she was to you and what a wonderful life you gave her, she will never be forgotten xxx Thank you, NN. That means a lot.

Posted by chief chicken in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-14 18:03:32
Ta - yes, had a lovely time. my niece took us out for a meal on Thursday and we had a lovely tiddly time! I'm seeing Shobhna the week after next...should be fun!

Posted by nanny north in Red on 2018-04-14 16:27:39
Hey there Neil we have missed you as well as Red so good to hear from you, but sorry you are going through a bad phase. I am sure something good will pop up out of the blue, things often happen for a reason even though we don't realise it straight away. Chin up mate and keep in touch we are all rooting for you xx Oh thanks for fixing the cams

Posted by nanny north in New arrival on 2018-04-14 16:21:21
Thank you Lynn she is smiling now and is just the cutest little girlie so good and sweet natured.

Posted by nanny north in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-14 16:19:00
Happy birthday CC sorry it is a belated greeting I hope you had a wonderful day and were spoilt all love xx

Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-14 16:15:04
What a crappy weather week so cold and foggy, We had Mallory for the week as well, still we wrapped up warm and managed a visit to Scarborough and even got on to the beach for a pretty rock and shell hunt. Then another day we went to the museum of childhood which was fun, We had visits to restaurants and even McDonalds, did loads of treat and craft supplies shopping we also planted all our seeds. Made two beautiful pictures using some of the haul from the beach and while I did the ironing Mallory and G/N made a heart shaped clock for Mallory's bedroom. We played so many board games and the usual fun such as decorating our bedroom with light up balloons and glow sticks. It was brighter than day in there !!!. The TV never gets a look in we a...

Posted by nanny north in About the girls on 2018-04-14 16:00:32
I had Mallory this past week and every day she said lets see the chickens Nanny, Typically we took her to her Daddys yesterday and she missed them. Never mind next time xx

Posted by nanny north in About the girls on 2018-04-14 15:59:11
Thinking of you with love Diane, I know how special she was to you and what a wonderful life you gave her, she will never be forgotten xxx

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-13 18:33:12
YAY THE CAM IS UP!

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in Red on 2018-04-12 01:15:54
Wishing ALL the best for you Neil. You deserve an awesome job. Hoping the next one will be better than you could even imagine.

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-12 01:06:48
Dearest Kate and Lynnie, thank you so much for your words and caring. Kate, her hospice carer is hoping the vet will write it up too. Maya's legacy to other kitties.

Posted by LynnW in Red on 2018-04-11 20:54:53
Neil, I'm so sorry to hear about your job. Does that mean you won't be selling your house and moving? I hope you will find an even better job than the one you have now..and very soon.

Posted by neil in Red on 2018-04-11 18:46:33
I'm so sorry I haven't been around at all lately - just yesterday I had a major life upheaval out of the blue, and Red has had similar ups and downs which hopefully they will fill you in on. I've found out in three months I won't have a job, so it's back to the job market to find the perfect role, if it exists... Of course I'm anxious, stressed and worried, so it's all a bit of a blur at the moment. I'll try to be here more though. And hopefully get the cams back online at some point!

Posted by chief chicken in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-11 17:13:53
Thank you!

Posted by LynnW in HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIEF CHICKEN on 2018-04-10 20:00:53
Have a great one, CC

Posted by LynnW in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-10 19:59:36
Hope you have a great celebration this year too, CC

Posted by LynnW in About the girls on 2018-04-10 19:42:53
You know how very sorry I am, Diane. I'm so glad that you were able to be with her at the end, she knew how much you loved her. She's with Martin now and I know they are having fun playing together again.

Posted by chief chicken in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-10 18:39:02
Last one scheduled for the 28th of April. So that'll be three weeks of celebrations. Unless another comes along!

Posted by Kateb in Happy Birthday CC! on 2018-04-09 19:09:11
Another year gone by CC! Hope you had a fabulous birthday. How long will the celebrations be this year?! xx

Posted by Kateb in About the girls on 2018-04-09 19:07:29
I'm so sorry Diane, but very glad you were able to be with her and hold her at the end. Your vet managed to give you some extra time with her and I'm sure those extra weeks were invaluable. She had a wonderful life with you and would've known how much she was loved. I hope your vet writes up her case for the professional journals so that others can learn from her condition. Sleep soundly Maya.

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-09 01:02:51
Thank you, CC.

Posted by chief chicken in About the girls on 2018-04-08 19:02:14
O chicken, I'm so so sorry. She's at peace now and she had a wonderful life with you and Holly and Marty, Thinking of you.

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIEF CHICKEN on 2018-04-08 17:00:28
Wishing you a special and happy day my friend. Much love.

Posted by ollie in UK in Red on 2018-04-08 09:20:00
I'm so pleased that you have found this news on Red. Many thanks Lynn for sharing.

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-08 01:29:11
Her doctor actually got this very rare form of leukemia to go into remission - her lymph count at her first test (at a different vet clinic) was 24,000, in September. 12,000 is as high as that number should get in a healthy cat and the low end is something like 500. All her other organs were in great shape with a very slight issue with her kidneys. Expected in a senior citizen. Her next test was in January, after our new vet did a bunch of research and, months earlier, put her on two medications (Prednisolone 5mg 1x a day and Chlorambucil 2 mg every 48 hours) her lymph count was 79,000. All her other organs still looked amazing for a kitty of 16 years. It clearly seemed like the drugs weren't working. She had also lost a lot of weight.So...

Posted by DianeonWhidbey in About the girls on 2018-04-08 01:17:10
Hi. I wanted to let my dear hencam family know that my sweet beloved Maya passed away in my arms on Friday the 6th at 3:29 am. I am very sad but so grateful that she was in my life for almost two decades of it.

Posted by chief chicken in watch this space on 2018-04-06 18:34:04
Getting warmer here too - Tuppence has been outside for the whole day today for the first time in ages.

Posted by LynnW in Red on 2018-04-05 19:31:57
I found pictures of Red, Lyle and some friends that she posted 2 days ago on Facebook, last night while I was looking for her. She seems to be alright and they were outside playing around. So I think she must be OK.

Posted by ollie in UK in Red on 2018-04-05 13:08:38
Please let us know if you find anything. Her blog doesn't work any more and "Bipolar and us" has nothing since Feb end. She was having worsening of her condition and little medical care.

Posted by LynnW in watch this space on 2018-04-05 07:26:17
We are having the same kind of weather over here one day it's 72°F and couple of days later it's snowing.

Posted by LynnW in Red on 2018-04-05 07:22:27
I've been looking for her on Facebook, but nothing since February..nothing from Neil either.

Posted by ollie in UK in Red on 2018-04-04 09:42:45
I'm asking for information about Red, I have followed her blogs about her health fo some time but I have now lost contact. There has been no information since the end of February. Does anyone have any leads for me please?

Posted by Kateb in watch this space on 2018-04-03 23:11:34
How old is Sootz now NN? I love that they settled in so well together. Poor pigeon - one day it's spring and the next we're back to winter. Makes me wonder how our wildlife survive lately!

Posted by chief chicken in watch this space on 2018-04-02 16:08:18
Kate, Mic knows where you are if he wants you and the door is always open, isn't it? Thinking of you. Hate to say it, NN, but Woody has the look of someone who has picked up an object and is now wondering @Why did I pick this up?' Happens to me frequently...

Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-02 16:03:05
Those pictures were from yesterday sorry Diane I know you have already seen them but here is one from today such a difference but the work goes on, even if you have to rest and puff up a little to keep the chill out every so often

Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-02 15:55:26
Woody has chosen a mate and is busy building a nest in the laurel bush just outside the kitchen. I guess he is thinking what a good place right near the source of food !!!

Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-02 15:52:41
I took this shelfie of Mickey and Sootz, I love how they are such good buddies helping each other by just being there xx Sootz finds it so hard to get up there as well

Posted by nanny north in watch this space on 2018-04-02 15:50:41
Its so hard when they venture away from home Kate and you can not help but worry. I am sure he will be back visiting very soon needing a good roast dinner and a bit of laundry doing !!! Thinking of you with much love xxx

Posted by LynnW in New arrival on 2018-04-02 00:12:13
NN, congratulations on your beautiful Granddaughter!!!

Posted by LynnW in About the girls on 2018-04-02 00:07:59
My heart is breaking for you, Diane. I know how much you love Maya and I remember the fight that it took to keep beautiful Holly alive (a fight you won hands down)I hope this will be a positive outcome too. You are one of the best critter Moms that I know. Maya knows how much you love her.

Posted by Kateb in watch this space on 2018-04-01 23:22:27
Poor Mickey. I agree about the dogs / kids thing too, behaviour is poor. I'm still completely stressing about Mic moving out. I torture myself about him being alone and cry every morning. I'm missing him a lot which doesn't help, Danny is being a spoilt brat complaining that he hasn't got Mic's room yet and is oblivious to our feelings, but Pete is being really supportive. He probably wants me to get over this but knows it'll take me time.

Posted by Kateb in About the girls on 2018-04-01 23:02:09
Oh Diane, I am so sad for you. Has she just hit a rough patch with her illness or is it more serious? It sounds like she wanted the comfort of you being near her. When my Emmett was at the end she waited for Michael, my eldest, to get home. She loved him from day 1 and never waivered on that and I truely believe she wanted to be with him - it has always given me comfort that she was with him and vice versa. I am sending all my positive thoughts to Maya and you, whatever the outcome.

Posted by nanny north in About the girls on 2018-04-01 18:38:04
awe thats so beautiful Diane I can not help but have a little weep for you both. You are doing every thing right and I know she is enjoying all your love and sweetness and hearing the love your heart is beating is so comforting. Bless you both and I am thinking of you with much love xxxxxxxxxxx

the day to day life in the hencam coop

No camera for the moment - sorry.


Posted by Neil, 29 June 2016, 12:06pm

We've got problems with our internal electricity wiring so the camera will be off and on for the next few days.


Fingers crossed it's all sorted for the weekend...

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Wow... :(


Posted by Neil, 24 June 2016, 12:06pm

Can't believe the little englanders swayed the vote and the UK is leaving the EU...


What's worse is we won't stay as the UK for long - Scotland will leave, and probably NI too.


It seems the 'leave' voters will get the small-minded country they obviously want.

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Sniffles...


Posted by Neil, 16 June 2016, 12:06pm

Before we'd even got home one of our new hens Olga was 'rattly' - chesty and wheezy - apparently it can be quite common as it's brought on by stress such as moving, introductions to new hens etc.


A couple of weeks later and she's more or less over it - it gives them a sore throat so they don't eat for a few days, but usually get over it quickly.  However they can give it to the other hens, so you need to keep an eye on it.


Hedwig came down with it last week, and for a few days sounded like an accordion as she breathed - I was a bit worried but she seems to be getting over it now - Olbas Oil on their neck feathers seemed to help them breathe at night too.  I've seen her eating which is a good sign.


However, earlier this week Renee came down with it - badly.  She was *very* rattly and her breathing was laboured, she stopped eating and looks completely depressed.  I wasn't sure if she was still drinking.  Obviously quite serious.


So this morning I took a couple of hours out of work and took her to the vets - she looked dreadful and didn't really want to stand up - she had discharge from her nostrils and was obviously feeling rotten.  The vet though was quite positive and gave me antibiotics (Tylan) to give the hens in the water (which is nice and easy - have you ever tried to inject a hen?!), and she should hopefully be feeling better in 2-3 days.


I did force-feed her some medicated drink when we got home just to make sure she had some in her system, so fingers crossed it does the trick.


If you do look at the hencam, please let me know of any unusual behaviour - and also if Renee drinks (from either waterer) - it would be nice to know she's taking on the medicine that should help her.


Thanks!

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The hencam mound!


Posted by Neil, 10 June 2016, 10:06am

Recently I had a cylindrical fish tank that leaked, so we were throwing it out and I was wondering what I could do with it.


I had the idea of sawing the bottom end off, then building some kind of frame around it, laying some turf on it and making a hobbit-tunnel for the hens to play on!


It slowly came together on a hot and sweaty evening (last night) - so the turf is kind of raggedy (in fact it was half-dead at the garden center - we complained and got it for 50p a roll from £4 - it will only get battered by the hens anyway).


But the hens love it!  They initially tentatively busied themself eating the grass around the edges (little gits!) - then Renee sauntered through the tunnel - she's the bravest chicken I know and appeared on the other side all "yeah, what of it?  I do this all the time"...


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Still brooooooooody...


Posted by Neil, 10 June 2016, 10:06am

Here we have the three idiots who are still trying to hatch non-existant chicks...


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Bloody Broody Hens!


Posted by Neil, 26 May 2016, 1:05pm

Well we thought we had enough nest boxes for the girls - we had two broody hens (Maude and Mabel) but as they are only lickle banties it still left lots of room for the others to lay.


That was, until Velma our huge Brahma went broody a couple of days ago!  She fluffs herself out and is enormous - you could fit dozens of eggs under her!  Unfortunately none of them will hatch though :(



So I've been tipping her off the nest when I can - she's heavy (really heavy!) but is so gentle she just clucks disapprovingly and hasn't pecked me once - even the shy Pekins will peck any hand or hen that comes near when they are sitting on the nest - I watched Maude furiously pecking Renee's neck the other day as she tried to lay!


So desperate measures etc - I bought an 'under bed storage box' which is a wide large box, just slightly smaller than the width of the coop, and filled that with straw and put that in front of the nest boxes to provide an additional laying area.


Renee was the first to investigate this strange new addition - she scratted the straw for a bit, then decided it was either a bit boring or she could wait to lay and went back outside.


Hopefully there will be a couple of eggs in it when I check later today.

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Chicken Bowling


Posted by Neil, 23 May 2016, 11:05am

Took this picture of Claudia and she looks like a bowling pin :)



(bonus points for the chicken death-stare too)

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Another broody!


Posted by Neil, 23 May 2016, 9:05am

I was a bit worried yesterday as I noticed Velma, our massive Brahma beast, was sitting on the nest a lot.  She even stayed on it when I went and offered mealworms (something which she'd have gladly stopped mid-laying an egg for!)


So when I went in to turf Maude off the nest (she's our broody Lavendar Pekin) - I received a couple of vicious pecks (broody's are hilarious as they warn you off and peck at any would-be attackers) - luckily as she's so small it really doesn't hurt.


I was slightly concerned approaching Velma as she's a *lot* bigger and probably could hurt you if she wanted to.  I approached and she made strange clucky noises, not her usual calls.  I reached under her and lifted her up, she was so fluffed out she filled a whole nest-box - she's massive when she spreads out!


She continued to make warning coo's, but didn't peck me at all, just watched me with her quizzical sideways peering.


She realised I wasn't going to give up as I lifted her out (not easy as it's a bit of a reach to the back of the house and she's really heavy), she agreed to leave the (empty!) nest and grab something to eat.


She's back on the nest today though.  Silly hen.  But a lovely, sweet and gentle hen.  I've never seen a broody not peck before... Bless her.

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Yarrr! Bok Bok Bok!


Posted by Neil, 21 May 2016, 10:05am

(that's the noise a pirate chicken would possibly make).


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Hedwig is a sweetie!


Posted by Neil, 20 May 2016, 11:05am

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A milestone!


Posted by Neil, 19 May 2016, 11:05am

Yesterday we had SIX eggs in one day!  :)



The medium white egg at the back is Renee's, the huuuge very light cream egg at the front is new girl Claudia's!


We will be drowning in eggs very shortly..!

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Walking in Bluebell Woods


Posted by Neil, 18 May 2016, 10:05am

We de-stressed one evening with a gorgeous walk through Middleton (Bluebell) Woods in Ilkley...



The sun was low in the sky and shining through the trees, highlighting the bluebells carpeting the floor.




We watched the sunset, then made our way home, happy.


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Welcome!!!


Posted by Neil, 14 May 2016, 10:05pm

Well, we had a bit of a mammoth day today, we visited the lovely people at Manor Farm Poultry and were shown round all their wonderful hens and Emu's and ducks and god knows what else!


We originally wanted to look at their Brahmas, but they sold the last one the day before our visit.  But there were so many other wonderful and fancy breeds we were spoilt for choice, and instead of coming home with 1 hen, we ended up with three!


So, without further ado, meet:


Olga the Russian Orloff:



Frieda the Thüringian:



Claudia the Vorwerk:



There's been a bit of aggro whilst the pecking-order is sorted, but hopefully the worst should be over now.  The little ones (Olga and Frieda) have kept away from the others - Olga seems to be a bit chesty but I think that's due to the stress of moving and will hopefully clear up in a week.


They're beautiful hens, and Claudia is a large bird and really striking and didn't mind me stroking her at all - apparently Thüringians are really quick to tame and will seek your company - Helen already had Frieda eating from her hand and she stepped onto my arm so I could put her to bed - so sweet!


Hopefully you'll get a decent look at them over the coming weeks...

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Remembering Milly


Posted by Neil, 14 May 2016, 8:05am

I love summer (well, what summer we get, all 2 days of it!) - I like the early signs that it's on it's way - daffodils, green leaves suddenly appearing, cherry blossom...


One of the signs that really says "it's nearly here!" is Milly's cherry blossom tree, and it's in full flower now and looks gorgeous:



 



 


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Get well soon, mum!


Posted by Neil, 13 May 2016, 10:05am

My mum is currently in hospital - she had hip replacement surgery on Wednesday so hopefully will be home later today, but she has several weeks recovery ahead of her so I hope my dad is up to the task!


It's been a bit manic lately with work and hospital visits / giving lifts to dad, so hopefully we'll have more time to work on the site and spend with the hens as things calm down a bit.  This weekend we're spending it with mum to make sure she's ok, she'd doing really well so far so fingers crossed.

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Goodbye Daphne :(


Posted by Neil, 9 May 2016, 12:05pm

On Friday evening, the sun was out and it was a lovely evening - we got home early from work and let Daphne out onto the lawn to sit in the sun and eat grass, mealworms and sunflower seeds, whatever she wanted.


She also had some time wrapped in a towel and cuddled on the sofa with Helen, before having a bit more time out in the sun.


When it was time, we took her to the vets (this time a younger guy) and explained how her leg hadn't got any better - the vet was lovely, kind and gentle with her, took our word for things so didn't unnecessarily stress her out and actually seemed to want to find out the root cause of her problem.


He quickly pointed out that she had restricted blood flow in her leg - he showed us how one foot was cold, the other warm, and also the normal one had a pink-ish tinge to the skin, the other didn't.  He said at that point that it wasn't a simple injury or hip problem, which is why the meds hadn't really worked (other than for pain relief) - the problem was something pressing on the main artery to her leg.  He explained that it was likely to be a tumour or cancerous growth, and that even though they could x-ray to confirm this, it wouldn't really change the outcome, and it would just pro-long things.


We took the decision to have her humanely put to sleep - we were both gutted as she was an absolutely lovely little (huge!) hen, but it was for the best.


She's not in pain now.


 

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Daphne update...


Posted by Neil, 4 May 2016, 12:05pm

She's had 5 days of meds and I don't think I see much improvement.  :(


Daphne is so sweet I really want to give her a chance but if she's suffering it might be for the best, but I have been reading up and dislocated hips are quite common and although they don't fully heal the hen can live a 'normal'-ish life.  I'm just a bit concerned it could be something more serious - the vet didn't think it was leg/foot related.


We'll go back to the vets with her tomorrow evening to see if anything else can be done...

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Fingers crossed for Daphne...


Posted by Neil, 1 May 2016, 10:05am

Daphne one of our rescue Brahma's was always a bit quiet - from day one she slept a lot and sometimes stumbled when she preened under her wings - I hoped it was just because she was a bit stressed and getting used to the new surroundings and girls.


But she's got worse over the last few days and looks to be in pain when she walks, so we took her to the vets on Friday.



 


She behaved really well despite been one of the more flighty hens, she's not very used to human contact yet - but that's definitely changing after getting poked and prodded at the vets.  The vet said they couldn't feel anything wrong in the feet or legs, and that it wasn't egg-binding or other lumps so could possibly be a simple sprain/swelling, or something more ominous such as arthritis - even though she's so young -  or some kind of hip defect.


She's having Loxicom meds injected into her beak every evening (which you can guess she hates, and is quite strongly expressing her displeasure at this!) - which is an anti-inflammatory and pain-reliever for dogs but ok for hens in small doses...  It won't "fix" what's wrong with her but might give some relief and chance for the swelling to go down if it is some kind of muscle injury, say if she jumped down from a perch the wrong way or something like that.


The vet said after a week we should see how she is - if she's better, great, but if not then the options become "expensive", or "terminal"... :(


She fell asleep in Helen's arms the first night we gave her the meds.  She is so sweet (Daphne!  Though Helen is too.)



Fingers crossed for her.

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More chicken agility!


Posted by Neil, 26 April 2016, 1:04pm

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She ain't no human being!


Posted by Neil, 21 April 2016, 4:04pm

It's someone's 90th birthday today.  I can't say I'm going to particularly make an effort to celebrate the Queen's birthday, mostly because it's a normal working day (if it had been an extra bank holiday you can bet I'd be extra-happy to celebrate with her!  For someone who's lead such a privileged and cushty life, it's the least she could have done!)


So yeah, happy birthday, or something. 


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How do you know if your rabbit is deaf?


Posted by Scarlet, 20 April 2016, 4:04pm

Turn the vacuum on right next to them ;)


We could tell Aubree was blind right away, but we didn't know she was deaf for a few days. It was only when we saw she wasn't reacting to Kasper barking or the vacuum that we thought "oh no! Is she deaf as well?!"


Here's a video that shows the vacuum being turned on and used right next to her, yet she doesn't react at all:


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