Jiggers!

These past 2 days we have focused on completing the rabbit hutch. Having been told finally where to put it, with the assistance of 6 strapping stone masons, we moved it on Thursday and set it down in its final resting place. All being well it should be there for a long time to come.

With that remaining detail settled, on Friday we were able to get on with erecting the fence around hutch. This of course has the dual purpose of keeping the rabbits in, but also keeping the unwanted out; it also creates a nice grazing area of the rabbits towards to the back of the hutch.

Although I am writing this from Nairobi, the pen should have been finished today and I have just returned from buying 7 padlocks secure the hutch and the door to the pound.

The work on Friday was only interrupted by the small matter of Chico’s feet. Chico is the little girl who is on my profile picture on Facebook…her cuteness equalled only by her mischief.
On Friday she was in some discomfort however and would not stop rubbing, scratching and treading on her own right big toe; at one point she reverted to sucking and biting it.

Not being able to understand what Chico was telling me, I asked Benson to translate and learned that Chico had jiggers (I didn’t know what they were either). Benson explained that they are a flea like creature that jump on to your toes and bury their way into the skin and under your toe nails. Judging by Chico’s rubbing & scratching, they itch like billy-oh. The only thing to do is to remove them. And so for a good 30 minutes, Chico bravely let me dig into the skin around and under her big toe nail to remove the beasts.

I may have to review my policy of open toed sandal wearing.