Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Teila]

Good morning folks

LuckysMum Wow, great pics .. you have coops and chickens everywhere but it looks like you have them well under control .. great management! Congratulations on the new little ones also … so cute!

How goes it Fancy? Things settling for you weather and flood wise?

ChristieB I am so very sorry to read of Cho’s passing. Ginny is beautiful! She does look very proud of herself.

Aaaaw Chloza Vanilla and Licorice are adorable.. love their names!

satay RIP Roofey

I totally understand why you are upset and I would be also. I know that anti-venom costs money and they need to cover costs but surely with an animal’s life at stake, treat the dog, worry about the money later! Also, those $$$ amounts are very high. Again, they need to cover costs but being a teaching hospital, surely it should not all be about money!

We had a fun day yesterday

After spending the majority of the day mooching in the garden, Blondie was ticked off as no longer broody and the broody crate went into the shed.

About 01:30PM Cilla went into the coop to lay and when she came back down, I closed the run door so that I could clean the coop. As I take the floor out to wash and then dry in the sun, I do not let them in the run as I worry that someone will go to the top of the ramp and not notice that the floor is missing

Anyways, Cilla decides that she wants back in and is picking on everyone! I kid you not, half an hour after breaking one broody and putting the broody breaker away, I have another broody and only 17 days and 8 eggs since her last bout of broodiness

So, as she is picking on everyone, jumping on backs, pulling on combs etc, the broody breaker comes back out of the shed and Cilla goes in.

As Cilla does not share Blondie’s love of planking, at roost time I figure I am safe just putting the plank on the nest boxes and popping Cilla onto the roost at dusk. Wrong! After spending all day in the garden, Blondie decides that she is going to plank and puff up, screech and hiss etc when I try to move her. So, in an effort to stop her planking, I put a roll of wire on top of the plank .. she sat on that! When I took her out and put her on the ground, she thanked me by putting two beak holes in the top of my foot!

By this time I had had enough of trying to stop Blondie and Cilla squabbling and also trying to keep them off the nest so I simply took all of the nest boxes out! They still fought over the empty spot where the nest boxes were and I bought in the big guns .. water pistol.

So, we have hubby at one end of the coop popping them on the roost and me at the other end with the water pistol for when they jumped down again and headed for the empty nest box spot.

We won! 5 gals slept on the roost last night and this morning Blondie and Cilla are still in the run, not paying attention to the available nest boxes. They will be free ranging for most of the day so I can keep them out of the coop but I will not be putting the broody breaker away just yet

 

[Fancychooklady]

A sad non chicken warning for people from me this morning. Just as i had mentioned not seeing any deadly snakes lately. Hubby and i were up at our neighbours yesterday afternoon having a coffee when we here her two dogs Roofey a fox terrier and Angel a kelpie x going off down the back. Thinking they had got hold of a possum hubby went down to take a look, Next thing we here yelling from hubby check the dogs. He came up a few minutes later with a eastern brown snake he had to kill as the dogs had bitten it in the middle and shattered it's spine. Her fox terrior had bite marks to it's head. She raced him to the only vet open the uni at Gatton but even after having antivenom he didn't make it. R.I.P beautiful Roofey.
The thing that upsets me the most is when she arrived with him at the uni they hold her if she could not come up with at least half of the $2000 on the spot for the antivenom then they would not see him. (so much for a teaching hospital) that time of day in gatton there is nothing open and being an older lady she still banks with a passport. I offered to pay over the phone with my credit card but they wouldn't except it. Thankfully she had a friend with her that could get the money for her to at least give him a fighting chance. Of course i do understand people don't pay so the need for a deposit but that much to me just seems outrageous (Ok off my soap box now).He kept going down hill and they wanted an additional $3000 to put him on a ventilator but his chances were bad so she made the sad decision to let him go.

Poor little pup. It's a disgrace, I've told you guys before that they don't produce the anti venom for animals . It's the out of date stuff from the hospitals that is donated to the vets. While there is a newer more cost effective alternative in the makings for vets, I don't think it is available yet.
I keep a $ 20 bottle of injectable vitamin C in the fridge . I've seen it work on one dog and I know that I wouldn't get to vet in time so anything is better than nothing. I sometimes wonder whether or not vets should sign an oath to help the suffering animal , regardless of economics.

 

[Anniebee]

A sad non chicken warning for people from me this morning. Just as i had mentioned not seeing any deadly snakes lately. Hubby and i were up at our neighbours yesterday afternoon having a coffee when we here her two dogs Roofey a fox terrier and Angel a kelpie x going off down the back. Thinking they had got hold of a possum hubby went down to take a look, Next thing we here yelling from hubby check the dogs. He came up a few minutes later with a eastern brown snake he had to kill as the dogs had bitten it in the middle and shattered it's spine. Her fox terrior had bite marks to it's head. She raced him to the only vet open the uni at Gatton but even after having antivenom he didn't make it. R.I.P beautiful Roofey.
The thing that upsets me the most is when she arrived with him at the uni they hold her if she could not come up with at least half of the $2000 on the spot for the antivenom then they would not see him. (so much for a teaching hospital) that time of day in gatton there is nothing open and being an older lady she still banks with a passport. I offered to pay over the phone with my credit card but they wouldn't except it. Thankfully she had a friend with her that could get the money for her to at least give him a fighting chance. Of course i do understand people don't pay so the need for a deposit but that much to me just seems outrageous (Ok off my soap box now).He kept going down hill and they wanted an additional $3000 to put him on a ventilator but his chances were bad so she made the sad decision to let him go.

A very sad story satay .... and so sorry for the loss of Roofey, to your neighbour.

The cost they wanted to take for the anti-venom is downright obscene, especially if it is out-of-date passed on ( donated at that ? ) to vets from hospitals etc. Out of date injections are a no-no, and lose their effectiveness very quickly, not to mention their safety as an injection. ( unlike tablets which can be used after expiry - but of course not used for snake bite ). Sad that you neighbour no doubt would not want the added worry to her grief, of reporting this to a Vet Association - in your State or Australia wide.

A dreadful situation.

 

[Anniebee]

Poor little pup. It's a disgrace, I've told you guys before that they don't produce the anti venom for animals . It's the out of date stuff from the hospitals that is donated to the vets. While there is a newer more cost effective alternative in the makings for vets, I don't think it is available yet.
I keep a $ 20 bottle of injectable vitamin C in the fridge . I've seen it work on one dog and I know that I wouldn't get to vet in time so anything is better than nothing. I sometimes wonder whether or not vets should sign an oath to help the suffering animal , regardless of economics.

Agree with the last comment Fancy ... I think they do sign some kind of oath, but it should incorporate what you have suggested, treat first - pay later. My own Vet does just that. But then have been going there for 23 years !!

The Vitamin C injection is more than interesting.

As mentioned in another post, out of date injections ( for humans anyway ) are a total no-no. They can become toxic in fact, and certainly lose their effectiveness after the expiry date. Have IM injectable Lincocin for use on myself - if anaerobic infection occurs in my gums ( long story - dammmed dentists !! ) ... and was inside the last month prior to expiry date last time I had to use it. Was dubious so asked, and the chemist advised it would already be starting to lose its validity, and as I had another prescription ( which I would have had to have for the 3 day course ) ... he said to throw out the single vial left, and start with the new lot, which I did.

Have to wonder how many dogs / cats have been lost because of ineffective, possibly toxic - out of date injections !!!

Sure hope the anti-venom for animals comes through quickly.

Cheers ......

 

[LuckysMum]

A sad non chicken warning for people from me this morning. Just as i had mentioned not seeing any deadly snakes lately. Hubby and i were up at our neighbours yesterday afternoon having a coffee when we here her two dogs Roofey a fox terrier and Angel a kelpie x going off down the back. Thinking they had got hold of a possum hubby went down to take a look, Next thing we here yelling from hubby check the dogs. He came up a few minutes later with a eastern brown snake he had to kill as the dogs had bitten it in the middle and shattered it's spine. Her fox terrior had bite marks to it's head. She raced him to the only vet open the uni at Gatton but even after having antivenom he didn't make it. R.I.P beautiful Roofey.
The thing that upsets me the most is when she arrived with him at the uni they hold her if she could not come up with at least half of the $2000 on the spot for the antivenom then they would not see him. (so much for a teaching hospital) that time of day in gatton there is nothing open and being an older lady she still banks with a passport. I offered to pay over the phone with my credit card but they wouldn't except it. Thankfully she had a friend with her that could get the money for her to at least give him a fighting chance. Of course i do understand people don't pay so the need for a deposit but that much to me just seems outrageous (Ok off my soap box now).He kept going down hill and they wanted an additional $3000 to put him on a ventilator but his chances were bad so she made the sad decision to let him go.

That is very sad I hope your neighbours are getting through it ok. Its not nice dealing with a bite and then such heartless vets as well. I hope your all safe from any others lurking around.

 

[LuckysMum]

Good morning folks

LuckysMum Wow, great pics .. you have coops and chickens everywhere but it looks like you have them well under control .. great management! Congratulations on the new little ones also … so cute!

How goes it Fancy? Things settling for you weather and flood wise?

ChristieB I am so very sorry to read of Cho’s passing. Ginny is beautiful! She does look very proud of herself.

Aaaaw Chloza Vanilla and Licorice are adorable.. love their names!

satay RIP Roofey

I totally understand why you are upset and I would be also. I know that anti-venom costs money and they need to cover costs but surely with an animal’s life at stake, treat the dog, worry about the money later! Also, those $$$ amounts are very high. Again, they need to cover costs but being a teaching hospital, surely it should not all be about money!

We had a fun day yesterday

After spending the majority of the day mooching in the garden, Blondie was ticked off as no longer broody and the broody crate went into the shed.

About 01:30PM Cilla went into the coop to lay and when she came back down, I closed the run door so that I could clean the coop. As I take the floor out to wash and then dry in the sun, I do not let them in the run as I worry that someone will go to the top of the ramp and not notice that the floor is missing

Anyways, Cilla decides that she wants back in and is picking on everyone! I kid you not, half an hour after breaking one broody and putting the broody breaker away, I have another broody and only 17 days and 8 eggs since her last bout of broodiness

So, as she is picking on everyone, jumping on backs, pulling on combs etc, the broody breaker comes back out of the shed and Cilla goes in.

As Cilla does not share Blondie’s love of planking, at roost time I figure I am safe just putting the plank on the nest boxes and popping Cilla onto the roost at dusk. Wrong! After spending all day in the garden, Blondie decides that she is going to plank and puff up, screech and hiss etc when I try to move her. So, in an effort to stop her planking, I put a roll of wire on top of the plank .. she sat on that! When I took her out and put her on the ground, she thanked me by putting two beak holes in the top of my foot!

By this time I had had enough of trying to stop Blondie and Cilla squabbling and also trying to keep them off the nest so I simply took all of the nest boxes out! They still fought over the empty spot where the nest boxes were and I bought in the big guns .. water pistol.

So, we have hubby at one end of the coop popping them on the roost and me at the other end with the water pistol for when they jumped down again and headed for the empty nest box spot.

We won! 5 gals slept on the roost last night and this morning Blondie and Cilla are still in the run, not paying attention to the available nest boxes. They will be free ranging for most of the day so I can keep them out of the coop but I will not be putting the broody breaker away just yet

Sounds like fun. I have 2 broodies at the moment one australorp and midnight the silkie. I have just had 2 nesting and a 3rd not sure what it was doing and now the 4 silkie, I only have 4 silkies and they haven't been laying long. When everyone told me how clucky silkies were I didn't think they were that bad. haha I keep pushing them out of the nest but it may have to be the crate for them to. I have a steel wire crate do I just put them in one each. I have never done this before, usually a few days of me kicking them off has worked but the australorp is not happy.
I can just imagine you with the water pistol very funny. I'm glad it worked for you.

 

[satay]

That is very sad I hope your neighbours are getting through it ok. Its not nice dealing with a bite and then such heartless vets as well. I hope your all safe from any others lurking around.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

 

[satay]

Agree with the last comment Fancy ... I  think they do sign some kind of oath, but it should incorporate what you have suggested, treat first - pay later.   My own Vet does just that.   But then have been going there for 23 years !!   

The Vitamin C injection is more than interesting.   

As mentioned in another post, out of date injections ( for humans anyway ) are a total no-no.   They can become toxic in fact, and certainly lose their effectiveness after the expiry date.   Have IM injectable Lincocin for use on myself - if anaerobic infection occurs in my gums ( long story - dammmed dentists !! ) ... and was inside the last month prior to expiry date last time I had to use it.  Was dubious so asked, and the chemist advised it would already be starting to lose its validity, and as I had another prescription ( which I would have had to have for the 3 day course ) ... he said to throw out the single vial left, and start with the new lot, which I did. 

Have to wonder how many dogs / cats have been lost because of ineffective, possibly toxic - out of date injections !!!  

Sure hope the anti-venom for animals comes through quickly.  

Cheers ...... 

I have heard of vitamin C before but not really much on the doses so i will get pat to get some and keep it in the fridge just incase she needs it again. The vets this side of the highway are really good with the elderly letting them pay things off etc but our vets and the 2 surrounding town vets no longer offer out of hours, something to do with cost to pay someone to be on call for the amount of call outs. So for poor little Roofey it was just bad timing and with the amount of bites he probably would have passed regardless.

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks .. long weekend for some

Hey LuckysMum I have read that some people put broodies in a crate together but I can not do that. The back garden is not big enough for two of my broodies, the same crate would surely end in blood being shed

On a positive note, I proactively took the nest boxes out before roost time last night and everyone went up to roost without the need for water pistols. Blondie is definitely broken and Cilla seems OK also. I think Cilla may just have experienced a brief relapse and/or jumped on Blondie’s broody wagon. So, for now, we are broody free.

I intend to make the most of my day off today and having done all the garden chores Saturday and all the inside chores yesterday, today is all about relaxation and spending time with the gals.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have heard of vitamin C before but not really much on the doses so i will get pat to get some and keep it in the fridge just incase she needs it again. The vets this side of the highway are really good with the elderly letting them pay things off etc but our vets and the 2 surrounding town vets no longer offer out of hours, something to do with cost to pay someone to be on call for the amount of call outs. So for poor little Roofey it was just bad timing and with the amount of bites he probably would have passed regardless.

The necrotic tissue isn't always obvious at the time of the bite, but afterwards the hair drops out at the bite site. My in laws saved their Dalmatian who had been bitten several times around the head, by rolling butter in the ascorbic acid powder that they kept on hand and pushing it down his throat. The injectable is more direct and once the victim is comatosed getting them to swallow can be difficult. The bottle has to be kept in the fridge and does have a use by date. You can't overdose vit C but from memory I think 10 ml each side of the neck is the initial dose and then repeat an hour later.
I can't say for sure that this method is foolproof but I know that the chances of getting a vet here in time in the event of snakebite are pretty slim, so I'm prepared to give it a go if the unfortunate event should arise.
Vit C has the advantage of working slightly faster than the antivenene and without the risk of anaphylactic shock.