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

[satay]

Got a call from our vets after he had spoke to the specialist and the specialist says it's more than likely cancer. He did say there was a slight chance of it being an infection in the bone but because of the position of the thing showing on the xray he (our vet) thinks that is unlikely. So really all I can do now is to monitor him and see how he goes. So far he is still walking with his slight limp and eating and drinking well and wagging his tail when you come to the room.

 

[Anniebee]

Not so much as a break , but some birds can take up to 6 months to complete a molt.

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

My Mandy Welsummer took at least 6 months to moult in fits and starts, in 2014. Took at least 5 months + this year.

Mindy Araucana, moults what I would call hard and fast ( when compared to my two bigger girls ) - and then some time afterwards resumes laying. Which she did this late Autumn / Winter. Took her a few weeks to lay again - late July, but it's since her newest laying period, which began normally with nice good strong eggs, that we've since had the soft shells, the hard shells with softish fragile tops, and now no eggs at all. Palpating her nether regions, I have found no hardness to indicate egg bind at the lower end.

The link you advised here is interesting for sure. Mandy would be an early moulter, Mindy a late moulter - quick ... and Molly RIR somewhere in between. I can only ever tell when they are coming into lay again, by the colour of their combs - as they slowly go from pink to red. Mindy has a good flaming rose comb at the moment - they are all in red comb mode. Molly is currently producing the most eggs. Mandy Welsummer has bursts of egg laying. e.g. 4 days = 4 eggs, 3 days no eggs, then every other day - and back to daily for a few days. Molly lays 6 out of 7 days every week.

Will let you know if things improve after I have cleaned her dirty bottom today. That's always fun !!!

Her vent seems clear however, of any droppings - unless she has drawn some into the vent and it's causing a problem. I sure hope not.

Her vent however, is a nice pink colour, protrudes slightly when she squats, which I think would be fairly normal. There is no inflammation or blood - nothing nasty there.

Cheers ....

 

[Anniebee]

If she is eating the barastoc , she should be getting her daily calcium requirements. Have you considered that she may be having a soft molt ? Wash her butt and if necessary trim the the vent area to prevent it getting clogged up. This will give you a better chance at inspecting the area from a distance while she is going about her business. A little anusol rubbed around the area will give her a little relief.

Cannot get to the chemist today - ( no car at present ) ... so Anusol is not an option.

Would baby nappy rash cream help ? .... I do have also some rectinol, although I think that might be a bit harsh, and I don't want her cleaning herself there with that on.

Also intend to introduce a tiny bit of vaseline on a cotton bud, just barely inside the vent - to help whatever !!

She's currently busy out there talking to herself and is very active.

LOL.

Cheers ....

 

[Fancychooklady]

Got a call from our vets after he had spoke to the specialist and the specialist says it's more than likely cancer. He did say there was a slight chance of it being an infection in the bone but because of the position of the thing showing on the xray he thinks that is unlikely. So really all I can do now is to monitor him and see how he goes. So far he is still walking with his slight limp and eating and drinking well and wagging his tail when you come to the room.

Sorry to hear this. Frustrating I'm sure that the tests were still inconclusive. Either way it doesn't have to be a death sentence.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Cannot get to the chemist today - ( no car at present ) ... so Anusol is not an option.  

Would baby nappy rash cream help ? .... I do have also some rectinol, although I think that might be a bit harsh, and I don't want her cleaning herself there with that on.

Also intend to introduce a tiny bit of vaseline on a cotton bud, just barely inside the vent - to help whatever !!   

She's currently busy out there talking to herself and is very active.    e LOL. 

Cheers  .... 

Any hemorrhoid cream will help if she has been straining , but if the vent looks okay best leave it alone.

 

[Anniebee]

Got a call from our vets after he had spoke to the specialist and the specialist says it's more than likely cancer. He did say there was a slight chance of it being an infection in the bone but because of the position of the thing showing on the xray he thinks that is unlikely. So really all I can do now is to monitor him and see how he goes. So far he is still walking with his slight limp and eating and drinking well and wagging his tail when you come to the room.

satay --- Sorry to hear of the probability now of cancer for Zeus.

Having had 4 dogs with cancer, I can assure you that while he is eating, interested in life around him, greeting you as normal - even though having a slight limp - he is handling the situation probably much better than you are. And depending on the type of cancer it may be, he can go on enjoying a good quality of life for quite some time. A needle biopsy would show them what type of cancer it is - or isn't. If it surrounds the bone I would imagine a needle biopsy could be done, with little problem. If IN the bone, he'd have to have a GA for them to investigate.

Two of my Goldens had a thing called haemangiosarcoma - one had it, unbeknown to anyone. It is a sneaky cancer, and can begin either / or inside and out. My Lochlan began with a lump on his rump area - which when removed proved the above. It then spread slowly over several months - all the while he was in good spirits, ate well and played with his best friend Gracie - but his final day left no doubt, as he stopped eating and being himself altogether then. He was put to sleep in a rapidly weakening state, asap. My beautiful Gracie however, presented in her last weeks, with a simple 'infection' .... or so the vets' thought. They treated her with anti-biotic - the symptoms were a bit of malaise, and a slight temperature. That was all. She picked up beautifully - all was well.

Then one afternoon at approx. 5.30 , about 4 weeks later, she didn't want to walk, hung her head - and I knew something was horribly wrong. 7 o'clock that night I took her temperature and she was a raging fever ( a symptom in the very last stages of this horrid thing ) .... so went to the Vets just before 8 pm. He gave her a knock out injection of pain killer, as she was obviously in pain with a scan to be done the next morning. I will not detail why or where she might have been in pain.

She passed away in my arms at 1 a.m the following morning, just 5 hours later. It had been internal at all stages. People often do not know their dog is suffering from this one, until the end comes. This particular cancer is renowned for not showing anything at all. .... I am not an oncologist of course, but I would think if it is cancer, Zeus does not have this type, as it is a soft tissue cancer. I hope I am not being too outspoken here.

I have not told you this to upset you, rather to point up the fact that while Zeus is happy and doing his normal daily things, it is something to be thankful for. And you will know if and when there are any changes to his demeanour. Meantime, enjoy every moment you have with him. None of us ever know how long that will be with dogs, cats - any pet.

My heart goes out to you .... I know what you are going through.

Anniebee

 

[Teila]

tandykins having experienced an infestation of mite 12 months ago, I am now super-paranoid about them.

Every weekend I strip down the coop and spray the walls, roosts etc with a diluted Neem Oil solution. While not actually killing the mite or lice [unless you drown them in it

], Neem Oil stops them from reproducing and/or aborting or making the eggs infertile. Apparently it is like a birth control for bugs, making them sterile. I have read that some spray their chickens directly but that does not sound like a great idea to me; I would be a little concerned that, being oil based, it sticks to their feathers which, as you know, they preen regularly but as always, happy to hear others opinions.

Ash from a fire place in their favourite dusting spot or dust bath is apparently also a good way to get rid of lice/mite .... not having access to fire place ash, I cannot say either way.

devinandfeather as I mentioned before, once again I am tired just reading what you have going on at your place.

Fancy I am actually seeing the first hint of blue sky since Saturday here and this morning I was cold. The rain was needed and great but it can go away for a while now. We have had enough for now as it is not seeping away from the lawn etc as quickly as it should be and puddles are forming.

satay I am so sorry to read that the news was not good but again, still not definitive so there is always hope

Hang in there .. thinking of you

 

[sjturner79]

tandykins having experienced an infestation of mite 12 months ago, I am now super-paranoid about them.

Every weekend I strip down the coop and spray the walls, roosts etc with a diluted Neem Oil solution.  While not actually killing the mite or lice [unless you drown them in it ], Neem Oil stops them from reproducing and/or aborting or making the eggs infertile.  Apparently it is like a birth control for bugs, making them sterile.  I have read that some spray their chickens directly but that does not sound like a great idea to me; I would be a little concerned that, being oil based, it sticks to their feathers which, as you know, they preen regularly but as always, happy to hear others opinions.

Ash from a fire place in their favourite dusting spot or dust bath is apparently also a good way to get rid of lice/mite .... not having access to fire place ash, I cannot say either way.

devinandfeather as I mentioned before, once again I am tired just reading what you have going on at your place.

Fancy I am actually seeing the first hint of blue sky since Saturday here and this morning I was cold.  The rain was needed and great but it can go away for a while now.  We have had enough for now as it is not seeping away from the lawn etc as quickly as it should be and puddles are forming.

satay I am so sorry to read that the news was not good but again, still not definitive so there is always hope    Hang in there .. thinking of you   

I'll need to look for something to treat the roost with as I move it from to the new coop. I was thinking used sump oil as that should drown any bugs, but I will look for neem to see how much it costs

 

[tandykins]

Have gone nearly crazy at times tandykins ... reading on line information about chickens - or anything else for that matter, where so much info appears to be opposite to other opinions.

My girls only become a little thinner when they are moulting. Good luck in finding the cause of your thinner chickens. Fear could be a contributor as you mention. Guess it's a case of try and see, you certainly are doing your best for your chickens.

Bad news that the rogue chicken brought in such nasties to your entire flock. I don't know how many chickens you have, but dealing with poultry lice must be a big job.

Hope I never have to do anything like that - and I only have 3 !!

Cheers .......

At the moment I have 28 chickens. 15 in my main flock (the ones with lice), 1 brooding hen with 9 chicks, and 3 chickens in quarantine with scaly leg mites (who are looking fabulous).

Well it's 30 degrees here and it feels like 40 . I just took a bag of no name frozen peas, beans and corn kernels out for everyone. Poured them into the water dishes. You should have heard momma Silkie clucking up a storm while she fished out the corn and dropped it in the dirt for her chicks. the chicks are playing ' snatch and run ' darting back into the nest box with their prize.

I was out gardening and felt like a complete wuss feeling as overheated and dizzy as I did, constantly having to come in for a drink. I thought that it was perhaps 19 outside. It was 27. Well no wonder I felt hot! XD Its only just now cooling down enough for me to work on most of the yard. I've been skirting around the edges hiding in the shade all day.

Speaking of gardening, I was out with The Golden Girls (the trio of Araucanas with scaly leg mite who have been named The Butcher, Brian Blessed, and Gandalf) and found them in my front beds scratching around the area I just mulched. Anything in there that's yummy to them is netted off, everything else is edible but unappealing. I still don't want them in there, tearing everything up - so I gave them a bit of a spray with the hose while watering. Two of them made a run for it. One of them followed the water around doing her best to stand in the stream. XD Looks like Gandalf loves a good shower. She looks extra canky when she's soaked.

 

[satay]

satay   ---    Sorry to hear of the probability now of cancer for Zeus.  

Having had 4 dogs with cancer, I can assure you that while he is eating, interested in life around him, greeting you as normal - even though having a slight limp - he is handling the situation probably much better than you are.   And depending on the type of cancer it may be, he can go on enjoying a good quality of life for quite some time.   A needle biopsy would show them what type of cancer it is - or isn't.    If it surrounds the bone I would imagine a needle biopsy could be done, with little problem.   If IN the bone, he'd have to have a GA for them to investigate.   

Two of my Goldens had a thing called haemangiosarcoma - one had it, unbeknown to anyone.   It is a sneaky cancer, and can begin either / or inside and out.  My Lochlan began with a lump on his rump area - which when removed proved the above.   It then spread slowly over several months - all the while he was in good spirits, ate well and played with his best friend Gracie  - but his final day left no doubt, as he stopped eating and being himself altogether then.    He was put to sleep in a rapidly weakening state, asap.    My beautiful Gracie however, presented in her last weeks, with a simple 'infection' .... or so the vets' thought.   They treated her with anti-biotic - the symptoms were a bit of malaise, and a slight temperature.   That was all.   She picked up beautifully - all was well.

Then one afternoon at approx. 5.30 , about 4 weeks later, she didn't want to walk, hung her head - and I knew something was horribly wrong.  7 o'clock that night I took  her temperature and she was a raging fever ( a symptom in the very last stages of this horrid thing ) .... so went to the Vets just before 8 pm.   He gave her a knock out injection of pain killer, as she was obviously in pain with a scan to be done the next morning.   I will not detail why or where she might have been in pain.

She passed away in my arms at 1 a.m the following morning, just 5 hours later.  It had been internal at all stages.   People often do not know their dog is suffering from this one, until the end comes.   This particular cancer is renowned for  not  showing anything at all.  .... I am not an oncologist of course, but I would think if it is cancer, Zeus does not have this type, as it is a soft tissue cancer.  I hope I am not  being too outspoken here.   

I have not told you this to upset you, rather to point up the fact that while Zeus is happy and doing his normal daily things, it is something to be thankful for.   And you will know if and when there are any changes to his demeanour.   Meantime, enjoy every moment you have with him.   None of us ever know how long that will be with dogs, cats - any pet.   

My heart goes out to you .... I know what you are going through.  

Anniebee     

Thank you Anni and everyone else. Osteosarcoma is what they suspect he has but as it can show very similar signs to the fungal infection I guess that is why the specialists said it could be a small chance of that too. I think our vet finds me frustrating as I question everything he says but oh well you get that. I get the feeling he thinks I should just put Zeus to sleep now and if I though he was suffering in anyway I most certainly would but until then I am sticking to my guns. Thank you for the info too Anni it was not at all upsetting to read but very helpful so thank you.