Colorado

[coloradogal]

Tracie, how much did it cost? Glad it wasn't coryza. From my understanding, coryza isn't common here but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I'm just glad it was something easy peazy. Did he say what type? As I said in an earlier post, most backyard flocks are carriers for upper respiratory crud from the wild bird population. Once they get it, their bodies build up immunity to it and other chicks you get may also get it. It's the price we pay for letting them enjoy sunshine and grass and fresh air. I'm just glad it wasn't coryza.

I guess because of our elevation, dryness, and hard winters, so many things common in other places aren't so common here. For that, i'm grateful.

Oshun: Have not heard of anyone who does it. For those who don't know...it's sort of equivalent to cutting off a boy dog's balls. It is suppose to make the chicken tastier at slaughter.

edit: Sometimes I tend to ramble on and on and on in regards to bacteria and viruses and things like that. I have my bs degree in microbiology and while i don't use my degree, I wish I did. There just aren't any jobs in CS for this sort of degree so I took a job that allowed me to be a mom. I miss my old life sometimes. I had an elderly friend once tell me though that when she was a young woman, the most admirable thing was to raise incredible children. it was a badge of honor. she had wanted to be an archaeologist but then her children came. I asked her if she ever regretted it. 'My goodness No, it's just how things use to be." But in this day and age, sometimes I feel like a fool for going to college and getting a degree I chose not to use so I could take care of my son. So whenever someone starts talking illness, my ears perk up and I start hitting pubmed or now the chicken poultry illness sites. I guess I'll always be a closet nerd.

 

[Ashdoes]

Chicks are okay - no coryza! Upper respitory infection. They are all on antibiotics and nose/ eye drops. Went to Dublin Animal Hospital. They were very nice. He said that chiks with Coryza stop eating, and just want to lay around and the mucus is really thick. Whew!
Thanks everybody for the wonderful advice.
Tracie

I gotta know. How many chicks did you take in, and how much did it cost?

 

[ONSTAD1]

Oshun:  Have not heard of anyone who does it.  For those who don't know...it's sort of equivalent to cutting off a boy dog's balls.  It is suppose to make the chicken tastier at slaughter. 
[/quote]

Shucks, I don't eat that part anyway. ; p

 

[Mommato5]

Well, more tumors and others in her lungs have grown, along with fluid buildup. Back to chemo.

I am so incredibly sorry. My Mom is a breast cancer survivor. She was lucky and found it super early. Treatment was least invasive. She was even able to avoid chemo but did several weeks of radiation. I have a 35 year old friend with stage 4 breast cancer. It's encouraging to hear that your wife has been living with it for 10 years. I'm sorry she will have to do chemo again. I hope it successfully pushes back on those tumors and she tolerates it with no nasty side effects!

Tracie, I am so glad your babies have just a minor illness! Sounds like you found a good vet! My 9 year old wants to be a vet for exotic animals. She has literally been saying this since she was 4! She'll make a great vet.

 

[gardendufus]

Quote: My thoughts and prayers are with Beth, you and your family.

 

[chicksinthewood]

What an evening. I finished two more roosting areas for the gals/roosters (so far, I have 5 that are crowing but still too skinny with numerous more still not at the stage yet to know for sure) and cleaned the coop floor. It was quite horrendous getting them all settled in. There was so much confusion over where to roost and where to go. I didn't take pictures, perhaps tomorrow. But I ran out of nails or would have done more. Perhaps tomorrow I'll run and get more nails and finish everything else up. I'd like to do some prettier nest boxes next. I took out the water for the night to give the floor a chance to dry. Tomorrow, I'll do the Oxine preventative treatment for 3 days just in case I stirred up some crud with the cleaning. I'm always amazed at how much dust/dirt buildup there is.

I would love to see your roosting areas, if you have time for pictures. That is one of my summer projects. Am adding 8 youngsters to my original 5, and they need some roosting room, both in the coop and the run. Looking for inspiration! Also need to rebuild the drafty nesting box...does this ever end? Thanks!

 

[wsmith]

My thoughts and prayers are with Beth, you and your family.

Thanks to all for their thoughts. A little background.

Beth was first diagnosed with breast Cancer 10 years ago, when she was 39. Biopsies, ultrasounds, and ,many other tests over a 1 month period confirmed it and she had a right mastectomy, followed by 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy and also radiation. Back then, they noticed a lesions (sp) on her left femur, but the biopsy on that came back negative. Things looked good for a few years, until late 2005. We were in the process of moving to Colorado from SW Washington, and she was experiencing pain in her left hip. She and the doctors thought it was arthritis. It got so bad that she could hardly walk. After the move, we pursued it further, and soon were back at an oncologist who did another biopsy on her leg, along with CT and PET scans, (BTW, PET scans are VERY expensive) Come to find out that her upper left femur and hip joint were fully involved with breast cancer tumors. The upper left femur and hip joint were replaced just before Christmas, 2006. After recovery from that she started mild chemo again. Several different types of chemo hadn't halted the tumor growth in her bones. that is when we switched to a doctor from Rocky Mountain Cancer center. he played around with several more treatment types and found one that kept the bone tumors from growing, and caused shrinkage in the ones in her lungs. The problem was that the bone tumor medication had a nasty side effect..... ONJ. Osteo Necrosis of the Jaw: Basically jaw bone death. He upper right mandible is slowly going away, which causes intense pain and discomfort. So she now deals with that as well, and the side effects of the narcotic pain medication. She went on a 6 month hiatus from Chemo in order to get a handle on the other side effects. The tumors in her bones haven't increased ( two or three vertebrae spots, upper right shoulder and arm bones, right knee two spots), but the lung tumors have grown and she has fluid buildup around the lungs as well. We hope that the chemo will again do its thing. with the exception of the last 6 months, she has been on chemo of one sort or another for the last 6 years.

We rely on our faith and Gods strength to help us through each day. its all a day to day thing. Beth looks forward to each birthday and holiday. Each one reached is a small victory. Beth rarely complains, especially in public. She says she has an advantage over everyone else...We all are in suspense, but she knows what will eventually kill her. She doesn't like a lot of attention regarding the cancer. And yes, Cancer SUCKS! She appreciates sincere thoughts and all prayers, no matter what ones religious beliefs. One of her pet peeves is when she looks and feels like crap, and it shows, and someone comes up to her and asks how she feels. Really she says? Do you not have eyes? how does it look like i feel?!

So now we start it again. RMCC wants more money, insurance doesn't cover all. Chicken projects will have to slow down again. Hopefully the cars all continue to run.

So there's the background. We must maintain the "stiff upper lip" of our English heritage, and the dogged stubborness of our Scottish heritage, and the "can do , never say die" attitude of the rural americans that we are!

The chickens have a great calming effect for Beth and myself, and we are greatfull that we have been blessed with them, our two attentive dogs, great kids and family and lots of wonderful friends. We know that blessings come, we also know that some blessings come in this life, some in the next. Not all blessings are what we think we need, but what God wants for us.

 

[coloradogal]

I would love to see your roosting areas, if you have time for pictures. That is one of my summer projects. Am adding 8 youngsters to my original 5, and they need some roosting room, both in the coop and the run. Looking for inspiration! Also need to rebuild the drafty nesting box...does this ever end? Thanks!

Panoramic view..top and bottom area. I have a litter board under three and borrowed Wendell's roost idea on the far side. The little 10 week old chicks still hang out in the covered x-large dog kennel, the tray is on top with shavings. I used an old papasan frame as a safe place for them to hide out from the bigger ones. They are also starting to roost high up in the eves(sp?). I'm going to convert the isolation area into a more secure area for the smaller chickens.

Below is the first stage done a month ago. Gives a better perspective of the size and papasan area.

 

[wsmith]

My cockerels in the large hen house are lazy. While the pullets and turkey's will fly from the ground up to the higher roost, the cockerels will fly/jump to the lower one first, then fly/jump up to the higher one, and then begin to assert dominance for best roost spots etc. They are also roosting in two distinct groups on either end of the large upper roost area. The large upper roost area is about 4 feet off the ground and is just under 12 feet long and about 15 inches wide, with three 2 x 4's running the whole length wide side up.

 

[coloradogal]

Thanks to all for their thoughts. A little background.

Beth was first diagnosed with breast Cancer 10 years ago, when she was 39. Biopsies, ultrasounds, and ,many other tests over a 1 month period confirmed it and she had a right mastectomy, followed by 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy and also radiation. Back then, they noticed a lesions (sp) on her left femur, but the biopsy on that came back negative. Things looked good for a few years, until late 2005. We were in the process of moving to Colorado from SW Washington, and she was experiencing pain in her left hip. She and the doctors thought it was arthritis. It got so bad that she could hardly walk. After the move, we pursued it further, and soon were back at an oncologist who did another biopsy on her leg, along with CT and PET scans, (BTW, PET scans are VERY expensive) Come to find out that her upper left femur and hip joint were fully involved with breast cancer tumors. The upper left femur and hip joint were replaced just before Christmas, 2006. After recovery from that she started mild chemo again. Several different types of chemo hadn't halted the tumor growth in her bones. that is when we switched to a doctor from Rocky Mountain Cancer center. he played around with several more treatment types and found one that kept the bone tumors from growing, and caused shrinkage in the ones in her lungs. The problem was that the bone tumor medication had a nasty side effect..... ONJ. Osteo Necrosis of the Jaw: Basically jaw bone death. He upper right mandible is slowly going away, which causes intense pain and discomfort. So she now deals with that as well, and the side effects of the narcotic pain medication. She went on a 6 month hiatus from Chemo in order to get a handle on the other side effects. The tumors in her bones haven't increased ( two or three vertebrae spots, upper right shoulder and arm bones, right knee two spots), but the lung tumors have grown and she has fluid buildup around the lungs as well. We hope that the chemo will again do its thing. with the exception of the last 6 months, she has been on chemo of one sort or another for the last 6 years.

We rely on our faith and Gods strength to help us through each day. its all a day to day thing. Beth looks forward to each birthday and holiday. Each one reached is a small victory. Beth rarely complains, especially in public. She says she has an advantage over everyone else...We all are in suspense, but she knows what will eventually kill her. She doesn't like a lot of attention regarding the cancer. And yes, Cancer SUCKS! She appreciates sincere thoughts and all prayers, no matter what ones religious beliefs. One of her pet peeves is when she looks and feels like crap, and it shows, and someone comes up to her and asks how she feels. Really she says? Do you not have eyes? how does it look like i feel?!

So now we start it again. RMCC wants more money, insurance doesn't cover all. Chicken projects will have to slow down again. Hopefully the cars all continue to run.

So there's the background. We must maintain the "stiff upper lip" of our English heritage, and the dogged stubborness of our Scottish heritage, and the "can do , never say die" attitude of the rural americans that we are!

The chickens have a great calming effect for Beth and myself, and we are greatfull that we have been blessed with them, our two attentive dogs, great kids and family and lots of wonderful friends. We know that blessings come, we also know that some blessings come in this life, some in the next. Not all blessings are what we think we need, but what God wants for us.

My son has also been on one form of mild chemo for years but for another condition. I never understood pain until he started going through it and seen him deal with it. In a blog I wrote in 2006, I said, "I learned the greatest lessons from dealing with my son's illness. He's my hero because he never gave up and even today, he smiles on days when it hurts to move. I've learned the importance of loving someone else unconditionally. I wouldn't trade him in for anyone else in the world because I know that everyday, he makes a choice to live. It's easy to sleep throughout life, to just go through the motions of living... but when you are faced with chronic pain, you choose everyday whether you will stay and bed and watch it go by or get up and stumble onward."

When I seen your wife for the first time, I was dumbstruck by how beautiful she is. I was speechless for a few seconds and thought for sure she noticed but what do you say to a woman you don't really know. Blurting out something like that sounds weird. But beauty and grace emanates from her.

I always feel so helpless. You'd think after all these years I'd know the right words to say when I meet another on that long journey of living. I say living because your wife chooses everyday to do that. She, like my son, can bemoan her illness but she chooses to live. I am in awe of those who make that choice everyday.