Consolidated Kansas

[tntblake]

Our cat has been sort of missing since last Wednesday night. I say sort of because I knew where he was - under the front porch - but couldn't get him to come out and its too narrow to get under there and get him. I've been getting increasingly concerned about him as days went by and he didn't come out to eat or drink. I figured he must be sick or injured and lay awake last night worrying about how to get him out of there to check him out. So to my dismay, when I went out at first light to re-assess the situation, it was to find that he wasn't even there any more. He didn't show up all day and this evening I told DH I was concerned we weren't going to find him alive. So I was relieved when I was dishing out food to the dogs to have him run between my legs and up to his feeder, but the relief turned to new worry when I realized he couldn't even stand. He is staggering around like a drunk sailor. Even the act of looking up at me caused him to fall over.

I checked him over thoroughly for injuries and found three areas where the fur is matted as if there had been some bleeding there, but each point is small and didn't seem at all tender. I.e., he was letting me poke and prod him without complaint. The good news is he was most intent on eating - going at the food like he was trying to make up for the four days of missed meals. I figure that is a good sign, since I associate not eating with an animal that is on the way downhill. After he had eaten his fill, I carried him to water and he drank. DH and I then set him up with a comfy bed, litterbox where he doesn't have to move far to get it, and the same for food and water. He should be comfortable tonight. Throughout this time though, any time he tried to move, he staggered and fell. He also seems to me to be holding one ear at a funny angle. I checked it out and couldn't find any injury although there seems to be a lot of mud in the fur around that ear. And he also seems to be holding his head at a funny angle.

He is purring like crazy though and it doesn't seem like the kind of "I'm scared, comfort me" purring that cats will do when they are nervous - it sounded like his "Love on me, its been a rough four days and I've missed you so much" kind of purr. So I loved on him and he leaned into my stroking him and lifted up his butt the way he always does when I stroke down his backbone.

While spending all this time with him I was running through various scenarios as to what could be causing the apparent neurological problems and I didn't like the possibilities. First it occurred to me that if he tangled with any kind of wildlife, he could be rabid. He is not acting like a rabid animal though, so hopefully that is not it. The second is that he could have been bitten by a snake and the venom is causing the neurological problems.

Hopefully the fact that he is eating, drinking and looking for affection are all good signs. For now he is in a safe place with everything he needs to be comfortable, and I'll check him over first thing in the morning when I have daylight to help me out.

Could he have an ear infection? They always make my balance off.

 

[ChicknBaron]

...Beginning of day 21, and no signs of pips... kinda worried/nervous... should i be?!?

 

[chicken danz]

Josiechick- yes you are very close to me. I bet things are alot different here and also hope that you are liking it here even though out apples are different

.
Well I feel better now.. Hopefully the chicks will be close to ready to going outside by that time. I just dont want them to be crowded. I worry about space. I have a kiddie pool but no where to set it up in my small house

unless I take over one of the kids bedrooms and that is out of the question. I have a cat and would need to keep it predator proof

I need to have a box built. Maybe I can convince everyone (DH and kids) to give up the larger master bath tub

I have a couple of the biggest Rubbermaid type bins that are 3-4 foot long and maybe 18 inches or more high. That is what I use for brooders if I have them in the house. I cut the center out of the lid and replace that with hardware cloth. I cut the center piece I cut out into strips about an inch wide and drill holes and use rivets to hold the wire in between. But you could just hot glue the wire on if you didn't want to go to all that trouble. It's big enough to take a dozen chicks up to at least close to the age they could go outside.

I don't turn my brooder lamp on until shortly before putting the chicks in, since it is usually about 24 hours from the time the first hatches until the last is ready to be moved. Once the hatch is over and they are all ready to go in the brooder, I turn off the incubator, and move them all as a group. So it is easy to turn on the lamp and get it pre-warmed just a few minutes before moving them. I keep the brooder lamp plugged into a rheostat (lamp dimmer). That way I can turn it up or down as needed. I don't measure the temperature with a thermometer, but base it on their behavior. If they are huddled under it, they are cold and it needs to be turned up. If they are spread out and staying outside the perimeter of the light, they are hot and it needs to be turned down. If they are cheeping happily and running around, some snoozing under the lamp while others are at the far end of the brooder eating and drinking, its just about right.

Thank you for all the advice re roosters. At this point I have done the sparring numerous times and done the pick up and carry around thing numerous times as well. I've also gone in and deliberately walked up to him and made him back away from me almost daily. Since he has not shown any sign of improvement, based on what you all said, it sounds like maybe he won't. I think I will give him just a little longer though to see if he settles down with a little more maturity under his belt.

Our cat has been sort of missing since last Wednesday night. I say sort of because I knew where he was - under the front porch - but couldn't get him to come out and its too narrow to get under there and get him. I've been getting increasingly concerned about him as days went by and he didn't come out to eat or drink. I figured he must be sick or injured and lay awake last night worrying about how to get him out of there to check him out. So to my dismay, when I went out at first light to re-assess the situation, it was to find that he wasn't even there any more. He didn't show up all day and this evening I told DH I was concerned we weren't going to find him alive. So I was relieved when I was dishing out food to the dogs to have him run between my legs and up to his feeder, but the relief turned to new worry when I realized he couldn't even stand. He is staggering around like a drunk sailor. Even the act of looking up at me caused him to fall over.

I checked him over thoroughly for injuries and found three areas where the fur is matted as if there had been some bleeding there, but each point is small and didn't seem at all tender. I.e., he was letting me poke and prod him without complaint. The good news is he was most intent on eating - going at the food like he was trying to make up for the four days of missed meals. I figure that is a good sign, since I associate not eating with an animal that is on the way downhill. After he had eaten his fill, I carried him to water and he drank. DH and I then set him up with a comfy bed, litterbox where he doesn't have to move far to get it, and the same for food and water. He should be comfortable tonight. Throughout this time though, any time he tried to move, he staggered and fell. He also seems to me to be holding one ear at a funny angle. I checked it out and couldn't find any injury although there seems to be a lot of mud in the fur around that ear. And he also seems to be holding his head at a funny angle.

He is purring like crazy though and it doesn't seem like the kind of "I'm scared, comfort me" purring that cats will do when they are nervous - it sounded like his "Love on me, its been a rough four days and I've missed you so much" kind of purr. So I loved on him and he leaned into my stroking him and lifted up his butt the way he always does when I stroke down his backbone.

While spending all this time with him I was running through various scenarios as to what could be causing the apparent neurological problems and I didn't like the possibilities. First it occurred to me that if he tangled with any kind of wildlife, he could be rabid. He is not acting like a rabid animal though, so hopefully that is not it. The second is that he could have been bitten by a snake and the venom is causing the neurological problems.

Hopefully the fact that he is eating, drinking and looking for affection are all good signs. For now he is in a safe place with everything he needs to be comfortable, and I'll check him over first thing in the morning when I have daylight to help me out.

It sounds like your cat is on the mend if he is eating. I would certainly take him to the vet though. I think you are lucky that he survived earlier. I'm sorry. Hope all is good now.

...Beginning of day 21, and no signs of pips... kinda worried/nervous... should i be?!?

Naw! Give it some time.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I have a couple of the biggest Rubbermaid type bins that are 3-4 foot long and maybe 18 inches or more high. That is what I use for brooders if I have them in the house. I cut the center out of the lid and replace that with hardware cloth. I cut the center piece I cut out into strips about an inch wide and drill holes and use rivets to hold the wire in between. But you could just hot glue the wire on if you didn't want to go to all that trouble. It's big enough to take a dozen chicks up to at least close to the age they could go outside.

Wow I love that idea. I can pick those up for a decent price, if I can find ones that big. If not then maybe I will just duct tape cardboard to the tub edges and go that way. But I would rather do the plastic box it sounds like it would hold heat better.

 

[michelleml]

tnt how is your kitty today? I had a friend a few years ago her cat acted the same way and it turned out that the kitty had walked in antifreeze and then cleaned its paws and ingested it. we had her at the vets for a few days with iv and i think it was vit k ingestion's and activated charcoal hope he gets better very soon.


We had a wonderful weekend DH wasn't able to get chemo this week they said he had too much so they gave him an extra week off. Which means he has energy to do things with us and around the house. So we did the pumpkin patch on saturday and sunday was church and the zoo after a great lunch. I tasted frozen custard for the first time and it was wonderful.

I've been looking for a rabbit for my dd birthday but im not having any luck. she wants something fuzzy so i showed her some pictures of lionheads and jersey wooly she wants one of them. Anyone have any idea where to find them close to topeka. I seen some on fb pages but they are to far from me.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Well the bottom of the tub is only 5 sq ft,, I am worried this is too small for 10 chicks...

 

[checoukan]

tnt~~~ sounds like ear mites to me. They get way down in the ear and feed, breed, multiply like crazy!! if you rub the ear gently at the base of the ear directly under the ear, if he leans his head towards you like"OH MY THAT FEELS SO GOOD". When you stop usually they will shake their head like crazy. You will know it is mites. Oh, and the mud you see, that is the mite feces that comes back out of the ear.

Ear mites are so horrible!!!

 

[medawinks]

Silly chick! Tried hopping out if it's box! A good sign I think! It still can't keep it's balance, but can stand briefly

 

[ChicknBaron]

well i just got home and checked the incubator, and saw that the welsummer chick has made a small pip (about a cm small) in the middle of the egg! i thot that they were supposed to pip towards the top, not in the middle, so that kinda worries me... but at least i know it developed! i havent seen any visible movement from it or any other eggs so i am very stressed out right now! i just hope they get on the ball and all start pippin up the party* hehe. but yah, i can't take this much longer... I really hope this turns out because i don't know if i could handle my emotions if just one hatched and was all by itself

So if this one JUST pipped this late in day 21, how long do you think before it starts to zip? Oh, I hope this goes well...

The humidity is down to 56, but theres not much i can do with out opening the bator ...

Somebody PLEASE tie me to a chair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[cherwill]

We might be halfway done with the painting. I got a bit of lecture from the foot doc today about ladders, as well as another foot wrap and he's ordering some sort of device that's supposed to stabilize my foot better. Funny how I looked forward to a day of mowing as a "day off."

Danz, you gave the most important advice about health care -- Even with paper work be sure your family also knows your wishes. They will be your best advocates and won't give up.

I think you're also right about the endorphins and activity helping the pain. I also find that, if I just sit around and take pills and wait for things to get better (which is almost always the advice I get from the docs), I not only don't get better very fast, but I also get depressed. I've had problems with it for years (OK, decades!) and I find that activity, especially outdoor where I get some sun and fresh air, works better than anything else.

Quote:

Hey all! Thanks for the well wishes, It must have worked because I feel that I had a great appointment! The Dr actually understood what I was telling her. She's starting me on a few new meds, so if they work, i should see some results within a week. They are going to also do a procedure that has a 50/50 chance of working - botox injections directly into my stomach through a scope. It's supposed to relax the muscle and help food just flow out of my stomach. No side effects, so it's at least worth trying. Someone asked me if I was taking Reglan (sorry my multiquotes didn't work), but I was on reglan for about 4 days and then i started to get tremors and shakes and anxiety, almost like I was strung out with Parkinson's! It was scary, so I stopped immediately!

I'm glad you've found someone who is really listening and working to try to help. I hope the botox works. It makes sense.

Bad news...

the city contacted me and told me i have to move my chickens... i just got the letter today, i think we might go to the next city council meeting and talk about it but if that turns out how i expect it to, I'll need to find a new home for them... since i just read the letter a few minutes ago i havent got to talk to anyone about taking them for me, i plan on talking to one lady that will probably take them, but we'll see... it was such a good day... bummer

I'm sorry. I thought McPherson was being stupid because they've banned roos, but at least I can have my hens. Good luck at the meeting. How is it really any worse to have chickens than to have a bunch of cats, dogs or other types of birds or even exotic animals that are allowed in towns and cities?

1) My hens just stopped laying. Or almost. I went from 10-12 eggs a day to 3-5. Has anyone else experienced this recently? I have 14 layers, with one rooster, and they all seem quite happy and look healthy enough. I visit them at least twice a day and haven't noticed anything unusual and I can't find the eggs anywhere else. I thought maybe they had started laying somewhere else. Anyway, there isn't anything I am aware of that could be stressing them out. One day I spent most of the day out back and never noticed anything unusual. These are all young pullets too. Except for three that are on their second year.

My 10 hens are laying 1-2 eggs a day, and occasionally no eggs. They'd been laying 4-6 a day during the summer. Judging by the number of little feathers everwhere, I'd say they're molting. The first day I noticed, I saw so many whitish feathers in one place just outside the chicken yard fence that I had to run out there and check it out. I was certain Blanche or Rose had flown out and been killed by a cat!

What do you all do with your chickens when they're done laying..? Do they become dinner?

DH thinks they should become dinner. I can't bring myself to do it. He tells everyone I can't butcher them because I know them all by name. He's partly right. I also just like them; they're pets and I feel like it's not a very good way to repay them for all the eggs they've given me.

In 2-3 years we're probably going to run into a real problem if we're still living in this house. We really don't have room for more birds, so what happens when all 10 have slowed down so much we can barely put together the weekend brunch?

Somebody stole all my energy today... all I've done is cut up hedge apples and thrown under my house steps... let the guineas out, library trip, grocery shopping, feeding of everyone, and then reading. I am reading a story I just cannot put down - it has to be one of the best stories I've read in a very long time and I am a huge reader! (The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood) I also picked up the book for next month's book club at the library (Big Stone Gap, by Andriana Trigiani). Seem I needed a relaxing day for ME today

On a day like that, it's best to just go with it and not push yourself too much. You can end up hurting yourself or getting sick and losing more than just a day.

I know what you mean about the book. I'm a huge reader, too, and I've lost many hours of sleep because I couldn't put the book down! Just today the receptionist at the foot doctor's office kinda made fun of "you and your book!"

I really have my back in an uproar. I don't know how I'll ever get things done I need to today. It's just a reminder I have way too much on my plate. I spent so much time working on the sea van yesterday I didn't get anything else done.

I hope your back is better. Pain can really suck all the energy out of you.

I have someone coming over in a few to take the ducks and two roos, cross your fingers for me that it all goes well.
It's sad to see the ducks go, but I'm so much more into chickens and these guys are a lot more work than I realized.

After seeing the mess and work involved with my niece's ducks, I have no interest in having any. Chickens are easier and so pretty and so entertaining.

Went out about 7:15 to start getting everyone in their pens for the night and all the guineas were way up in a tree.. I hope they do well tonight.... I feel like a mother whose 10 children are all out on dates and unsupervised!

Thank you for all the advice re roosters. At this point I have done the sparring numerous times and done the pick up and carry around thing numerous times as well. I've also gone in and deliberately walked up to him and made him back away from me almost daily. Since he has not shown any sign of improvement, based on what you all said, it sounds like maybe he won't. I think I will give him just a little longer though to see if he settles down with a little more maturity under his belt.

Our cat has been sort of missing since last Wednesday night. I say sort of because I knew where he was - under the front porch - but couldn't get him to come out and its too narrow to get under there and get him. I've been getting increasingly concerned about him as days went by and he didn't come out to eat or drink. I figured he must be sick or injured and lay awake last night worrying about how to get him out of there to check him out. So to my dismay, when I went out at first light to re-assess the situation, it was to find that he wasn't even there any more. He didn't show up all day and this evening I told DH I was concerned we weren't going to find him alive. So I was relieved when I was dishing out food to the dogs to have him run between my legs and up to his feeder, but the relief turned to new worry when I realized he couldn't even stand. He is staggering around like a drunk sailor. Even the act of looking up at me caused him to fall over.

I checked him over thoroughly for injuries and found three areas where the fur is matted as if there had been some bleeding there, but each point is small and didn't seem at all tender. I.e., he was letting me poke and prod him without complaint. The good news is he was most intent on eating - going at the food like he was trying to make up for the four days of missed meals. I figure that is a good sign, since I associate not eating with an animal that is on the way downhill. After he had eaten his fill, I carried him to water and he drank. DH and I then set him up with a comfy bed, litterbox where he doesn't have to move far to get it, and the same for food and water. He should be comfortable tonight. Throughout this time though, any time he tried to move, he staggered and fell. He also seems to me to be holding one ear at a funny angle. I checked it out and couldn't find any injury although there seems to be a lot of mud in the fur around that ear. And he also seems to be holding his head at a funny angle.

He is purring like crazy though and it doesn't seem like the kind of "I'm scared, comfort me" purring that cats will do when they are nervous - it sounded like his "Love on me, its been a rough four days and I've missed you so much" kind of purr. So I loved on him and he leaned into my stroking him and lifted up his butt the way he always does when I stroke down his backbone.

While spending all this time with him I was running through various scenarios as to what could be causing the apparent neurological problems and I didn't like the possibilities. First it occurred to me that if he tangled with any kind of wildlife, he could be rabid. He is not acting like a rabid animal though, so hopefully that is not it. The second is that he could have been bitten by a snake and the venom is causing the neurological problems.

Hopefully the fact that he is eating, drinking and looking for affection are all good signs. For now he is in a safe place with everything he needs to be comfortable, and I'll check him over first thing in the morning when I have daylight to help me out.

I'm sorry about the roo. My first roo was so sweet and friendly as a chick that it was a shock when he turned mean.

If it weren't for the wounds on your cat, I would suspect a stroke. I've had two dogs who had strokes and much of the behavior you described is very similar to how the dogs were in the week or two after the strokes. I hope he's doing better.

We had a wonderful weekend DH wasn't able to get chemo this week they said he had too much so they gave him an extra week off. Which means he has energy to do things with us and around the house. So we did the pumpkin patch on saturday and sunday was church and the zoo after a great lunch. I tasted frozen custard for the first time and it was wonderful.

What a nice surprise for your DH. Sounds like you had a great weekend.

Silly chick! Tried hopping out if it's box! A good sign I think! It still can't keep it's balance, but can stand briefly

Goofy bird! I like your nail design!