Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[jvls1942]

speaking of falling. Annie's shirt tail cousin
fell backwards and bounced his head on the
ground. he went into the walk in clinic. he is
OK. the worse damage is he bit his tongue .
I am having trouble with my computer.
I am not receiving emails in my inbox.
I had to search for this thread in order to post.
good news. as of 2:34 AM today I am a great
grandfather. GS Kalib's GF had an eight and a half
pound boy.. that is our fifth great.
Annie has a nursery all ready for when they finally
come to visit. probably after winter releases it's
death grip on us.
I hope this sends.

 

[Callender Girl]

Congratulations on No. 5!

And, on getting your computer to play nicely. It's so frustrating when they decide to act up.

Good to hear Annie's cousin is okay. One of my good friends slipped on the ice and broke her leg last week. I'll be driving her to a follow-up ortho appointment Wednesday. And, taking Eleanor (the frostbitten hen) to her follow-up appointment in another county tomorrow.

I also have to pick up hay this week -- after I shovel the snow out of the truck bed. I always leave the old truck out because my overhead garage door too often freezes shut. Gosh, my life is glamorous!

 

[jvls1942]

The kids named the new boy Leon Noel. both names spelled
backwards spell each other.
he weighed 8 lbs 8.9 oz, . 20 inches long.
i still don't have the computer inbox working.
I have to google byc to post on here.
I don't get notified.

 

[Callender Girl]

Clever name for the boy.

At least you've found a work-around for the inbox.

Eleanor goes back to the vet today; I expect some of the frostbitten toes are beyond help. But, overall, her feet have pink, healthy tissue. Hope we can cut down the Epsom salt foot soaks to one a day.

Also, I will be administering the final dose of dewormer to the flock today. Sigh. I think they were just beginning to trust me more and hate me less.

 

[Callender Girl]

Eleanor is officially done with her veterinary treatments. Dr. M removed a few of the dead toes but said the feet are doing remarkably well. I've had other chickens who have lost toes or partial use of a leg (none from frostbite before), and they adapt.

Was disappointed that the twice-a-day foot soaks must continue, probably for two more weeks. The challenge after that will be trying to reintegrate Eleanor with her coop mates.

Can you believe there are folks out there who think it's EASY to raise chickens? Or, that it's cheaper to raise chickens than to buy eggs?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've had chickens lose toes. I always just left them alone. Glad to hear yours is improving. I'm afraid I wouldn't be as dedicated as you are Barb. Glad you have a vet to help you out. Around here chickens are treated like livestock, but even livestock vets won't see them.

 

[jvls1942]

I never took a chicken to the vet.
Used to have a very knowledgeable neighbor , but he
died years ago.
today I am thinking of starting Ollie up and
cleaning up where Bob could not reach with his truck.
Have to take the dumpsters to the road, too.

 

[Callender Girl]

I know my farm-kid dad would be horrified to find out I take chickens to the vet. He would have pointed out that for a few dollars, I could just buy another chicken.

Eleanor didn't just have frostbite on her toes; the soles and tops of both feet were badly affected. I feel responsible because I knew something was off, but I thought she was just acting odd because she molted late and got caught off guard by the blizzard. No one else in her coop even had a hint of frostbite.

And, I have NEVER spent this much time or money on helping a chicken recover. Guilt is a great motivator for me. I SHOULD have figured out sooner that her feet were bothering her.

The area livestock vets and small animal vets (both of which I engage for my ruminants and house pets, and both sets have cost me countless dollars) don't treat poultry. I am extremely grateful to have found Dr. Meyer, and I've followed her to three different practices in three different counties.

As a chicken owner, she takes poultry care seriously and was kind enough to take a problem rooster off my hands and integrate him into her rooster flock, where he is still doing fine.

I started cleaning off the old truck a couple of days ago, shoveled out behind it and finally, today, chipped the remaining ice off the windshield so I could go pick up hay and critter/poultry feed. Now, I have to go unload it.

 

[jvls1942]

good day,
I got a little tractor time in this afternoon.
it felt good. I wouldn't want it any colder, though.
lots of ice. I spent as much time spinning in reverse
as I did driving forward. not good for mileage.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's pretty nice out there today. Glad you got out there Jim even if it was to just spin your wheels. I am not looking forward to the cool down for the weekend. I decided to thicken up bedding today and get ahead of the curve for once.