Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

I don't really know the economic logic behind cost of living wage increases, but whenever wages fall behind the cost of living, it's a problem and the media make a fuss about it.

Makes sense doesn't it, because when people can manage on their wages, they can spend more, which supports local industry, which employs more people, and around it goes.

It would be wonderful if it worked that way here in California. However, the divide keeps growing as the rich get richer and common people cannot even rent a tiny 1 bedroom apartment unless there are two full time salaries. It’s nuts.

 

[bgmathteach]

Got it. Don’t close it up too tightly (hard with a steri-strip and a wriggling chick so I suspect you are OK).
If you really fully close a wound you risk abscess formation under the closure. It is good to allow an escape route for any infection by leaving it only loosely closed.

I have a couple of questions, since you seem to be in the know:

1)How do people not get infections/abscesses when stitched up? (Yes, I clean/disinfect all wounds before closing the ones I have on chickens...but what else do we do with humans to prevent it?) I have fortunately had really good luck with healing wounds that I have stitched. One large wound - to be sure it healed inside out, I stuffed with sterile gauze dampened with saline and coated with honey. But again, only a very large & deep wound. And I used steri strips until it was close to healed, since I changed the dressing regularly.

2) How do you prevent adhesions and large patches with no feathers on non-closed wounds? (scar tissue doesn't grow feathers...please don't ask me how I know about that and adhesions. )

Have I just been really lucky and doing it all wrong?

I feel like I need to become a veterinarian and nutritionist and agronomist here. (Thinking about all of this is just plain overwhelming...and thinking I have been doing what I have managed to do...all wrong

 

[LozzyR]

This sounds like a very sensible system… especially the consideration for rising costs of living… that is something that we should have here as well. I won’t go into the difference between minimum wage and a living wage here, but suffice it to say the gap between the two is significant.
Chicken Tax: (sure Bob goes away and I actually start paying my chicken taxes!) View attachment 3074744

Our wages might go up every year, but they go up 2% and everything else goes up 10%. I had no trouble saving five years ago, now I really struggle.

Whinging tax:

 

[bgmathteach]

Wow, you’ve actually done this? Impressive!

Unfortunately, yes. Fortunately, evidently I have been lucky, as they have pulled through

 

[bgmathteach]

Our wages might go up every year, but they go up 2% and everything else goes up 10%. I had no trouble saving five years ago, now I really struggle.

Whinging tax:
View attachment 3074961

For the beautiful girls.

For just trying to make an honest living...and never seeming to get ahead.

 

[bgmathteach]

I am rather taken with interesting combs.
Minnie’s all seems to sprout from one small spot on her noggin.
View attachment 3074904

It's almost as if she has a huge leghorn type comb squished into 1/4 the head length: big & floppy....squished front to back but not top to bottom.

 

[Kris5902]

Got it. Don’t close it up too tightly (hard with a steri-strip and a wriggling chick so I suspect you are OK).
If you really fully close a wound you risk abscess formation under the closure. It is good to allow an escape route for any infection by leaving it only loosely closed.

Yes… I just want the skin flap to not slide down the leg any further and I think I’ve got it about where it needs to be, there’s between 1/4 and 1/8” gap I think. I’m trying not to mess with it too much.

 

[Kris5902]

Ugh, Kris, I can’t find the post explaining what happened to this little chick?

Moms toenail… probably in the early morning

 

[Byrd gal]

I can't even save my sanity anymore! I guess just getting by has to be good enough for now. I remember in the 70's it was a tough time. Times have changed and so has Washington since then so who knows if the economy will rebound for us. I am sure it will for the elite. Hang on and hope I say. I agree Cali is expensive I moved to Ohio the weather sucks but it is cheaper to live.

 

[Kris5902]

I have a couple of questions, since you seem to be in the know:

1)How do people not get infections/abscesses when stitched up? (Yes, I clean/disinfect all wounds before closing the ones I have on chickens...but what else do we do with humans to prevent it?) I have fortunately had really good luck with healing wounds that I have stitched. One large wound - to be sure it healed inside out, I stuffed with sterile gauze dampened with saline and coated with honey. But again, only a very large & deep wound. And I used steri strips until it was close to healed, since I changed the dressing regularly.

2) How do you prevent adhesions and large patches with no feathers on non-closed wounds? (scar tissue doesn't grow feathers...please don't ask me how I know about that and adhesions. )

Have I just been really lucky and doing it all wrong?

I feel like I need to become a veterinarian and nutritionist and agronomist here. (Thinking about all of this is just plain overwhelming...and thinking I have been doing what I have managed to do...all wrong

We do what works, what we can, and we all learn by trial and error with the help of everyone here. I’ve seen wounds I definitely wanted to suture, (my friends mink attack victim comes to mind) and some that probably should have been but weren’t and managed to heal up just fine… a rescue hat I took in half healed who was being cannibalized by her tribe (Zeta) and a few deep spur/mating injuries on hens. If I had more confidence in my stitching I might try it, I was literally thinking two or three little stitches could pull this together just fine… but the skin is so delicate… heck even on mature chickens their skin is super delicate.

My friends mink victim managed to heal up, despite the absolute worst bandaging job I have ever seen. In fact, the tear was made far worse by the first bandaging attempt by him and someone else. If he had let DH and I do it, it would have gone so much better. The wound of course got infected (filthy coop conditions) and she still survived, but as you said… with massive scarring and a now permanent bare breast where the skin had to regrow over the gaping hole (because he wouldn’t let me close the edges anywhere near each other, like a 4” patch of no skin at all)

I think with most people being stitched up the level of sterilization is much higher than we can get at home, and it’s often not super tightly closed… that’s one of the main issues people have when applying steri strips and butterfly closures on wounds themselves (they are really hard to get here now)… infections and abscesses still happen more often than you would think, DH’s worst scar was from a botched stitching job after a pacemaker replacement which resulted in a major infection, removal of the pacemaker and it’s now on his right collarbone. He’s had several open heart surgeries, and is now on pacemaker #9…