Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Sally
Today has been a rollercoaster ride with my poor old Sally; the woman where I keep my horses when I am away, told me last night Sally wasn't acting right. She wasn't eating, and was just standing there.

This morning she still hadn't eaten and wasn't acting right. I asked them to call the Vet to come on out. Well things went from bad to catastrophic; she was doing 'head pressing' where horses press their heads into the wall, and she freaked out and tried to crash through the stall bars, in fact her head went through the bars and the bars had to be cut to get her free.

The Vet called me asking if she had a Rabies vaccine (YES! Always get rabies - it's a $10 shot which not only protects the horse but YOU and your family - rabies = death). The neurological symptoms she was displaying could be rabies, brain tumor, stroke..... So with Rabies cleared up and with no other thing he could find wrong with her, it was decided that the most humane thing would be to put her down. It would have done no good to try to get her in a trailer to go to the Vet College - that would have ended badly I am sure, I have seen horses freaking out in a trailer - not good. At her age also, she could have had a stroke, or even a tumor. Why let her suffer? and she was a danger to those around her, crashing around trying to bash through things

So my poor old Sally is no more. One needs to have nerves of steel to have kids and pets


View attachment 3386080

05 April 2000 - 25 Jan 2023

I'm so very very sorry for loss. It surely is hard to be so far away.

 

[BY Bob]

Temperatures here warming rapidly - it is forecast to be 50 degrees by midnight. Isn't that crazy?
The pasture runs are inside the Chicken Palace complex but do not have a solid roof. They have hardware cloth and cattle panel to make them predator proof, but the rain comes in through the roof.

The complex is completely roofed. Limited rain and snow can get in.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Tonight's roosting was quite distressing. Poor Bernie was so desperate to get up to join the others in the rafters that she tried to use the electric wire to the flat panel heater as a step along the way. That did not end well.
Nobody is injured and the heater is OK - but I am beginning to get worried she will hurt herself.
I spent a while studying where they go and how they get there to try and come up with a scheme to stop them getting up there.
I am not sure if I can pull it off - but I have some long lengths of sacking that maybe I could drape across the rafters. I am a bit worried they will get tangled up somehow and I will cause more harm than good.
Need to noodle on that a bit.
Poor lonely Bernie.

OK this will be late, and I love Bernie but let's consider this: but have you had the thought that she wants to get up there in order to boot them off? Is she lonely, or just really hates that they've escaped her attentions?

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Thank you! This is all very helpful.

So the excessive poopy butt is likely caused by diarrhea, which is why I should try a fecal float test? I think I will try to call a vet here tomorrow to see if they do it.

When we gave her the bath, I saw the red skin was not bad. Next time I will add the coconut oil.

You can put on oil at any time if it's relatively clean back there. It will feel good to her.

 

[RoyalChick]

Sally
Today has been a rollercoaster ride with my poor old Sally; the woman where I keep my horses when I am away, told me last night Sally wasn't acting right. She wasn't eating, and was just standing there.

This morning she still hadn't eaten and wasn't acting right. I asked them to call the Vet to come on out. Well things went from bad to catastrophic; she was doing 'head pressing' where horses press their heads into the wall, and she freaked out and tried to crash through the stall bars, in fact her head went through the bars and the bars had to be cut to get her free.

The Vet called me asking if she had a Rabies vaccine (YES! Always get rabies - it's a $10 shot which not only protects the horse but YOU and your family - rabies = death). The neurological symptoms she was displaying could be rabies, brain tumor, stroke..... So with Rabies cleared up and with no other thing he could find wrong with her, it was decided that the most humane thing would be to put her down. It would have done no good to try to get her in a trailer to go to the Vet College - that would have ended badly I am sure, I have seen horses freaking out in a trailer - not good. At her age also, she could have had a stroke, or even a tumor. Why let her suffer? and she was a danger to those around her, crashing around trying to bash through things

So my poor old Sally is no more. One needs to have nerves of steel to have kids and pets


View attachment 3386080

05 April 2000 - 25 Jan 2023

Oh no! I am so very sorry. She was such a beautiful horse, and I am sure it was very stressful not being able to be there in person.
My heart goes out to you.
When you feel up to it maybe you could post a little tribute to her - give us some of her history and of course pictures.

 

[rural mouse]

There seems to be a subgroup of enablers emerging here!
I think part of the reason I am not in favor of feathered legs is that I really like the look of the snakeskin boots. With Bella I was besotted with her black snakeskin boots and both Babs and Eli have a similar style in green. I can't imagine it being better than that!

Feathering leaves the inner side of the legs and inside toe clean. You still have the snakeskin boots, but you also have extra fluffiness, including bloomers

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Ive been thinking on this. How about you thumbtack a sheet or 2 to the rafters or lower to block them off.

Same idea here, that you don't have to get up there, just tack them at the height you can reach. Like a tent ceiling.

 

[rural mouse]

There seems to be a subgroup of enablers emerging here!
I think part of the reason I am not in favor of feathered legs is that I really like the look of the snakeskin boots. With Bella I was besotted with her black snakeskin boots and both Babs and Eli have a similar style in green. I can't imagine it being better than that!

If you're that besotted with those boots, maybe you should get some of these....

https://petkeen.com/dong-tao-chicken/

 

[RoyalChick]

If you're that besotted with those boots, maybe you should get some of these....

https://petkeen.com/dong-tao-chicken/

I can't even handle looking at those!

 

[rural mouse]

Dearest Jaffar,
I don’t hate you. And I love looking at your feathered feet and everyone else’s feathered feet. I am just not convinced they would be such a great fit for the Chicken Palace.

They need slippers to keep their toes warm in the winter!