Yes I know it's been ages since I posted & I'm really sorry for that. BYC has been such an important part of my life for about 4 years now I guess. There have been many time I wanted to post, but my energy seems to be very short lived nowadays.
First things first, my special little handicapped rooster, Grace. Some of you will remember back to the day I wrote here at BYC urgently needing help to save this little guy. I found Grace almost dead from exposure to freezing weather, right in front of his momma & I revived him after working on him for 45 minutes, but he has been disabled every since almost dying.
To put it simply; Grace has been able to walk, but not stand up on his feet, he always falls over without some outside help, like hands or board pathways so he can bing back & forth to stay upright. Between me & my very much loved little BB Silkie hen, Babydoll, we got little Grace to adulthood & of course Grace would not survive without me & I would not survive without this little bundle of fun & joy.
This is Grace's first picture right after I revived him.
He seems to be some what failing I think. He was doing so good this past summer. Fighting through the fence with the two neighboring Silkies roosters, trying to mate with his little mate, Laz, while in their customized coop area & in general raising all the roosterly hell that he could, yet still staying bound at the hip to me, his bigger hen.
As many here know, Grace & Laz even adopted an egg & raised a little full blooded Mottled Cochin Bantam guy. Grace loved that experience & it was such a joy to see him "play" with his little son.
I am hoping that all the problem with Grace has to do with the cold weather. I'm sure that the little guy has Arthritis, making it painful for him to move about. He usually is very good at getting back up on his feet if he falls between his board pathways, but the past few weeks he doesn't seem to have the strength to pull himself back up. He is also stumbling backward & them falling down into awkward positions, making it more difficult to get back up.
I have a floor heating pad for him to nest down on, a heat bulb above him in his coop & even a heat bulb above his favorite spot in his special yard. In spite of this, I am having to be sure he is held in place to eat & drink. He has food in his coop area & his outdoors run area.
I just started to give him a very small chip of Schiff's "Pain Free" in the hopes that it may ease the problem. I am also thinking of giving him a very small chip of Aspirin each day also, because he squawks every time I pick him up when he is all jammed down into a pathway. I think it is hurting him to grab him around his rib cage.
O also have him on V&E's on a permanent basis, till it warms up again next summer.
Any ideas friends. After all, Grace was a BYC team effort for a long time. It really hurts to think this special little guy may be having more crippling physical issues starting up. But the good thing is that Grace has been given a very good life in spite of the handicap. And I as well have been blessed beyond words by this little bundle of happiness.
Grace taking over his mate, Laz' small laying box. He is just too funny at times & very unpredictable. :lol
Well that's it for now friends. All prayers for Grace will be very much appreciated. He truly is an example of God's special little creations that we call birds & chickens....well OK! And Turkeys, of which I am keeping happy more than 100 Wild Turkeys on a daily basis this year. We just love them around with all the California Quail, Morning Doves, Chickadees, Jenkos, Pine Finch & many, many other species of wild bird. God has truly blessed Carol & I in our latter years of life on Planet Earth.
All our photos of Grace, our other pet Bantams & our home in the woods that the Lord has given us, at this URL. We would love to share it with all you friends.
http://community.webshots.com/user/ddkites
God bless each & everyone of you wonderful people @ BYC. All of us at the Martin house (and Grace's house) send warm happy wishes for your Thanksgiving day & much love.
Verlin, Carol & all of Grace's family.
Elk, WA
First things first, my special little handicapped rooster, Grace. Some of you will remember back to the day I wrote here at BYC urgently needing help to save this little guy. I found Grace almost dead from exposure to freezing weather, right in front of his momma & I revived him after working on him for 45 minutes, but he has been disabled every since almost dying.
To put it simply; Grace has been able to walk, but not stand up on his feet, he always falls over without some outside help, like hands or board pathways so he can bing back & forth to stay upright. Between me & my very much loved little BB Silkie hen, Babydoll, we got little Grace to adulthood & of course Grace would not survive without me & I would not survive without this little bundle of fun & joy.
This is Grace's first picture right after I revived him.
He seems to be some what failing I think. He was doing so good this past summer. Fighting through the fence with the two neighboring Silkies roosters, trying to mate with his little mate, Laz, while in their customized coop area & in general raising all the roosterly hell that he could, yet still staying bound at the hip to me, his bigger hen.
As many here know, Grace & Laz even adopted an egg & raised a little full blooded Mottled Cochin Bantam guy. Grace loved that experience & it was such a joy to see him "play" with his little son.
I am hoping that all the problem with Grace has to do with the cold weather. I'm sure that the little guy has Arthritis, making it painful for him to move about. He usually is very good at getting back up on his feet if he falls between his board pathways, but the past few weeks he doesn't seem to have the strength to pull himself back up. He is also stumbling backward & them falling down into awkward positions, making it more difficult to get back up.
I have a floor heating pad for him to nest down on, a heat bulb above him in his coop & even a heat bulb above his favorite spot in his special yard. In spite of this, I am having to be sure he is held in place to eat & drink. He has food in his coop area & his outdoors run area.
I just started to give him a very small chip of Schiff's "Pain Free" in the hopes that it may ease the problem. I am also thinking of giving him a very small chip of Aspirin each day also, because he squawks every time I pick him up when he is all jammed down into a pathway. I think it is hurting him to grab him around his rib cage.
O also have him on V&E's on a permanent basis, till it warms up again next summer.
Any ideas friends. After all, Grace was a BYC team effort for a long time. It really hurts to think this special little guy may be having more crippling physical issues starting up. But the good thing is that Grace has been given a very good life in spite of the handicap. And I as well have been blessed beyond words by this little bundle of happiness.
Grace taking over his mate, Laz' small laying box. He is just too funny at times & very unpredictable. :lol
Well that's it for now friends. All prayers for Grace will be very much appreciated. He truly is an example of God's special little creations that we call birds & chickens....well OK! And Turkeys, of which I am keeping happy more than 100 Wild Turkeys on a daily basis this year. We just love them around with all the California Quail, Morning Doves, Chickadees, Jenkos, Pine Finch & many, many other species of wild bird. God has truly blessed Carol & I in our latter years of life on Planet Earth.
All our photos of Grace, our other pet Bantams & our home in the woods that the Lord has given us, at this URL. We would love to share it with all you friends.
http://community.webshots.com/user/ddkites
God bless each & everyone of you wonderful people @ BYC. All of us at the Martin house (and Grace's house) send warm happy wishes for your Thanksgiving day & much love.
Verlin, Carol & all of Grace's family.
Elk, WA
