@chickendreams24
WOW! That's some rat! Hopefully you put a good dent into their population at your place.
I'm so sorry the rats killed your special Belle. I know she was your favorite.
Is your grandpa doing a little better? Did his infection respond to treatment?
Hi guys thanks for the responses.
No we don't live in town scarily. No joke I know there's rats in the country it's prime habitat but until last summer here(about 1 year ago)in this home I've never seen a wild rat. Period. We've never seen any of their large droppings or seen them at all. I've lived in several places and most of my life in the country and seen nothing. Even when I lived in a small town(not a city) we never saw a thing and there was a vacant barn behind our property line.
Now since the problem here we have also found evidence(rat droppings) on my grandparent's property that they have rats too. But they have barn cats and we've never seen a rat there(or any piece of one).
Not going to lie I wish I knew someone with a pack of ratting terriers. I saw some videos on YouTube of it and it would have been our preferred method to the poison especially since they became very bold. Since we don't, we had to do this. I hate poison but having lost nearly a dozen juveniles when all was said and done and Belle it was our last choice.
@Faraday40
Thanks for the hug I've definitely been in need of one.
Thank you for your concern. Yes Belle was a favorite but it could have been worse if they had attacked Pebbles, roosting next to Belle, I think I might have just given up on chickens all together. I know I shouldn't play favorites but I think we all can't help but have a few and Pebbles thinks she's a dog I swear. Lol she also wants to be a house chicken. Every time we carry in groceries and have the doors propped open Pebbles and two of my OEGB Minnie and Crocket have to be carried out. Lol Pebbles has made it clear through the porch into the kitchen on a number of occasions lol.
Belle was such a sweet beautiful chicken especially after she was treated for a slow crop this spring after eating some overly long grass.
Pebbles was quite upset by the loss of Belle her last sister but has come around. Pebbles gets along with everyone so that helps but I can tell she misses her. I don't think Pebbles has resumed laying. In fact bc of the rats and lice(despite only finding lice or nits on 6 birds)we are doing poorly with egg numbers. We also have several premature molters most of whom are at about the right age but I was expecting them to wait until fall. Perhaps the stress and crazy weather are to blame. It's been very cool here at night.
Egg numbers are beginning to pick up and I think that has a lot to do with the lack of rats which not only ate the eggs but stressed and scared the birds. Thank goodness we haven't seen any. We are still being super careful with the juvenile coop in case the losses start again. It's frustrating how many babies we lost that I wanted, and of course mostly females. Ugh.
My Grandpa did respond to treatment but he still has the infected bed sore. We are told it could take up to more than a year to heal completely but it's likely that he will have it for the rest of his life. He is in a different facility the third one he's been in this year not counting the two hospitals and the facility that regulated his Alzheimer's meds(which he was in three times bc the other facilities were screwing him up). It's been long and hard and scary.
Grandpa is more like a father to me and I know we're coming down to the wire. We were told that the treatment could cause his Alzheimer's to worsen. We weren't fully prepared for how much. He's there locked inside his own mind most of the time. He spends much of his time looking at the floor. He's still mobile and most of the time continent if they listen when he says he has to go potty. If he could see himself now he would be ashamed. He wouldn't want us to see him like this. My Grandpa is a strong and handsome man humble and proud at the same time. This is his worst nightmare come true.
It's so very hard. He still enjoys helping the staff out he wipes tables after lunch and folds linens for no other reason than he wants to. He wants to be useful and he is. He feeds himself and sometimes he's lucid. When he looks at us there's recognition most of the time but he often doesn't connect.
Some days are better and those make it worth while. I know when he's passed on and is up in Heaven he will know we were there and that's the important part. He will know we kissed and hugged him and told him how much we love him. He will know we are not ashamed of him. Never. I've never been ashamed of him. I can't imagine that. Sadly Mike and I are the only grandchildren that visit. Although my sister in law did once before he was moved to bring my nephews and we've taken one of my nephews to see him. He responds more to the baby(my youngest nephew just turned one). He's always loved children.
So we're coming down to the wire and I wonder how much longer we'll be blessed with my Grandpa. I see the pain in Grandma's face as she sits beside him in front of a window soaking up the sun. She knows that soon he won't be here. I ache for her and for my family and for my Grandpa. I know if he's still aware locked in there that he's hurting just as we are. Aching to hold us and dance and laugh and tell us he loves us. Wishing to speak our names and tell us he hears us. Some people including a select few in our family might say that Grandpa is already gone. I know they're wrong I see him in those tired eyes when he makes a joke only he gets and a glint of mischief flashes through them before vanishing again.
Grandpa has lost a lot of weight despite eating all of his food at every meal. I fear his body once that of the strongest man I knew is starting to give out.
In truth there is no way to describe the fear and heap of other emotions. This is agony that surpasses any physical pain I've ever felt.
I apologize for the long post. I set out to update you guys on Grandpa and I suppose I got a little carried away. I know some of you can probably relate and others may be able to in the future. I pray daily that a cure for Alzheimer's is found. I hope that I can help you all to understand this disease in a different light and someday if you are ever touched by it I hope you can find a little hope from our family's take. Grandpa has and continues to show us all a humility and kindness, an innocence and a love we may not have known otherwise. Not all of you may know that I lived with my grandparents as one of their main caregivers for over 4+ years. In that time I can't tell you what all I learned. Despite it's many trials it was all worth it. I now worry my Grandma will deteriorate quickly once Grandpa goes but I hope we will keep her longer. They were school Sweethearts and are as in love today as ever.
As hard as this is I thank God for the time we have had with Grandpa. Originally when he was diagnosed I was 11 and he was only given a max of seven years. I'm turning 27 and it's been 16 years. It's a miracle.
