Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gaitngirl]

Don't even talk to me about rescues and suckers for sad cases!!!! I'm vice chair for a local rescue. I fostered a mama and her 9 (yes 9!) puppies this last winter. I still have 3 left - one of which we are keeping because he's a problem child and will be near impossible to adopt out. He has severe allergies and is a bit neurotic. Two are almost 70 lbs now at 8 months old and are still growing. They are golden retriever/lab mixes (with chow most likely) and it's unbelievable some of the people who apply for the dogs in our care. We took in 15 kittens last week alone . . . and are still being contacted about more daily. Everyone wants our rescue to vet them, fix them, and then they think they should be free. Even after we give them the list of the vet fees for each animal.
We always vet, vaccinate, spay/neuter, worm, and microchip the dogs that are adopted out through us. Cats are tested for HIV/Leukemia, vetted/vacc., spayed/neutered, but not generally microchipped. We always come out behind money wise because there aren't many that will pay $300 or more for a rescue dog or $150 for a rescue cat. We have a heartworm positive dog going through treatments, an abuse case that died from severe internal injuries (a 7 week old puppy that was thrown and kicked into a wall - he incurred almost $500 in vet fees and still couldn't be saved), and a dog going through treatments for severe mange and related infections. The adoption fees almost never cover what we've put into the pet. And we don't even count what we pay for the food, treats, toys, etc. We occasionally get food donations but I pay roughly $150/per month just in food, bones, and treats for the 3 in my care . . . out of my own pocket. We don't take in enough through fundraisers and donations to cover food expenses, unfortunately.
Sorry - didn't mean to jump up on the soapbox. Stepping down now . . .

 

[gaitngirl]

I'm sure your sister the vet sees all sorts of fun cases, too!!!

 

[naglady]

This am caught a opposum,
chickens are safe.. not worried about them at night.

Sam that is funny, you can always freeze for another dinner.. lol

when our cats are gone we arent getting anymore either.. litter box.. plus 2 are in their teens and the 3rd is getting up there in age..
but we love them and they are safe here till its their time.

 

[Opa]

Sam that is funny, you can always freeze for another dinner.. lol

Frozen feline, catsickles, kold kat, I'd never thought much about it but the options are limitless.

 

[jrsckn]

I agree, my cat is 16 and when she goes, that's it for cats in my household. No more litter boxes! We have too many feral cats here to even consider an outdoor cat.

 

[Opa]

The amount of wildlife killed by both feral and free roaming cats is almost beyond belief. My neighbors let their cat out daily and I've lost count of the number of baby rabbits I've seen it with. At least most predators kill out of necessity. Your typical pet feline kills just for sport not sustenance.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:Originally Posted by gaitngirl I haven't been on for a while, is this one OK? Broke wing? What kind is she? A gimped wing may not be a deal breaker, they don't fly anyway! Looks like you are keeping it close to heal good.

Quote:Originally Posted by Trefoil

gotten into that,,, yet.
Good luck with the inspection,Raz

Uh oh. That's how i lost my first flock! They went right past the open grain and ate every last bird except my roo. Thanks for letting me know, i dread this time of year and try to take extra precautions so the little buggers can't get in to my birds!

 

[Huston's Happy Hens]

We've had opposums in with our girls at night when we close them up...they've never been interested in anything but the food.

 

[nluoma]

Oh dear. It looks like three of our Mille Fleur bantams are Roos. I was hoping for one or two. Thinking of. Bringing them to chickenstock. Would anyone babe interested in a swap? Willing to take any bantam hens!

 

[gladahmae]

If your flock appears healthy one morning's observation of "red stool" isn't justification to start treating birds that may not be sick. Are the droppings bloody or is it just a very reddish example of cecal droppings. I personally would wait until the 2nd day and see if the droppings are still a concern.

That's what we're doing. I'm in no rush to spend $25 on the meds, or fill my chicks with meds they may not need. Everyone seems to be doing fine except for 1 pullet who wants to lay on her side.....and I think that's more of a breed issue and not a bacterial/viral issue.

Don't even talk to me about rescues and suckers for sad cases!!!! I'm vice chair for a local rescue. I fostered a mama and her 9 (yes 9!) puppies this last winter. I still have 3 left - one of which we are keeping because he's a problem child and will be near impossible to adopt out. He has severe allergies and is a bit neurotic. Two are almost 70 lbs now at 8 months old and are still growing. They are golden retriever/lab mixes (with chow most likely) and it's unbelievable some of the people who apply for the dogs in our care. We took in 15 kittens last week alone . . . and are still being contacted about more daily. Everyone wants our rescue to vet them, fix them, and then they think they should be free. Even after we give them the list of the vet fees for each animal.
We always vet, vaccinate, spay/neuter, worm, and microchip the dogs that are adopted out through us. Cats are tested for HIV/Leukemia, vetted/vacc., spayed/neutered, but not generally microchipped. We always come out behind money wise because there aren't many that will pay $300 or more for a rescue dog or $150 for a rescue cat. We have a heartworm positive dog going through treatments, an abuse case that died from severe internal injuries (a 7 week old puppy that was thrown and kicked into a wall - he incurred almost $500 in vet fees and still couldn't be saved), and a dog going through treatments for severe mange and related infections. The adoption fees almost never cover what we've put into the pet. And we don't even count what we pay for the food, treats, toys, etc. We occasionally get food donations but I pay roughly $150/per month just in food, bones, and treats for the 3 in my care . . . out of my own pocket. We don't take in enough through fundraisers and donations to cover food expenses, unfortunately.
Sorry - didn't mean to jump up on the soapbox. Stepping down now . . .

Right there with you! Fortunately I just foster, so I don't have to worry about the bills and income in the same way you do. We feed our fosters out of our own pocket as well......we can afford it, and the rescue needs that money for other things. One of our lead people was trying to talk me into a mama who is due with pups in about 2 weeks. Nooooooo way. I've got way too much going on to whelp pups and then get attached! We're over our agreed-upon (between me and DH) foster limit right now because our foster went out on trial and came back the same night (looooong story that irritates the heck outta me) and we'd already taken on a different foster. So now we're back to 2 fosters. (And 13 chicks in the basement brooder, 14 in the grow out coop, 15 in the layer coop, and 68 in the meat tractors, and 35 eggs in the incubator. Ooooooh Lord, we're busy right now.) I've got chicken math and DOG math going on!