The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[N F C]

If you go the the Month "tab" on Accuweather, it will show the actual and average. Goes back a year and will show the averages for the next year.


That is what my 2 alpaca geldings looked like this year. They were given to us last October, hadn't been sheared because whoever the guy is who "normally" does it wasn't responding in the Spring and by the time he did it was too late in the year. So I gave it a shot myself this spring. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? At least they were cooler this summer.

I'd love to see a photo of your alpacas Bruce!

 

[N F C]

Hi everyone - I have a sick husband (yay)! But I've just had an early Button chick hatch. They weren't due to start until tomorrow. Hopefully it'll give the others a hurry up so he won't be lonely for long. I need to go put my brooder together!

Sounds like we got lucky with our mutt - she's exciteable but a lovely dog. To all you dog groomers out there, how often should I be cutting her nails? It's one question I've never been able to find the answer to. She hates having it done as we have managed to nick the quick a couple of times (she has a few dark nails to make things fun). So it's one of those jobs I tend to put off. It's more of a two person job - one to cut and one to hold up the treat for Honey to focus on (one treat per foot completed).

I got some Japanese quail eggs yesterday so spring is in full swing at my end of the world. I just wish it wasn't so wet. I nearly lost my boot in the mud yesterday and ended up having to put a hand in the mud to stop me face planting! Then there was the slug that ended up crawling up my arm in the aviary - I hate slugs!!! I just did a little foot stomping, shoulder shuddering freak out dance and the birds all looked at me like I was insane! Yuck! Seriously, rain, rain, go AWAY!

I think we need the video of that dance J!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes!
The article said the same thing about heartworm. It is terrible!

Ahh okay! Sorry, I didn't read it, just your quote, so I wasn't sure.

Parasites are nasty things for sure. But so are poison chemicals. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

Very true.

Just because the risks are low of your dog getting heartworms in your area it can still happen, so you need to decide which risk you are willing to bet on. Many, many dogs get heartworms every year, most are in the south but here in central Wisconsin a few cases are seen at my local vet each year. I personally don't want to be the one who's dog has it when I could have prevented. I had a long talk with the vet tech there who is also paranoid about too much stuff going in her dogs too, she said it's one thing she would never skip.

That's very true too and I imagine the treatment is probably far more expensive than the prevention

Hi everyone - I have a sick husband (yay)! But I've just had an early Button chick hatch. They weren't due to start until tomorrow. Hopefully it'll give the others a hurry up so he won't be lonely for long. I need to go put my brooder together!

Sounds like we got lucky with our mutt - she's exciteable but a lovely dog. To all you dog groomers out there, how often should I be cutting her nails? It's one question I've never been able to find the answer to. She hates having it done as we have managed to nick the quick a couple of times (she has a few dark nails to make things fun). So it's one of those jobs I tend to put off. It's more of a two person job - one to cut and one to hold up the treat for Honey to focus on (one treat per foot completed).

I got some Japanese quail eggs yesterday so spring is in full swing at my end of the world. I just wish it wasn't so wet. I nearly lost my boot in the mud yesterday and ended up having to put a hand in the mud to stop me face planting! Then there was the slug that ended up crawling up my arm in the aviary - I hate slugs!!! I just did a little foot stomping, shoulder shuddering freak out dance and the birds all looked at me like I was insane! Yuck! Seriously, rain, rain, go AWAY!

I heard like every 2-4 weeks. I found a great article and video on it a while ago I'll see if I can find for you. If they are too long it can be bad for their joints and whole body. They say they're not supposed to click and some do it every 2 week but that might be a little bit extreme and not really necessary. But it does depend on the dog because some dogs nails grow really fast and some of those dogs that have them that short were sport dogs where too long nails can be really harmful. And also I think the 2 week thing might be if your dog's nails are really bad you can do it every 2 weeks for like 3 or 4 times or something. But yeah, I say probably every month

Sorry about the sick husband, that's no fun for either of you.

I trim my dogs nails every 3-4 weeks but mine are easy. Every dog is different, some wear them down more than others. If they are starting to hook than it's time to clip. Sometimes you can see those quicks by looking at the underside of the nails, that what I look at, as well as taking small slices and watching for change to a more solid looking material that signals you are close to the quick. But fighting with the dog can make it harder.

You said it better hah

And yeah exactly, I look at the underside for Gator. They're like hollow underneath. His haven't been trimmed in forever though

 

[DigMyChicks]

Yes! Not all types carry heart worm:
Relatively low actual incidence of life-threatening infection. Heartworm disease is more difficult to acquire – and less lethal – than the dire warnings and marketing claims for chemical preventives would have you believe.

In order for heartworm disease to take hold, a precise sequence of events must occur involving the right climate, the right temperature for the right amount of time, the right species and sex of mosquito, and your dog's less-than-optimal immune system function.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...rs-been-told-these-facts-about-heartworm.aspx

Thank you for posting that link.

 

[JaeG]

Thanks everyone - I can see a difference under the nail where the quick is now that you've told me what to look for.

Daylight savings start tomorrow . I'm not a fan. It's too early anyway!

My cockatiel chicks took off flying on me yesterday (well, except the youngest who prioritises sleeping over most things). The breeder has some more chicks for me to raise so he's going to drop them off to me and clip the older chicks wings.

 

[User395221]

With nails, I have clippers with a guard on the back, you can only cut a little bit at a time. If you've got a nail that's hard to see the quick, you can use a torch. I think a little bit, often is better/easier than less frequently and "huge drama".

 

[CapricornFarm]

With nails, I have clippers with a guard on the back, you can only cut a little bit at a time. If you've got a nail that's hard to see the quick, you can use a torch. I think a little bit, often is better/easier than less frequently and "huge drama".

When Chip says torch, that means flashlight. Skip the torch, roasting your dogs foot is not going to help, lol. Just translating. I think those terms are neat, like your car has a boot. In other words, it has a trunk.

 

[User395221]

Skip the torch, roasting your dogs foot is not going to help, lol.

Just use a mini led torch or something, it only takes a second and you can see what's what. It doesn't cook their foot. It's better than hitting the quick.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Just use a mini led torch or something, it only takes a second and you can see what's what. It doesn't cook their foot. It's better than hitting the quick.

I know that, just pulling your leg. We call them flashlights. I don't need one, i probably have done more nails than many vets. If you do hit a quick, they have stuff called Quick Stop that works well.

 

[drumstick diva]

Quick stop does work well. But the screeching and blood were bad for me When I had trimmed nails as close as I dared (not very close), I would finish with a special nail file thing I got. The short sides kept the nail in the right grove, and the floor of the item had something more gritty that sandpaper. I just had to hold the thing in one hand and use the other hand to move the nail back and forth. Did a good job and the dogs didn't seem to care.