The Old Folks Home

[Wisher1000]

That was for Bamadude and REALLY didn't work out of context. Sorry.

 

[chickadoodles]

That can likely be fixed up. I read up a lot about how to restore the cabinets and machines last night (when I couldn't sleep), and I'm going to try tonight to remove the machine from the hinges and bring it downstairs so I can start the process of cleaning and oiling it up.

We've been lucky this past week to also finally find something that helps our terminally ill cat with her diarrhea. She's had it since November (it's part of her lymphoma) and her butt was so raw and red she couldn't sit with any pressure near it and it was often bleeding. We had tried so many different things that didn't work even the vet didn't know what to do. We thought we were going to have to euthanize. By the third day of treatment we could tell there was an improvement. It hasn't even been a week and her butt is mostly healed. She still has loose stool but much less frequently. This is something I'm glad I didn't give up on, although it just prolonged her life a little.

I have refinished a few pieces of furniture but no pro. I will do some reading and see what we can find. I know that it is going to mostly be removing the veneer and replacing it. The machine and trendle are in good shape and it works.Thank you.

That is great that you found a way to help your cat and that is feels better! I am sure that is a huge relief for her and you. As long as she is happier and more comfortable I think that is what is most important.

 

[bamadude]

That was for Bamadude and REALLY didn't work out of context. Sorry.

Stay out of the evidence room

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Wisher1000]

I was there visiting those "tomato" seeds you sent me.

 

[vehve]

Speaking of tomatoes, mine are doing great. Couple of weeks more, and they'll need bigger pots. So far the ones under the grow light are doing better than the ones on the windowsill, but this week should be pretty sunny so I'm hoping that they'll catch up.

 

[bamadude]

Allegedly

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I will NOT use antibiotics or whatever....

but one of my shipped eggs... hatched out a chick with a bent over neck.

From my research, I am thinking that maybe a vitamin dosage for a week might work well???

However, there is argument about maybe Poly-Vi-Sol has the wrong dosages... and isn't as good as other stuff...


is there a consensus as to what I should use? Or what is most efficacious? Or, should I just give it up and cull???

I don't use medicated feed, wormers or antibiotics except in very rare circumstances.
In a lifetime of keeping birds, I intentionally used medicated feed once. I bought corid a couple years ago and used it once for a flock that had coccidiosis. Luckily it has a long shelf life, this bottle is still almost full and expires in 2018.
After thousands of birds, I've wormed one rooster - because he had worms. If I lived where it was warm and wet for more of the year, I might have wormed more.
I used tetracycline that was prescribed by a vet after a fecal sample showed they had a severe clostridial infection.
I had 2 surviving hens from a raccoon attack that had deep, severe wounds on the head and neck. In addition to treating the wounds, I prophylactically injected them with combi-pen for 4 days to prevent infection.
That's it, in a lifetime.

why do you have wry neck on the list? Some of the stuff I have read said that it can be completely curable?

Is it because there is the risk that it is genetic?

yeah... I can't decide, since I wanted these to be BREEDER birds....

from what I was able to google, it is either a vitamin thing or a genetic thing..... so, I dunno

This hatch is SUPER disappointing so far.... but there are still a bunch of eggs in there... so I should still keep getting chicks today, and maybe even a few tomorrow....

Wry neck and wry tail are genetic scoliosis. They are recessive genes meaning both parents carry the same gene. They should not be used as breeders and if you identify the breeders that produced the bird, they should be culled as well.
Did you get them from shipped eggs?

Yikes, there is a sick Canadian goose in my front yard right now!

-Kathy

Very scary.

It's sick enough that I almost caught it with a net! Now it's walking around like a drunk person would and breathing through it's mouth
-Kathy

Quote:

At this point I'd rather not get not get officials involved.

I recommend catching it and taking it to either geese peace, international bird rescue or the state NPIP office. Tell them you found it about a mile from your place.
It really needs to be tested.
Do all this with clothes and shoes you don't use with your flocks. Keep all your birds away from anywhere the goose has been. AI dies from heat
Try not to walk around the area it has been in and then walk into your bird yards and houses. Discard any goose feces you find, that is one of the sources of transmission.

AI has a high mortality in our domestic fowl--wild geese and etc. are resistant enough to spread it though. Wild turkeys may also be a vector.

So are raptors. They eat the ducks and are then infected.

Also, do not help them hatch!

They either hatch or the do not.

Quote:

Ah, I'm still guilty of hatch-helping.

We have major humidity issues here. I help when it gets to the end.

The only ones I help are those I know I caused to be shrink wrapped. I had to help 3 shrink wrapped chicks a couple days ago.
From now on I'm setting eggs at about 5+ day intervals and each setting will be the same age and size eggs so they all hatch close together so I only have to open the hatcher once.

Just a thought... has the drought here in CA affected the food supply in a way that might cause a goose to get hypoglycemic?

-Kathy

Possible

Quote:

I would lock all of me birds up.... in dark and dismal barns and basements if needed, until the migration was over


way too many scary things out there this year

X2

I'm a bit nervous about the bird flu... I can't imagine the government coming to cull my flock. I would be devastated.

What a setback that would be. I would probably give up this time.

Kathy, hope the sick goose goes off somewhere and doesn't come back. Mostly hope it doesn't contaminate your flock.

.

I too, believe in trying to save any if there is the slightest chance they can recover. Whether they pull through or not, you still learn something and can use "it" the next time.

I've helped leg and foot problems a few times and in the end it wasn't worth the time and effort. Now I cull right away and concentrate on the vigorous ones.
They wouldn't make it in the wild and it isn't doing the bird or breed any benefit to assist weak birds.

Kathy I am so sorry you are going thru this.

Is there any way you could call the state ag dept to deal with the sick goose so your flock does not get sick?

Yeah, I'd definitely be worried. Last summer I was about to let chickens out and saw a sick sparrow sitting on their trough feeder. It didn't even move when I approached. I killed and burned it. Disinfected the feeder and washed down the run locking the chickens out of the run for the day.

Speaking of tomatoes, mine are doing great. Couple of weeks more, and they'll need bigger pots. So far the ones under the grow light are doing better than the ones on the windowsill, but this week should be pretty sunny so I'm hoping that they'll catch up.

I'm so late getting mine planted. I think I have 9 going and missed the waxing moon to plant the rest. New moon was the 18th so I need to plant them now.

@ChickenCanoe Both classes sound very informative and good. I can imagine how much work the 5-day thing must have been though.

Personally I'm a bit skeptic about teaching people how and when to inject their animals, if there's ever a need for that, it's usually some sort of drugs I think should never be administered without consulting a vet, and then the vet should either do it themselves, or teach the owner of the animal to do it on a case by case basis. But I have a slightly different view on animal medication than others.

We just took down the rest of the corrugated plastic on the coop, and changed the bedding in the run. Karin insisted on putting down some DE in there again, even though I protested. I kept screaming at her for not wearing a mask while playing with the stuff. Luckily it isn't the powdered form, it's the slightly coarser stuff. Then we added some sand, and some new straw. The boys seemed to like the new bedding in there.



The boys get to keep their heads for now, they're still getting along in the run. On the outside they do joust a bit, but nothing serious so far. I would still like to see some more meat on them, but I have a feeling they're going to be delicious.

Baby chicks are about 2½ weeks old now, still no clue on the genders, and they don't want to pose for the camera either. So my initial guess of 2 and 2 is still valid, that's based on their beak colors (the mother side seemed to grow with dark beaks on girls and yellow beaks on boys).

I agree on assuming the role of a vet but there are so few good avian vets and those with poultry experience are as rare as hens' teeth. We have a ton of vets around here, probably 20 within a couple miles. However, the 3 good poultry vets I know are all over an hour away. The only people I instruct to that depth all have good poultry experience.

Your bird space looks nice and comfy.

Spare time, lol... even if I had some, I don't think I have the verbal or written skills to pull something like that off.

As for book /article ideas, i have a bunch, but what they need is for someone like CC publish them in a way that makes sense. For example, I'd like to see an article written for the average chicken owner that explains how to stabilize a critically ill bird.

-Kathy

I've seen some concise and well written things you've posted on just that.

 

[dsqard]

Alaskan I had two babies at different times develop wry neck shortly after hatching. One chick and one turkey poult. I tried to resolve the issue with both of them using both polyvisol and I tried making a type of cervical collar for the poult to see if having something preventing it from getting into the "stargazing" position would work. I have to say I had to cull both babies. I am not an expert, but I tend to agree with the others that this is a genetic problem and not one that can be resolved. Definitely would not want to put a bird with this kind of issue into a breeding program. IMO (and that is what this is, opinion) you want to breed for vigor first.

 

[ronott1]

Alaskan I had two babies at different times develop wry neck shortly after hatching. One chick and one turkey poult. I tried to resolve the issue with both of them using both polyvisol and I tried making a type of cervical collar for the poult to see if having something preventing it from getting into the "stargazing" position would work. I have to say I had to cull both babies. I am not an expert, but I tend to agree with the others that this is a genetic problem and not one that can be resolved. Definitely would not want to put a bird with this kind of issue into a breeding program. IMO (and that is what this is, opinion) you want to breed for vigor first.

Great points!

The only times that it is worth trying to correct it is for silkies and polish because of the crest and brain swelling issues. With them, aspirin might be a better choice. The other time is for shipped eggs because flock nutrition from the breeder and shipping stress can cause all kinds of weird things to happen.

That is why I posted to try for several days to see if it resolves. If not, then it is likely genetic and the best thing is to cull.