“Oh yes we are…”
The ENTIRE Hobbit soundtrack. All of it. For me to listen to. For free.
I’m not happy. Not happy at all. ^.^
Success! …. maybe… October 29, 2012
Well, the surgery went well… Whether or not it was successful, I don’t know. Iris was such a good girl.
There’s the classic dark scab…
It wasn’t as hard as I expected. Soaking her foot in the warm water with Epsom salts really helped soften the skin. The one bad thing is I didn’t get the infected pus out. It was stuck where I couldn’t get either the scalpel or tweezers, so I just had to say, “You know what, other folks have had this problem, and have just packed it with the antibiotic cream and bandaged it, and things have turned out fine.” So that’s what I did. The bad part about that is the infection is still there, and sometimes the bird will develop resistance to the antibiotic and it won’t work.
But, all that said, Iris is back with her pals, foot wrapped up in green VetWrap, climbing to the top roost, digging in cow pies, and having a grand time like chickens always do.
I gotta change the bandage today… all that cow poop isn’t the greatest thing to leave on her foot…
A Bit More Than Just Stitches… October 26, 2012
You may remember my post from a while ago mentioning how one of my old girls had bumblefoot. Well, I’ve got another one.
Iris, one of my Easter Eggers, has developed the infection in her right foot. If left untreated, it can be fatal. So… Since Iris, unlike Pansy, is still in her prime (she’s about 1.5 years old), I’ve gotta bite the bullet (no pun intended) and perform surgery. The “biggest” thing of that sort I’ve ever done was stitches, when one of my girls got attacked by a fox and got a gash in her back. This is definitely going to be a bit more than that.
Anyway, the procedure is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I’ve found some excellent resources and have been reading about it daily for the past week.
This page has some step by step photos and explanation of the process:
This video shows just what’s done (don’t watch if you’re squeamish!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdigBHE-GsQ
Wish me luck….
Newly Arrived! October 12, 2012
This morning we welcomed the newest member of our farm, a Jersey heifer!
I was able to video the birth as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znzw0EpU50w
We haven’t quite decided on a name… But tonight we narrowed it down to four: Gerta, Holly, Liza, and Mabel.
She’s just so stinkin’ adorabe!!
Valhalla September 30, 2012
My chickens and guineas live in Valhalla.
Yeah.
Right now it’s quite small — only 8×8 feet. Too small for 21 birds to spend 3 months of winter in all together. So I’m expanding it.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/valhalla-expansion
For not being builders or carpenters and having a good deal of miscommunication from all parties involved in this quest, I think it’s coming along very nicely. :)
