Shetland sheep have changed my life and touched my heart. They have brought me joy, adventure and serenity. Follow along as I live each day influenced by memories of my mighty flock of mini sheep ~ aided and abetted by "Bellamica", the English Shepherd,"Sable", my livestock guardian dog and "Hero" the rescue dog that stole my heart! You'll also meet many of the homeless dogs that I rescue and rehome as part of Bluff Country Canine Rescue.
Monday, October 26, 2009
When My Heart is Heavy....
I sit with my sheep.
DREAM
DAZZLE
DESTINY
ANGEL
ZEST
ALICE
They give me strength.
DREAM says...
"Mom's sad because one of her chickens is very sick. We're going to give her LOTS of extra cuddles to help her through this..."
That's one thing about sheep, their wool is so nice to nuzzle into when you're sad. And they're always so ready and willing to sympathize. I hope your chicken gets well. It's hard to find a vet who knows much about treating chickens. But at least you know how to give injections now and probably have an assortment of antibiotics on hand. Whatever the problem is, good luck!
Dreamers... you and the girls keep giving Mom lots of TLC. She cares so much for all of her animals that it's hard for her when one of them isn't feeling well. Big Hugs, Meem
Im sorry you have a sick chicken, it's certainly not your fault, you've given those chickens more love and happy living conditions than most chickens could dream of! Its probably just an inherant trait. I hope they feel better soon, but im glad you have your sheep in the meantime! The pictures are ALL gorgeous, but especially Dazzle, she's so grown up!, and the last one of Alice seems different, sweeter, of her. Very nice :)
you can give chickens Penicillin in the muscle (1/2-1 cc) you can also force them to drink electrolytes with a medicine dropper when they are so sick they don't eat or drink. We have also given the egg yolk crumbs down their beak when they are sick as that has a lot of energy. We had a whole bunch of sick chickens once and saved their lives by treating them (2 died before we treated them.) You should separate the sick one with a friend. Good luck!
Sorry to hear about your chicken sickness. Birds are so much less hardy when it comes to diseases. They tend to not show any symptoms until its almost too late to help them. Having had pigeons for 17 years I can certainly relate.
Its especially hard when you bring in multiple birds from multiple other flocks and locations geographically. They all have immunization towards their local stuff but then introduce all of them into the same area and if you aren't careful (which I know you were being careful) someone or something can be a carrier for a disease..whether in the droppings or respiratory or whatever. Anything not vaccinated or their immune system not kept up to par will have issues.
I should have learned but I lost 100 birds or more last year after bringing back 8 birds from Des Moines. New birds that were all vaccinated brought the disease with them and three YEARS of my personal breedings were all lost due to them not being vaccinated (i was trying to be organic and not vaccinate) and I lost all of those birds to the sickness. Not something I'm proud of, but am moving forward. tens of thousands of dollars I lost because of that.
Live and learn HARD I guess.
And i was being careful too.
Hugs to you and your critters. I hope the little guy pulls through !
I hope the little chicken recovers soon!
ReplyDeleteUh-oh, what happened?!
ReplyDelete:(. I hope the chicken gets well and that Miss Lily comes home to you. ((hugs))
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing about sheep, their wool is so nice to nuzzle into when you're sad. And they're always so ready and willing to sympathize. I hope your chicken gets well. It's hard to find a vet who knows much about treating chickens. But at least you know how to give injections now and probably have an assortment of antibiotics on hand. Whatever the problem is, good luck!
ReplyDeleteDreamers... you and the girls keep giving Mom lots of TLC. She cares so much for all of her animals that it's hard for her when one of them isn't feeling well.
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs,
Meem
Im sorry you have a sick chicken, it's certainly not your fault, you've given those chickens more love and happy living conditions than most chickens could dream of! Its probably just an inherant trait. I hope they feel better soon, but im glad you have your sheep in the meantime! The pictures are ALL gorgeous, but especially Dazzle, she's so grown up!, and the last one of Alice seems different, sweeter, of her. Very nice :)
ReplyDeleteI hope the chicken recovers soon. Your sheep are very cute: )
ReplyDeleteEveryone should have such beautiful and sensitive companions to comfort them in their sorrows. I hope your chicken is well soon.
ReplyDeleteA hug from Ohio! I hope everything works out for you and your "kids":) Dazzle looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo sad when an animal is ill - you can sense their feelings, but they can't tell you specifics. Your sheep are beautiful, as are your chickens.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the kind words and support. It helps more than you may know...
ReplyDeleteyou can give chickens Penicillin in the muscle (1/2-1 cc) you can also force them to drink electrolytes with a medicine dropper when they are so sick they don't eat or drink. We have also given the egg yolk crumbs down their beak when they are sick as that has a lot of energy. We had a whole bunch of sick chickens once and saved their lives by treating them (2 died before we treated them.) You should separate the sick one with a friend. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNancy are you sure that isn't coccidiosis with the chicken? How's his poop?
ReplyDeleteHey Nancy,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your chicken sickness. Birds are so much less hardy when it comes to diseases. They tend to not show any symptoms until its almost too late to help them. Having had pigeons for 17 years I can certainly relate.
Its especially hard when you bring in multiple birds from multiple other flocks and locations geographically. They all have immunization towards their local stuff but then introduce all of them into the same area and if you aren't careful (which I know you were being careful) someone or something can be a carrier for a disease..whether in the droppings or respiratory or whatever. Anything not vaccinated or their immune system not kept up to par will have issues.
I should have learned but I lost 100 birds or more last year after bringing back 8 birds from Des Moines. New birds that were all vaccinated brought the disease with them and three YEARS of my personal breedings were all lost due to them not being vaccinated (i was trying to be organic and not vaccinate) and I lost all of those birds to the sickness. Not something I'm proud of, but am moving forward. tens of thousands of dollars I lost because of that.
Live and learn HARD I guess.
And i was being careful too.
Hugs to you and your critters. I hope the little guy pulls through !
Oh, I'm so slow :o(
ReplyDeleteI've not been blogging much, but I'm very sorry to hear about the Chuck. Sending get well thoughts and hugs xxxx