Monday PM: Just got back from my away day with the girls and a fabulous time was had by all of us š
Update on the Guinea pig versus ferret episode:
Saturday night, I heard the guinea pig squealing at around 10pm went out with a torch to see a ferret chewing on his neck, the ferret disappeared quickly and I got the pig out and bought him in to do some first aid on him and put him in a box out the back for the night.
Sunday morning I got an old cage, cleaned it up and put the guinea pig in there to get better, the damage surprisingly was not to bad just superficial. Bearing in mind I was due to go away it was all hands to the pump to set a live trap and try to catch this ferret otherwise it would be starting on my rabbits and bantams! John called later in the day to say it had been caught, though I never got to see it, it was obviously a pet as it was quite tame and must have been on the run for a while as it was also underweight and had lice.
Back to Monday: John has done a sterling job looking after everything albeit only for 24 hrs lol, itās still a big responsibility š and decisions have to be made and he has booked Kai in to see the vet for tonight. Kai has been off his food for nearly a week, is limping and is reluctant to leave his bed, these are not good signs, if he has a temperature and needs antibiotics that will be he best outcome, if itās not that then itās more serious and we will be saying goodnight to him.
Well he returned with Kai and he has had a shot of painkiller and antibiotic although the vet could not find anything obvious wrong with him except the tenderness he is feeling in his front leg. However he needs to eat in the morning, if he doesnāt he is not going to get any better and an appointment has been made for tomorrow night just in case.
Tuesday: Obviously my first thought for the day was to feed Kai and see if we can get him to eat, success, he seems a little perkier and has eaten a bowl of wet food, the call to cancel the appointment can be made and we can pick up some more medication. It doesnāt mean he is out of the woods yet though, if the meds donāt help him to improve then we are back to square one and decision time so fingers crossed. He is twelve this coming year, which doesnāt seem old but it is for a husky and he has lived outside all his life and so is bound to suffer with his joints more readily than a house dog. We bought him indoors yesterday evening until his appointment but it is clear that itās unfair on him to change his surroundings, especially when itās a lot warmer than he is used to.
As for the rest of the morning, the guinea pig is doing well and I was going to put him back with the rabbit BUT on my morning rounds I found a dead baby bunny, one of the ones that had escaped and we hadnāt been able to catch. A bit of detective work and I could see that it had been bitten out in the paddock as there was a patch of fur, it has then made a dash for the orchard pen as it can get through the pheasant wire and died in there. Question is, what has bitten it in the first place? Possibly a fox has tried to catch it or we maybe have more than one ferret on the premises so I have reset the live trap to see if anything else is caught. Always something š The chickens, ducks and geese are all tickety boo thank goodness. I filled up the wild bird feeders and have turned on the wildlife camera to see if I can get some footage of how many there are and what type.
The wildlife camera in the day was a disaster the only footage I got was of me opening and closing it! I will try again maybe at dusk.
Kai seems to have made quite a remarkable recovery, he is back to barking, wolfing his dinner down (with the meds in) and hardly limping, fingers crossed it stays like that.
Wednesday: The weather continues to be mild which makes going outside pleasant enough and at least the wind is drying things up a little.
Not much on the to do list today, Mia arrived and did a bit of baking, a crazy, wacky chocolate cake, no eggs, no dairy so great for Josh to share when he arrived later in the morning.
Put some more rat bait down when I put the birds to bed and that was pretty much it, just as well as the weather has turned quite foul out there, the wind was blowing a hoolie all night long. Went out to get a bit of shopping after dark and saw two tiny baby deer on the side of the road, goodness knows what they were doing out and hopefully Mum was not far away.
Thursday: The wind is still going, though not so fierce, got the morning rounds done, cleaned out the smaller rabbit run and the girl baby rabbit cage while I was at it. Then inside to make some bread, I made whole meal the other day but it was a bit like lead lol so gone back to white with a bit of whole meal flour mixed in as I now need to use it up. John came home at lunchtime and cut up some of the wood mountain š while I cleaned and tidied up the boot room a little, it gets so dusty and cluttered in there that it needs a sort now and again.
I heard or read a saying āa story told is a life livedā that has stuck with me all week (I googled it and it was from Outlander!) For some reason it struck a chord with me and I am glad to be able tell my daily story albeit a cutting room floor version, trust me you wouldnāt want the full blown ālife of Dawnā version, to start with it would take a week to read and secondly I would probably get a lot of hate mail due to the sarcastic tone I would inevitably adopt š Maybe one day under a pseudonym, invitation only, those who have a strong mind and a sense of humour š
I did the afternoon feeding and John did the putting to bed, āput the grey bin out and feed the dogā I tagged in as he was going out of the door, 34 years and the training is only just kicking in š
The temperature has dropped rapidly outside tonight so looks like a cold start tomorrow morning, I follow a page called Reality Weather which looks at very long range forecast and the movements of weather fronts, blockages etc, we might be in for an extremely cold and prolonged snap either this winter or next, yep thatās how long range it is, they canāt tell exactly because it depends on how the fronts move but it seems there is some unusual movement going on in the Northern hemisphere which will eventually wreak havoc! I look forward to that š and in the light of the information I will make sure we are well stocked up in wood and food just in case š
Friday: My rounds took longer than usual this morning, firstly I checked on Herbie the guinea pig and his eyes had closed over so I got him out and bathed them, happily they are now open and he looks fine. He is still on the sick ward out the back, apart from his eyes he seems ok still eating and drinking and no sign of infection in fact his neck has healed well though it does look like leather it will probably restore given time. Then it was onto the routine stuff, cleaning out the ducks on the way round, when I let the bantams out in the orchard I noticed one was not looking well, hunched and not running for food like the others. I picked her up and immediately could feel that her crop was full, this should not happen, in the morning a hens crop should be empty as the food they have eaten the day before should have been digested overnight. The first step is to massage the crop to loosen the compaction, then hold the hen upside down and continue massaging, gravity will help to move the obstruction, sure enough though it took about ten minutes, a smelly mess began to appear from her beak, I began to gently pull it to help it along it was a mix of straw and grain. Young chickens can be a bit stupid and eat anything, this one has decided straw might be good, itās not, and that is what has caused the blockage. I bought her in and I gave her some kefir by syringe, a delicate job as you can accidentally send the liquid into her lungs which would be fatal. Then I made her some scrambled egg and put her in the dog cage in the back room with some water, I canāt make her eat but hopefully she will pick up enough to want to eat. The kefir is a fermented coconut drink which I happen to be taking at the moment, it is full of good bacteria and hopefully will help to process anything left in the crop. The rest of the rounds went with out incident š
I have said before that I could do with a little hospital corner, a couple of purpose built in cages that are easily accessible so that anything poorly can be monitored with ease, may put that one on the to do list.
Did some tidying and putting away in the back area, another dumping ground that needs doing every now and then, and then got the bantam out to repeat the upside down massage, not much in there now but she still hasnāt eaten or drunk anything so unless she does she will probably got into heart failure if she is not already on the way.
Had a discussion about Kai this afternoon, although initially he picked up a little, there has been no improvement and this afternoon he started growling at me when I tried to get him up, he has a course of meds and painkiller and we will finish those and see what happens but itās not looking good he should have improved a fair bit by now.
John came home early and cut up some more of the wood mountain š I put the front birds to bed and he did the back lot, it was bloody freezing even then so we also did the water ready for the morning and there was ice in the hosepipe already brrrrr. I have been putting rat poison down each time the last lot disappears, which it is going alarmingly fast, this time of year they are looking for an easy feed and somewhere dry to sleep, right under the hen house is ideal but Iām determined to knock them on the head quickly.
I bought an eco washing egg, I looked at the reviews and thought I would give it a try, it probably wonāt be so good on heavily soiled garments but on normal day to day wear it should be fine, they last for 720 washes apparently and obviously kinder to the environment in terms of chemicals, packaging reduction and general manufacturing, I hope they are good, I will let you know.
Saturday: Itās only 10am and we have had a proper morning of it, had to call the vet to book Kai in today as he is not eating again, this will be his final appointment š© and you donāt realise how it affects you until you try to talk to the receptionist on the phone šŖ The Guinea pig has not made it, turns out there was infection under the skin, the bantam doesnāt look like she will make it but I have put her out with the others for today to see if being with them helps pick her up and something upset the horses all around and Jack cleared a 5ft fence into the next paddock! Roll on wine oāclock š
On the upside the girl baby rabbits went off to their new home this morning, in one fell swoop we have 4 less mouths to feed now one way or another.
I canāt settle to do the jobs needed, made bread, lit the fire, waiting for John to return with an empty collar and lead, I cried when I put him in the car, he has been an amazing dog, pulling John around the block on the skateboard for his daily exercise a few years back, keeping an eye on everything night and day, driving me mad with his yapping sometimes, he is irreplaceable.
I have just done the first wash with the eco egg and I have to say Iām quite impressed, it was a whites wash and the clothes look clean and fresh, fresher than usual, high hopes for this egg š darks next and we we see how that comes out.
Sunday: A beautiful crisp, sunny but bloody cold morning! John went out and did the feed rounds and reported that there was a dead rat in the front chicken hut, thatās good at least we are managing to kill them off, well one at least š I stayed inside and did a few small household tasks and then the biggy we had on the list today which is sweeping the flue and cleaning out the Rayburn. A very dirty job but very necessary as we donāt ever want a repeat of a chimney fire again, we clean it depending on the amount of use it has had and now was as good a time as any.
I have done three washes with the eco egg and Iām still pretty impressed I have to say, the clothes look fresh and clean, you can add conditioner if you want it to smell nice but I havenāt as yet as I canāt see the point, Iām in the minority camp of liking my bath towels rough not fluffy so I wonāt even put some in when I wash those.
Last night was the first night without Kai and I woke up this morning thinking I had heard him bark, which of course I didnāt, makes me wonder how many times I had thought I heard him when he was here when really I didnāt, dreamt it maybe lol.
It remains cold into the afternoon and I am very reluctant to venture outside unless I have to, luckily John volunteered to do the afternoon feeding and collecting of eggs so Iām staying put in the warm, plenty of time for me to be doing it all next week. He said the bantam was eating with the others so at least she is still alive for now.
frieslandfarm (flowers) 