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| The Shadow and Shade crew on one of their first big days in the snow. Be brave chooks! |
I brought a few of the guineas to my vet friend tonight--the plan is to keep up with antibiotics to prevent osteomyelitis, manage their pain, and when time allows some of them will need surgery to properly close those toes, which are now missing digits. She's willing to do this for me, with the agreement that I will donate to the wildlife center, and when she calls on me from time to time, I will help her out in return. I also brought Mr. Flan in for a lung check. He's still recovering from frostbite, and I want to make sure he's ok to put out with his new flock. His breathing has sounding bad for a while now, and didn't respond to antibiotics.
Tonight I did the anesthesia while she neutered her rooster. It's a pretty invasive procedure! Once she cuts into the coelomic cavity and through ribs and air sacs to get to the testicle I have to manually breath for the bird, while also manually monitoring heart rate. Was great fun and it went very well--last time one bird lost too much blood and we euthanized him. Hard to believe people do this to roosters without anesthesia....Horrific.
Even under deep anesthesia with positive pressure ventilation I heard the rooster's heart rate increase when the vessels to the testicle were clamped (very much like what happens during a dog or cat ovariohysterectomy). At least this boy will be well taken care of.
It's snowing tonight--2-4 inches expected. Should be gorgeous out there tomorrow morning...Glenn is supposed to leave for Santiago tomorrow, and be away until Saturday. I'm wishing for more snow and closed airports...
Tulip is doing well--still on antibiotics and pain meds, and her weight didn't increase today, so I'm hoping she hasn't started to fill up again. Her comb still turns bluish at times but she doesn't seem too depressed or painful. She talks back to me when I say her name and do some vocals she's familiar with. I really hope she's going to recover fully...It's still in the early stages.
Oakley and Winston both have respiratory stuff going on. Such a drag. Our poor boys. Blood work pending on Winston. Oak is on antibiotics and steroids this week. I really think he started to get an issue after his allergy medication was unavailable for many months in the summer and into the fall. I distinctly remember him getting worse after a lesson I had with coach, on a very cold windy day. Sort of reminds me of how I've felt after a cold group ride in Vancouver, where at the end of it you have tasted blood and your lungs are sensitive for days afterwards. On the plus side at least, it's been so mild that I can finally tend to his feet properly. When it was -26C the snowpads in his shoes got so stiff they don't work, and I had to chop the ice out with my hoof pick. Not fun. I just realized that I can do all of that without him in cross ties. We've come a long way, the bear and I. He's so brilliant and we've developed this amazing relationship and communication. I was very proud of him today when he was under sedation for his teeth float, and he still responded to my voice command "head down". Lot's of praise for the amazing boy...He was passaging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passage_(dressage) around in the snow the other day, chasing Winny. I just shook my head at how beautiful and grand he was.
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| Dec 2012 |
Well it's 1am. Lot's to write but too tired to write it.
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