Spring here is about a complete 180. Remove insulation, put up fans, change water and clean waterers more frequently to prevent bacterial or algae soup from making the animals sick. Dress for sun, insect and stinging nettle protection. Carry tweezers along with your pocket knife. I think I pulled five ticks off of Winston yesterday. Take care of skin as if you were in the tropics. Assume that food can spoil or attract unwanted insects in a heartbeat. Assume that everything is a petri dish and we are at ideal incubation temperatures for months on end.
Take poor Winston for example. He had a small gash on the bridge of his nose last week, and I thought I'd dealt with it, it didn't look too bad, just sore. I hadn't shaved the hair and treated it like I normally would. On Sunday night when I was taking off his fly mask and halter I noticed the gash had a lot more swelling (the hematoma that should have been getting smaller that many days after the injury) So of course when I pressed on it some blood-tinged pus squirted out, and it felt like crunchy crepitus under the skin. Nasty anaerobes!! Chlorhex scrub and leave on for proper contact time, some antibacterial ointment and then something on top to keep the flies away(4-5 X daily) It's a bad place for a wound like that. Winter makes some things so much less complicated...I feel like I'm getting behind the summer already, and it's not even here yet.
Take poor Winston for example. He had a small gash on the bridge of his nose last week, and I thought I'd dealt with it, it didn't look too bad, just sore. I hadn't shaved the hair and treated it like I normally would. On Sunday night when I was taking off his fly mask and halter I noticed the gash had a lot more swelling (the hematoma that should have been getting smaller that many days after the injury) So of course when I pressed on it some blood-tinged pus squirted out, and it felt like crunchy crepitus under the skin. Nasty anaerobes!! Chlorhex scrub and leave on for proper contact time, some antibacterial ointment and then something on top to keep the flies away(4-5 X daily) It's a bad place for a wound like that. Winter makes some things so much less complicated...I feel like I'm getting behind the summer already, and it's not even here yet.
I dreamed of Majoh the other night. (my nice name for maggots). My fears of summer are officially entering my dreams. It was only last month when I was dreaming of snowflakes, down to the tiniest detail. On beautiful snowy mornings this winter I would find perfect sparkling flakes caught in Oakley's mane, and apparently my brain managed to hold on to those images, and feelings of contentment in moments like that.
It turns out that my dream of this week was a premonition of sorts. Yesterday I found the grackle fledgling that G and I had put back in the tree--he was dead with a whitish fungus growing all over him, and the dreaded green bottle fly enjoying the spoils. !!!! This fly is awful. It's responsible for fly strike in sheep. It doesn't even need a wound or a dead thing to infest. It will lay eggs on healthy tissue and when the larvae (majoh) emerge they will eat into the skin!! The stuff of nightmares and horror movies and veterinary and farm careers alike.
I once had to euthanize a German shepherd who had been in a fight with another dog, it's wounds unattended, subsequently infested, and after a few weeks of this neglect the poor girl was sick from majohs and septicemia. You see I have a history with these beasts...This is not an irrational fear. You know how the brain holds on to smells, and the memories that go along with them...G has a completely different relationship with Majoh. He sees them as wonderful protein for chooks. A gift from the insect world.
It turns out that my dream of this week was a premonition of sorts. Yesterday I found the grackle fledgling that G and I had put back in the tree--he was dead with a whitish fungus growing all over him, and the dreaded green bottle fly enjoying the spoils. !!!! This fly is awful. It's responsible for fly strike in sheep. It doesn't even need a wound or a dead thing to infest. It will lay eggs on healthy tissue and when the larvae (majoh) emerge they will eat into the skin!! The stuff of nightmares and horror movies and veterinary and farm careers alike.
I once had to euthanize a German shepherd who had been in a fight with another dog, it's wounds unattended, subsequently infested, and after a few weeks of this neglect the poor girl was sick from majohs and septicemia. You see I have a history with these beasts...This is not an irrational fear. You know how the brain holds on to smells, and the memories that go along with them...G has a completely different relationship with Majoh. He sees them as wonderful protein for chooks. A gift from the insect world.
***
I'm struggling a little to reboot after the weekend. What was I working on last week? Where did my list go?G was home for a whole five days so we attempted to work together on the farm as much as possible, but it still wasn't enough to make me feel like we actually had a 'holiday' together. The heat (29C) of the last few days made it challenging as well. Seems like we'd only meet up when we both retreated to the house for some cold bevies and a rest.
All of the animals take siestas during the day. Perhaps we should be learning from them. Even the guineas do it!
I tackled bit and pieces that needed attending, but no huge projects as usual. All I seem to do is maintenance and preventive care. G focused on planting, spreading a load of manure on the last sheep rotation, tearing down one of the straw bale beds and using it to mulch the peppers and tomatoes he planted in the remaining straw bale bed. I'm happy that he left a bunch of the uncomposted sticks and straw once he found a tiger salamander inside! He also upset a large garter snake while working on the winter manure pile. G is gradually getting used to large snakes after not really growing up around them, and of course being forced to confront them and appreciate their beauty by his crazy wife who will make him pet the little red bellied snakes she catches ; ) Red bellied snakes are small, non aggressive snakes here that occasionally need removal from chicken yards. They are easy prey for the chickens and I'm sure the guineas would snap them up as well. They also won't musk all over you like an angry garter...
I removed some more insulation from the chook palace, stirred up the bedding and hauled water up in buckets to try to get it composting. But it was still 82F in there at the end of the day so the ammonia smell was still there to let me know I hadn't quite done enough. I need to add a little bit of soil, and something like dried leaves that will break down much faster than pine shavings. I'm definitely seeing a case for adding a gutter and cistern up there.
I also cleared out a few dozen guinea eggs from under their coop, took down old perches in their run and put up some new ones. It looks a tiny bit better, still not awesome, but at least gives the subordinates a few more options when Chaos and Mayhem are doing their boss men thing.
Tank duck and little Oopsie (DAISY) the duckling are doing well, but a little bored, and their house was getting pretty messy. We set up a small fenced area on the grass for them (drake-proof being the important bit). I scooped out most of the soiled straw (perfect fly attractant) and presented it to G as a gift of 'pootrients' for whatever beloved plants needed it. I covered the wet soil with some fine shavings, replaced the 'baby duck tub' with a larger tub, and watched while Tank and Daisy wagged and whistled their approval while I filled it. Later we watched as Tank had a good proper bath. That's my reward for these tasks I guess. Animals looking happy, expressing their normal behaviours. That's really what we've learned the most through these 5+ years--that animal husbandry is really part art and part science.
I lied-I did get to work on one new project. I planted nasturtiums and some calendulas, labelled some of the medicinal plants and native grasses in our new garden patch and herb spiral.
Farrier day tomorrow. Finally. Winston is very sore with his long toes, and I've had to wait two weeks for this. I tried my back up farrier but he claimed to be too busy, though I suspect my farrier threatened him and told him not to poach his clients.
It seems my train of thought for this journal entry has been upset. I just ran outside to break up a drake fight. It wouldn't be a normal week without an episode of 'Ducks Behaving Badly'.
Time to get back out there! It's lovely and cool and rainy, so I think I will have peaceful dreams tonight, and happy animals around me.
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