I woke to the sound of rain on the roof, pelting down and cringed at the idea of more mud but relieved that the family is on the mend. The wind was the strongest we've had in a long time.
The update on the health of the animals:
Tarka is suffering (yet again) from laminitis with the left hind being more affected than the others. There is a slight crack in the sole of the hoof which could be attributing to the favouring of this foot as opposed to all-round discomfort. He was given a shot of bute and is on 2mls of bute paste once a day. With the sachet I gave him in the morning and the shot in the afternoon he was comfortable by the evening on Monday which was a relief. The verdict from the vet is NO GRASS for two weeks and he should be penned for two weeks. Whilst I agree that spring grass is the problem I don't feel that penning him in a woodchip stall is completely necessary. I have bought some nice new hay and will feed hay daily in conjection with a little bran mash every couple of days to loosen things up and also allow him free range of the triangle paddock that adjoins the pen area. It is mostly mud but does have the odd blade of grass which I don't feel will be detrimental to his recovery. Both Tarka and Ella had a tetanus vaccination, Ella was thrilled, she's always happy for attention from strangers, even strangers with sharp prodding items. The vet commented on Ella's fatty bum and was most amused by her cellulite. I don't find mine amusing at all, depressing - yes, amusing - no.
Hoby has an infection in his paw from his snapped nail. Just bad luck really. The remainder of his nails have been trimmed right back and his ears were checked with no visible cause for his deafness so it is as we thought, deterioration of the inner ear from old age. They did warn me that dogs can become senile too in their old age so watch for changes in his behaviour. He was given a shot of anti-biotic and ant-inflammatory and he is on a course of amoxicillin twice daily for five days. The sedative knocked him for six and he's done very little other than sleep since Monday. He's coming right now and hopped on three legs with a significant amount of vigour.
Lucifer's 'dangly bits' have been banded with a docking ring. Sam was assured by the vet that it was ok even though the small animal vet that saw him for his eye infection a few weeks ago (from the same clinic) said they were too big to band. He appears in good spirits although he's a little uncomfortable. Sam felt like Judas.
I went to the clinic and collected a worming drench and vaccination boosters for both Mabel and Lucifer. I feel weak at the knees at the sight of the needle but my neighbour is a nurse so I'm sure she can give us some tips on how to administer it as painfree as possible for both me and the babies.
The vet also had a look at Sheamus and has deemed him 'too fat' also. He's on a strict diet of 1/3 of the greens (cabbage, lettuce etc.) he's currently getting, his grass intake needs to be upped and he should roam free the majority of the time. He can have a mere half-cup of pellets each day. Oh dear, I will not be popular. She prepared a booster Lepto vaccine for him too, again, to be administered by us....this, I'm really dreading!
All the chooks are in fine form. Little-Bit and Slick are roaming around the property, they're adorable, she's in the "that's the last time I sit on an egg for a month" phase of motherhood. No longer does she run to investigate Little-Bit's every tweet, instead she casually walks the other way hoping someone will answer the call. The challenge for the day was staying upright as the wind gusts ripped through with extra tenacity. Little-Bit had trouble staying on her feet but I would guarantee she slept very well that night.
Pippi is getting broody and is sitting on eggs layed by anyone and everyone in the Cluck Inn. Even though I remove the eggs from her twice daily she still sits on the porcelain egg growling at me. I know this is a controversial subject, most would suggest letting her sit on a few eggs (some might prescribe handing her from a tree in a barren cage with the wind blowing up her bum to dispell the broodiness!) and I might let her hatch a few but given her track record and significant boredom with motherhood three weeks after hatching Little Jack Sparrow left me withdrawing the mother of the year award from her and vowing never to let her hatch any more. Yes, she was dedicated enough to hatch the first little chick we've ever had on the farm but she certainly had no intention of raising it. If it wasn't for Berlina stepping in to nanny the wee chick to adulthood I hate to think what would have happened to Little Jack Sparrow. Listening to Jack's tweets of dispair when she realised her mother had abandoned her was horrible. I still think of that as being Berlina's dream come true, she was totally chuffed sitting on this little peeping creature and teaching it the ways of the world without putting in the weeks of starvation. What a great surrogate mum she turned out to be and what a fabulous hen Jack has become.
The on-going struggle for storage space has eased slightly. Sam realised the need for a door on the gypsy shed which contains the feed bins, after Sheamus' theiving session. And with his newly appointed diet I expect his scavenging to get worse. So, Sam removed the ailing tackroom's door and fitted it to the gypsy shed. I transferred all the gear over and hey-presto a new, bigger storage shed. The doorless old tackroom certainly isn't being wasted, I came home to find Mabel and Lucifer asleep inside after a huge rainstorm ripped through.
There's still so much to do around the place I wonder if I'll ever find the time. With the door on the gypsy shed I feel like that project is now a little closer to being finished. The roof still need to be replaced, I have all the iron I just need to cut and fit it. Once that's done I can line the inside with plywood and mount my racks and hooks and get things up off the floor. In conjunction with this the old tackroom needs to be demolished and then foundations laid on the old site and then the gypsy shed can be craned into place. Again I have all the material for the foundations. It is a nice thought knowing that once it is dine I'll gain a nice, dry storage shed for all my horse gear and a feed station and the carpark will be much more spaciaous without the gypsy shed in the way.
With all that said I'm now really motivated to use Saturday to get the new roof on the gypsy shed!
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