Lorihadams-- hi guys...been busy!

[keljonma]

Prayers for Nanny being said, Lori!


I could picture the toad and your two children "exercising" in the back yard. Summer fun!

 

[Beekissed]

Lori, absolutely love that broody pen....I will definitely be stealing that idea, if you don't mind. Prayers for Nanny being said here as well.

 

[lorihadams]

Wednesday

We went a picked lots of corn, probably 100-120 ears. We kept about 75 and gave away some to a couple of friends. My 4 year old even helped me shuck it! He was sooooo cute. He kept making "flowers" and running to show daddy. Madelyn just wanted to play with any worms we found!

We cooked 6 ears for dinner and froze the rest, after we gave the chickens some of course!

Nanny is still not doing well, the swelling in her feet has progressed all the way up to her abdomen now and she doesn't want to walk or eat very much. The doctor came over and did x-rays and he seems to think that she may have some sort of cancer because his wife did the same thing and it turned out that she had uterine cancer. Chad doesn't want her going to the hospital for any more tests. He just wants to keep her comfortable and happy and spend as much time with her as possible.

Doing laundry today, Chad wants to go see Nanny again tonight but we have already gone twice this week and Madelyn has a head cold/runny nose and I really don't want her to get Nanny any sicker. It also throws off our whole routine...Chad wants to leave as soon as he gets home and that means before dinner so we either stop for fast food or eat really late. I had planned on making homemade pizza tonight but I don't know if that will happen now.

Still waiting on the ducks to hatch....waiting patiently for my email from AussieSharon. Chad went and bought a roll of fencing yesterday but we didn't get to put it up yet. I'll post pics when we get everything done. We also traded some corn and cukes to one of our neighbors for some green beans when he picks them this weekend! Mine aren't doing squat! Makes me think about getting together with all the neighbors to plan our gardens next year so that we can plant a bigger variety of plants and just share it with each other. We'll see what happens.

 

[Blackbird]

The pens look really nice, I bet your ducks will love it. I hope Nanny gets better.. is that her name or her profession? I'm a bit confused.

 

[lorihadams]

Nanny's name is Dorothy, otherwise known as Dot. Chad just calls her Nanny. She's doing okay, he went to see her last night and was gone all night....got home close to 10pm. She's comfortable for now so we'll see what happens.

Thursday

Did 3 more loads of laundry today, got 3 bags full of clothes from my BF, packed up 2 huge tubs of clothes for a little girl in need at church, went swimming, picked up some paint from Home Depot and some hinges for the duck pen gate, and got more crickets for the critters.

Got up this morning and realized that one of my barred rocks was missing....forgot to close up the pen last night. Feathers everywhere but no blood or body to be found. When I went to lock them up this evening the other remaining barred rock was missing. I saw her this morning but as of this evening she was MIA. Maybe God is trying to tell me to get a new breed.....you think?

My little roo has lost all but 3 of his tail feathers Do you think he may be starting a molt? Weird. I still have all four of my red sexlink hens and my one EE. I think maybe I might get some different laying hens if I can find some around here. Maybe try another breed...........and remember to lock them up at night

 

[Beekissed]

Lori, does Nanny have hospice service in her area? She may fit their criteria and it would be great for them to be able to provide a way for her to be comfortable in her own home.

 

[lorihadams]

When the alzheimers got bad her daughter made the necessary arrangements and sold her home. She had been in an assisted living facility but she had left the building several times and then started having spells so we transferred her to April and Tony's house where they only have 1 other patient. She's never alone and they live in a little cabin in the woods on 40 acres with their 2 children. She gets to sit on the porch and watch them play and they actually pay attention to her, not like the other place at all. AND, they're cheaper...

 

[Beekissed]

That sounds great!

Her Medicare has a hospice benefit that is available, no extra cost. Most folks don't know this and Medicare doesn't really advocate and tell them.

Hospice can provide diapers, waterproof chux, medical equipment like a bed, bedside commode, wheelchair, shower chair, etc. and all her comfort meds....at no cost to her or the family. Plus they can support the family when she is near the end and help them with the necessary care. They can have visits from a nurse and/or hospice aides, who will give her a bath, wash her hair, etc. The nurse can help you regulate her pain meds or bring her any meds that she needs for her comfort.

They can even provide respite care if the family needs to go away on vacation. Respite care is care given in a facility for up to a week. Its a great thing for caregivers and their families. They can even provide volunteers that will sit with a patient if a caregiver needs to go to the store, to the doctor's or just go to visit a friend and take a break from the patient.

 

[keljonma]

I agree with Bee, Hospice is the best thing since sliced bread.

If it is available in Nanny's area, you should check into it. The visiting nurses, music therapy, massage therapy, visiting podiatrist, and all the personal care and the equipment were a God send when we needed them for my parents.


Now about those chickens..... I am sorry to hear you lost another hen.

I have a couple hens that are molting now, so I guess it is possible that your roo is molting. Have you checked to see if he has mites or lice or if he is being picked on?

Maybe you and Chad can come up with a mechanical method for locking the chickens in at night. (You'd probably make a fortune if you did and could market it.) We never figured out how to do that ourselves. But we like to spend at least the last 10 minutes of the evening with the flock to do a head count and make sure everyone is in the barn and doing okay.

I cannot imagine why you are loosing just the Barred Rocks. Are they lower on the pecking order than the others - and therefore, last in at night, or maybe they are being pecked on and are staying out to avoid this.

 

[Beekissed]

I read in a Joel Salatin book about an old farmer rigging his pop door to release and shut with an old wind up alarm clock. Tied a string to the winding key and as it unwound, it shut the door. Ingenuity!

My birds are starting to molt right now also....my yard looks like someone littered in it!