Sunday- 23/11/08

 Sorry I haven't written for so long but we have had quite a traumatic time.

Sadly the week after the last entry, we lost Smokey. He developed a head tilt, which can be caused by either an ear infection or E. cunniculi, a parasite that can damage many of the organs in various ways, but often shows as a head tilt. We nursed him for nearly a week, and he was given antibiotics and panacur, and the little fighter that he was he continued to eat and get on with life. Over the Friday night he began to lose balance and couldn't keep upright, and he bacame distressed, so we called the vet out, and Gemma put him to sleep at home. Poor Milly, didn't quite know what had happened, and became withdrawn and quiet. She seems fine now though.

Last week we lost Kizzy, not sure what was wrong with her,but suspect she had a cancer. We had noticed she'd had a wet bottom for a couple of days and took her into the vet, on the Friday, as we were planning to get her spayed. The vets couldn't operate as she was too dehydrated, so we took her home and started to inject her with subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics. On the Monday they decided they had to open her up, as they thought she had a mucometra ( a mucus filled womb), but they also found her ceacum was very distended with fibre and her pancreas was abnormal. They spayed her and stitched her up. We took her home and she seemed to do very well, eating the next day and she was very bright. She was bright all week but the next week she became subdued and quiet. We took her back in and I spent 36hrs giving her sub-cut fluids every 2-3 hours, along with various other treatments. On Wednesday morning she was very dull, wouldn't even lift her head, so we called the vet out and had to have another bunny PTS within the month. To say we are gutted is an understatement. The vets were very good and tried every thing but I guess their time had come.

To add to the worries Bumble, Mike's horse became lame, the vet suspects she has a abscess and we just have to wait for it to burts, we had been tubbing it, but it is so cold just now we've stopped as I'm sure standing with soaking wet feet in freezing conditions can't be good for her either. Mind you she may have pulled something as they all broke out, into the summer field a couple of weeks ago, and were running around like IDIOTS.

Copper, the goat, has also given us cause for comcern this week, she has  become very sore on her legs. We called out the vet (again) and he thinks she has arthritis, and the sudden cold weather has caused her to stiffen up. She is now on bute and has a rug on to keep her warm. We think she is a bit better, but we are quite worried, because she is very sore. We don't know how old she is, but we think she is a good age. Saying that I spent Friday night sewing the surcingles on 6 dog rugs so all the goats could have something on overnight. The temperature got down below freezing and we have about 2 " of snow here today.

We do have a new addition to the family, Ziggy, he is a black, lop bunny who was advertised free to good home due to an allergy. It turns out he is quite aggressive and I know its not just because he has been rehomed. He is in quarantine at the moment, but we plan to pair him off with one of the girls. Sadly we had planned to pair Runt with Kizzy, and we knew they would get on as they had been together already. We will now start again and perhaps see if he and Xena will make a go of it, we have 3 girls to choose from Xena, Milly and Sorrell, mind you Sorrell is a very nervous girl, and I'm not sure if she will ever bond with another rabbit.

Misty, our 19 year old cat, was taken to the vet yesterday, as she seemed to not be eating. She would go up to her food,take a small bit, wander around and then leave it, she had also been sick a couple of times. Not wanting to take any risks at her age, we took her in, the vet could find nothing obvious, so we took some bloods, and thankfully they were normal. She's still not eating well, but I cooked some salmon and it appears that it is quite acceptable.

We will just see how she is tomorrow and take it from there, if her feeding doesn't pick up, the next thing will be x-rays and scans to make sure there are no tumours.

Sorry it has been quite a depressing write up this time, but its the way life goes here, and we find that winter is the hardest on the old and poorly animals. I do hope things settle down though as it is very stressful and draining.

Sunday-11/10/08

The weather has certainly changed and we have had a few frosts already, in between we have had lots of rain, to the extent that we took the horses in for a couple of nights.

Pippin was quite excited to find out there were other horses around. He has had some major trimming to his feet and it is amazing to see a different pony emerge from the sad wee thing that arrived. The blacksmith, Les, has been twice in the last week to do his feet. He did the back feet first and the front feet a couple of days later. The vet, Andrew came out to see him before Les did anywork and was quite shocked, he did warm us there might not be a happy ending. He is worried about the damage already done to his feet and the tendons, and we will be getting x-rays done in a months time once his feet are of a more natural shape. At the moment his feet are so deformed the x-rays wouldn't show us anything. Other than his feet we had a big concern about the worm burden he was carrying, as worming a horse with a very high worm burden is very risky and can kill it ! We sent off a sample and it came back not too bad so we will be worming Pippin soon. He has been eating like a clydesdale and a fair amount has been coming out the other end, as he is staying in for a couple of weeks, while in quarantine and getting used to us, it means a lot of mucking out. It turns out he is coloured and has a white patch on his neck and a brown and white mane, little hooves when they are the size they should be and perhaps he has a bit of welshie in him. I think he will be quite a character when he settles, and for a pony who hasn't been handled, he has been very good and lets me groom his whole body, we also do some exercises on his legs and he tolerates it all very well, although he is very nervous.

We got Pepsi, Samson, Smudge and Spice their vaccinations and while they were in the 3 cats and Tabatha got blood samples taken for their thyroid levels. I was horrified to find that they were all high again. We checked with the company who does the test and they re-ran it, again high. Mike has been giving them the tablets, while my hand recovers, but I know he hasn't missed many days, maybe the odd one, but it seems strange because we have lots of people take cats into the vets and the only get the tablets ever other day, and none of them are that high! I don't know what to think, I have started to give them tablets again, so we will get them blood tested in a couple of weeks and see what happens. Its very frustrating.

Pumpkin got his stitches out and is now also getting exercises and a wee walk around the room at feeding times. He is doing well and Scott is pleased with the op, the only concern is, he said the stitches will dissolve after a month or so and sometimes the kneecap can slip back. We just have to hope he is fine.

Mike has been doing all the mucking out for the past 2 weeks, while my hand had stitches. They came out on Thursday, so I can start to get on with things again, I just need to be careful, because the wound is still very tender and you only remember it when you hurt it.

I spoke too soon last time as we lost Rhea the quail, she was one of the first ones and came with Grouse. We have decided to wait before we get any more until we get some outside runs for them, then we will get a couple of more girls for Charlie and some more to join Grouse and Turtle dove, its so sad because they are lovely little birds, but they don't live long at all.

Sunday-27/09/08

Good news first, we haven't lost any animals since I last wrote, it feels like a long time since I last had something like that to write, and i do worry I might be tempting fate.

Tabatha has finally settled in and is now coming up for cuddles, even though we are ramming tablets down her throat daily. Pumpkin is doing well and seems happy enough in his cage, bored but not frantic, he is back in next week for the stitches out and an assessment.

The new ducks are outside now and we are getting less eggs for some reason- I think that reason might be called CROWS! saying that, we are still managing to have plenty of eggs for breakfast. The chickens are moulting so they are not producing much at all.

We have a new member of the family, called Pippin, he is a pony in quite poor condition. He has had laminitis at some time and his feet are now very overgrown, in fact his back feet are like turkish slippers and he is very thin. We got him today, but i know once we get his feet sorted and a bit of weight on him he will be very handsome. It just depends on his feet and if they will recover.

I got an op on my left hand on Friday to fix the carpal tunnel in it, it will be great once it has fully healed, and at least it has been done before the horses start coming in and all the mucking out needs to be done. Mike has taken next week off, so my hand can heal without being in animal dung. It is just as well because Pippin will be kept in, on quarantine for the next fortnight and he will need to be held for the vet tomorrow and the blacksmith on Wednesday and daily mucking out.

We will have to close our doors for a wee while after this, as we don't have the time, space or money to cope with anymore animals. It will be difficult but we need to ensure the animals already here are safe and secure. This month alone we have 3 cats, one dog and pippin to vaccinate, 4 cats to be blood sampled for thyroid levels, we would like to get Kizzy spayed this month, never mind what Pippin may cost. Our feeds have gone up by nearly 40% and we haven't had time this year to even build rabbit runs, something that desperately needs doing to make their lives better. My hand problems have held us back a lot this year and we are now looking after 100 animals, I don't want any of them to suffer so, hard as it may be we have to stop.

Smokey is still with us, he is amazing, and has been on a 3 weeks course of baytril which finishes tonight. he seems much better. Kizzy and Runt have been introduced and we think they will make a happy couple. So we want to get her spayed, a bit tricky at her age, but if it catches any cancer or stops her developing it I think it is worth it and she coped with the dental very well.

Now a warning to rabbit owners in the area.

There has been a myxomatosis outbreak in the area. If your rabbit has not been vaccinated, please do so. In a high risk area it should be done 6 monthly. Vaccinated rabbits can still catch myxomatosis, but they usually survive and the risk of catching it is lowered. An unvaccinated rabbit will DIE!

Your vet should inject 10% of the vaccine intradermally, and the rest subcutaneously. Some vets withdraw when injecting into the scruff and put the last wee bit into the skin, others will inject a small amount into the ear. This is important and it increases the effectiveness of the vaccine.

I'm going to stop writing now, as Tabatha has started to dance across the keyboard again, she is a little cutie.

I will , hopefully have some more news on Pippin next time I write, I just know there is a lovley pony in there.

Thursday-11/9/08

Firstly, Tabatha has arrived and what a lovely little cat she is. She's a brown tabby, purrs all the time and very affectionate. So its easy to say we're very glad we took her. She is still very thin, but her thyroid levels were over 300 when tested, they should be between 10 and 55. Anyway she has settled very well and seems happy enough.

Pumpkin got an op yesterday to fix his dislocated kneecap, Scott didn't end up doing the op he planned as Pumpkin's ligament was so stretched it wouldn't have worked, so he deeepened the groove for his kneecap to sit in. Scott is pleased with how it went and we have to hope it will hold. He is on cage rest for 6 weeks, but has settled well today, he was a bit upset yesterday though.

Sadly we lost Blossom, our scots dumpy hen, we think she was about 7, so it was probably a good age. Still we will miss her as she was such a cutie.

We went to the rare breed sale last Saturday, and ended up buying 6 ducks. 5 were ex-laying commercial duck and we bought a saxony drake who was on his own. They are in quarantine in Cirrus's stable at the moment, and we are busy setting up a pen with some electric poultry netting on an area we want cleared. In the 5 days we've had them we've had 21 eggs!

Smokey gave us a fright again on Monday, and we thought we might lose him, spoke to Nicola and we've put him on baytril again, but for a bit longer. Thankfully he is much better, but I worry it is his system starting to fail, he is very thin, but eating like a horse.

Kizzy's eye is a bit sore so I'm giving her some fucithalmic to see if it helps, if not its back to the vets. Her behaviour is improving, and you can put your hand in the hutch now and stroke her head. There is still a 50/50 chance she will try to bite you when you pick her up though.

Our van, Widget, has seriously failed his MOT, so badly infact we have to scrap him, he is being taken away tomorrow. We are now left with the Hector, and are debating going down to 1 car, and trying to think about the number of journeys we do. We can afford to buy another car just now anyway.

We have both been ill with gastro-enteritis for the past couple of weeks, so it has been a difficult time, but we feel enthused again and want to get on. We had a wee phase of feeling tired and fed up, but are better now.

We have bought this years stock of wood, so we will be having weekend trips to the forestry to collect our logs for cutting, even using our diesel, it will be cheaper than any other form of heating this year.

Must go and feed cats and give medications- so many tablets to force down so many throats.

Finally, we may have a new addition the next time I write, not sure if it is happening yet, but it will involve a lot of work and commitment, and the building of a new stable. Will update you as soon as I know the full details.

Friday-29/08/08

I can't believe a whole month has gone by and I haven't written, but to be honest we were truely disheartened after losing Triger. We have since had 7 of the cats tested for FIV and they have come back negative, thankfully. Pumpkin is still to be done, but he will be in to the vets on the 10/9 for his knee op and we will get him tested then. Most of the cats were very good, even Mustard, but Candy was a nightmare. She scratched and bit me, at which point we decided to sedated her. At the same time we took samples for her thyroid and general bloods, because for such a feisty beast she is little and thin. Thankfully everything came back normal.

We also lost a couple of chicken this month, Grizabella suffered another prolase and although we washed her and gave antibiotics, she developed flystrike and at that point we decided to call it a day. Even if we could have saved her, it was only going to happen again. We also had Sprocket, our disabled chicken PTS as she was starting to find walking difficult and was beginning to get a pressure sore.

Jess's abscess appears to have returned, but we caught it early and she is back on her antibiotic injections and is doing well. She was a bit unhappy for a few days but perked up quickly, so we're hopeful she will recover.

Smokey isn't looking very well, and he seems to have a secondary respiratoty infection, so he is on baytril injections, his breathing is much better now, but he has lost weight again.

Kizzy went in to have her tear duct flushed and her teeth checked, a few spurs were removed, but her teeth are pretty worn down, and the duct could not be opened, Nicola thinks it is because it has been left untreated for so long, poor wee thing.

Gigi had a sore ear, and we think it was mites, Kevin, the vet, looked at it and we decided to clean them out and give her a dectomax injection. I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to doing that, however with just cleaning her ears she seems fine again, so I will leave of the needle for the moment.

 Mike has been away a lot this month so things have slowed to pretty much a stop as far as anything but the routine, I did however cut down all the plant growth inside and outside the chicken runs, I was covered in nettle stings and got a tick on my back-EEEEEEW. We can now see the birds and the electric fence is working again, now the undergrowth has been removed.

Finally, we have another cat coming, a but of a dilemma this one. She is a 14 year old, hyperthyroid, FIV+ cat. We have decide she can live in the study, Mike is always in here working and I'm always popping in and out to find books, check e-mails etc, so she will still get plenty of attention. We will obviously keep her seperate from the rest of the cats, and if she seems unhappy we will look for a more suitable home. At the moment her only other option seems to be PTS, and she is a fairly healthy gir at the moment, so to me it just doesn't seem right.

Sunday- 20/7/08

This has been a heartbreaking week for us, we had to get Triger, our 3 legged cat PTS. He was not quite 5 and was a wee character. It has been a long time since we've been so gutted by something. It was, perhaps, because he was so young and it all happened so quickly.

Last Wednesday, i knew he wasn't quite right, so we took him into the vet on Thursday. While there I noticed his back leg was swollen, so he was given an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, for either a cat bite or a pulled muscle. Although he brightened up over the weekend, the swelling did not go down and by Monday his front right leg had started to swell, he was taken in and given a load of tests. Strangely, I realised quite recently that he hadn't been tested for Felv/FIV and said I wanted him tested for that too. It came back positive for FIV. Fiv is like HIV in humans and is passed on by cat bites (no other animal can catch it, only other cats) and it appears Triger must have had it before he came he as we've never seen a cat bite on him. FIV can sit dormant for years and many cats live a full life as long as any infections are treated quickly. Triger on the other hand had started to show immunosupression and his blood was leaking fluid into his body, this may have been caused by another virus called FIP, which attacked him because he was weakened. Either was there was no treatment so he was PTS on the next Wednesday, he didn't suffer and went peacefully, but will be missed. We will now have to get all the other cats tested, as it would be unfair to let an infected cat out for 2 reasons, 1 being so it can't infect any other and the other being, it may itself pick up infections from outside.

We did add a new member to our family this week, Kizzy, an 8 year old bunny. She has spent her whole life in a hutch and her hutch was filthy, her nail were about an inch and a half long, she has a sore eye, maybe due to blocked tear ducts and she is very thin, she had no food or hay in her hutch. She has never seen a vet or been vaccinated. She is very aggressive, but that's no surprise  but we will work away with her and she will settle.

sunday- 6/7/08

Its been a week of ups and downs.

On Wednesday we finally got the sheep sheared, and my biggest fear was confirmed, Doris had flystrike. This is not as bad as in rabbits and is very difficult to see under a full fleece, ours were sheared very late which was why I was so worried. However it is only a slight infestation, so she is fine, and otherwise I am very pleased about the general condition of the sheep, the young ones aren't too fat and the old ones aren't too thin. We have been able to give away all the fleeces, so they aren't wasted.

 On Thursday we lost Amber, one of Rusty's girls (chicken), she wasn't very old and had shown no sign of ill health, she was pecking around at teatime and was dead at bedtime.

Friday got no better as we lost Motley, one of our little guinea pig girls, she had survived longer than we expected, but it was still a shock. When she came to us she had a head tilt, which she never quite lost and had strange bone conformation in her hips. Last year she had an ovariohysterectomy because of ovarian cysts and we didn't think she would live. Laterly she has been on metacam for her hips but it was still a shock to find her dead in the run, she was 5.

Both will be sorely missed as they were part of our day and life.

Now things get a bit better, the pigs are finally out, and after all the stressing over them and how the horses would react, it was totally uneventful. They hit the electric fence about twice each and then kept away from it. They had a run around and started ploughing. They are so happy, we keep going out just to look at them. Raymond gave Mike a grinder which helped him build a new pig arc for them, so thanks Ray! Again, Sharon and Mike came round to help with the moving of them, many hands make light work!

Today Sharon bited Pixie and she was quite good, but she seems to be a sensible little girl, we now have to work on this and get her long reining.

I got the stitches out of my palm on Monday but had to wait until Thursday to get the stitches out of my wrist. They were very tight by this time and it is quite tender still, hand writing is very uncomfortable, as is the twisting action of taking off bottle tops. I will not ride gain this week, but next week I think I can give it a go.

We had lettuce, potaotes and rocket from our garden for tea tonight, and after spending today cleaning out Alice the rayburn it tasted really good. It was quite cold because Alice was off,so I put on the open fire, and Deli went frantic. She hid in the kitchen whining, I don't know why she's scared, but its something I'll have to work with. Luckily, Mike has just bought a sawhorse and a log splitter, because we will need to have a fire going every night until she gets used to it.

Sunday- 29/6/08

 my typeing may be even worse than normal tonight, as i have had an op for carpal tunnel syndrome, so my right hand is not fully working.

the last time i wrote, i mentioned another dog, her name is deli, a dalmation, and she had been taken into the vets to be pts, as the owner's grandson was allergic to her, and they could find nobody to take her. she had a large wart on the inside of her eye, but apart from that seems to be in good health for a 12 year old dog. the wart was removed a couple of weeks ago and she looks so much prettier with it gone. she  is now on metacam as she was a bit stiff and will be taken in for her vaccinations to be started next month, we also think she may be deaf. she has settled in amazingly well with the rest of the dogs, they seem to give her a bit of respect as she is an older dog.

xena, the stray bunny, has now been spayed and is out of quarantine. our thoughts are we will bond her, sorrell and runt; a rather brave decision as they are all active, strong willed characters.

jessica seemed to go into a major moult after being spayed, and ended up with slightly sore hocks, but we put aloe vera gel on a couple of times a day and she has healed up nicely.

9 of the rabbits got their myxi vaccines, yes another 6 months have gone. i think i am going to try and get them all done at the same time, that would now be 12 at a time!

we had goldie, the quail, pts a couple of weeks ago, she had got very thin and it was for the best, the vet agreed that it was probably a cancer. on friday we had to get blackcap, another quail, pts, she had gone off her legs, we nursed her for a week, giving her painkiller and antibiotics as well as feeding her and cleaning her, but she was getting no better. so we are down to 4 quail, we need to get a couple of friends for charlie, as he keeps giving out a sad cry and is obviously lonely.

sooty, mustard and pumpkin all had their boosters this month and sooty has finally started going out. he is very keen to go out in the morning, but comes in about dinnertime. we were so worried the first couple of time, and still are a bit anxious, when he goes, but so far he's always come home again. samson is due a blood test next week, but we feel he has done really well on this new medication and are hopeful we don't need to get him operated on.

we have decided we will not break cirrus in for riding, she now has a "splint" on her foreleg, this is basically a chipped bit of bone, but we don't think it is worth risking anymore damage. we had got her a saddle, so are going to sell it and use the money to buy rubber matting for her stable, to give her legs as much protection as possible.

the other horses are being worked by my friend ,sharon, as i can't do anything too heavy with my hand. i was very pleased because she thinks pixie is coming on really well and we are going to get her used to wearing a bit this week. sharon has done lots of horse work, so she's done this all before.

bournville and pixie got their vaccinations this month as well, we got pixie microchipped at the same time, that means all the horses are done so if they ever go missing, at least we can prove they are ours.

finally we are waiting for the sheep to be clipped, ian, who does it has hurt his leg and has also been off to the highland show. we are hoping he can come and do them soon because they sorely need it and i and getting very stresssed out about it, they look so funny when they have been done, they seem to loose half their body weight.

Tuesday- 3/6/08

Well Cirrus ended up having a abscess in her hoof, which was a relief, because it is easily treated with antibiotics and soaking the foot in warm water. I was very worried that she was going to have long term problems with her legs, but she is fine now. She was very good, because we kept her inside on her own for a day and  had her foot held in warm salty water twice a day for a week, and I had to do it myself because Mike was away.

Misty, our old cat, ended up having a dental done, thankfully her bloods were really good for a cat her age. She was going to be dripped before during and after the op, but the vets couldn't get near her to drip her until she was sedated as she got very angry! She's fine though and after a night to recover was as bright as a button. Spice, Smudge and Samson, were all blood tested again for their thyroxine levels, Spice and Smudge were stable, but Samson is now overactive! He just won't stabilise, and is now on a new medication which is given once a day to see if that helps, otherwise it may mean an op. Sooty has had a touch of cystitis, and it doesn't seem to be clearing, so he will be back into the vet this week to see if we can sort it out, I need to try and get a urine sample, but that isn't easy.

Sorrell has recovered from her spey, and is back outside, she will be, hopefully bonded with Runt, but we may wait because we might try for another trio. Yes, there is a new rabbit at Farthing Croft, she was found in a playpark in Inverurie and the people who found her called the vets, to see if they could help. We took her home, well I took her home as Mike was away, another surprise for him! She is so like Bertha I gasped, however she's not the cuddly bunny Bertha was, she is very aggressive, so I suspect she has been dumped. If she hasn't been claimed by tomorrow, 7 days, she will stay with us and she is booked in to be spayed on Friday, we've called her Xena. It is very complicated, she was near wild rabbits so she could be pregnant, she could have myxi. She is in quarantine at the moment so I think we will spay her and hope she doesn't have myxi, she behaviour is very hormonal so it think neutering her is the best for her and us. After she has recovered and spent 2 weeks in quarantine we may try to bond her, Sorrell and Runt. Luckily we are on holiday for 2 weeks starting the 16th.

While Charlie was out to see Cirrus we got him to look at Jack and Violet. He doesn't think we can do much  for Violet, other than continue trimming her feet and letting the bad horn grow out. Jack has a touch of contact dematitis so has had an antibiotic course and we will treat him for mites. Last Sunday we had to get Gemma out to see Walnut, she wouldn't get up and when we finally got her to rise she was very sore. We had put the goats into the paddock the pigs are going into, to let them eat down the long grass. I guess Walnut gorged herself and then spent the hole night lying down with a sore tummy, she then stiffened up. She may be older than we first thought, anyway Gemma gave her a metacam injection and we gave her pro-rumen and she is back to normal.

Goldie, our quail, seemed to get better but is poorly again, I wonder if the metacam is helping mask a tumour, or something. You can't very well operate on a wee bird, so as long as she is comfortable and eating we will look after her, once she stops eating we will get her put to sleep. Poor Charlie, her mate, is missing her, we've seperated her because he keeps trying to mate with her. We are now on the look out for a couple of girls to keep him company. 

Hector, our landrover, came home yesterday-HE PASSED HIS MOT, YEAH. It cost us £2000 to get him through, but hopefully that is a lot of structural work we won't need to get done for a good few years. We will also not be drinking or eating much for the next few years while we recover from the bill!!!!!! The rubbish has just piled up everywhere because we couldn't get it to the skip- lots of waste from the rabbits and birds- so it will be fine to get everythin cleared up and tidy.

THe garden is coming on well, we have neeps in for the sheep, and a whole host of veggies for us. I just means there is a lot of weeding to do.

Fizzywig the hedgehog is outside now, he is in a run, but this weekend we will let him go, we will open the door to the run and hopefully he will come back and use it as his nest.

Finally, we are off to the vets after work tonight to pick up another dog, who is booked to be PTS, no health problems so she's coming here. Will update you all later.

Friday-9/5/08

 Yet another busy week, or so! The weather has been pretty good and most of the animals have been enjoying the warm sunny days, especially the goats. They have been out every day and Violet has now joined the herd, she is still a little on the outskirts, but nobody is bullying her. Her foot is sore again so I'm thinking we might have to get her on antibiotics, she how she goes over the weekend.

We have also bonded Snowy, Jess and Jessica over this week, they are in a large indoor run and seem to be settling in happily. Usually there can be a lot of running around and hair pulling and mounting, but it was a very quiet meeting. Snowy totally loves Jess, it goes to show he is not a shallow bunny- Jessica is a plumpshish, lovely bun, whereas Jess has one eye and no front teeth, she must have a good personality! When I give them their food in the morning they run up to the front of the run together and share the same bowl without any bickering. Smokey has been struggling in this heat though, Mike bought another 2 airconditioning units so we have one for each room, that was another £140, but it is helping cool the rooms down. Smokey goes into an indoor run in the morning and out into a big hutch during the warmest part of the day, he seems to quite enjoy the change of scenery, and Milly is just happy being with him. Sorrell was spayed today, 3 down 3 more to go, I was quite worried about her as she is so nervous, but she recovered from the sedation very quickly and has eaten a few dandilion leaves, the most important thing after any rabbit op is to get it eating again or the guts shut down and they can die.

The horses are now out at night, which lightens the load tremendously, they still expect to come in for tea though! Les, the farrier, trimmed Cirrus and Pixie's feet on Wednesday, Cirrus was doing a bit of hopping around, so ended up aggravating her arthritis. She was on anti-inflammatories for a few days and is now fine. I'm hoping to get all the tack cleaned this weekend and then get on Bournville and Bumble.

Grizabella's bottom is causing us some worries again, I think it has torn with laying eggs, so we've seperated her until it has healed up, we don't want the other birds to peck her again. We spent last Sunday wormimg/de-lousing, wing clipping and nail trimming the birds. We will do it again this weekend, again next weekend and must leave them for another 2 weeks before we can use the eggs, but at least the birds will be comfy and parasite free!

2 of the quail are a bit poorly, Blackcap, jumped out of the cage and hurt her leg, we took her in to see Scott and he gave her some metacam, she seemed to improve but has now completely gone off her legs, I have been giving her metacam and baytril (antibiotic) and she seems a lot better today. Goldie then became ill, so I took her in to see Scott and he thought she had a respiratory infection, so she's on baytril as well, Andrew was saying that the infection can linger in the bird's air sacs, so I must give her antibiotics for about 2 weeks after she seems better. So thats another fortnight of treatment and hopefully she will be fine. She's eating now and so much brighter, so we are hopeful she will recover, she's an older bird so it a bit more worrying when she gets ill. Her mate, Charlie has been a bit quiet today though, he usually attacks your hands when you feed him, so I think I will start him on baytril tomorrow, just in case its an infection he's now caught.

I've booked Misty in on Monday for a check over and a blood sample, she's a 19 year old cat and doesn't seem to be eating as well as she was. Now it maybe the heat but at 19, I'm taking no chances. If I get a blood sample it will rule out liver, kidneys etc, and we lets us know if she is fit enough for an op if needed, if it turns out to be her teeth,she may need an op. The rest of the cats are fine, we did try to encourage Sooty to go outside but he's not keen on the idea, he sat on the window sill for a minute and then ran back to bed. Never mind we will persevere and  hopefully he will be outside but July!!!

Finally, Ollie, the drake, is feeling frisky again, whenever we go into the run at the moment he goes for your feet. Its a nightmare, because you have to be very careful you don't stand on him or kick him as he has no fear. Its funny and the only time he will let you pick him up, he is such a lovely bird, and a real character.

Sunday-27/4/08

What a glorious week it has been, lovely and bright. The first swallows arrived here on Thursday, and are already checking out the barns for nesting in, suddenly there are dandelions in flower and the grass has started to grow, much to the animals' delight.

Jessica is back outside in the kennels, we'll give her another weeks to recover and then start the bonding process with Snowy, Jess and her. I gave the kennels a good clean out this week and we have made the four tiered hutches into 2 doubles for the pairs, that gives them a lot more room when they are in. We also bought a fly zapper and an air conditioning unit to put in the kennels now the temperatures are rising. We have started work on the runs, but it will be a wee while before everyone can go out at once. I was quite worried about Smokey and the heat, but I've set a hutch up outside where he can go during the hottest part of the day.

The chickens are really starting to lay now and I think we'll have to start giving eggs away soon. Ollie, our drake, has started to chase our wellies again, he does this in the spring, I'm not sure if he is being amorous or aggressive, but when we pick him up he dosen't seem upset.

Hector, the landie, has gone off to get some work down and then go through his MOT, hopefully he will pass. The guy fixing him thinks Hector has been abroad and has had some very unusual modifications done to him in the past.

Jim was up and planted our tatties today, we have 5 varieties- Arran Pilot, Pink Fir Apple, Yukon Gold , Majestic and Rooster. The neeps will be going in at the end of the month and I've bought some more raspberries and strawberries to plant.

The goats have had agreat week, they have been out most of the day and the horses have been rugless, in fact they didn't even have rugs on in the stables last night, it was so warm.

And finally, yet again Alan came to our rescue, by taking home 6 bales of hay for us while Hector is away being fixed.

Sunday- 20/4/08

 Well, I can't believe its 3 weeks since I last wrote, and sadly we've had a few losses.

Firstly, we lost little Apache, the quail, we just found her dead in her cage one morning. Its was so sad,as she had come through so much and was such a sweet little bird. We thought we were also going to lose Blackcap, as I found her staggering around the run one day. I took her into the vet, by which time she was fine and had laid an egg! She did the same thing a few days later, but was looking really ill, couldn't lift up her head, thankfully Andrew had given me a steroid injection and she was fine after that. Steroids are often used to reduce swelling, so she maybe had a wee prolape and that has fixed it for now. I am a little bit concerned this will be a regular problem, which may mean the end of her, we will just have to keep an eye on her.

We also lost beautiful, big Bertha, our longest resident rabbit. She had just recovered from an abscess in her jaw, and although she wasn't quite herself, I put it down to after affects from the abscess. However, when we rushed into the vet, it turned out she had uterine cancer. Charlie scanned her and saw the tumour, so she was x-rayed and it showed that she also had tumours in her lungs. We had to put her to sleep there and then. I hadn't realised it was so common in female rabbits, apparently 80% of unneutred female rabbits, over the age of 5, get it. This leaves poor Snowy single for the time being, but we hope to bond him with Jess and Jessica. Jess is the only unspayed rabbit we have, all the boys are done, however we will get all our girls done now. Jessica was done last Monday, it was a big op for her as she is nearly 5, and she took a couple of days to recover. I had to inject her with anibiotics and painkiller for 2 days, and a gut stimulant every 8 hours over a 48 hour period, she wasn't too pleased at being woken at 3 in the morning so I could stick a needle in her! Charlie said she was a bit fat, which made the op a lot more difficult and dangerous, so Treacle is going to have to be cut right back and get pretty much only hay, as she is very chubby.

I got up to put out the horse last weekend and Bournville was a bit slow coming out of his stable, when I actually looked, he couldn't put any weight on his back ,left leg. I caslled the vet out and Gemma came. She gave him a good check over, we couldn't understand how he had hurt himself in the stable, as he had walked in OK the previous night. The only thing it could be was an abscess in his hoof or a pulled tendon. Gemma injected him with an antibiotic and a painkiller, and we kept him in. I knew he was really sore as he didn't fuss too much, while the girls were out. Gemma came back the next day and injected him again, we kept him in for the next couple of days and gave him painkiller and thankfully he went back out on the Tuesday. We can only think he has been pratting around in the field and slipped in the mud, and then stiffened up in the stable overnight. 

The ground is so wet here,and we had snow last week, this week has been glorious and I have managed to catch up inside, Mike was away and the house always suffers.

We have been trying to encourage Sooty, the cat, to go out, but he's not keen on the idea. Every morning I open the window, and out go Samson, triger and Mustard, I then pick up Sooty and set him on the windowsill, he sits on the ledge for a minute and then runs back in. He did walk along the outside of the ledge today, so we are getting closer.

Samson, Spice and Smudge were all in for their bllod tests to see how their thyroid levels were. Spice and Smudge are fine, yet again Samson is too low, we just can't get him stabilised, he's back in another month, after having dropped his levels again. He's fine within himself, just a bit sleepier than normal.

Tuesday-25/3/08

 I've spent the Easter weekend in bed, what a pain! Went to the doctor on Friday, after waiting for 10 days for my appointment and it turns out I have a chest infection. I'm really fed up as we'd both taken the Friday and Monday off to try and catch up on things. Mind you at least the weather has been horrible, we've had snow and wind all weekend so the poor goats have been stuck inside and the horses have been wrapped up in their rugs again.

On Thursday I went out to feed the birds and found Jemima, our lavender auracauna, just not right and panting, so took her into the vet and she had a chest infection too, so she's on antibiotics as well. It has certainly been a winter of injections, but we usually find that we lose the old and poorly over the winter period, no matter how hard you try.

Amazingly all the rabbits are fine, I'm almost scared to tempt fate but its such a relief to see them all eating and happy, mind you every morning is a worry and I'm almost scared to look at Smokey.

Our wee quail, who was scalped by Goldie, is fine although I have a feeling she isn't quite right mentally. She is on her own now that Souix has died and we're scared to put her in with anybody else in case she is hurt, however she likes to get picked up and have a wee stroke and usually pops out of her cage to see you.

We got our first duck eggs this week, I haven't had one yet as I don't feel so good but Mike has eaten them with delight. I also pickled some quail eggs a few weeks ago, we haven't tried them yet as they need to sit for 2 weeks, if anybody thinks peeling hen eggs for a salad is a chore, try quail eggs they take forever and you need heaps to fill a small jar! They had better taste good.

We have had friendly cats lately, I caught Sooty and Spice sharing a bed a couple of time and I've also found Misty and Pumpkin in the same bed, it was quite cute, its like the old girls have found themselves toyboys. Still, nobody has been brave enough to curl up beside Candy yet!

I had been thinking is was coming about time to release the hedgehog- named Fizzywig- but this turn in the weather has decided me to hang on for a few more weeks, just in case we have a last snowfall. We will let him go in a run first and once he seems settled just leave the door open and he will hopefully stay around, especially if we put out some food for him.

Mike has discovered we have another little visitor, a small tortie cat, not sure if she is a neighbour's cat or if she is a stray, but she enjoys hunting in our hayshed. We will keep a eye on her and maybe ask around to see if she belongs to anybody, after I've recovered. Mike been a star, he's had to do all the mucking out and look after me (I'm a pathetic invalid as I feel so frustrated) so when I'm better I suppose I'll have to buy him a nice bottle of wine, once I'm better I'll help him drink it!!!!!

Monday-17/3/08

Well, I can't believe its March and I haven't written, there is just so much to do and we are both not feeling very well. However we have to get on with it, I phoned last Wednesday to get an appointment with the doctor, as I can't get rid of this cold, the first appointment I could get was the 21st! I hope I just need a course of antibiotics and its not a post viral exhaustion thing.

We had good news today, Jess has been given the all clear and can now stop her antibiotics, the vets are amazed as they were sure she wasn't going to make it. She back to hopping round the run and grooming herself and she's put on 600grams in 2 months- she's increased her body weight by 20%.

Bertha was in for her op and the infection was in her jaw and the vet, Gemma, couldn't remove it, so she was on antibiotics as well, but her abscess is gone and I'll take her in tomorrow to get a final check by Scott and hopefully the all clear. We were really woried about her but she seems fine, even though she took a wee while to get over the op.

Smokey is still with us, and we think also feeling better, he is on the inhaler and watching the one way valve on it, his breaths seem stronger. He still has bad days, but I think it is when he is being handled or excited, if left to settle he seems almost normal. He is still skinny, but having discussed it with the vets, they think, if he is eating, drinking, grooming (sitting up ) and having a wee hop around we shouldn't give up on him. We have taken him off his antibiotics also and will see how he fares, I suspect the biggest problem will be his low immunity and risk of other infections. I was cheered up this week though as I saw him eat hay for the first time in a while and he pushes my hand away to get into his grated carrot in the morning.

Grizelda has also pulled through, and is back out during the day, in a rabbit run for protection until she is fully healed, with the other birds. Her bottom, now looks like a bottom should, for the first week it was just like a swollen mush, not nice. I will take her in to see Andrew tomorrow and again hopefully get the all clear!

So, maybe you will forgive my not writing, but on top of all the usual work, we've had 3 rabbits to inject and specialist feeding and care to give, a bird's bottom to wash and give daily injections to, we also have 4 cats to give metacam to in the morning and 3 to give tablets to twice daily and a guinea pig to give metacam to daily! No wonder Mike walks about in a daze sometimes, his memory is rubbish at the best of times.

Now for those interested in cars (Raymond), Mike took Hector, the landie, for a pre MOT check and he appears to be a bit of a puzzle. The guy, who works on landies, was quite confused, apparently, Hector has a few extra features and his colour- not a landie colour- is  his original colour. The guy took his chassis number and can't find it on the computer. It is a proper landie but it looks like it might be a specially comissioned model. He is going to try and find out more. How cool would it be if Hector had driven across a desert or something.

Anyway, he is going to give us a price to get him through the MOT, hope its not too much!

Back to animals- all the rest of the beasts are fine and the horses even got out rug free a couple of days last week. The goats go out and spend the first 10 mins cavorting in the field, so spring must be in the air, even though we've had light snow showers today.

Gigi and Scarlet are fine and getting on like best buddies, we had to put a belfast sink into them as they kept tipping over their water bucket. Gigi is much more agile than Scarlet and is always standing up on her back legs, looking over the pen door to see you, Scarlet is much less flexible and sits down so she can look up at you. They both love a tummy rub, almost as much a eating your boots, and I have to admit to pinging their ears to get them to stop as they don't realise you feet are inside the boot and it can be quite sore!!!!

Tuesday-26/2/08

Sorry I haven't written for a while, been a bit hectic. Mike was away last week, so I didn't have time until now. This week we both have a bug, so its a bit slow getting round the animals, we really just want to lie down and sleep. Not an option!

Well Smokey is now on his inhaler and is doing well, he is still thin but eating well and grooming regularly (a good sign as it means he is feeling stronger)

Jess is back outside in her hutch and enjoying time back in the run, the vets are amazed she is still here.

Unfortunately, Bertha now has an abscess under her chin, so she is in for an op tomorrow. We are very worried because she is an old girl and we've had her the longest, so she's a bit special.

We lost Souix, one of our young quail, I can only guess she had something wrong with her from birth. It was sad because she was so young.

For a few hours we had a 100 hundred animals, we had just welcomed Garcon, our bantam cockerel to the family, and just 6 hours later Souix died.

Garcon, was a cockerel looking for a new home as his owner had too many males, so we thought we could give our bantams and Sprocket a protector. Its so funny, the bantie girls, are like buxom, country wenches, fawning around the young squire. They never leave his side.

While feeding the chickens today, I noticed Grizelda wasn't her usual self, on closer inspection, she had a big bloody bottom! I took her to the vet and Andrew was very kind but said he didn't think she would survive, however he would give her a chance. He thinks she maybe had a wee scratch and the other birds have had a go at her. Unfortunately this is a thing chickens will do if they see blood on another, they just peck and peck and peck! She got a painkiller and antibiotic and we have to worm her and clean her bottom. She also needs antibiotics for the next 5 days, here's hoping.

AND FINALLY- We have a friend for Gigi, and she is called Scarlet. We got her from a farmer who grows pigs on for a butcher, they are well kept while he has them but then go for meat, so we feel a bit better about taking her, although we wanted to take them all. Scarlet is a tamworth cross gloucestershire old spot ( we think) and is a lovely chestnut colour with a couple of balck spots. What was really spooky, was when we went the farmer gave us a choice of 2-  one much smaller and Scarlet who had been marked by the farmer with a red "S" sprayed on her back. It was meant to be! ( I mentioned the name Scarlet on my last entry)

Anyway, the farmer said, "just put them in together, there may be a bit of nipping but they will settle down", so we did. We didn't stop to think that Gigi didn't realise she was a pig, she was terrified and after a few nips we took her out. We seperated the pen into 2, so they could see each other and touch but Gigi could escape if she wanted to. Mike was away that week, and I couldn't spend too much time around them, which meant they had to rely on each other for company, last night we took away the partition, and they are fine. eating out of the same bowl, we don't know if they are sleeping together because whenever they hear somebody they are up looking to see who it is. Its a cold, windy night here so I think they will be snuggling up to keep warm. Scarlet was very nervous when she arrived but has tamed quickly, and Mike has had 2 pairs of jeans torn by them while working in the pen, they just love grabbing bits of material and tearing them, shoelaces aren't safe either. They are so much fun!

Monday-11/2/08

I thought we'd lost little Smokey this week, and we're not out of the woods yet. When I got home from work on Tuesday, after the morning shift I found Smokey really struggling for breath and a discharge coming from his eyes. I rushed him into the vet and Gemma saw him almost straight away. He was put into an oxygen tent and given antibiotics after a check over. What we think has happened is he has developed a secondary respiratory infection, which nearly killed him when combined with the initial breathing problem. He is now getting daily baytril injections (antibiotic) and "fibreplex" to protect his gut bacteria while on the antibiotics. I haven't been sleeping very well at the moment, as I have problems with my hands but it means I can think things through,uninterupted, and eureka, how about an inhaler!! I knew you got them for cats, why not use it on a rabbit, so today it arrived at the vet. We will start giving him a "squirt" twice a day tomorrow, here's hoping it works, still don't know if we will even get a seal over his nose but we'll give it a go. The more pressing concern is his weight loss, after looking at a few forums I found one that suggested porridge and bananas. The problem with porridge is it can continue to swell in the rabbit if not properly prepared so I'll hold off from that for the time being, but Smokey loves bananas.

Jess on the other hand is still doing well, I scared to say too much incase I tempt fate, but each day the swelling under her chin gets less and there is less heat in it.

Gigi is now going into her pen during the day, but will soon have to stay out all the time as she is getting too heavy to carry and too big for the dog cage. She is so cool, I just can't describe what it is about her but she is so playful and is she hasn't seen you for a while so happy to get attention and a scratch. We are now on the lookout for a piglet as a companion, there is no way we can keep her on her own.

So next week we could have another pig to name, what do you think of Scarlet?

Sunday-2/2/08

Big step today, Gigi went into her new pen, only for a couple of hours, as it is too cold to just chuck her out fully. She is now sound asleep in her dog cage in the office, after a good feed of milk and brown bread, she will not eat pig pellets! I think she had a good time in the stables but was a bit lonely, she's used to having the cats for company.She's getting so big now, about the size of a big cocker spaniel and is very strong, she likes to play pushing games. The plan will be to put her out from about 12pm- 3pm, between my working hours, until the weather warms up anyway.

Jess is still going from strength to strength, although I am too scared to get my hopes up. There is still a hard, hot lump under her jaw, but she will be on antibiotics long term to try and kill off the infection. She is hopping around and eating well, so can only assume she feels well within herself.

Sprocket, our disabled chicken, has spent the last few weeks under the henhouse as she is being bullied, so we decided to take her in on Friday as it is so cold here (we've had snow and a bitter north wind) We will feed her up inside for a few days and move her and the bantams into the big rabbit run with a makeshift house. We have to move the bantams as Rusty is too big a cockerel for them and may injure them with his advances! He's not bothered at the moment, but spring isn't far away and then he will start to feel frisky. We feel Sprocket will be too big for the banties to bully and they are quick enough to get away from her. It also means we can take on a bantam cock, and save one from the pot, maybe.

Violet, the goat, has settled in well, although they haven't been out much this week as its been so cold, infact Jack and Pepper have had their rugs on most of the day.

Mustard was in to see Kevin (vet) on Wednesday as he had lost hair on his tummy and had overgroomed a bit on his leg, leaving a sore spot. As we looked at his tummy we noticed a round wet sore and were concerned it was ringworm. I had to bring him back the next day to check with a "woods lamp"-  ringworm glows applegreen under this lamp- it did look like it had a greenish glow about it, so Scott took hair samples to send off. I really hope it isn't but it is quite possible as cows and hedgehogs commonly carry it.

Our hedgehog is doing very well and has doubled in size since he got here, but doesn't have ringworm, all his spines are present, my poor fingers can vouch for that!

Monday-28/1/08

Well its been a quiet week this week, Mike was away Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday which was a bit exhausting, but I got everything done. It didn't give me much time to get anything but the basics finished but at least I coped.

Jess is doing really well and is eating all her veg and her rabbit food, tonight I'm going to cut up some hay, into short lengths so its easier for her to chew. There is a big swelling under her jaw, but we will just keep giving her antibiotics and hopefully this will kill off the infection. She is still getting manuka honey, which is fine except everything becomes sticky, and with Jess being a lionhead it is even messier!

The chickens have stared laying eggs again and we had our first omlette, of this year, tonight. This weekend was like spring and I see the rabbits are feeling a bit frisky too.

Its so muddy the sheep are having problems with their feet, thankfully Elsie's back feet are fine, but Foula can hardly walk, Elsie's fronts are sore and I see Sally is a bit tender on the front, Mike is cleaning them at night and spraying them with alamycin spray. It usually takes a couple of days for them to clear up but they come right in the end. They are getting about 20 neeps a day for lunch and they now have a bale of hay in the field, I'm hoping the oldies don't loose too much weight over the winter but with hay quality being poor its going to be difficult.

Its been a quiet week at the vet as well, only Pepsi and Jess were in as far as I can remember, mind you it seems a long time ago now. Hope it continues for the rest of the month, but doubt it somehow!!!!

Sunday-20/1/08 

We took Jess back to the vet on Monday, as I wasn't happy with her, she was taken in on Tuesday for a sedation and examine, turns out she has an abscess under her tongue. The worst prognosis ever, impossible to clean out and keep open (rabbit puss is like cream cheese, so is very difficult to remove and keep clear). So we were left with very few options,if she wasn't eating by Thursday,it was a  "put to sleep". After talking to Charlie, we decide to try her on a penicllium based antibiotic (not recommended for rabbits, but recently has been found to help with abscesses). So she gets an injection of BetamoxLA every 48 hrs, she also gets "Fibreplex" which has pre and probiotics to avoid tummy upsets. I have also been giving her a quarter teaspoon of "manuka" honey to fight the infection, I bought 15+, which means it has a high level of antibiotic effect. She is eating veg- spinach. carrot, parsley, grass and apple, not much but it is a start. I don't really think we will save her, but it is worth a try, and we have to give her a chance, I feel she hasn't given up, so why should we!

Pepsi was in to the vet next, she had a hole in her hip, we think she ran into wire, however she was determined to lick it, so she has a buster collar on and is on antibiotics for the next 5 days. She isn't impressed with the collar and it is now a very funny shape, with her walking into walls!

Gigi is still taking milk, although I have got her eating bananas, thanks to advice from Fiona Oakes at Towerhill Stables, she rescued a 1 day old piglet, so I think she may be my advisor for any Gigi problems. I'm very impressed she got back to me, as she has 300 animals to look after and many are old or poorly, and we know how much time it takes.

At the moment we have- 3 cats getting tablets twice a day, Smokey( rabbit) getting medication in the evening, Jess getting fibreplex twice a day, manuka honey once a day, an injection every 2 days and tempted with food every couple of hours, Gigi getting fed every 3-4 hours: and that is on top of the usual daily cleaning, feeding and general check over everyone gets.

Violet arrived today, she is like a hornless Primrose, not a young goat but seems like a nice girl, she was a bit stressed after her journey, so we will give her a couple of days to settle before we do any major introductions, she can see the other goats, so thats a start. I think she will settle in nicely.

Bournville was galloping around when we came back with Violet in the horse box, we think he was excited as he thought there was another horse coming. I though, if your that full of energy you need some work, so weather permitting, I will be on him next weekend, mind you I will be as stiff as a board afterwards!

Sunday-13/1/08

Well, happy New Year everybody, hope you all have a good one. We're glad to see the back of last year after all the upset, we lost a few pets along the way and the carry on with the cars, almost finished us off financially!

We are looking forward to the year and are planning to get our new rabbit runs finally built, we have to re-organise the goat pens, sort out a pig pen, continue with updating the fencing and we are determined to get back on the horses, as we hardly rode last year.

Sadly, we lost T-rex, my favourite quail, she seemed very puffed up one day and was not keen to eat. I put a hot water bottle in with her and decided if she was no better the next day to get her to the vet, however she died overnight but I feel happy I put in the bottle as we found her sitting on it dead. At least she was warm, I  think she was an older bird as she was a rescue bird. Still upsetting and so soon into the new year.

Jess (bunny) has also been unwell, she was drooling from her mouth and wasn't keen to eat, she got her front teeth removed a month or so ago. I got her into the vet and she is on a weeks course of antibiotics,she is eating grated carrot and finely sliced cabbage, it also looks like she was in her cereal food today. Poor girl has pus coming out of her lower jaw, but hopefully the antibiotic will sort it out.

Gigi (piglet) is asleep in a cat bed in the office at the moment, she is a wee tearaway!

She has both eyes, a huge scab came off and there was a bright little eye underneath, what a relief. She is drinking about 4 litres of milk now, but showing no interest in her pellets. She goes into her cage to do the toilet, when she's out and will try to use a litter tray if her cage is off being cleaned. She is now in a big dog cage, when we're out. We have to shut her in because although she knows the word "NO", chewing cables is just too much fun, we think she is teething. She is like a small labrador puppy and for anybody who doesn't believe they are intelligent, take our word for it they are. I am even more horrified at the conditions they keep these animals in, when I see how clever and gentle they are! Next week we will start to put her in the outbuilding, in a small pen during the day so she can have a she run around and then we will take her in at night as it has been really cold here.

Mike is going to be busy next week as he has a pen for Gigi to build and a pen for another goat- Violet- her friend died and she has been very depressed so we said we'd take her, she'll have plenty of company here, we already have 10!

So at the last count we have -29 chicken, 4 ducks, 8 quail, 12 rabbits, 4 guinea pigs, 10 sheep, 10 goats (11 next week), 4 horses, 6 dogs, 9 cats, 1 pig and a temporary visitor, the hedgehog.

you just never know what is around the corner do you, we keep saying no more and another animal turns up, what can you do.

By the way, thanks Teresa for leaving a message, we were on the verge of taking off the contact page, its nice to know you enjoyed reading about the animals, I do promose I will try to add more pictures and update the animal bit this year. New year resolutions, do I ever keep them, we'll see!

Tuesday-26/12/07

Its been a funny 2 weeks since last time I wrote, lots of worry and tears. Sadly we lost Fudge, our little mad professor. He was a lovely little lionhead lop rabbit, who came to us with his mother in a very poor state. He was about 8 weeks old and extremely thin, but grew up to be a cuddly, gentle fluff ball. We paired him off with Jessica and they were very happy together, snuggled up at night and running around the run during the day. I must admit though, I was always unsure about him and thought he wasn't as active as the others, but whenever he was checked at the vets, nothing seemed wrong. He was eating , doing the toilet, heart, lungs and tummy were all fine. Anyway, Mike found him over a week ago, dead in the hutch, he didn't realise to begin with as Fudge looked like he was asleep, and it was only when he didn't come out for breakfast that Mike looked closer and found him dead, he was only 2. We can only hope it was a heart condition, like Scotty, and he didn't feel a thing. i wonder how may sudden deaths occur in rabbits?

Smokey, who is the one I always expect to find dead is still with us, in fact we think he is a bit better on the new medication. We saw Charlie last week and he says Smokey's chest is still very noisy, but he has stopped losing weight, and is eating really well now.

Smudge and Spice were both in for dental ops last week as well, I worry whenever one of ours is in for an op, but its even worse when its oldies. At the same time they were both blood tested, Spice to check her thyroxine levels and Smudge for a full blood test, as she hasn't been well lately. I was very concerned, in case it was her kidneys, but it was, again, an overactive thyroid, that's now 3 cats on medication to bring down their thyroxine levels, it just goes to show how common it is in older cats. Anyway, good news about Spice and Samson (who was also tested), there are both stable, what a relief.

We've taken Elsie, the sheep, in for a couple of days, as the frost bothers her feet and she was quite sore. We are hoping to crack on with the sheep winter field and shed this week, so they can all come in at night. Its much easier to look after her feet when you don't have to chase around a field!

We got our own little Christmas miracle on Christmas eve, we have a piglet!

She was found running on the road and was picked up by somebody we know, she had just been avoided by 2 cars when he stopped to save her. There are no pig farms near where she was found, so we think she has fallen off a lorry. She seems sore on her back end and has a badly bashed eye, she may have lost it, its too swollen to tell yet. She has seen the vet and Andrew (vet) thinks she is about 2 weeks old, she's thin and was very cold- she must have been out at least one night in freezing conditions. We have taken her into the hall and are feeding her replacement milk, she has a radiator at one side and a radiator in front of her, she is in a dog crate and seems to feel secure in there. The first night she struggled to drink out of a bottle, but after warmth and good sleep and an antibiotic injection, she is drinking huge amounts out of a bowl. We've called her Gigi, and luckily we are already registered to keep pigs, as we always had a hope of getting one some day- typically we end up with a one eyed stray!

 Finally, hope you all had a merry Christmas, and got as nice presents as we did!

Monday- 10/12/07

Sorry I didn't write last week but its been a bit hectic! It was another week of workmen and dust on the 3rd. We also had 2 leaks in the loft, we only found out when water started to pour through the light fitting. We found them just at bedtime, so we were late going to bed- about 1 am, as we crawled about the loft space trying to fix them. It was worth it though, and after a few teething problems the house is cosy and we have hot water by the bath load.

We've even cooked a few fine teas on it.

Smokey, our wee grey bunny, is still unwell. We've tried all the usual options- antibiotics, wormer, steriods: he's been x-rayed and blood sampled and we still can't find what's wrong.

So we are trying another treatment, not usually used in rabbits but as he is losing lots of weight we must try something. He was 2.15 kg in may and he is now 1.7 kg, that's a lot for a small animal. Sadly, my gut feeling is we will lose him, but at least we gave it our best shot!

We have heard the "New Arc" in Ellon have had an outbreak of VHD, a very nasty disease of rabbits, for which there is no cure and most rabbits affected will die. It causes internal bleeding, but sometimes there are no symtoms at all except for a dead rabbit. We have not vaccinated, until now, as it hasn't really been heard of up here before. If you do have rabbits, we would recommend you vaccinate for VHD, but don't forget about myxomatosis, it is also a killer and much more widespread, it is also very prevelent at the moment.

Thankfully all the other animals seem to be doing well and our quail has survived the attack, she is still a mess but healing, amazingly quickly. We've finally named them all-

Colony 1- Grouse (the boy), Rhea, Blackcap and Turtle Dove.

Colony 2- Charlie(the boy), Goldie and T-rex 

Colony 3- Apache (the one who was scalped) and Souix.

I've started to think of names for some of our new chickens as well, Mulberry, for one of the cockerels , Velvet, Sputnik, Freckles, Dots; there are a few whose names I can remember from their old home- Creme brulee and Sprocket. Sprocket is  a bit disabled, she is very upright and her wings don't seem to work, but when I go in with the corn, she toddles up and eats it quite happily out of my hand.     

Monday-26/11/07

Well, all hell broke loose last Monday, the work on the rayburn started! The radiators were ripped out on Tuesday and we haven't had central heating since, we didn't have hot water for 2 days until Mike rewired the immersion. Thankfully we have a coal fire and we bought some cheap oil heaters to keep the chill off the rest of the house, its still cold though. I am quite pleased with the dogs, we were quite worried about their behaviour, but they haven't been bad and the workmen have been very tolerant with them and the cats. We got a delivery of wood on Friday, 2 trailer loads, so that should last us until we get our own chopped and dried.

Levi's X-rays, ECG and blood tests came back clear so the diagnosis is he "faints" when being sick- its call vaso-vagus disorder and is quite common in people, but less common in dogs. There is no real treatment for it, so we just have to live with it.

A few of our rabbits haven't been well, and we think there is a wee bug going around them, a big problem when you have a lot of them. Fudge and Odd-eye haven't been right and Treacle had an upset tummy on Friday. They have all been given antibiotics and we will keep an eye on the rest.

We found one of our new quail in a bad way, she has been, nearly, scalped by the big golden girl we have. We've removed her and her sibling (for company and incase she is next) and she is being kept warm and given antibiotics to try and save her. Poor wee thing must be so sore but she is still eating and running around so we are hopeful. What a mess she is, and it came from nowhere.

Its really too cold to write much more and the house is in a mess (don't see the point of cleaning up for it to be a mess again tomorrow) so i'm off back to the fire to warm up again.

Lets hope, next week the central heating is running and we are toasty warm and I will be learning how to cook.

Sunday-18/11/07

We've spent this week running to the vet with rabbits, mainly for vaccinations. We have an outbreak of myxomatosis in the wild rabbits around us and although ours are vaccinated, it is recommended to do it 6 monthly in high risk areas. Some of our rabbits were over 6 months and others are due their yearly needles this month, that means we have 10 rabbits due . We have 8 done, just Bertha and Snowy left on Monday.

Smokey (rabbit) was in for tests this week to try and find out why his breathing is so fast, he was X-rayed and had blood samples taken. His X-rays were clear but his bloods showed signs of either an allergic reaction (asthma) or a parasite, we are treating him with wormer and if that doesn't help, he will be injected with a steriod for the asthma. Thankfully, rabbit wormer has recently become available on the market, problem is I will have to treat them all eventually, some may be easier than others!!

We are also worming the horses this week, I just need to catch up on clearing the droppings, its just so difficult when it so muddy and the muck heap is so full, never mind, will get cracking next week.

Our new chickens are quite settled now, I had worried that the boys would spend all their time posturing in front of each other, but they don't bother- too grown up! 2 of the girls are laying, but thats it, the quail on the other hand are giving us 30 eggs a week. Mind you they are inside with a light on, which encourages laying and they are young. One of the older girls is really tame, we call her T-rex, because as soon as she hears the mealworm tub she is throwing herself off the cage bars, she will jump out and then back in again, onto your hand, where ever the mealworms go!

Got a real scare last night. Levi (dog) was sick, and he usually passes out when he is sick, have spoken to the vet but problem is having a vet around when he is sick to assess him. However last night he was really bad and when he came to he was growling and after that couldn't walk and was shaking badly. We called out the vet, although I felt bad about it as it was 10.30 pm. Bruce came out and of course by the time Bruce got here Levi was pretty much recovered ( we couldn't drive into the vet as we'd had a glass or 2 of wine!!). Bruce checked him over and found his heart beat was irregular and his pupils were quite unresponsive. He is now in on Tuesday for blood tests and an ECG reading, Bruce was very nice about having to come out and said it was good to have seen him so soon after the fit, it could be caused by a number of things including the heart or the liver. Once we find out what's wrong we can then treat it. We were upset for the rest of the evening and I hardly slept.

Have spent today preparing for the workmen arriving tomorrow, the time is finally here and our rayburn goes in. We called Calor gas and told them we were no longer using them, we got a letter back saying we have to pay them £120 to remove the gas tank- which we are renting from them for £14 a quarter, BUT they can't refund us for any gas still in the tank. Will be so glad to be a bit more independant from these big companies! Roll on next week!

Sunday-11/11/07

Well, what a change to the weather, it seems winter is upon us! Just in time for us to be without central heating for a few weeks when the new system goes in.

We've spent our free time this week trying to tidy up the yard and stables a bit as they are just a mess at the moment. Hopefully, the local farmer will come and remove our muck heap, which has started crawl all over the yard. It will cost us a few bob, but we think its worth it, as we produce a lot of muck over the winter.

We spent Thursday, hiding from the winds, as did the animals, thankfully nothing was damaged and all the animals had shelter and food. We took the horses in at 6.30pm, much earlier than I like, but they we were standing at the gate, not eating, so we decided they were better off inside. Since then they have been in their heavy rugs and we've stared to feed Cirrus some haylage. She is quite lean and we are worried that she drops too much weight over the winter, the hay is generally so poor, it doesn't have a lot of goodness in it.

Jess is recovering well from her op, and is eating plenty, the only thing we have to do is clean her gums, as puss is still coming out of them, she is also getting antibiotics. Smokey's breathing is no better, so he is in on Tuesday for a X-ray, to see if we can find out what is going on. If its his heart, we're not sure what we can do, but Charlie (vet) has a few new ideas up his sleeve!

Scott (vet) saw Pumpkin again to assess how his knee is doing, the cruciate repair has gone very well, but the kneecap is still slipping a bit. We knew this might happen due to the complication of the cruciate damage. He is quite stable on that knee now, but is very lame on his left leg, so that is the next step, hopefully in December. Scott is going to do that kneecap, using another method, and hopfully Pumpkin will be a lot more comfortable after all this.

All our chickens have arrive, and we have them all in their new pens. We spent yesterday finishing off the fencing and shed, in the pouring rain, but it was quite satisfying albeit freezing. This morning, before breakfast, we sorted out the groups into their houses (sounds like something from Hogwarts!) and that will be them settled, hopefully, after a few days.

Our hedgehog is still doing well, will get him in next week to be weighed, but I think we will have him until the spring now.

I need to add an update on Misty, our 18 year old cat, after clipping her nails she has been much more active and is now coming up for a cuddle. Her claws weren't digging into her feet, but they must have been long enough to be uncomfortable, as she is much more mobile now. She is a lovely old girl and we are both becoming very fond of her, she's the office cat and keeps Pumpkin company, while he is recovering. Spice, our other old cat (16 Years) is a cutie too, it seems such a shame that these older animals don't get a second chance, they still have so much to give, and if we only have them for 6 months (like Chokki) at least we've had the joy of knowing them.

Well off to put the horses to bed as its going to be another cold night and I need to fill my hot water bottle!

Sunday- 4/11/07

We've got the horses feet done, at last, Les came out on Tuesday and trimmed them. It was all he could manage as he is still very sore and we do appreciate him coming. I feel much happier now their feet are tidy again. It has been a stressful time for them, and all the other animals, because of all the fireworks. Personally I would ban them, or at least private ones. We've had bonfires Friday and Saturday near us, a concern when you have a yard full of hay, and fireworks going off all round us for about a week, some right next door to us tonight.

We've had 2 bunnies in for treatment this week, Smokey is very wheezy and has been on antibiotics, but it just doesn't clear up. Our biggest concern is that it is his heart as there isn't much we can do for it. He is in again tomorrow to see if this last antibiotic has helped. If not we may have to risk a sedation and x-ray to see whats going on, it will be very high risk as his breathing is so bad, at the same time we will get his teeth done as he also has spurs on his back teeth. Every morning I wake up and my first thought is whether he is OK, it is very stressful, which is why I prefer to find out what is going on and then we can deal with it.

Jess was in to get her front teeth removed, Nicola (who did the op) said it was a nightmare, it took her an hour to pull the teeth out intact, she also trimmed some spurs off her back teeth as this can lead to abcesses. I was really worried about her as it must be difficult to eat when her mouth is so sore, however she has been tucking into grass and grated carrots, she has also been in her food, but I can't tell how much she has managed to eat.

I also trimmed to old cats nails, it stops the nails growing into the pads of the feet, they don't wear down as well when the cat is less active. We got up this morning to find Triger lame on his front, left foot, not good when he only has 3 legs to start with. We got him straight into Nicola (she must be sick at the sight of us ! ) and he got antibiotics and painkiller, poor wee thing, he can just manage to balance on 2 legs.

Our hedgehog is still eating well and I will get him weighed this week to see how he's doing, he is very smelly and noisy. Small hogs seems to be a problem with the weird seasons and late litters are being born. They are then not big enough to survive hibernation.

Alan was over on Thursday to help Mike with the fencing in the chicken run and he also helped collect and build the chicken houses on Saturday, he's a DUDE. Anyway, we took home 15 hens today, 2 escaped and we left one of the cockerels until we get things fully finished- we've got some fencing to finish and gates to build. We will keep the birds in for a couple of days, so they are totally settled in their new house, if we just let them out there is a good chance they won't go into bed at night. The youngest birds are 3 and the oldest ones are between 8 and 10, I think hens can live to about 15 so hopefully they are happy and healthy here for a good few years.

The goat rugs arrived, so in any spare time I get, I will lengthen the belly straps and that will be the goats sorted for winter. Pepper and Jack have been out with their rugs on already and they are both a bit arthritic and keeping warm helps them and although it has been warm lately, its pretty chilly tonight!

I even bought a hot water bottle today for the frosty nights- especially when the rayburn is going in- only 2 weeks to go!

Tuesday- 30/10/07

Well another busy week, had the horse dentist out to look at the horses teeth. I was horrified when I looked back and saw it was 2 years since they had been last done, in fact I doubt if Pixie and Bumble had ever been done. I was a bit stressed about them in case they were bad but they were very well behaved, in fact Brian, the dentist, used an electric file/drill on Pixie and Bumble. Really pleased they are done and they should all be yearly after this, except for Cirrus, who has a hook which he couldn't get to without sedation, so in 6 months I have to get him and the vet arranged to get it seen to. Boy, will I be uptight that day!

We didn't end up getting the chickens this week as we need to arrange some housing. Their henhouse didn't like being taken down and has decided not to go up again! There is a lovely mix of colours and I think Rusty will be getting a few new girlfriends. We have been busy splitting one run in half and now think we will do the same with the other, that will give us 4 runs- 8m x 5m, hopefully big enough for 8 chickens in each (at least for the winter). I spent Saturday going round the outside with a set of shears, cutting down the undergrowth, to give the electric fencing a good kick! I did try the strimmer, but mechanical things don't like me and it broke. 

I have ordered some rugs for the goats from the Robinsons catalogue, they are actually dog rugs with the belly straps adapted, nicely lined and waterproofed. They are a bit worried when they first get a rug on, but once they realise they are warm, they stand and wait for you to strap them up. When they go out for the first time the sheep run away as they don't recognise them as their friends.

Thankfully we found our stray dog's owner on Wednesday, so a happy ending.

Pod, our visiting cat went home to his owner on Sunday night.

Finally, we have a little winter visitor, a small hedgehog. It is too small to hibernate so I have him until the spring, assuming there is nothing else wrong with him. Nicola, the vet, had a wee look, but we couldn't unfurl it, it has been eating so we are assuming it is from a late litter and just too young. I have some wormer for it and once it is a bit heavier we will de-flea it, it is in our spare bedroom just now as I don't want it near the rabbits until it is fully treated for parasites.

Tuesday-23/10/07

Late again, but have a valid excuse, but will get to that later.

I had my mum and nephew, Gordon, out at the beginning of the week. Gordon worked really hard but when I asked if he would like to stay, he said it was OK for a break but too much work to do all the time! We lunged Pixie and afterwards, I got Gordon to lean over her and then take his legs off the ground. She wa a bit worried but not too upset, so I was quite happy.

We have been asked to take a friends chickens as they are being picked off, one by one by a fox. So next weekend we have 18 (at the last count ) arriving!

On Friday we ordered and paid for our Rayburn, so thats it, we are committed. Sadly we also lost one of or quail- Maddy- I think she was an older bird, but doesn't make us feel any better. I don't know how old she was but they only live to between 2-2.5 years.

Andrew was out again to look at Elsie's feet and also her sister, Doris. Elsie now has growths on both feet and Doris has an abcess, Andrew says its because they are older and we just have keep an eye on them. They have had antibiotics and Elsie got the growths removed again and was bandaged up for a few days. Both seem a lot better now and we will put them out tomorrow again.

We spent Saturday cleaning out the rabbits and goats because we had a busy day planned for Sunday.

What happened on Sunday, well we were off down to Perith to pick up our Landrover Defender, a G reg, a bit rusty but it goes, and it was all we could afford after the fiasco with our jeep! We caught the train down and drove the car back, Mike bought it on e-bay and told me when he got home on Thursday night, so as you can imagine I was more than a little bit worried about getting home! However, it chugged home without a hitch.Thanks to Sharon and Mike for pet sitting and thanks to Alan for taking us to the train station.

We were just settling down after Sharon and Mike left, when they appeared again with a lab they had found running on the A96, they decided to take it to me as I could scan it for a microchip at the vet's the next morning.  No Chip and claims. It doesn't have a collar, but seems a lovely dog, we have imformed the police we have it, but they haven't got back to us either. It will be on NERC and Northsound tomorrow and a lovely lady who comes into the vet is making up a poster to put up in the village, how nice is that! I will contact the police again, and hopefully we will reunite it with its owner. I'm so proud of my dogs, yet again, they may jump up, bark and run riot, but a so good when another dog arrives. After initial introductions they are fine unless the visitor gets a bit pushy and they are promptly put back in their place, but they are very laid back when it comes to newcomers- they are BRILLIANT

Last night we were off to collect another chicken house, for our birds, and it came with 2 birds, so we now have 2 pekin hens, and they have fluffy feet!

Sunday-14/10/07

What a lovely week it has been, better than summer. I have spent the time lunging Pixie, I can't do anyhting with the others as they still haven't seen the blacksmith. It turns out Les has also fractured his collar bone, as well as dislocating his shoulder, poor lad!

We have Brian, the horse dentist coming on Wednesday, so I will maybe then start to get Pixie used to a bit and bridle. We have one bought and it is really cute, being so tiny. I have had a saddle cloth on her back and walked her around, and she was quite happy with it, I now just have to get her used to a girth around her tummy.

Lots of boosters this week at the vet, Samson, Smudge, Spice and Pepsi. Samson and Spice also had their blood tests for thyroxine levels, again Samson's came back too high, it is starting to look like he might need surgery to sort him out. We are still waiting for Spice's results, she will also need a dental as her teeth are quite bad, it is a bit more of a risk with an old lady, but bad teeth can cause lots of problems too.

We had Jess, the bunny, in to get her teeth clipped again- its only a month since the last time- and Gemma (vet) said she had hooks on her back teeth, so she also needs a dental, at the same time we should just remove all her front teeth!

We had Elsie (sheep) in last week and it looks like she has a growth on her left back foot now (we had one on the right cut out recently), so I will get a vet out to do that next week. At the moment we have her sister, Doris, in as she has a split on her front foot, we think it must be an age thing as they are both about 10-11 years old. They are also thinner than they used to be, they were huge, mind you it is probably better that they don't carry too much weight at their age.

We have been injecting Smokey (rabbit) with antibiotics this week to see if it helps his breathing but not really sure if it has helped, he's eating and his coat is glossy and clean, so maybe we're worrying about nothing.

We got the quote for the rayburn, more than we expected, but we're going for it anyway, it just means we will have to get a really cheap 4x4, and save up for next year to get a better one. All we need to do now is wait for the mortgage money to go in, they didn't get a form from us, although we're sure we sent in, so we've sent it off again. We're so excited, we can't wait!

Sunday-7/10/07

We've been getting ready for winter! The weather has been lovely but the nights are drawing in and it is fairly chilly in the mornings now.

We had the survey for the rayburn this week, so must now wait- on tenderhooks- to see what the quote is and if we can afford it. We will be so disappointed if it is too expensive!

We got a delivery of 16 bales of hay and 6 bales of straw, thanks again to Alan Denny and Overton garage, who allowed the use of their lorry, they also let Alan use the lorry to take home 3 static caravans, for storage, over the summer. Many thanks! Hopefully, that will last us a few months.

We also picked up another load of wood today, we need to start getting it home as we have to get it removed by Christmas. Which, much to our horror, isn't that far away.

At the end of this month I am going to be taking on the evening shift at the vet's as well, so I am really going to have to get organised. I will get home at 11.30 ish and will have to get ready for work again at about 3.30 ish. The main aim will be to get as much outside work done as possible in that time, mainly doing the horses, getting the horses' droppings lifted, dogs exercised, goats beds done, sheep beds done and bird houses done. The rabbits toilets can be done at night because there is enough lighting to see in the dark.

Les didn't appear this week, turns out he's dislocated his shoulder, will phone this week and see how he's doing. He was going to come on Friday, but cancelled as he was too sore, not surprised really! Just frantic to get the horses feet trimmed as they are quite overgrown and I don't want to work them while their feet are like that.

Snuffly animals this week as well as lame ones. Jack, the goat, has the snuffles and we got the vet out on Friday to check him. He got some injections and seemed brighter today, he was actually pulling on his lead when we put him out this morning, hasn't done that all week. While, Andrew was here we got him to look at Smokey, the rabbit, his temperature is fine but his breathing is fast and a bit laboured, again we got antibiotics to give him. The main worry with him is we have no idea of his history, he was left in a house with 9 guinea pigs and was only saved when the neighbours hear them squeaking. They would have starved to death otherwise. The guinea pigs were all rehomed, but we fostered Smokey and took to him so decided to keep him, he's such a nice little rabbit but we don't know how old he is.

We are going to try and catch Elsie, the sheep, tonight and take her in for a few days, she is very lame on her back leg, the growth isn't a problem, but we think she gets mud in the area and it rubs, causing a sore bit. When they are in their winter field, they come in everynight,so it is much easier to catch her, clean her foot and spray it with an antbiotic spray.

We put the horses in the winter field today, it has quite a bit of grass and we feel the horses have dropped a bit of weight this month so we want to get some back on them before the weather really turns. They are getting fed a hard food and coming in at night to 2 haynets each, but Cirrus so easliy drops weight we need to be careful of her, also she gets grumpy when she's hungry!!

Hopefully our mortgage money will be in next week and the quote for the rayburn should be through, so we will know how much we have to spend on a car, and then we will be looking for one. I'm hoping we get it before I start working in the evenings.

Tuesday-2/10/07

Even later this week, mainly because we had a busy weekend, but will get back into updating on a Sunday.

Its been a week of lame animals, Cirrus, Samson and occasionally Bruno! Firstly Cirrus, she's been a bit stiff with the colder weather and when we were taking her in for the blacksmith on Thursday, the neighbour's dog started barking behind the fence and she got a fright. She must have twisted her hock as she came through the gate, luckily she was very good, as I could have been given quite a knock. By the time Les came to trim her feet she wouldn't lif