Bedrest for Boo

Yesterday it rained all day long – just a light drizzle really but a persistent one.

The plonkers loved it. Rain means mud and easy digging. And it was not cold.

Geraldine wears the rain with much more elegance.

Can you see the raindrops on her feathers?

Boo went to the vet and evidently his hips are in bad shape (the Vets words) she said that the hips will get worse over time. She also said that he has torn the ACL in his right knee.  If we are not careful the ACL (and I have read it called the CCL or is that something different?)  can deteriorate and eventually snap. They are like two ropes that wrap around the joint. So he is now on anti- inflammatories and a carbohydrate free diet. (Carbohydrates increase inflammation) and bed rest.  Boo is already on a joint supplement so the vet said that he should be on that for the rest of his life.  He and Tane are already taking Turmeric but the Vet sees no harm in it so we will continue that anyway.

I am still researching this and not quite conversant with it yet so forgive me if my veterinary vernacular is not quite correct, yet.

Because I have not let him run or jump since he started limping he is also putting on weight. He has to lose this weight.

So – ongoing – no more jumping. No more running through the long grass or along the ditches, ever. No more playing fetch. He can work the cows in a few weeks but only at ground level.  No more jumping on or off the back of the truck ever. If his limp is gone in a week or so he can start little walks but if the limp does not alleviate with this regimen he has to go back in for sedation and an xray.  And possibly an operation.

However with luck and a lot of bed rest the joint will strengthen and repair  with new tissue growing around the tear. So we are hoping for the non surgery option. But he has to be very careful. The threat will always be there.  And he is Boo – he does not want to be careful. So I have to be careful. And without the x ray we still don’t know the extent of the injury.

So I will start putting money in a jar for Boo – it looks like there will be expenses ahead for him and we need to save for that. And he hates the Vet so much he literally quivers with terror. Ton came to the vet with us to have his shots and he wandered all over the place getting pats and showing people his paws. He loves the vet clinic. But poor old Boo just hates the place.

The good thing is that I train my dogs from pups to take pills so we have no trouble with the medication.

Here is an interesting and simply written article on this condition.  (It is an advertisement as well which I have ignored but the information matched what my own vet said).

The Vet who treats Tane was not there yesterday so I will call him today.

And look at this. Here is Tane’s cat yesterday evening already in bed and awaiting the arrival of her pig.  A nice addition to yesterdays images.  The light was low so Tane was out of focus but he is that big black out of focus blob in the corner. The moment he sees me he moves.

Poppy’s piglets have been weaned. Though really it is the other way round – I always take the mother away not the piglets away. The piglets need to stay in the familiar space. We don’t want to frighten them.  So in a way Poppy was weaned from her piglets. Before I wean the babies I increase the cows milk and feed that the piglets eat, so they are taking more food from me and less food from their mother. This helps the piglets and the mothers udder.

Poppy went to the West Barn. She left her piglets and without hesitation jumped into the stock trailer and rode over to the west side, when I went to get her out she was standing with her feet on top of the back gate of the stock trailer, excited, down she got, I opened the gate, she jumped out and trotted into the West barn and around to her big back pen. “Where’s my treat?”  She has done this before!

Manu and Molly were interested but Poppy will not join them for a while.

After last nights chores I took the farrowing pen side gate down and now the piglet’s area is three times as big and they had a marvellous time running through all that deep straw.  I don’t let them have deep straw when the mother is present – they hide themselves in the straw and go to sleep and when they are little the mama can stand on them. (I have seen this happen with my first sow Charlotte and never want to see it again) So this pile of deep deep straw is a new toy!

I hope you have a lovely day and I wish all the American members of the fellowship a Happy Thanksgiving.

Love celi