Like a walk through the country side living on a small farm is full of daily surprises, sometimes wonderful and amazing, and other times puzzling and sad. I hope you will walk with me as I live out my dream of living on this tiny farm. You will come to know the dogs, cats, Shetland sheep and chickens that make up this farm and what goes into keeping them happy and healthy. Come and join the journey with me.

Friday, October 02, 2009

Randomness

Sage is Sick. Yes, with a capitol "S". I'm hoping he is improving, but if not we are headed to the vet this afternoon. He had a little diarrhea last Wednesday on the day of the Big Cat Sick (wherein I had to take three to the vet, Sage, not included). However he improved and was fine. Or so I thought. He had a huge meltdown on Saturday--involving a line dried sheet, myself and Butterfly peering in the doorway. Suffice it to say it was ugly and should have been a big fat clue that he wasn't himself. While not the happiest cat in the world, nor the most stable, he is pretty predictable. Only when he is feeling 'under the weather' does he go truly spastic. Monday he was sick... diarrhea to the max. When I tried to be helpful and give him kaopectate, he puked. Then I gave him anti puking stuff from the vet, and he puked again. So it went. Tuesday he was still pretty sickly. Wednesday, he improved... at least the diarrhea pretty much quit. But the puking went on. Not constant or painful, but every time he'd eat, then a 1/2 hour or so later, up it would come. Yesterday I thought he was mended, but then found where he had done the whole eat-puke cycle again. He acts so much better today, and ate again....but I don't know if he kept it down. I'm going to feed and observe him when I get home this afternoon and will go from there. Good grief. He sure has been a miserable little bugger.
(Update--he 'most likely' has bacterial colitis, and is on antibiotics...He seems better today.)

The 'easy' project from H-E-double hockey sticks....

I'm still trying to get the kitty romper pen built. It hasn't been easy, and time is limited. Butterfly will be going to Mom's tomorrow for her two weeks of isolation. The kittens will be weaners. I don't think it will be that hard on them. Their momma hasn't had much to do with them for awhile and only lets them nurse at night. Butterfly is actually going to be 'drying off' so she will be in good shape for her spaying. (Update--Butterfly is pretty uncomfortable but the kittens, while a little subdued seem to be taking weaning fine)

A quick trip over to Allena's over that interesting red road--no actual sheep pictures since we were busy setting up pens, tricking sheep into being caught etc.)

I had someone interested in Omen so ended up going over to Allena's to meet Brenda and her husband. We managed to round them up and Omen and a little ewe of Allena's went off to their new homes. Omen will also be joining about 10 rambouillet and suffolk ewes, so I think he will be a happy feller.


Hay! Beautiful brome mixed square bales, now fill the garage. I was getting a little worried and called my hay guy. Happily he came through for me. He brought a load last week, and then the rest today while I was gone to meet the folks about Omen. I am so happy to get the hay in, and it's all lovely second cutting. The sheep have already taste tested and approved and they will waste very little of it. I need to decide how many round bales I should get and see about finding some.

The tomato plants are beautiful and full of big green tomatoes. The weather is cooler now, with some 40 degree nights, but they continue to ripen. I picked a nice bucketful of them yesterday, along with some huge peppers.

And who are these half grown little kitties??

I've been spending so much time working on the kitty pen and taking care of the kittens that I'm far behind on my other fall work. Thankfully v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n is coming up and I sure hope I can get caught up. Breeding groups will need to go together next week as well.

Lots to do, and the days are getting crisp and cool. Have a great week!

7 comments:

Pat in east TN said...

I'd say it not boring around Fairlight Farm! Whew!!

Your tomatoes look yummy ... mine are all done already, and although I had a good crop, it seems like I just didn't get my fill this year.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Wow, hadn't heard from you...had no idea things were hopping so... on the farm.

I am still getting a green pepper or two, but I pulled the tomatoes a couple of weeks ago, they were a mess.

Poor Sage.

Brenda said...

Hi Tammy,

We made it back with the sheep just fine. The ram is still in his own pen yet, but it won't be long before he can go to "work." :) The little ewe is letting me pet her, and they both seem pretty content. We enjoyed meeting you guys Saturday.

Hope Sage is feeling better soon.

Kathy said...

Tammy, my heart goes out to you and Sage Cat. It is so hard when they aren't feeling good. One thing I suggest you might want to have on hand is a bag of lactated ringers with a line and maybe a 20 guage needle (the 18s are a bit big for cats but also work). Have your vet show you how to administer subcutaneous fluids to a cat. Keeping a vomiting/poopy cat hydrated can mean the difference between life or death. Cats become dehydrated fast without much warning. Everyone here gets 100cc min. when they are vomiting due to illness. (As opposed to vomiting for furballs or overeating) The bag of fluid and line are not too expensive - cheap insurance to keep our furfriends hydrated.
You can tell how dehydrated he is by pulling the skin on the back of his neck up and seeing if it snaps back quickly. A fast response means he's hydrated, but if the skin doesn't snap back, he needs fluids.
After the antibiotics, see if he'll take a little yogurt. Those good bugs will help his poor little tummy, if he likes milk. Ziggy, Pixel, Shadow and I usually share some strawberry kefir or yogurt in the evenings. :)
We'll be thinking good thoughts for you and the Sage Cat today.
((hugs))

Vicki Lane said...

Just now catching up with you -- I hope Sage is doing better.

Like Pat in east TN, my maters are but a fond memory. It was the blight that finally did them in.

Tina T-P said...

Wow, you've been busy -
I hope Sage is on the mend.
Those kittens are sure cute.
John has to "taste test" his hay with the sheep too - they will only eat hay from one field that our hay harmer cuts - picky things,

take care - T.

Tammy said...

Pat..no never boring! ha...I need to get out and pick the rest of the tomatoes. There are a ton of green ones, but it could frost at any time. It's cold enough!
JW...hope you were able to eat the tomatoes I sent home with you...
Brenda, Thanks for letting me know, I was wondering how it went! It was nice meeting you too.
Kathy, Thanks for all the tips. After having mostly 'normal' health here in the kitties, it's been a shock to the system. Sage is well now. I need to get him on a little yogurt though, to help his tummy back to normal function.
Vicki, Sage is doing great now, his old ornery self, which I'm happy to see!
Tina--isn't it awful how spoiled the sheep get??? But at least this way there is very little waste. The cost isn't any different, so I held out for this lovely second cutting stuff. Some years that would have backfired and there would have been no seconding cutting, but this year was great!
Tammy