Re: AppleCheeks - The Zoo

by AppleCheeks Sat 05 May 2018, 3:56 am

Peachy wrote:On another hand... maybe you'll just get two snuggle bugs out of it!

Or it could go the complete opposite way and Beanie could be a little jerk to the newbie. Who knows!
Updated picture because the breeder is a "jerk" lol. I kid. 2 green masks like Beanie, a blue and a dilute green.

by AppleCheeks Mon 07 May 2018, 5:37 pm

It's been an semi eventful few days on the "farm". Well, at least more eventful than normal.
We had the vet out yesterday (yeahhh not looking forward to that bill). So this is a personal choice but any bull we ever have gets a nose ring put in. There are many reasons behind this decision but the two main reason are..
1. It's a safety thing. Their nose is pretty sensitive so having a rope attached to the nose ring (only when handling, this is not something that is left on all the time) gives you a little more control when you are working with them. Archie is of an age where he is being a bit.. testy? He's still a super sweet bull but he's going through a stage where he's trying to be "boss" and if we want to be able to handle him, we have to nip this in the bud.
2. We don't show all our animals but one of the requirements for any bull attending the show is that from the age they are 18 months or older, they MUST have a nose ring. Again, it's a safety thing.

The nose ring looks kind of massive on him but he should grow into it and going with a bigger nose ring means we shouldn't have to replace it any time soon!

Funnily enough, I was actually in at the vets only a few days prior with Gremlin. He's been limping intermittently for probably a month now. Something I wasn't to worried about because it only happened for maybe 5 seconds after he got off the couch at the end of the day after having snoozed the evening away - I figured he was maybe just a bit stiff from not moving for a few hours. Needless to say in the last week or two, that limp started happening a bit more often like after playing fetch for 5 minutes or so but again, once we stopped within a few minutes he was fine again. Sadly the vets weren't much help because of course when I took him in he wasn't limping - typical! So he's on bed rest for the next 2 weeks or so, no running, no jumping, no coming to work, no walks. Needless to say he's going a bit stir crazy (though thankfully he is my laziest dog so stir crazy for him is more him being a bit more pushy with play at the end of the day).
I do feel kind of bad that I'm enjoying the break from Gremlin so much. You see, Gremlin is pretty dog selective. He's reactive to all dogs on leash (nothing severe but it's enough to make Callie and Pip get anxious) and off leash things are still pretty hit or miss and I can't tell you if he will like a dog and want to play or if he will try hurt it. I have no idea what his triggers are so taking him out and about is.. stressful. There has been so many times where I've driven an hour or so away to a beach and I've had to turn around and head home because there are other people with their dogs already there.

The girls have definitely been enjoying their "one on one" time though. It's been amazing to be able to go to work and have other dogs out with them and to take them to parks and dog events and whatever else.

And lastly, bird update. Not that there is much to update on I guess.
I've decided not to get another lovebird. Although I would absolutely love one, none of them seemed like the right one ya know? I even looked at some handraised budgies and a musk lori but they just weren't quite right. Maybe next breeding season - the plan is to look into something like a Nanday Conure, Quaker or even something like a Barraband. That said, I might just end up with a cockatiel - a friend of mine is breeding hers next season and she asked if I would like to handraise some. Well I ain't going to say no!

Only real update on these guys, I mean it's something I'm thrilled about. The breeder I got Atlas from had clipped his wings, they.. for whatever reason left him with one flight feather - which is pretty pointless. Anyway, Silly Atlas has decided to moult at the very end of the season - its starting to get cold here being so close to winter.. But hey! He's finally grown in another flight feather on either side. TWO FLIGHT FEATHERS. Here's hoping there's more to come and we can start teaching him to fly!

by AppleCheeks Thu 07 Jun 2018, 2:36 am

First calf of the season! I say that like we will have heaps born when in reality there is only one more cow due Laughing

- It's a boy!

by JuniperBerry55 Thu 07 Jun 2018, 6:15 pm

What a sweet looking face! So so cute Heart Eyes

by AppleCheeks Thu 07 Jun 2018, 8:52 pm

JuniperBerry55 wrote:What a sweet looking face! So so cute

And then they grow horns and look slightly less huggable haha

by AppleCheeks Sat 14 Jul 2018, 12:02 am

Eugh.. the last few weeks have been rough. I have cried way to many tears this month. I just need to vent a bit is all.

My terrible few weeks come down to 2 main events so here goes.

1. I mentioned this in a previous post but Gremlin has been limping on and off for the last.. probably 5 months now. We followed the usual "2 week crate rest" thing to see if it was a soft tissue issue or something. Went to an osteopath who honestly? Im pretty sure he was a total quack. He said Gremlins joints were fine, nothing wrong with them - his limping was all because he had no core muscles which caused him to overuse his back. Right..
Well.. my dog who's "joints are fine" has arthritis in both elbows. Yep. Great joints right? Elbow joints are so finicky, it doesn't take much of a "deformity" for them to cause issues. Gremlins a very stoic dog apparently because his arthritis is pretty bad in one joint and only the beginning stages in the other.
Keep in mind, he's only 4 or 5. This dog has already had 5 teeth pulled and a bullet removed from his back left leg in the 2.5 years I've had him (note, he was shot BEFORE I adopted him and he already had 4 badly broken teeth at that point too). Adding arthritis to the list? It just sucks.

2. GRAPHIC
It's not graphic in the sense of gory pictures or blood or anything BUT what I'm going to talk about is pretty upsetting.
I've had my goat Trouble for 4 years now. He's pretty big for a goat but a total sweetheart - thank god because being a dairy goat, his hooves are terrible and require weekly trimming. His hooves haven't been coping with the wet weather so they've been getting soft and easily.. damaged I guess you could say so we have separated him from our cattle (he's been living with them since he was 112 weeks or so) and put him into our driest paddock. He's doing really well.
Since we figured this might now be a regular thing we need to do, I adopted a gorgeous baby goat about a week ago now. Absolutely head over heals with this new baby goat. Sadly.. we had to put him down after only having him for 4 days..
I got home from work and he had managed to get out of the pen I had him in. He got into the paddock with our cattle - you wouldn't think this is an issue since our other goat lives with them and was with them at the time. Thing is.. We have a cow with a calf and with this particular calf, she's been extremely protective. She's never been this bad, she's so antsy.
Upsetting details starts now
I came home to find him covered in mud with a broken leg. A leg so badly broken there was ZERO feeling. All nerves were severed. Our protective mumma cow, I suspect, thought he was my little dog who she will chase out of the paddock. The baby goat had no clue to run and well.. She hurt him. Badly.

I feel so insanely guilty. Everyone reminds me it isn't my fault and trust me, I know it isn't. I thought the pen he was in would be safe. I did everything I could. I guess maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

With all that said, despite these two events.. the amazing people in my life have definitely come out of the woodwork and made themselves known like always. My boss, god she's such a sweetheart. She felt so bad about the baby goat that she has said if I'm ever ready to get another one, she will pay for one.
Im forever amazed by peoples kindness.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Sat 14 Jul 2018, 1:20 pm

I, too, wept for your baby goat. They are such curious little zips, they just seem to be able to locate that one little piece of trouble you never anticipated. Poor little precious gem.

For little Gremmie, I am sure you are doing everything possible to help, but additional input from somebody else isn't always a bad thing. So I will share a story:

My sister works as a private assistant to a senior citizen gentleman who is unable to care for his dog properly anymore, so (despite her allergies) sister takes care of the rather out-of-control sheltie. Last year, sheltie had to take a few days off because of incipient arthritis, and sister asked if I knew of anything non-pharmaceutical that might help the condition.

I'm all for the natural remedy, wherever there is one available, and I went back to a still-viewable-online article from 2007 at Whole Dog Journal titled "Natural Dog Arthritis Treatments" -- maybe it's worth a read for you. I think it has some good, common sense ideas, as well as getting into a discussion of medications. Being wary of quackery in the natural-alternatives-and-supplements world, of course, it is always best to discuss these things with your canine's doctor before going all gung-ho on feeding natural anti-inflammatories to your beloved little hound. I mean, if it was that easy to keep arthritis under control, why doesn't everybody have a big bowl of fish curry every time the aches and pains strike?

But the more that discomforts can be minimized through healthy eating and little additions of things like herbs and spices, the safer you are from the daunting list of side effects that comes printed on the disclaimer sheet that accompanies the pharmaceutical "remedy". So I hope you will be able to find some help for Gremmie outside the bottle.

by AppleCheeks Sun 29 Jul 2018, 8:59 pm

You guys ready for this update?

First unfortunate thing to happen.. My Dad was not meant to be walking by the age of 30 (he's in his late 50's now). He shattered all the cartilage in his knees and god knows what else. He was in his early 20's at that point. He has a pinched nerve or something in his back which has caused him pain in one of his legs for ages and there has been significant muscle loss in that leg as well.
So the unfortunate thing? He tripped about 2 weeks ago. Two MASSIVE tears in his achilles tendon and countless others. His foot is swollen and pretty much all doctors can do for him is to strap his ankle up and hope for the best.
My Dad is the time of guy who HATES sitting still and doing nothing and now? He's almost having to cut his gumboots off because his foot is that swollen.

Unfortunate thing #2.
Back in April, my dog Callie developed a lump on her side. Just under the skin, a soft squishy lump. It started off the size of a pea and since then has slowly grown to the size of a dehydrated apricot (about 3cm diameter I guess). It's abnormal looking even for a lump, looks almost bruised. THEN at the beginning of this month she had another lump crop up, again, just under the skin, but this one is hard.. ish. Pea sized.
So she's booked in for them to be removed and sent away for a histopath to find out what they are. Great. Thats roughly $800-900 assuming everything is pretty simple and of course most vets don't feel comfortable dealing with her without me around. She's not aggressive by any means but she barks a lot and is antsy so she's a "sedate with owner" case. Chances are I'll be called in as soon as she starts to wake up so I can help keep her calm.
All I can say is I really hope it isn't cancer or anything but these days? With my luck?
(NOTE : I had consulted the vet with regards to the soft lump she first got, he wasn't to worried at the time when it was small)

Now here's a sad but funny story for you all, I guess.
I came across a 1yr Cockatiel looking for a new home on our local selling site (I suppose it's kind of like craiglist but a bit less scammy and creepy). She doesn't get caged, ever, but regardless I inquired. I explained that I was looking for a third bird to add to my flock. They get caged at night time - this is their choice, they take themselves to bed and also when the weathers nice so I can put them outside in the sun to get some uvb rays which are actually really good for birds (Cage is on the deck, half shaded, water and food etc available at all times). I went on to explain that I was harness training my birds so I could eventually work on fly flight and basically recall train them so they could be outside, enjoy some freedom but like a dog, come back when called.
They emailed me back saying they didn't feel my home was suitable because the tiel was never caged.
Thats fine. I understood that.

A friend of mine also inquired, her tiels are caged too but thats more because they (the tiels) don't care much for leaving the cage. Doors usually open, they just don't leave. So she went to view this tiel.
Poor thing was apparently regurgitating everywhere, the owners had fed in BACON that morning. Yeahhh.. Bacon. While she was their, the owners told her about this horrible person who inquired who had a lovebird and an IRN who puts her birds out in the blazing sun and restricts them with harnesses. Perspective is a funny thing. We (my friend and I) both knew they were talking about me.

Needless to say, my friend is picking the tiel up on Sunday this week and she will likely end up coming here to me. Oh the irony.

Side note.
I had put a post up on FB about how I was looking into adding a third bird to my flock and wanted to know what was out there. That was a few months ago. Today I got a message from someone with a picture showing a very puffed up, poorly looking tiel in a cage with a breeding pair of alexandrines. They wanted to get rid of the tiel because the alexandrines didn't like it. Fair enough.

So meet Squig!
She's a bit stressed still but settling in.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Mon 30 Jul 2018, 6:18 pm

Comment deleted - no longer useful.

by CallaLily Mon 30 Jul 2018, 6:58 pm

I’m sorry to hear about your Dad’s pain and Callie’s lumps. I hope he finds some relief and that Callie’s lumps are nothing to worry about. hugs

Crazy story about the bird lady. Haha

Squig is cute!

by AppleCheeks Mon 30 Jul 2018, 11:27 pm

CallaLily wrote:I’m sorry to hear about your Dad’s pain and Callie’s lumps. I hope he finds some relief and that Callie’s lumps are nothing to worry about. hugs

Crazy story about the bird lady. Squig is cute!

Sadly I think my Dad is going to go stir crazy before he finds some relief.
I made him a doctors appointment yesterday so he could speak to his doctor regarding what was actually found on the ultrasound, discuss a plan of action and to get his ankle strapped. Well.. somehow the appointment wasn't in the system even though I rang that morning and made it, luckily his doctor happened to walk out into the waiting room, saw my Dad and was just like "I need to speak with you NOW". Great.. Doc ended up calling A&E and saying my Dad will be coming straight over.
Basically, my Dad came home with a massive cast on his foot, crutches and no weight bearing on that foot for.. 4 MONTHS.

Thankfully in NZ we have this thing called ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) which is basically no-fault health insurance which is something automatically taken out of your wages. It thankfully means they will cover 80% of his income so we aren't up the creek without a paddle.

by River Fri 03 Aug 2018, 4:56 pm

Squig is very pretty!! What mutation is she? I would have guessed normal gray but her face is so bright in comparison to my girls!

I love the 'tiels. Mine started mimicking laughter recently and it's the cutest thing ever.

by AppleCheeks Sat 04 Aug 2018, 3:40 am

River wrote:Squig is very pretty!! What mutation is she? I would have guessed normal gray but her face is so bright in comparison to my girls!

I love the 'tiels. Mine started mimicking laughter recently and it's the cutest thing ever.

Squigg is a cinnamon Smile

Im going to end up caving and doing DNA sexing on him/her because no one can seem to agree on gender! Appears female colour wise CURRENTLY she Squigg is only 10 months so.. And with the fact that Squigg is already talking? It suggests male. He/she is usually up on one of the curtain rails wolf whistling and saying "what you doing pretty bird" over and over again lol.

by River Thu 16 Aug 2018, 7:58 pm

Lol, I guess I got lucky...my girl laid an egg three days after we got her home. No guessing here.

I'm gonna bet male for Squigg -- just a guess! My girls facial yellow is very dusty, like a film, but perhaps Squigg is just a bright girl...or maybe cinnamon mutations work a little differently. Boys are also more common talkers, though my girl isn't exactly quiet either, lol. Either way, I love cinnamons. Laughing

And hey, at least a DNA test gives you something to look forward too. Wink

by AppleCheeks Fri 17 Aug 2018, 3:26 am

River wrote:Lol, I guess I got lucky...my girl laid an egg three days after we got her home. No guessing here.

I'm gonna bet male for Squigg -- just a guess! My girls facial yellow is very dusty, like a film, but perhaps Squigg is just a bright girl...or maybe cinnamon mutations work a little differently. Boys are also more common talkers, though my girl isn't exactly quiet either, lol. Either way, I love cinnamons.

And hey, at least a DNA test gives you something to look forward too.

Don't mind me, just rewording this post entirely cause I'm fussy lol.
To be honest, I've been referring to Squigg as a boy since I got him, how could he not be a boy with all that wolf whistling? (Im kidding of course). From most of the pictures I have seen, males tend to have a pretty defined yellow face (nice sharp edges) but he doesn't have that yet - it could just be that he needs to go through another moult but who knows.
DNA will be sorted tomorrow (Sunday), I have a friend meeting me at work - she gets to be the big baddy who plucked some of his feathers - not me.

---

Remember the tiel I mentioned in my previous post? The one I got rejected from adopting because my birds are caged at night or when I'm not home? Said friend mentioned above is also bringing her to me! Granted it's more of a "Hey! I couldn't rehome her before my holiday so here!" type thing. I don't get much say in this whole thing (we all know I actually do but I'm far to nice at the best of times), but gosh, from what I've been told she's a total doll and I don't know if she will leave. Am I prepared for a potential breeding pair of tiels? Gosh no..
But look! She just wants some love Heart Eyes

-----

Another wee update I'm super excited about.
A friend of mine runs a small scale mobile petting zoo type business, so she has all sorts of animals. She ended up with 2 goats that honestly.. may as well be feral and of course, pregnant. She recently lost her pet goat that she used for the petting zoo thing so she asked me if I'd be interested in bottle feeding the babies from these "feral" goats when they're born (well you know, a few days after birth so they get all the colostrum etc they need). Who was I to say no?
Mumma #1 gave birth yesterday. 3 babies in all. Sadly, two of them weren't meant for this world so there is only one itty bitty baby left - he's coming to me on Tuesday! Look at those floppy ears Kiss

Apparently the world wants me to have a baby goat after all!

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