Katiebob

Ive heard of a blind pup which needs a home. It's a breed which is close to my heart Can anyone who knows anything about blind dogs give me a few pointers, please? thanks

Watch out over the next few days for Jackie and Tippy Toes - dancing with dogs act. I have met Jackie and she's lovely and Tippy Toes (who is a staffi x ex-Battersea rescue dog) is amazing. Don't know which semi final she's in but she's definitely in one of them and she hasn't appeared so far.

If you need another incubator, I'll happily send you one - please re-pm me your address and I'll get it sorted. Just as long as you are happy to send it back if I ever need it.

Cheryl

I'm sooo very sorry Cheryl It will be no consolation to you but my beautiful Barnevelder died last night totally unexpectedly and I've now identified at least 6 chickens with a respiratory disorder (no, not Bird Flu) and am treating them with antibiotics. I'm going to have to treat the whole flock so please wish me luck,especially with my 'manly' cockerel, Dave I'm truly really sad about Wally

Awww come on Wally, prove the clever vet man wrong I'm sorry it wasn't better news, Cheryl

Good luck with Wally I really hope the specialist can sort him out.

If my chickens are ill they tend to sit outside and look hunched up and miserable. If they're broody, they sit on eggs (not necessarily their own) and come out very late in the afternoon for a quick mooch round and some grub. Normally, I leave them alone in the morning (giving them the benefit of the doubt!!) and then if they're still there in the afternoon, I just move the eggs from underneath them (which is usually enough to shift them outside) and pretend there's nothing abnormal. Usually after a few days they give up!! Alternatively, if you have any fertile eggs, give them somewhere else to sit with the eggs underneath and let them get on with it! When I had some very, very broody hens I bought some fertile hatching eggs from ebay. I've had some great results from that.

Wow, little chooks look sooooooo grown up now I'm inclined to agree with you that Poppy's feathers don't look very rounded (from the pic) and therefore could easily be a boy. Time will tell!! They're all gorgeous, anyway.

I've been having a bit of a distrastrous time with my chooks. One of my brown hens died, and then a White Star and then my 'chick' - the Maran. All very sad and in some cases, quite unexpected. I think the Maran may have had a few problems though because it took 9 months to come to maturity which isn't normal for a Maran so it was probably not that well. The White Star and Brown hen were probably quite old by thier standards - around 4 - so although they can live longer, it's not totally surprising they died young. I've got some more - (another 8 to be exact, just don't tell the breadwinner!!). I've now got a black Orpington hen, two Buff Sussex bantams, two Brown Lehmans, another Silver black laced Wynadotte, a blue speckled Orpington bantam (the same size as most of the hybrids!), and a speckled Sussex. We've named the black Orpington hen Whoopi I'll post pics tomorrow. Oh - and we've finally given a name to our Amber Star cockerel who has decided he's a bit of a lad (he tries to take us on if we go near his hens ). He's called Dave (or Rodney). No difference!

Gorgeous birds - I've got some new ones but I'll put that info on the chicken thread. We have a Rare Breeds Centre within 2 miles - I must go and have a look!! Don't be surprised if I come back with a sheep or two ...................:lol:

Well we don't agree then and probably never willl.

Puppy farms (as I said previously) are evil. Good on you guys who have taken on ex-puppy farm dogs but you are supporting these places in just the same way (even via rescue) as people who buy the pups from pet shops. Fact of life. the puppy farms don't care who take their dogs as long as they don't have the responsibility and get their money - if the breeding bitches die, what do they care? Same with the pups. It's brilliant that you have rescued these dogs (as I have) but frankly it is the same thing. Yes, one person DOES make a difference If anyone takes this personally, they really shouldn't. It's not a personal argument. It's about Puppy farms.

I know - but Yena knows she shouldn't have bought a pup from a pet shop. Try educating all the thousands and thousands of people who don't realise! That's why it's so important to get legislation which stops (1) pet shops being allowed to sell puppies or kittens to the public and (2) to ban the puppy farm trade completely

Well Yena, from me - I'm truly glad that you have given this pup a lovely home for the rest of her life I am absolutely anti puppy farmers and pet shops selling pups but - and it's a major but - you buying a pup from such an establishment isn't going to make a lot of difference to the puppy farm industry . If we don't get government legislation, then the puppy farmers will continue and the businesses will continue to thrive. It's a nonsense to condemn you personally, in my opinion, because the pup has found a loving home. If I have a concern it will be for you - that the pup isn't sickly or ill and I'm sure you'll get her to a vet really quickly to get her checked out. She's very beautiful, btw

Claire - there are no rules - life would always be easier without the dogs - you must do whatever you want to do I did actually compose a massive reply to this thread but it feels like I have to justify what I'm doing with my own dogs and that's not relevant so my only advice would be to do whatever you feel is right

I think it's good news and possibly even better news!! The vet x-rayed Gemma and then re-scanned her before her spay and discovered ............ a healthy right kidney!! He'd been looking at scans and xrays before but hadn't been able to see anything apart from a 'mass'. However, there was a mass on her ovary but obviously they removed that when they spayed her so it's all gone now! The mass has gone off to be checked out and see whether it's a cyst, benign tumour or malignant tumour but they checked all around it and nothing has been left behind. X-rays show that nothing has spread to anywhere else anyway. A slight aside but nevertheless a real plus is that this does mean that her insurance is likely to pay for her spay (which is a real result as far as I'm concerned!!). In herself, Gemma was just coming out of the operation so hadn't come round when I spoke to the vet but he didn't anticipate any problems although he still wanted to keep her in overnight, on a drip and monitored, just to make sure! So, thank you all so much for your good wishes and positive thoughts. I'm sure they helped her - and it has definitely helped me to know that other people are rooting for her too.

One of my lovely blue bitches, Gemma , is off to the vet tomorrow to be spayed but also for a kidney biopsy as we have discovered - on a routine scan - that one of her kidneys is abnormal. Unfortunately she's been in season for the last 2 months so the spay itself will not be as straightforward as normal because of the amount of blood, plus kidneys bleed a lot so I'm much more concerned that I would normally be. I'm just hoping and praying that my little girl comes back home safe and sound. I know I shouldn't be worried, because I do trust my vet, but I don't think I'm going to be reassured until I know she's come round from the anesthetic and eating/drinking normally. If you've got any spare positive/healing thoughts, they'd be appreciated for Gemma tomorrow.

Depending on your neighbours, maybe you could just keep one?

Taz went to his new home today so this can now be closed

Sorry, not read back - and to be honest, I'm totally self-absorbed at the moment. My mother has decided today to throw her toys out of the pram and it may be that we need to move her from her general care home to a home which can cope with dementia patients. We'll see. I also was advised my role was 'at risk' today so I can look forward to redundancy in 3 months' time. I am not woe is me but how much am I supposed to be able to take in one hit? Good news is that our foster dog is off to his new home tomorrow, so that's one massive weight off our shoulders

I've no idea if there will be any TV coverage but as I've qualifed one of my dogs for a breed class, I'll be going in person. It would be nice to think that one of the Sky channels might pick it up but I don't know if the BBC contract (whether they are actually broadcasting it or not) excludes other broadcasters I sincerely hope not because I really enjoy watching the agility and flyball stuff on TV Best in Show doesn't bother me one way or the other and the presenters are (on the whole) carp!! For those who are interested in dog welfare, the KC have put in a few new rules: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2234/23/5/3

If you stood them up, row by row, you'd realise the enormity of what you've achieved. Congratulations on your fantastic achievements and good luck for all those who you will help in the future too Well done

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss May your father rest in peace.