Eva’s Friends

[Evadig]

This Wednesday's update isn't very cheerful, I'm sorry to say.

The roosters have been driving me nuts. First, Stan attacked his son, Liberty. Then he went after Jenny because she wouldn't let him mate her. I managed to grab Stan and lock him in one of the empty coops. A few minutes later, I heard more squawking as Liberty pursued Lily, who wasn't going along with his wishes. I finally cornered Liberty into another empty coop. Both roos remained there the rest of the day. Stan was let out on parole and is sleeping with his girls, but Liberty promptly pulled a beakful of feathers out of Patience. He will be spending at least a few days in the Sentinel coop by himself.

The hens aren't without their own drama. Jenny has become an outsider, won't get along with anyone. Prudence was rejected by her flock, so she lives with Jenny, even though they don't get along. Prude rules the roost. Even worse, Minna is no longer in good standing with Lil and Lu and Stan. There was a lot of fracas in that coop tonight. I think Minna is attacking Lily or Lucy. But my sister says she saw Stan pecking Minna. I am at my wit's end! (Is wits supposed to be singular or plural?)

I've saved the worst news for last. I took Constance and Eva to the vet yesterday. Con is in pretty good health, she actually lost a pound but still needs to lose another. She does have gingivitis and the enamel on a few of her back teeth is completely worn away - she will need those teeth pulled.

Eva has a false pregnancy, some tarter on the back teeth, and...mast cell cancer. She has bloodwork, x-rays, and possible surgery scheduled for next Thursday. If the tumor is not removed, it will spread, eventually causing death. We don't know if it has spread yet. She's had it for at least a couple months. The worst thing about this cancer is: she's a cocker spaniel (this breed is known to have a high risk for cancer), and once a dog develops one tumor, even if it's removed, there's a high likelihood they could develop another. Besides, Eva is not in the best health due to the seizures (which thankfully she hasn't had since starting medication) and that doesn't help the prognosis. But we won't know for sure what the situation is until Thursday.

That's all. I really don't have any pictures again. The chickens wouldn't co-operate.

Eva at the vet: open sesame!

Con did very well.

Old cemetery dating from 1750s

Eva and Annabee

Con sunbathing in the window

Winston’s tail has grown at least a foot longer!

Rose and Lyd

These two are from Sunday, but have been edited:

Dolores

Vivienne

 

[Callender Girl]

So sad to read about Eva; I hope the doctors can give you good news about your sweet girl.

Vets can do amazing things these days. My heart dog, Holly, a Keeshond, was diagnosed with an operable tumor, and the first vet essentially said nothing could be done. With the skilled help of doctors at the ISU vet hospital, Holly lived another 18 months with a good quality of life.

Too bad all the chickens seem to be going crazy at once; you don't need the extra stress.

Some of your photos look so much like chickens I have or chickens I have lost, but I've never had one with a tail nearly as magnificent as Winston's!

I have already said a prayer for Eva and you.

 

[Evadig]

I really don’t remember what I was doing between Wednesday and today…

It rained today.

Winston is now picking on Rose who is bullying Lyd. I took Lyd out and she promptly got into a fight with Prudence, so back she went.

Someone (not me! ) forgot to collect eggs from the Yellow Turnip aka the shed-turned-chicken coop (that just got a new roof!) and there was more than a week’s worth of eggs back in their little corner where they like to lay.

The basement is finished except for the new floor has to be laid and the walls have to be painted. The plumber came finally and fixed the improperly installed pipe in the dining room.

I find it funny sort of that neither Eva nor Annie know “commands” per se; they won’t come most of the time and you have to say lay down fifty times before they do it. But they sure do know quit bugging me! and sit yourselves down, will you?! and quiiiiet! Shhh! Especially when I’m trying to get them downstairs early in the morning. And Eva knows pay attention which means, “turn and go back around that pole” ‘cause she was a city puppy and always getting stuck on the wrong side of the mailboxes.

Other doings:
I got myself a new phone cord that doesn’t work…
I played a board game with my sister - we haven’t done that for months.
I met my sewing teacher at church today and she was happy to see me wearing the 40s suit she helped me make a while back.

I don’t have any pictures except a few (none of the hens):

A bald eagle I spotted in the neighbor’s field

Annabee

Please ignore the messy room!

It’s kind of hard to relax when you’ve got two pairs of eyes demanding food (even though they ate more than their share of your dinner already…)

 

[Callender Girl]

I chuckled when I read about Eva being a city pup who got stuck on the wrong side of mailboxes. My bigger rescue, George, is blind and I spend a lot of time yelling, "Careful" to keep him from winding his leash around the wrong side of anything and everything!

Hurray for progress on the basement and the meet-up with your sewing teacher. Maybe I've asked you before, but do you watch the old black-and-white movies? One of the things I really like are the fashions. In "The Thin Man," the character of Nora wears the Most Beautiful gown during the couple's Christmas party.

Hope your chickens settle down!

 

[Evadig]

The last few days have been busy - I've been painting my room, working on reimbursement requests for the insurance company, and organizing the storage.

The hens are all fighting at bedtime now. I don't know what the matter is with them. They have plenty of space, they (usually) get to free range during the day, and we give them treats occasionally.

I can understand why certain groups of hens fight...for example, in Stan's pen, there's a little house with a roost, and then another roost outside the house, and of course everyone wants to sleep inside the house. That's reasonable.

The worst thing is that Faith, Hope, Charity, and Honor have one nice long roost, plenty of room and no houses to fight over, yet the three hens must huddle in one corner and peck each other to death. If Honor tries to sleep near them, they peck him too.

Same thing with Winston and Rose and Lyd. Win pecks Rose, Rose pecks Lyd, and they have far more than enough roost to go around. But they all want to huddle in one tiny corner next to each other!

I want to cry with vexation!

Hurray for progress on the basement and the meet-up with your sewing teacher. Maybe I've asked you before, but do you watch the old black-and-white movies? One of the things I really like are the fashions. In "The Thin Man," the character of Nora wears the Most Beautiful gown during the couple's Christmas party.

I really don't watch any movies (black-and-white or otherwise), I might have to check out "The Thin Man" to see her gown! I do like watching old sitcoms and looking at photographs.

Here's a great-aunt or someone back in the 20s...

Eva's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. She may not end up having it, depending on the results of the bloodwork and the x-rays.

There aren't really any pictures again...it's cold out!

"The Dilapidated Roadster" - a car I built for my sister's dolls a few years ago.

Jenny

Francine

Someone was eating yogurt.

C-17 from the Air Guard

 

[Callender Girl]

Always enjoy the photos, this time the yogurt-eater made me smile! Building the roadster for your sister's dolls were such a nice thing to do!

I hope all goes well with Eva today; I said a little prayer for you both.

Who knows what makes hens go stupid? In my largest coop, where there is plenty of room, the six hens who grew up together there -- who also had a large run and were let loose into the yard almost every day -- pecked at each other's behinds so much during their first year that three of them will never regrow feathers on their back ends.

 

[Evadig]

I am so tired...I've been driving around the countryside for nearly eight hours straight (but back home now)! We went to church and then my mom and I drove out to western Maryland, up north (by Pittsburg), and back home. It was a nice way to get out of the house without freezing - it was 32F this morning.

Eva had her surgery on Thursday. The doctor said she did well and woke up quickly. I haven't ever seen the aftereffects of a surgery so I wasn't prepared for what it looked like. When I got her back I felt very angry because she had an ugly line of stitches and she was clearly in pain. I regretted allowing the surgery to occur. Then the next day, she was her old perky self and I didn't feel upset anymore.

She wanted to scratch the stitches so we had to run and buy her a dog shirt; the only one available featured the Grinch! We laughed so hard because Eva is the furthest thing from the Grinch and we don't...how do I say this...the Grinch is not a part of our Christmas traditions.

The chickens haven't improved. In fact, Stan's behaviour became worse, so he was removed to the old turkey coop. Then I have Minna pecking Lil and Lu, which is a pity 'cause they were all getting along so fine! Next door, Dolores and Viv have taken the "highest seats" and poor Patience is an outcast. Finally, both Prudence and Minna have taken to picking on Tilly of all birds! Tilly is a turkey...

I have been even giving them extra treats and it doesn't help. And their dinner has been the leftover duck food, which they seem to enjoy. I mix it with hot water to make a mash (good for the cold weather). I think I might continue to do this with the chicken feed as well throughout the winter - if I still have them by then. If they keep it up, I am going to rehome the whole flock!

That's both funny and awful about your hens, @Callender Girl! Thank you for praying for Eva and me - it really did help!

I don't have any chicken pictures because it's been cloudy and rainy and the lighting was not good.

Chicken stir-fry (without the chicken)!

Eva a day after surgery; also, see my nice freshly painted walls!

Cathedral in Altoona, Pennsylvania

 

[Callender Girl]

How is Eva doing, now?

They often look quite awful after an operation; my Holly, a Keeshond with a beautiful, lush silvery gray-and-black coat, was diagnosed with cancer many years ago. She underwent several procedures and always came home looking much worse for the wear.

But, medical treatment gave us 18 more months together, which I will always treasure.

BTW, with her adorable face, Eva simply cannot look Grinchy, no matter what she's wearing!

 

[Evadig]

The problem with one's house being torn apart and it also getting dark at five pm is I spend too much time on the computer. I pride myself on not relying on technology for entertainment but all the books are packed and there's no place to sew. I could knit...

Monday I took my sister to school, Tuesday we started working on building a frame. The Muddy Run is finally getting a roof!!! The frame is almost up, but we had to screw a tarp down because of the rain and winds tonight. Construction will continue tomorrow hopefully.

Today I organized the tools in the storage unit while my sister was in class. She only has two weeks left and I cannot wait for this semester to be over. It gets tiresome taxiing her to school and then trying to find something to do for four hours.

Monday night I put the hens to bed, stopped to play frisbee with Annie, and I heard ruckus coming from the Muddy Run. It was the typical drama of hens pecking each other. I stood helplessly at the door, muttering uncomplimentary things, when I remembered the package of pinless peepers in the dresser. Why did I not think of that before ?

Even in two days, they have helped tremendously. Everyone in the Muddy Run is wearing a pair except Patience, Lily, and Lucy. Matilda really should wear some too but while I was able to insert them in her nostrils, she just kicked them off with a disdainful swipe of her large foot.

Eva is doing very well. She's too active. She doesn't understand why she doesn't get to go for a walk three times a day anymore.

I am really dehydrated. I just don't want to take the time to go drink water when I'm working. Drinking goat milk isn't a good substitute either. Oh well...time to head down to the kitchen sink!

The wind is blowing frightfully out there. I'm afraid something will fall on that nice new roof frame...

The photos today are nearly all candid.

Winston and Co. enjoying lunch.

Camping out while we work on the roof frame.

The campfire

Eating lunch

Dolores and Lucy checking out today's dinner: soaked duck food

Some photos of Eva goofing off in the storage:

 

[Evadig]

I forgot to write Sunday.

The glasses are working really well and the fighting has decreased. I have also been leaving the run doors open so the hens can intermingle freely. They’ve sort of got the pecking order figured out.

Some of the hens…they’re not bullies but they abuse their beak a little too much. Miss Prude pecked everyone in sight, Jen picked on those younger than her (which is everyone but Miss Prude).

Stan and Liberty are still in jail. I need to build another coop and get more chickens!

Francine actually sniffed my hand so we’re making progress! Someone let her out of the Muddy Run on Friday. Of course, that day had to be cold and windy and she was too scared to come back. She tried, multiple times, even going so far as to try to seek companionship from the hens, who were free ranging that day. I set the trap but she wouldn’t go in. The next night I left the Muddy Run door open after dark and put food leading up to and inside the door. After an hour I went to close the door and found her cuddled up in her bed.

Eva’s biopsy came back. The tumor is not really aggressive and it’s unlikely she will have another one in the same place. However, she has at least a fifty percent chance of developing another one somewhere else. She also had her stitches out yesterday and is doing well.

I wrote this up on my phone so hopefully the pictures format properly!

Dinner time! Lucy always comes running to meet me with the mash.

Eva sleeping on my bed

A lake

Honor and the Virtues

Francine:

Miss Prudence

Lucy

Vivienne
Even the Muddy Run needs mold mitigation! (By the way, we found a whole bunch more mold and rotted boards in the downstairs bathroom)

Patience from above