Tuesday, March 09, 2021

State of the Ewenion and other animal news

Sarai is outstanding in her field, but I don't think she is pregnant.

I have been keeping a casual eye on the three ewes who were in with Spot last fall. Sarai is the easiest to eyeball, because she is Johnny-on-the-spot for handouts whenever I'm around. In spite of the extra calories, she doesn't seem to be getting any thicker or rounder, so the other day I put my hand on her belly below her flank and gently pushed, then waited to see if anything 'pushed back.' Nothing. So today after the girls came in from the pasture, I checked Sarai again, then caught Vienna and Blaise to do the same and compare. Vienna and Blaise definitely felt like they had more 'stuff' inside, with maybe a suggestion of movement in Blaise and definite changes in her vulva. Blaise is moving differently as well. She's a small, compact girl, so it makes sense that lambs would make her waddle more than the bigger, longer girls. So my best guess is that Blaise is definitely pregnant, Vienna is probably pregnant, and Sarai is not pregnant. A shame, that, as she is a beautiful Shetland in every way and I would have liked a ewe lamb from her and Spot to keep. But she is 11 years old now; I don't plan to try again.

As for the boys, Spot continues to be a tail-wagging charmer; he and Poppy have become friends and sometime-playmates (which I try to discourage). Bing is his usual pinball-sheep self; Bittersweet has gone almost completely blind now (no, I don't know why) but does fine by sticking with his buddies.

Chuckie is ever the attention-hound, following me around, hanging out at the front or deck doors of the house, looking in the windows. I swoop him up and love on him often, which he appreciates so much that he eventually has to BITE me. Cats. 🙄

Poppy, on the other paw, is not the same full-speed-ahead girl as ever. She did something to her good front leg (the left one) yesterday, and has spent all of today but for two potty breaks laying on my lap or on my bed, neither eating nor drinking, acting much worse than a sore leg would seem to warrant. On the other hand, now that both her front legs hurt (she still often favors the right one) maybe she's depressed. I know I'm tempted to be when multiple joints hurt, which they often do anymore!
Yesterday morning Poppy was fine; I snapped this photo because it showed her front legs so well. You can see that her right leg, which is the one that was broken and splinted, is not as substantial, and her right foot is splayed.
When I got home from work I took her over to the neighbor's for a short playdate; she's been feeling so deprived. One of their adult sons and his dog is staying with them right now, so Poppy got to play with three dogs. I don't know if she strained something then; I didn't notice anything until hours later. We went down and did evening chores and she seemed as active as ever. But when I cleaned off her paws to come inside afterwards, she yelped when I toweled off her left foot. I looked more closely at her foot and couldn't see anything wrong, and she didn't mind me looking. Later, I realized the inside of her "wrist/ankle" was swollen – and she definitely DID mind me touching there.



When Rick gets home tonight – if it's not too late – we're going to do some diagnostic imaging to see what is wrong in there. I doubt we'll be going to agility class this week. 😔

At least the chickens all seem fine!

That's it for now from . . .

15 comments:

Donna said...

Poor Poppy! I hope she is OK.

Retired Knitter said...

And the horses! I assume they are fine as well! :-).

Lambs! It is times like this when I wish I lived closer to you. :-)

A :-) said...

I'm looking forward to seeing more lambs in longjohns :-) It seems like forever since you've had lambs :-) Poor Poppy - I'm hoping this new injury is nothing serious and she will heal well and quickly.

Deb Hillyer said...

Love the headline! Hope all is well with Poppy and thanks for the animal update.

Florida Farm Girl said...

Sure hope its nothing serious with Poppy's leg. Keep us posted, okay? How is the new bit working for Stella?

Michelle said...

Rick got home after I had gone to bed, Donna, so no info yet. Poppy's leg is still swollen and tender though.

I thought about including the horses, Elaine, but I have another blog for them (which I am planning on updating today) and this post already seemed long. But in a nutshell: Ollie is really crippled up, Lance is doing okay (not great), and Stella is making progress.

It seems like forever to me, too, A!

Thanks, Deb; sometimes inspiration strikes. :-D

So far so good on Stella's new bit, Sue. I'll post more about it after today's second ride with Lisa!

wyomingheart said...

Thanks for my Rock-Star fix! Such a perfect gentleman! Its a weird thing, but that same thing happened to our little deaf Milo--(Jack Russell). He was out playing with the neighbor dogs, and then that night has was limping on his leg. Next day, we found out that he got bit by a spider. Can't quite figure there would be a spider in the lawn with the temps in the 40's, but some doggy benedryl and two days later, he was perfect.
Go figure! ...lol ! have a perfect day!

Michelle said...

You're welcome, wyomingheart; I included that one just for you (really!)! I wondered if Poppy's 'owie' could be something other than a strain; when Rick finally has time to look at it with ultrasound and/or x-ray we will know. She is feeling much more of her usual self today but I am restricting her activity just in case; I'd like her to be up for agility class tomorrow so no overdoing it today!

Mama Pea said...

I, too, loved the title of your post. Very clever! And I also enjoy these posts that give us all kind of an overview of what's going on at your place . . . which is usually quite a bit! Hard to tell what Poppy did to cause her injury. As you say, when Rick takes a look, you will probably know more.

Jeanne said...

I always enjoy your blogs, Michelle.
I'm sorry Sarai didn't conceive. I understand about your not wanting to breed her any more, at her age.
I hope the other two girls will have lovely lambs!
It's nice to know that Chuckie is being himself, except for the biting!
I'm so sorry about Poppy having seeming to re-injure her leg. That's not
a good thing! I hope Rick has been able to do the exams you mentioned. I'm anxious to know how she's doing.
I look forward to your next blog!

Susan said...

It is so frustrating, when you have an active dog who can't be active. Lovey still suffers from her torn ACL and I have to really try to keep her from tearing around (which she desperately wants to do). I hope that Poppy's injury rights itself quickly. xo

FullyFleeced said...

Hope the diagnostic imaging gives some insight into Poppy's discomfort and swelling. Feel better sweet pup!

Leigh said...

Aw, poor Poppy. I hope you can figure it out quickly and do something about it. Nice to know you have lambs on the way! Even if Sarai decided not. I can't believe she's 11 years old. Where does the time go?!

Michelle said...

Thanks for the affirmation, Mama Pea. Sometimes the day-to-day seems too mundane to share.

Jeanne, I just looked at Sarai's breeding date (she's the only one I saw bred) today. Considering that her due date could be six weeks away, I suppose it is possible she could be hiding one in there – one little girl would be thrilling!

Susan, I'm sorry to hear that Lovey is still compromised!

Good news/bad news in my subsequent post, Denise.

Time does fly, Leigh. How long have you been at your current place now? I remember when you first moved in!

M.K. said...

I'm so sorry Poppy has hurt herself! It's hard having both front legs impaired. I hope she's all mended soon!