C.J. UPDATE

THE LONG & THE SHORT OF IT.......!!!

Yesterday morning when we went out to feed, C.J. hadn't finished her hay overnight.  She also was breathing very funny, her flanks were beating with her heartbeat.  I hit the books, & came up with Thumps usually caused by overwork, stress, dehydration, that sort of thing.  She looked miserable & not interested in anything going on around her.  Called the vet & she moved some appointments around, so she could come out.  She didn't see anything really out of whack, & the blood tests didn't show anything that you could say, "that's it".  Even though C.J. hadn't acted stressed I guess there is a possibility, stuck in a 16 foot long trailer, hauled, put in a pen & many, many eyes coming by to stare.  Especially Daisy, who got thrown out of her pen, so C.J. could have it.  Daisy has been in a snit ever since, she stands with her nose against the gate, I guess to show us, how stupid we are...........!!! (G)  

The owners said she had been on grass hay, but the vet said maybe not.  We buy bales of alfalfa for the chickens, so I went over & got a flake.  Boy did her little bitty ears perk up & she became a Hoover vacuum cleaner, didn't even come up for air.  Her blood calcium was just barely low, but this morning after some alfalfa hay, & calcium by mouth, she's back to being her perky little self.  The vet said we'll give her extra calcium for a couple of days, & then start weaning her off the alfalfa, maybe give her some Lakin Lite pellets instead.  They are an alfalfa/bermuda blend pellet make in Arizona.  If getting enough calcium is a problem for her, they should help long term.  I know I'm not going to feed her alfalfa long term if I can help it.  

I went out to check on her yesterday afternoon after the vet left & there were 7 or 8 donkeys in her little pen, all trying to get their heads in her little hay bunk.  Not a pretty sight.  She was standing behind the water bucket, just watching them eat her alfalfa as fast as they could.  I yelled & they scattered, you think they don't know what they are suppose to do, & what isn't allowed?  BRATS...!!!  They had been on patrol around her pen, as soon as I put the alfalfa in her pen, & I forgot to put the clip on her gate.  Actually I didn't even think about it.  One thing about donkeys, you better think about it, or they will show you how smart they are. 

While the vet was here, she also checked Sha'ba's eye.  I had been doctoring it for a couple of days, but it wasn't really getting better.  Sure enough he had scratched the cornea, in the 3 hours he didn't have on a fly mask a few days ago................SIGH!  I think they do this stuff to see if we are paying attention.  That's his only good eye, so we want to make sure it stays good.