Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

I had to go with DH to the doctor so was not able to ick Rika up after x-rays and examination. DS1 went and talked to the vet. Looked at x-rays and they don't look good. I had vet emaio them to me.
Here are the x-rays. From shoulders to base of skull disc spaces narrow significantly until neck. There are no spaces between discs in upper neck and about 6" nearest head looks like one solidified bone. Not sure if I can post x-rays but will try. I am going by x-rays of my back before surgery L4-L5. In order from head to tail then shoulder x-rays. I am not a vet so maybe someone can read them better than me. X-ray of neck nearest skull seems to show top of spine is solid - bone or arthritis?

Looking at #4 - spine nearest tail shows normal spaces between spinal processes (discs) with some sharp areas possibly inferring bone spurs according to what vet told DS1 when he picked her up. Spaces progressively get narrower as you go backwards to #1 x-ray showing neck discs bone on bone. According to what the vet told DS1, the discs in the area of the shoulder are badly compressed showing permanent damage.

She is on heavy muscle relaxers and pain killers for 14 days. On steroids for 14 days. The steroids decrease in dosage gradually. She cried when I gave her pills this morning then spit them out of side of mouth. Got a tablespoon of peanut butter and shoved them back in with the peanut butter and held her mouth closed ignoring whimpers. I felt very mean but she is not crying now and actually got up and walked around house. We will see how she feels in 2 weeks when the meds are up.
If anyone can read these x-rays please comment on them. Thanks.

 

[rachels.haven]

Ouch. I know enough anatomy I can see the missing spaces and where things are probably grinding just as part of living. Our dogs being mortal seriously stinks.

 

[Ridgetop]

Rika is up moving around this evening. She is due for another dose of pills but seems much better. She actually climbed over the retaining blocks and under the shed to her favorite lounge spot! Not crying so hopefully the spasms have abated and the painkillers are working. Tonight she is acting hungry and happy to eat dinner. Actually, came over to get her food. I out 2 pills down her throat and she did cry from the pressure on her neck as I held her mouth closed and stroked her throat. I stuck the other 4 pills in chunks of Red Barn loaf. She is supposed to get the pills 12 hours apart so will have to get up early and get out with them tomorrow am.

DS1 and DGD1 moved the rams into their pen, then moved the other pens of sheep around. We now have a pen in front with 16 ewes, and the big field pen with 19 ewes. Three jugs in the barn have ewes, one with a lamb, Snowflake with her lame leg, and another ewe with an abscess.

One of the yearling ewes I bought has lambed in northern California. Wes wants to wait till the other 2 lamb to have us pick them up. We will put both gate panels back in the stock trailer to make up the 3 compartments. The smaller front compartment for the ram, the larger center compartment for the 3 ewes and their lambs, and the rear compartment for the 2 mature ewes. Not sure if we should put the lambs in dog crates to travel. I will check with Wes, and take some dog crates just in case.

 

[Baymule]

Rika.
This is going to be hard on you and DH. Big hugs. I know Rika will get all the love and help you can give her.

 

[Weldman]

Wife had a cat she moved away from home with me and we had nowhere to put the cat yet starting this place. Wife's mother passed away and still had no room so it went to her dad's. Year later her dad passed away and left everything to a step son in-law. He cleaned house and said no problem I will take care of cat. Months went by and in dead of winter said come get cat or it will be sent to kill shelter.
Got the cat after back and forth as the cat was 1200 miles away in the middle of Montana winter. Said he doesn't know why but cat is acting strange, back legs inoperable and going everywhere (13 years old).
After vet visit we found out it got diabetes, we had to give that cat shots like your Rika every 12 hours. Once at 0600 and once at 1800 hrs. Cat got use of legs back for most part, became best damn mouser I never expected. Last summer started having seizures, vet thought it was diabetes and after a bit they gave up and said we don't have what it takes to find out. Couple months ago he finally passed after bad seizure and vet was saying he was fine after the seizure, I knew better and fought all night as the wife slept, trying to get him back around, feeding and comforting him.
He passed away at the vet's office, wife brought him home, I took the excavator and gave him a proper burial in his favorite cat bed busting the frozen ground up to get deep enough below a pine tree. Almost got a year out of him.

Going to miss that cat, every morning go out to pole barn to let him out to run into our camper we lived in at the time, and at night bring him back sometimes chasing him down halfway across the property trying to find his wondering tendencies with wife worried sick.

 

[Ridgetop]

He passed away at the vet's office, wife brought him home, I took the excavator and gave him a proper burial in his favorite cat bed busting the frozen ground up to get deep enough below a pine tree.

DH said he wants her to make it to Texas with us. Said he will bury her on the property and put a headstone for her. Can't do that here - illegal to bury on our property. She was born in Leander, Texas. It's fitting that she comes home for her last years. She will become our yard and house dog in her retirement.

I have enough meds for 14 days, then we will see about new prescriptions. The steroids are 2x daily for a week, then 1x daily for a week, then continuing to reduce dosage. I think I will see about getting prescriptions from the vet and filling them online to save money.

Trying to decide when to bring sheep to Texas. Only have a 30-day window after Brucellosis and Coggins testing comes back to get rams and horses moved. We are going to start lambing within that window which means many ewes probably lambing in trailer as we truck them to Texas. Not a good idea. So - do we wait until May when they will hopefully all have lambed? 32 ewes to lamb. That is not counting the one that already lambed or the 3 yearlings that are currently lambing in northern CA before I bring them home. We have gotten a lot of rain, and it is raining again now. That means that we will have a lot of forage for the sheep if we wait until May. We are down a dog with Rika on the sick/retirement list. If we still had Bubba, we could split the flock and dogs but with only one working Anatolian and one 14-month-old puppy, we are up s#%t creek. Really feeling screwed!

Did I mention that the vet appointment is on April 9 and DH is pitching a fit about me not being in Texas for the solar eclipse on April 8 with DD1 and her family? I will have to set the appointment later since that was the first date I could get. DH is planning on taking the 5th wheel back next trip. Not a problem bringing it back to Texas because we can fill it up with moving boxes and stuff. We'll need it for extra sleeping space for the family. But I still need to get the loveseats back there so we will have something to sit on! I don't think they will fit through the trailer door.

And that doesn't help the problem with moving the sheep and horses back in 2 trips. And we will have to feed and water them on the road.

 

[Weldman]

Family don't like it, family should pitch in and help move animals then everyone can enjoy the eclipse together while moving animals. When me and the wife moves 1200 miles, it didn't matter what day it was we were moving. We spent one Thanksgiving in the semi eating MRE's that day. Don't ask me how many trips it took, it was at least 5.

 

[Ridgetop]

DS1 has been making turn around trips with and for us. DSIL2 is semi driver and offered to drive a ad back but got trapped by snow in Oregon. Rest of family unable to help due to work. DSIL2 might be able t drive one load back if not driving long line.

Main problem is sheep lambing and time crunch with getting blood work done for move to TX. Planned to take 24' gooseneck load of ewes, 16' stock with 3 rams and 2 horses, Anatolians in Explorer. Then DS1 and DH back for flatbed and gooseneck loads of remaining corral panels. Bought gooseneck to trailer sheep and horses to Texas instead of paying for hauler. But with lambing throwing spanner into works, I don't think we can crowd all ewes and lambs into 24' gooseneck. Debating on spending mega-$$$ to have livestock hauler bring all animals back at one time after all. Or $$$ in gas to do in several trips.

 

[SageHill]

Just putting this out there - probably isn’t an issue in May, but ya never know -
weather. And I mean heat (not wet stuff). If you end up with a warm/hot spell how well young lambs would travel.
Kinda thinking a hauler might make life a lot easier though $ouch$. But that wouldn’t change a possible heat issue.

 

[Baymule]

Can you get another vet any sooner?

Heat is a thing to consider.

Bring horses on next trip. Big water tank and lots of grass, put out hay bale. With Cody to check on them, they will be fine. Then 2 trailers for sheep. I wouldn’t trust hauler with heavy bred ewes. Load horses in trailer, take to vet to get Coggins test and health papers now. Get them to Texas, they will be cared for. Load off your mind, more room for sheep.