Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

hqueen13

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Hope you're doing ok! Hope this storm isn't going to be as bad for yall up there.
 

pinkfox

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so..i definatly owe you guys an update...this winter so far has neer killed me and I don't know how much more I can take...worse its got me realy worried for NEXT winter...
between the constant snow and sleet and ice this month to the 20 below averages temps...in the negative teens this weather has done a number o me emotionally, phsycially and financially....

my S.A.D, and general depression has been an all time high...or low depending on how you want to look at that
my Fibro has been the worst its EVER been, the pain is at an all time kill me now scale. and pretty much anything that can go wrong has tried to.

financially we lost many baby buns to the cold...ive NEVER had these problems and even after adding heat lamps its still been a rough one...
out of 5 bred does, we lost 30 babies, have 4 left, 1 doe didn't take (probably for the best) and I lost 2 does, my tri-rex doe lost her entire litter save for 1 and then prolapsed and crashed, I don't know why, it wasn't an odd sized litter, she wasn't old or otherwise weak, she was in good condition and none of the kits seemed unusually large...but yeah...
then I lost one of my NEW satin does that I picked up at the show and traed one of my elops for to what I belive is e.cunniculi....
none of the other buns (including her sister) have since shown symptims (this was over a week ago) but still REALY frustrating...
ive been hauling water in gallon jugs isnce the water bottles freeze in seconds, thi means water gets spilt a lot which means the litter band are Super heavy and SOLIDLY frozen... (im hoping to clean the barn this weekend as were supposed ot have a mild thaw over the next few days...but I still cant get to the compost pile o itll have to join the other ton of bag of soiled bedding in garbage bag by the big gate ready to haul once I can...

were hoping to build a new rabbitry building this spring...and im realy trying to figure out how to do it efficiently to keep it more stable...the barn is just so huge and hard to heat (old drafty empty and cavernous with no insulation)

I have decided im going to do some redo on the rabbitry this spring.
as of right now ive plans to breed 5 does early next week...
once litters from this round are born and weaned im selling my angoras completely...I just don't phsyciallly have the enrgy to maintain them...but I have requests for future litters so im going to fill those (hopefully) with this round then let the breeding adults go (pereferably as a trio)
im going to bring in Holland lops as a pet breed (Hoping to make some cash to pad out the bunny find after this winter strpped it...) I found a beautiful fuzzy Holland girl so im thinking ill expand ont he lil lops a little for fun (and mabe show em.)
right now ive got 1 rex doe im keeping because shes my only breeding age doe...but I think ill se her come fall and refocus, once my young girls are old enough...
I want to focus on my reds and castors.
im going to look for a trio of chinchilla rex too, I love the color and rex sell...
ive got a lead on a new satin doe to replace the one I lost and id like to add another French lop to the group too.
and one of the litters on the ground is angora x rex and im just loving them gonna see how they turn out but may retain a doe for meaty mixes, both are tri-clor...and should carry rex. thi may be a way to get the tri gene back into my rabbitry.

the ducks stopped laying completely this month, we were getting an egg a day form them and now nothing...thankfully the 3 hens seem to have decided to start....I just cant do store bought eggs anymore lol.

moved our male pig up to the barn, so now instead of other people helping with him, hes on my chroe list...so yay more work. and the goats haven't been able to go outside at all this month, I cant even get to the back of the barn to unlock their door...even if I could its too cold to leave the barn any kind of open to the elements.
the mae goats are also pissy..they gome out to greet me for supper then it right back to bed.

Mum whent in for back surgery too, so my chore list doubled...and so far its only been 2 day and im ready to kill everyone...particularly dad who seems to have the hardest time putting his damend coffee cup IN HE DISWASHER...he doesnt even have to wash it...jus tput your stuff in the dishwasher when your done...*grumbles*

I left a bucnh of stuff NOT done yesterday (he was home due to snow) and yeah...that just got me in trouble so...cindrella complex for a while i think.

hoping this weather breaks soon...
 

tortoise

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((((hugs))))) I'm sorry this winter has been so rotten for you.

My fuzzy lop is a lot more work to maintain than my French Angoras were. PITA. (But he's SO CUTE! :love ) My first rabbit was a Satin. Love them too! Gorgeous rabbits! I ended up with a mean one though. :/
 

Myhouseisazoo2

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-hug- many hugs your way! Sorry to hear the winter has been so horribly rotten!
Hope your mom surgery went well and that she gets well soon!
I had to look up e.cunniculi and it sounds like a nasty, glad you caught it early on.
 

frustratedearthmother

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Ewwww weeee... when it rains it pours! I can sympathize with you but I can't say I know how you feel because we just don't have that kind of cold here. Hope things get better for you! :hugs
 

hqueen13

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*hugs* :hugs
Glad you're still kicking, I'm so sorry it's been such a hard winter. I am so weary of the struggle that is the cold. Everything takes more work, and is a bigger challenge in the cold.
Good luck on rabbitry dressings. I hope you can come up with something that will keep them warm and be easy to maintain.
 

pinkfox

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thank guys...
with another impending dumping of snow tomorrow (up to 6 inches) mum headed back to the hospital via ambulance this morning.
tueday she was at the surgeosn for a check up, said her calf ached a little but shes been walking, and he said, probably just done too much.
yesterday she was sleepy and didn't get up as much...she had to have an allergy pill so kinda put it on that.
dinner time she told sis she had some pain in her leg but figured she was just stiff from sleeping much of the day away...
ad came home took alook saw nothing...
long night last night and this moring her leg was swollen, dark reddish purple and by the time she made it down stairs to go to the car to go to the ER the lowr portion of her leg had gone numb...

dad called the ambulance, they took her local and then her surgeon requested an air-vac to the larger hospital with the better surgical staff...
she had a DVT running in the iliac vein running from ankle to pelvis....blood thinners and compression and elevation got some blood flow back to the area and feeling started to return, but after an hour and a half rs decided they needed to clear the path...she whent in for surgery at about 1:30-2pm ish...4:30 she was out of surgery, dr said it was a mess in there, no idea how a clot that large formed with no real pain until last ight....heck even last night he pain was only a "bit achey" they removed as much of th clot as possible, put in a stint and replumbed some of the arteries an veins to increase blood flow to the calf...
there is still risk, epending on damage she could still have issue with feeling in her leg...or possibly loose it completely...theres also risk of further clots forming...
last we herd she ws out of surgery...no word from recovery/if shes in the room yet...she always takes forever to wake up form anesthesia nd its always a terrifying wait time...shel stay in hospital for at least 4-5 days, possibly longer, and be on blood thinners and under compression for a while...

to say im Scared is an understatement but im apparently the only one in the house who can fake strength an hide how worried I realy am...both siter and dad are in the midst of breakdown and I don't know how im not in tears but apparently when a stressfull ituation hits, I emotionally shut down in order to hold onto what little strength I have.

I just don't know what to do right now beyond keep pretending everything is normal...

part of me wonders if this is just going to be how 2015 goes for us...
the other part of me realy hopes that each family gets an allotted amount of bull**** per year and that were getting ALL of ours out of the way in one big swoop.

I cant keep this pace...everything hurt, physically and emeotionally and now im using all my spoons to stay strong for everyone else...I don't have the time or ability to fall apart...if I fall apart everything will crumble...

add to it all the other day I whent to put the critters to bed to find 2 fetal goat babies in the goat stall, my nigi doe demi miscarried 2 months before due...so sad and frustrating. she however eems ok thank goodness.

needles to say, im about ready for a vacation...or retirement...
 

frustratedearthmother

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Oh Pink - I'm so sorry for what you are going through! I am not surprised that you are holding things together - it's what you do. I've never seen you give up on anything and that strength will do you good.

If you're anything like me - I'm strong for as long as I need to be - but when I get past all the trouble is when I go find a quiet place and yell and scream and kick the wall... and maybe drink something, lol!

I'll be sending prayers, positive thoughts, and good wishes for you, your family and your mom. Hang in there, sis!
 

hqueen13

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Sending you healing energy and strength! So sorry about everything. Please keep us posted!
 
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