Ironic, Have to try

So the last thing I had on my to do list from my long weekend was get the Tacoma aligned.  When I did my last front to back tire rotation I noticed the front tires had some wear that was indicative of bad alignment.  My plan was to take it to the nearby Tuffy Service Center who I have had do several things on my vehicles over the years.  I first called them on Friday.  When I said I needed an alignment they told me their alignment machine was broken and needed a part which was supposed to arrive on Saturday.  They advised me call back on Monday to verify it was working again, so I did.

When I called Monday the story was the same, the part did not arrive Saturday but should be there today, call tomorrow.  So I did.  For the third time in a row I got the same song and dance, part didn’t come, machine still broken, call tomorrow.  Well since Tuesday was my last day off I really wanted to get the list item crossed off.

Cindy suggested taking the truck to Tire Choice near Sam’s.  I had also taken vehicles there in the past and stopped going there after a bad experience.  I have had a ton of bad experiences with auto mechanics since moving to Florida.  Even after two decades of living here I can’t say I have found one that I actually trust to do quality work without ripping me off.  So anyway, I decided to give Tire Choice another chance.  I called and they said they had openings to do the work so Cindy followed me there so I could drop the truck off.

A few hours later I got another call saying the truck was all done.  The $125 it cost was a little more than I was expecting but at least the job was complete.  Since I will be daily driving the truck for a couple months it made sense to get the alignment correct.  So I get back out on the road and notice a couple minutes into the drive that the steering wheel is not straight.  It was about 10 degrees off center.  I pulled off at a turn and called them, intending to take it right back.  I tell them I just got the truck back from an alignment and the steering wheel is crooked, how can that be?

“Jeff” at least was immediately apologetic.  He said this was the third call back they had gotten that day about crooked steering wheels after alignment.  He said their machine must need a calibration of some sort.  He told me to call back next Monday and they will get me back in to align it again. Ok great, that’s nice that they admit their screw up but it is ironic that after waiting all weekend for another place to get this done, the place I wind up going to screws it up anyway.  After I hung up I kicked myself for not asking Jeff why their alignment procedure doesn’t include a brief road test afterward to make sure everything is good.  I was frustrated as you can imagine.

So Cupcake was not improved yesterday, still carrying a large and uncomfortable sack between her legs.  I was amazed that somehow she managed to get up into a nesting box yesterday AND laid an egg.  She has really been the only chicken laying any eggs at all over the last several months.  To have her lay one in her current condition was unbelievable.

So when I woke up this morning I made the decision I was going to call the vet to have Cupcake looked at.  My hope was she would have success extracting the fluid where I failed, although this is only a temporary way to address the underlying issue which would likely kill her sooner or later.  Of course vet visits are never cheap either but I would feel badly if I didn’t at least try to help Cupcake.  She has been one of our most energetic, friendly and healthy chickens from day one.  Whenever I walk outside Cupcake is almost always the first one waiting at the gate for me to come in.

So I called the vet after they opened.  They said they were booked solid all day but asked what was up.  When I explained the situation they were nice enough to try to squeeze Cupcake into the schedule.  So once I got the green light to take her I had to quickly drive all the way home from work, corral Cupcake into the pet carrier and then drive her to the vet.  When I got home I just tossed my work clothes on the counter, put on shorts, t-shirt, and boots to do the deed and then changed back into my work duds once I had the hen in the truck.

She looks healthy in the face although you can tell she is not nearly as talkative as she is when she is feeling ok.  She just sat quietly during the truck ride.  It was the first time she had been in the truck since we picked her up as one week old chick from Rural King.  The front desk staff at the vet was very sweet when I dropped her off.  They said they actually had a rooster in the back to be looked at as well.  Not many would care enough about a farm animal to take them to the vet and not many vets even will look at farm animals. I am glad this one does.  We took Lola and Lucy both to her years ago.

So I got a call from the vet a couple hours later.  She was also unsuccessful in getting any appreciable amount of fluid out of Cupcake which was not the news I wanted to hear.  She had suspicions that she could be egg bound but I told her Cupcake just laid yesterday so that was unlikely.  They gave me two options, they could do X-rays which are expensive but will give them a better idea of what exactly is going on in there.  The second option was to just give her antibiotics as a hail mary that it will address whatever is going on in there.  A third option which I didn’t talk about yet was to just have her put down so she doesn’t suffer.  After some pause with spending a decent chunk of change for x-rays, I still opted to go that route in the hope that we can at least get an answer.  The way this came on seemingly out of nowhere is really, really strange.  She seemed absolutely fine Sunday and was sitting like a duck on Monday although it is possible it had been slowly growing and she had been able to function.

I am hoping for a resolution to Cupcake’s ailment but I certainly am not optimistic about it happening.  Regardless, to me she at least deserves the effort after being such a long standing and bright spot in the flock for so many years.  If you don’t understand why I feel attachment, affection and responsibility for my chickens, you are not alone.