Perch 2.0, Mass, 15

So as I mentioned yesterday the big perch that the chickens sleep on was due for a retooling last night.  As soon as I got home I headed out to the coop to get started.  Cindy had already done some work during the day on it, flipping the perch on it’s side and removing sections of wood that we would reuse in it’s new orientation.

Having a large triangle for the birds definitely looked like a better option since they seem to all insist on being as high as possible.  We started tacking on additional perching accessories as well as a series of lower rungs to allow the chickens to hop up to the top floor.  As in most of our projects we sort of just played it by ear but by the time we were done it looks like we had a pretty good set up.

When dusk settled in we watched on the surveillance cam and saw all the birds had gotten into place and looked much less crowded which is what we hoped for.  The only snafu was Peaches, the chicken that hopped onto screening near the roof the other night, once again jumped onto the shelf area where all the electronics are.  Cindy scolded her as she put her back on the perch.  We hung some additional screen to block shelf access.  Unfortunately it also blocks the vision of the security dvr camera so there will be some further rearrangement necessary. After putting Peaches back in place the birds settled down and seemed to have a pleasant and less crowded night of rest. Today Cindy will be putting some final tweaks on the redesigned perch, including painting any unfinished wood and reconfiguring the area around it to maximize poop cleaning efficiency.

Yesterday I made a vet appointment for Nicki for next week.  She has had some masses on her belly for quite awhile.  A couple vets have looked at them in the past and their diagnosis was they were benign and if they aren’t causing Nicki any pain or problems it is best to leave them alone considering her age of 13 years.  Well the masses seem to keep getting larger and to me it seems like there are more side effects of them.  Nicki’s bark now is barely a whisper, it seems like she can’t get enough air in her lungs.  Also when she is laying down in an upright position she almost always is panting, again seeming to me like it is because lack of air.  My non-expert theory is these masses have gotten to the size where they are obstructing Nicki’s lungs from expanding.

So anyway, it has been nearly a year since a vet took a look at the masses.  I want to have her looked at again and express my concerns.  Based on what the vet says and the risk/reward formula in options for reducing or removing the masses we will decide what is the best path to follow.  If something can be done without putting Nicki at significant risk it makes sense to explore it.  My dad’s dog had a similar mass that was removed a year or so ago and it went well.  Maggie is a couple years younger however.

It’s hard to believe but I am a few days away from my 15th year anniversary at my job, meaning I also just crossed the 15 year Florida resident milestone.  To imagine a decade and a half has already passed seems impossible but a simple glance at a calendar confirms it’s validity.  I have never regretted my choice to relocate 1200 miles south of my Reading, PA roots.  Although life in Florida has not quite panned out the way I imagined it would be prior to the move, overall it has been a clear step up in my quality of life.  With that being said, I don’t know that Florida will be my final destination.  My cross country road trips have opened up my eyes to other areas of the country that may be a better fit down the road.  Any of those possibilities have a common thread, a scarcity of people.