And around and around we go…………

The weed photos were dutifully sent to U. of  F.

And surprise, surprise, surprise………….

…..none of the weeds were considered poisonous to horses or livestock………….

…..well, that’s not entirely true…….

Weed #5 (they believe) is from the “mallow” family.

It could cause higher than normal nitrate levels in the blood…….IF the plant is stressed and then eaten………….(?)

…..well…….Weed #5 didn’t look “stressed” or even nibbled on by the horses.  There were only two of those plants in the pasture anyway…….

…..and Addy’s nitrate levels are just fine…….

…..plus, Weed #5 is now herbicided and dead-as-a-doornail…

…..(I feel bad for the poor, little, wild violets that I sprayed to death)…..

Stevie Wonder is admittedly stumped…….he is checking with his large-animal-medicine-professor-gurus at various Universities…….

………….WHILE IN THE MEANTIME………….

…..after heavily spraying the pastures with GrazonNext…………

…..I found four of my adult laying hens rigor-mortized where they just seemed to have keeled over for no apparent reason…….

And………….Brave colicked…….

…..AAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

…..his temperature spiked to 103.6F…….

…..@#$%$#@!

FORTUNATELY (for me)————-I was able to get in a lucky I.M. shot of Banamine while Brave was laying down.  I snuck (sneaked) snuck up behind him and wolloped him with the syringe before he was able to jump up and bolt away…….

…..I’m not proud of my sneakiness & taking advantage of him while he was feeling poorly………….but I got 12cc’s into him before the slip-lock needle slipped off the syringe…….

…..(fortunately I was able to swipe the I.M.’s needle out of his buttocks during our very next encounter while I was scratching him and apologizing for the shot)…..

…..AND after that, he wouldn’t let me hose him…….(to try to reduce his temperature before the Banamine kicked in)…..

………….WHILE IN THE MEANTIME………….I am continuing to drench hundreds of cc’s of antibiotic’s down patient/cooperative Addy’s throat…….

………..twice daily………….

 

*******Brave’s colic has resolved…….I now practice taking his rectal temperature daily, so it’s less of a shock when it’s necessary and he’s sick…….(yippee for me)…

…………..and Addy’s temperature is remaining normal now too.

………(Patrice constantly has a rectal thermometer at the ready in her bibs nowadays)……….

*******NONE of the professionals agree with me…….but I am applying housewife-logic here…….I think the hen death and Brave’s colic are related.  AND, I think they are both related to the herbicide spraying in the pastures (even though that type of herbicide is considered safe for grazing)…………………………………………it just makes sense…….

*******And we still don’t know what’s wrong with Addy’s bloodwork…….

*******Time for more housewife-logic……………………….considering it’s not poisoning from weeds…….then it’s poisoning by some other factor…….and if it’s not poisoning by some other factor, then it’s probably cancer…….

(***Housewife logic can be (and hopefully is) faulty……………………………………………….but it is offered free-of-charge***)