Grace update

Hey Ya’ll,

Well, Grace had her second surgery Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Martinez reopened the right foot and had to amputate the hallux talon (back) on the left foot. She had been curled over on it from day one and radiographs revealed that the toe had been broken. The poor dear thing. Dr. Martinez will keep Grace for a week in order to do a daily bandage change AND to inject her with that horrible antibiotic that stings her so badly. I didn’t want her to start equating me with pain…let her hate the doc, not me… Everyone has gone above and beyond the call of duty for Grace and now it’s up to her. I want what will be to her highest and best interest. She will need to regain use of both feet so she can equally bear weight and be able to tear food.

Thank you so very much for your outpouring of support to help me pay for her medical work. Her white count was astronomical and doc is still concerned that something may still be going on systemically. However, I believe if that were the case, she would be crashed a long time ago. He has the letters after his name…I just have 27 years experience. At some point, if she survives this next week or so, we will have to do another white count. Maybe I can get that cheaper if we are only looking at that particular value. **sigh**

In hospital - she’s sitting on her butt which is why there is an extra towel back there…

When I went to visit with her today, she chirped and moved her tail out of the way when I scratched her back and talked mushy-mushy to her. I know it’s supposed to make human offspring feel better. Can’t hurt, might help, is my motto of late…

This is the only photo of Dean that I’ve been able to get…through the peep hole. Pretty cool effect, don’t you think?

I’ve had the second batch of baby chickens for 6 days and they’re growing like little weeds! One of them has an eye boo-boo and I’m medicating it, but I don’t know if it will get better. A one-eyed chicken will have to be pretty sharp if she’s going to survive around here!

A passel of puddies…


Nancy and I went to the Poultry Show down in Newnan Saturday and a fine time was had by all!

She captured me capturing a shot of my favorite breed of goose…the Toulouse. Sorry, Johnson!

I have to put the lens right up to the wire so it isn’t in the foreground…

One of the judges…see how small that chicken is??? Unbelievable!

The eyes have it…I think.

“Hey! Where’d you get that cool appliqué’? Can I have your jumpsuit, mister?”


I wonder if they make contact lenses that color…nah, never mind! I’m weird enough already…

I was motivated to jog home afterwards and then floss my teeth TWICE.


I don’t know what kind of waterfowl this is, but it’s really cool…


“Mr. Spock, our guest has arrived in the transporter room…”


My fav Marlon Brando shot…

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. And please feel free to pass it along to your friends….m.

Monteen McCord
770-720-1847
POB 130
Holly Springs, GA 30142
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Here is comes again...s-n-o-w...

Hey ya’ll,

Well, here it comes again…s-n-o-w. Ugh. This is the time of year that I start making deals with God. I’m so tired of the protracted cold, not to mention the electric bill. I feel most at home when I’m out in the yard poking around. My tomato seeds that I saved from last year are jumping up and down begging to go into the soil, but I keep shushing them and telling them it won’t be too much longer…

Johnson says he’s ready for spring… I’m with him.


I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned this, but I’ve changed FUBAR’s name to Grace. She’s holding her own. We go in for a dressing change twice a week. She’s still infected, so we’re going to stop the ab’s and do some bloodwork and a culture and sensitivity next week. We have to go off the meds, otherwise we can’t get a correct reading. Thanks very much to Dianne for donating the bottle of Colloidal Silver. I’ve been flushing the wound and administering some orally to Grace. Can’t hurt, might help…

She’s still full of spirit and has gotten a lot stronger, but we can’t get the infection under control. I will keep fighting as long as she wants to.

Pipe insulation is fashioned into a walking cast to make her more comfy.


Weeeeeee…Dang, I’m happy to be out of that crate!


She’s so docile, I don’t even have a door on the kennel. I take her out and put her on top of it while I’m cleaning it out. I give her a good spritzing so she can do so housekeeping…

Please keep her in your prayers. If anyone deserves a second chance, it is my dear Grace. And if anyone could please help me pay for her bloodwork and the culture, I sure would appreciate it. The avian profile is a hundred dollars and the culture and sensitivity is 97 dollars. Loving Hands has been very generous to donate their time and expertise and I appreciate their help very much.

Dean, the red-tail with the broken wing is doing well, eating like a pig. I stopped and picked up a road-killed squirrel for her today and she went to town on it The passers-by thought I had lost my mind, but what else is new? She is out in the tree house and I can’t open the door to get a photo without her launching herself at me… She’s feeling a lot better!

This Barred owl didn’t look both ways before crossing the street and ran into some trouble, literally. The palette hasn’t been compromised and there isn’t a fracture, so there isn’t anything to glue, but the beak has been torn away from the cere on the left side.


He’s not as grateful and understanding as Grace, but then again, few of them are… At least he can’t bite me properly! So, I’ve been tweaking his little beak every time I think about it and there has been some improvement, but I don’t know if it will be enough to render him releasable…


This was taken just a few minutes ago. The alignment is somewhat better…


The bluebirds absolutely REFUSED to come down to the feeder as long as I was standing there, so this is as good as it gets…






Thompson a few days after his release… I love my job.


The new baby chicks…Aracauna, Astralorpe and Rhode Island Red. I’m a happy bird mom!

Louis when it was nice a few days back…


Mama trying on Face’s wig while he wasn’t looking…


Choo-Choo says, “Puleeeze let me in. I’m freezing!”


And on the menu for this evening…


Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and please feel free to pass it along to your friends. And if you can spare a few dollars to help with Grace’s medical bills, please click on www.hawktalk.org and donate through PayPal. Thanks!!! ….m.



Monteen McCord
770-720-1847
POB 130
Holly Springs, GA 30142
http://monteenmccord.blogspot.com/
www.hawktalk.org
www.facebook.com/monteenmccord
www.myspace.com/monteenmccord
http://home.fotocommunity.com/monteen
www.linkedin.com/in/monteenmccord
http://twitter.com/MonteenMcCord