Bagenbrook Farm Nurse

12/08/2024

Nail, Beak, Teeth Trims available!
Poultry, Gamebirds, goats, sheep, domestic animals- just ask!!

12/08/2024

Let’s talk about URI’s!!!!

12/01/2024

Appointments for flock checks this week
Thursday & Friday
Please message
Bagenbrook Farm Nurse

11/30/2024

FOLKS- Please Read!!!!

Do not feed bread to ducks and geese.
Bread causes permanent harm to ducks and geese, leading to deformities like “angel wing,” which prevent them from migrating and escaping predators. Please avoid giving them bread.

Instead, opt for healthier options such as cracked corn, peas, mealworms, romaine lettuce, watermelon, or sliced grapes!

11/28/2024

Wishing all of my patients and clients, family and friends, a healthy, blessed Thanksgiving! 🙏🏼❤️

11/26/2024

Little Teddy! 💙
This cutie stole my heart! He came by the farm the other day with his Mom Jodi to have his injured leg and tootsie looked at. We think Miss Turkey may have unintentionally and not so gracefully stepped on him 🥹
He’s all wrapped up for some hopeful support. We’ve started him on a boost of B Complex vitamins and some “bed rest” off the leg. Just got to get this sweetie up and running again! 🙏🏼💙

11/22/2024

TODAYS FOCUS-
Magnesium deficiency

Magnesium regulates the function of hundreds of enzymes, acts as an important electrolyte and helps a body build proteins- plays a crucial role in muscle function, the nervous system and energy production.

Magnesium helps the heart maintain a healthy rhythm and helps in the regulation of blood pressure and cholesterol production.

Wikipedia definition of “Magnesium Deficiency “

an electrolyte disturbance in which there is a low level of magnesium in the body.

✅ Symptoms include tremor, poor coordination, muscle spasms, loss of appetite, personality changes, and nystagmus-(involuntary eye movement). Complications may include seizures or cardiac arrest such as from torsade de pointes - (abnormal heart rhythm that can lead to sudden cardiac death- a (polymorphic ventricular tachycardia) that exhibits distinct characteristics on an EKG.

Noteworthy- Those with low magnesium often have low potassium as well.

Folks…. Before we condemn our neurologically challenged birds with the exhausted “Marek’s” diagnosis…. Let’s delve in and think outside of the box.

Liquid Magnesium is easy to add into your avian family’s diet. It certainly does not hurt!!!!

11/21/2024

Another very informative course in the books.
My biggest takeaways-

1. Importance of collaborative care! - It’s so critical that general practitioners of veterinary medicine communicate directly with specialists in the field. There needs to be clear, concise language between the group- “Same page, same message”.
I think for clients, (pet parents) it can be so daunting to receive mixed messages, misinformation or muddled information when dealing with a medical team.

2. Body Mapping!!!! If you identify a lesion, mass, tumor… what have you- it’s key as a parent or a provider in the field, that you measure, map and record!!! Again, it’s a form of communication.. recording, keeping track.
Avoid chances of underestimating growth rates, or performing an additional aspirate or biopsy on something that has already been mapped and shown no change over a given period of time. This is even more important if you change providers or have more than one veterinarian or medical professional involved.

3. Digital diagnostics. Radiology has come a long way. The cost is often prohibitive but the importance of breaking the body down to isolate let’s say, the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity helps avoid competition in imagining when the digital element starts to compete for the area being photographed or scanned. If you really want to see what’s going on in the “chest” and the “abdomen” go with thoracic and an abdominal scan separately. The full body scan will often combine the two (so to speak) creating a “Chabdomen” to quote Dr. Venable. This makes it more difficult to see detail thereby increasing the risk of missing something that could physically be present in the animal, but muddled on the image.

11/20/2024

Well…. Our most curious of Sultans is eager for her checkup and bandage change!!!
I am SO pleased with the healing process!!!
Isla had one of my least favorite types of bumble to remove.
Not only does she have her feathered feet with soooo many follicles, but her bumble had no visible point of entry or exit, and wrapped the span of her tootsie from top to base. 😣
She was one of the best patients ever! Sat still for over an hour to let me remove this beast in multiple pieces - double ughhhhhh!!!!!! I won’t show you the removal process or the “stuff” that came out- unless you’d like to see and learn, in which case you can always message me! (I am not a licensed Veterinarian, nor do I make any such claim) reat assured however, I will only show you examples of treatments and procedures that align with my education and experience.
I DO want you to see the incision site and what it looks like under normal healing conditions. You can see about a 1/2 inch sealed site on the base of the foot, as well as a smaller but deeper needle aspiration point on the top of the foot. Color of the flesh looks amazing, there is no odor, no discharge beyond a little clean, red blood. This is what you want to see during a healthy healing process. The foot is slightly warm but not hot or overly inflamed. Appetite is healthy, hydration is great, and Isla is laying eggs and motoring around her healing cage like a trooper!!!!❤️

11/19/2024

Shout out to my fellow nurse and rescue, rehab friend Romi Cully!
It’s so important to appreciate your network if you are fortunate enough to have one!
Brulee- a young Sweetgrass Hen (just turned hen 2 months ago) has been battling acute sinusitis for week. Though many of her symptoms had subsided, she’s developed discolored and somewhat squishy areas in the crop/ chest region…. No interest in feeding as the antibiotics do quite a number of certain gamebirds… I’m so grateful I had Romi there to lend her support and priceless opinion on the situation. You know, it takes a village and we ALL need support in this effort to heal! Brulee is basking in some sunshine, digesting her 200cc tube feed breakfast and enjoying some vitamin enriched water.
We decided to start her on a less potent antibiotic today in hopes of easing her gut and getting a handle on what looks to be possible cellulitis..
Thank you my friend!!!!! 🙏🏼❤️

11/16/2024

What defines you as a professional?

Communicating effectively and appropriately in conjunction with consistently finding ways to be productive. Behavior is responsible, ethical, and team oriented. You possess strong communication, interpersonal, and problem solving skills. Wrap these skills up all together and you've got professionalism.
It matters… first impressions tend to be those that last. If you’re going to leave a mark, make it a good one. ✌🏼

11/14/2024

Second stop of the nursing trail yesterday.. a visit to The Pettinelli flock ❤️
I got to spend some quality time with Sadie and Rita today. Sour crops and URIs have been very common this season. Thankfully, Mom Deanne is ever vigilant keeping a watch on her babies!!! Folks this is really key! Know your birds, know what doesn’t look “right” and ask for help sooner than later. I applaud all of my clients who seem to share that common thread…. Their flocks are “family” and they matter.
It was a pleasure to see Mr. Rocky growing out to be such a STUD like his father Dixieland Jamboree!!!! Talk about breeding true???? I can always count on Dixie to help create mirror images of himself!!!! Lol 😂
I’m looking forward to hearing that Queen Sadie is soon back to her “head honcho” position in the flock, and Miss Rita is breathing freely with no more clogged nares!
Beautiful flock, beautiful family!!! 🙏🏼❤️

11/13/2024

Sweet Little Adele 🥹
I really try not to have favorite clients….. 🫣
Little Adele stole my heart the day I met her though….. so when her parents call me because this sweet girl has Ascites? I’m there in a flash!
The best part of my visit today was seeing how relieved Adele felt after we withdrew her abdominal fluid- immediately ready to dive into a plate of scrambled eggs prepared by her dad!!!! Video to follow!!! 🤣

11/11/2024

A successful day of bumble remediation! Such a joy to be able to help a wonderful flock feel their very best! I’m always grateful to my clients for trusting me with the care of their loved ones!

11/10/2024

Neurological Issues….
I often wonder, is it possible that severe infestations of mites and other parasites could potentially contribute to neurological disorders??? Away to my medical journals I go..
Sooooo here is some interesting information - and most definitely food for thought when diagnosing illness based on symptom presentation…

💙Scabies
A history of scabies can increase the risk of stroke and other conditions, including dermatomyositis, polyarteritis nodosa, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

💙Chiggers
The bites of chigger larvae, also known as trombiculid mites, can cause trombiculiasis (chigger bites) which can lead to severe neurological symptoms in animals- (Intense itching, papules, erythema, and urticaria. The initial bite is usually not noticed, but symptoms begin 1–3 hours after the chigger feeds. The area of the bite may form a reddened pustule or blister. Itching usually lasts for 1–2 days, but may last up to 2 weeks)

💙House dust mites
Exposure to house dust mites can cause an asthma-like condition in the lungs that can exacerbate Alzheimer's disease in mice.

💙Other parasitic diseases that can affect the central nervous system include toxocariasis, which can cause seizures, eosinophilic meningitis, and optic neuritis.

I guess my reason for posting this is due in part to the automatic “jump the gun” response of “your bird has Marek’s” whenever the presentation of flaccid limbs, paralysis, limping arises.
People- we truly need to start thinking outside of the box.
Neurological disorders are so widespread and have so many causes. They can rear their ugly heads at any age and for some there may be help.

11/03/2024

Now Scheduling Pre-Season Flock Wellness Checks.
Please DM for Availability and further details.

10/30/2024

Characteristics of a “professional”

Dependability: Professionals are reliable and set high standards for themselves.

Organization: Professionals are organized and industrious.

Communication: Professionals communicate effectively and appropriately.

Problem solving: Professionals have strong problem solving skills.

Emotional regulation: Professionals can regulate their emotions and don't always act on them in the moment.