The case of the disappearing & reappearing chicken AND Pain pain go away ...

Hunter is Kelly's best friend and she follows him around

-Sunday night Hunter's beloved hen Kelly was missing.  It was dark though, when he searched for her, and she is a black chicken so we thought maybe she just couldn't been seen.  But the next morning, Hunter and I were out at sunup looking for her.

No Kelly.

We periodically looked for her throughout the day, hoping and praying she might show up.  By supper time, Hunter was struggling not to cry.  He said, "This has been the worse year!  Tabby is so sick and then my chick Carla was killed and now Kelly is gone!"  We all felt sad.  Kelly was the tamest chick ever, thanks to Hunter!  And of course we felt terrible for him.

The feed store near us has more baby chicks in stock so Frank took the boys to pick out new chicks Tuesday afternoon.  (Solomon felt he should have a chick too because our little guinea, which he named Toad, had disappeared a few days ago.)

So, new chicks were purchased and brought home.  Shortly after arriving home, there was a stunning discovery.  Our old dog Lucia started getting all curious about something and upon investigation, Kelly was found alive!

What crazy timing is that?

So Kelly is back, much to Hunter's delight, and the boys each have a new chick.

Solomon named his Americana chick "Neil Pharaoh" and Hunter named his Buff Orpington "Kayla." 

Little Miss Pharaoh fell asleep!

Kayla is about a week older than Neil Pharaoh, so she's got more feathers than fuzz

Tabby enjoys when the boys bring their chicks to her so she can hold them.  Sunday afternoon she felt well enough to stay out of the recliner for a bit and went outside to sit in the sun and pet Exhaust Pipe.  There's just something special about animals!

Tabby woke very early yesterday morning with a new kind of stomach pain.  She said her stomach felt "hollow."  I wasn't totally sure what she meant but googled it and sure enough, there were plenty of people out there who have "hollow stomach" pain.  (And yes it is very different than just being hungry!)  Tabby was in extreme pain most of the day and nauseous too.  The only time she felt better was when she was throwing up.  She hurt so bad last night she was afraid to be alone.  We would have gone to the hospital if we thought they could actually do something for her.  (The pain meds they use worked a few times but now only make her feel loopy.)  I sat with her until about midnight, when she finally fell asleep.

This morning she felt much better.  She's just back to "normal pain" now.  Sigh.

I've gotten two more possible pieces of the Tabby-medical-mystery-puzzle.  Last Friday we got the results of her adrenal stress test. Her adrenal glands are a complete wreck.  Her cortisol is out of wack too - and explains why she is so dead tired in the mornings and completely wired late at night.  (The rates are very low in the morning and very high at night.)  Her test showed she has also become insulin resistant, which can explain why she's often so hungry and can't get full.

The other puzzle piece is the first part of our well water testing has come back and it was found we have "Coliform Bacteria" in our water.  This bacteria is common in our county.  We use a Berkey water filtering system for our drinking water and ice - which filters out this bacteria - but there are plenty of other times a day when we use straight well water.  (ex. brushing teeth, washing produce, cooking, etc.) 

This bacteria can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.  It often effects children 5 and under, pregnant women, and chronically ill people the most. 

The well water must be treated with chlorination.  Frank bought the stuff for it today and will treat it tomorrow.  Then we have 24 hours where we can not use our well water.  Hopefully all will be good after that!  (A friend told me that when this happened with her family's well water, they all were feeling better in less than a week after treatment.)

I am praying this helps Tabby!  Though I don't believe it's her whole problem.  And - I am praying this is the answer to Solomon's stomach problems!  He has been having diarrhea almost every morning now for a week or so.  And still having almost daily stomach aches. 

reading and snuggling help Tabby and Solomon both to feel a bit better

So what will tomorrow bring?  I am almost afraid to ask.