Ugh, make it stop.

Everything going wrong: farm, pets...everything.

As for rabbits, had two bucks that bit up does. In all the years I've had this colony, I've never had this happen before with bonded pairs/groups. Two does are dead, and I may put down the last. Both bucks were put down. At this point, I've only got one viable family unit left.

We hit a cold spell, and I decided the Hydrofarm wasn't cutting it for the Rosy boa, and I wanted to add a a regulated RHP. So, $200 for a Herpstat. Not a huge deal.

A few days ago, I noticed a couple chickens missing. Turns out the electric fence for that pen is no longer working. The fence is tattered and needs replacing, I was getting by with repairs (the NM sun here just bakes equipment). Anyway, the solar charger doesn't seem to be working at all, except that I can't find a bad connection. While trouble shooting that, the other new charger for the other separate flock of chickens isn't putting out full power either (good enough to do the job, but why??). Anyway, a new charger and electronet fence should be here Tuesday. $400.

Today, I was doing the daily rat enclosure cleaning, and one of the rats is all scabbed up. Nasty! These are pampered and CLEAN rats. They enjoy a Critter Nation with fleece bedding, and I shake out the poops daily, wash food/water dished every morning, and change the fleece every few days. It happened all at once - I would have noticed!! So, on to a rat care site, cause is likely mites, need to special order some horse Ivermectin type medicine from the feed store and (off label) hope that works....

I know the feeling distaff. If it's not one thing. it's two. Hang in there bud, this too shall pass. It's usually darkest before the dawn :).

Thank you.
:)

I'm right in the stink with you......... Terminated my security contract to go back into a garage.
Went in on the 30th to drop off my tool boxes and they were closed.
Went back on the 2nd to start the new year off with a new job, they decided they couldn't wait the week and a half notice I wanted to give.
Thought I had a full time with another garage this past Monday...........They decided they only needed part time.
So I'm starting the new year off unemployed. :rage::rage::rage::rage:

Employment problems are the worst headaches of all!
Hope you find full time work soon.

Plus side, I just got a pay check I wasn't expecting :taz::taz:

Yeah, I know how you feel. I just moved last month away from a bad ex and with a good friend, but he lost his job the week after we moved. Every time he almost has another job something happens and it falls through. If he doesn't find something in the next few weeks we might lose the apartment. I don't make enough to live on my own, or I would be doing that already. I was hoping my tax refund would help us out a bit until he got something, but apparently this year they're holding back returns filed with EIC, so I won't get my money until after February 15th, possibly as late as the week of the 27th. Even though I filed earlier this year than ever before.

Keep the faith, everyone! I've been through some really bad times (especially a couple years ago when both my husband and I were unemployed while he was also attending school part time, and then my mother passed away unexpectedly) but there's always light down the road! I'm doing very well now, and I know ya'll will as well. Don't give up! :gj:

I think the hard times are pretty normal when working with animals. I had a lot of chickens and ducks but the bears and mountain lions kept killing and eating them. I finally got rid of them all and decided to raise some Black Angus cattle. They are so big that nothing can take them down. This year I also had a problem with mites on my snakes, took me months to get rid of them. Then right after that my rats kept falling over dead, like one or more per day. I tried everything, several rounds of antibiotics, etc. I finally found that it was from the dusty pine bedding I was using. I switched to shredded paper that I get for free from work and all the deaths immediately stopped. At one point I was tempted to gas them all and put them in the freezer and start over because I couldn't figure it out. And I think I gave some of my snakes rats that were not totally healthy because at one point several went off of food. For the last few months I've moved passed all of that and I'm doing great, but with animals a lot can go wrong in a hurry, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of animals. But I find it's the good times when everything is going great that more than makes up for the bad times.