I also have a Polish hen right now who is suffering from a case of respiratory ickies, along with a swollen shut left eye! Maybe we'll have to come up with a new name for this particular creeping crud... I think what is happening is a respiratory infection--a cold, basically--that is affecting the sinuses and eyes. About the only thing you can do is treat it with an antibiotic, which of course has no effect on the virus itself but DOES treat any secondary bacterial infection. You just have to allow the virus to run it's course. My vet also gave me eye drops of Genetian Violet for my bird, which we have been giving her for the last 3 days. It's too soon to tell if they'll help, but at least she isn't worse. My birds' symptoms match yours, by the way. Earlier this year I had one little Frizzle hen who was so bad you could SEE the swelling of her poor little head. She recovered and is just fine though, so I have hopes that the Polish will also be OK. If you can't get a prescription eye drop from the vet, about all you can do is keep the eye and surrounding area clean. You can use sterile, unpreserved saline solution (which can be hard to find, most have preservatives in them), which is sold in grocery stores in the contact lens supply area. What strength is your Tetracycline? You should be able to either contact the manufacturer (do they have a website?) or call your local friendly vet and ask him. You also need to make sure that each sick bird is getting the correct amount each day--and sick birds tend to stop eating and drinking. You may have to dose each one with medicated water. Also check your feed, make sure it isn't wet or moldy--guard against Aspergillotis. Other than that, I'd suggest maybe offering your birds some unflavored Pedialyte instead of water to boost their electrolytes, and maybe some goodies to tempt them to eat and keep their strength up. Mealworms, scrambled eggs, corn on the cob, cooked spaghetti, etc. Good luck! Velvet ~:>

thanx guys--i'll get this figured out one of these days. now i had asked about michael chiarello and he said no--that's when he told me the guys was big, so i asked about stellino or betalli and the slicked back hair/ponytail and he said no again. but terri might have something with johnny and damian...i'm not familiar with them but that doesn't mean dad isn't. and rocco isn't big/hefty enough to match up with what dad meant but gee joe, perhaps you are! dad just turned 91 and while i usually think my memory is more clear and straight-forward than his, that's not ALWAYS factual :) he's pretty clear on world events and syracuse university sports--that's for sure! sometimes i just have a difficult time making the connections in thinking that he does... and bean--you are right! i certainly could have asked him if this cook had his own show or was guesting... i was just so floored to hear him say there was something he wanted, i wasn't thinking as fast as i should have been! i appreciate the thoughts and will work to get the answer. and it's great to have these other names to offer up to him--thanx alot and keep them coming, please!

hollysprings, their insurance company did not call me. When I called the appliance store the service manager did say to call him back with a list of the damage. That's as far as I've gotten with them. I called this afternoon and he did not return my call. Not a good sign. I'll call again tomorrow and if he does not call back I will call the owner of the company. Thanks once again chiefneil. I've put those hoses on my to do list as soon as this cluster flower levels a wee bit. I have not heard of these. Good grief deee. Thanks so much for that link. It's a very scary link but very informative. Why do we have homeowner's insurance should be a thread here. On my to do list as well. Thanks dilly. That's one of the thoughts that crossed my mind the next day. Thank goodness I was home and not at work for 9 hours. That would have been a disaster. flwrs_n_coThanks for your luck and best wishes. Luckily my basement is not finished. But there is stuff down there and it's a royal mess. A hero are you jejvtr. One more thing off my to do list :) Update: I called my local insurance agent yesterday, as they were closed over the weekend. My local agent (not the national big insurance company) who I have been with for 30+ years told me NOT to file a claim with them yet. She will put the notes in my personal file but not share with the insurance company until I contact her. She said: my claim, my deductable. I would lose the no claim discount. And who knows what underwriting does once they get a claim. For all the negative reasons listed above by some of you, she strongly suggested against filing saying that the appliance store has insurance and that's who I need to file the claim with. She gave me a list of things I needed to do and was very helpful. Called a water damage company. They are coming tomorrow afternoon with a moisture meter, industrial fans and dehumidifiers. I'll get the bill and forward to appliance store. Called the cork floor install guy and he is trying to fit me into his schedule ASAP. He is more concerned with mold between the subfloor than to cork because it is a glue down. I'll keep you posted. Thanks everyone. I know you are strangers but you have been a life raft in the dark sea of water! Just keep swimming...

my worry would be that if the soil is staying saturated, you're causing root problems for all the trees. Unless you want to be cycling through replacements, I'd fix the underlying problem the right way - which is getting the water out of there. One of our winery clients was having massive water problems in a few of their vineyard blocks, to the point where you could grab a vine and pull it right out of the ground - the roots were all rotted. Their consultant had them run french drains between the rows and they're now producing literally tons per acre. It works.