Thanks C3D, It sounds like an interesting option. Yes, her fluid is totally clear. I did ask the vet if she could have a cardiovascular collapse after removing too much, and she said it could happen, but probably wouldn't. I have taken out tons at a time, and she was fine with it. Although I realize that might not always be the case. I hadn't thought about the need for high protein. She seems to be eating her Layena well. Maybe I should supplement her with some dry cat food? I think its higher protein. When we drain her, I've been using an angiocath. It works great because I can withdraw the needle, and leave a more flexible tube in there, while I draw out the fluid. I've been reusing them, after soaking them in a 15% bleach solution. I usually give her 2 days of Baytril after the procedure. She has never gotten infected. Too bad we can't drain her from on top of her! I can't even pick her up without her comb darkening. When I first brought her in from the coop, when she was having more problems, she would appear to just about arrest if we held her, but would revive if we quickly put her down. It just seems that, over the course of last year, I'm getting less and less fluid out. And it feels like something is displacing what was open areas in her abdomen with solid mass..........so maybe she's got several things going on. Hubby didn't think he had anymore angiocaths, but did find an 18 gauge....which would be good. It takes about10-15 minutes at least, to draw off the fluid. I was thinking, since she can't tolerate being held, maybe I could quickly make 3-4 punctures in her, and things could drain by gravity? She used to drain alot afterwards too....which was good. But in the last year, she doesn't drain like that anymore. I suppose scratch isn't good for her, right? She loves it so much. I give her a little every day, just to let her satisfy that need to find things on the floor! I had another buff orp, Floppsie, who had a big firm abdomen too. I drained her, but it was bright green. Not a good sign. She died shortly after that. What would the green mean? I was thinking it had something to do with sepsis from maybe internal egg laying?? Too bad most vets know so little about chickens. I'm lucky to be so close to the only Avian vet in the state. I do spend time on a chicken forum, which is very helpful too. But I sort of decided awhile back, after spending hundreds of dollars on them, that I would make them comfortable, but would pretty much try to take care of them myself. I'm okay with that position........but its still not an easy one. I had 17 hens to start with, and now I'm down to 11. Each and every death is so hard on me. I think I lost a couple to maybe broken necks from falling off the roost. Whitney had some problem I never figured out, but she survived. She was in her own cage for a long time, and when she seemed quite strong again, I put her with the others for a very short time, while I was right there. Of course, they all jumped on her, and I quickly removed her and put her back in her own cage. I went out a couple hours later, and she was dead. I was so mad at myself. That was a hard one to get over. They're all hard to get over! I'm not looking forward to the next 11! I love those girls. Thanks for your help Chickadee.

Your pic of AJ with RL can just about take your breath away......stunning together! I'm not a spider fan, but I'm very tempted to add ALFS to the garden as it has a lot of visual interest. First time I've seen ATTAM......my kind of daylily.....just love that one. I'm going to see the "Cats" musical on Wednesday......will be my third time to see it, and Cowgirl looks good enough to play a lead in that production.....very cute. Linda

You, my friend, are evil - Posting such lovely pictures and taking advantage of us folk at this vulnerable time of year when it's 'not-spring-yet-but-near-enough-that-shopping-list-creation-has -begun'! Love that vanda - what a cutie...and the color of the Love's knot is amazing. Thanks for posting and great growing!

Gardenfanatic, IMO your philodendron is beyond the point of making it attractive again by propping vines up or repotting. I think you should limp this philo thru the winter as it is and not repot it at this time. In late spring, I would take 6 inch tip cuttings and pot them on their own or put several in a single pot. I'm assuming there is more than one growing point on the plant. Most philos of this type will have aerial roots along the stem, and these make for easy rooting of cuttings. Regarding the base of the plant in the pot... I would cut the stems at a point 4 to 6 inches from the soil line of the pot. You're forcing the philo start over with new growth. The plant is likely rootbound, you could fertilize it and wait for new growth or unpot and root prune it. This is basically cutting several inches from the perimeter and bottom of the root ball and repotting into the same pot or a new one of the same size with fresh potting soil. You could also wash all the old soil off the root ball with a hard spray from the garden hose, trim the roots back and repot it into a smaller pot, one that fits the size of the roots. From the looks of your plant you might only have a single stem to repot, it doesn't look like it's branched from the base. So now you have all those vines between the base and the tip cuttings to deal with. Obviously you could just toss them, or if you want more plants you could cut the vines into 6 inch pieces, take off the leaves except 1 or 2 at the top, and pot them. After rooting, new growth will break from the nodes along the sides of the stems. Be sure to keep track of which end is up, planting upside down won't work. Let me know if you need more info. By the way, who's that cutie at the window trying to see what's going on? Russ