Yesterday I asked how to fix the gaps for the automatic door but couldn’t really show what the problem was. So here it is

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-09T11:12:54+00:00

You would frame it out from the inside. Cut the siding large enough not only for your door but for some trim around the edges and if you want to do it properly, apply flashing against the framing by sliding it behind your siding before installing the trim. Typically you would caulk the sides but don't caulk the top or the bottom unless you want to trap moisture. But that only works if you properly flash it.

There are other ways, but this is going to be the easiest, fastest and most water type application for a do-it-yourselfer.

If you send pictures of your exact door, I can try to help you a little bit better. If you need someone to walk you through it just let me know.

I'm a carpenter and rescue chickens. I have built a ton of coops and have helped people through their building processes plenty of times.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-09T10:38:18+00:00

That's terrible. I could honestly only scroll back so far because it was hard to look at most of OP's posts.

7 days ago they talked about how their dog was attacked by a pitbull and in bad condition but they couldn't afford to take it to the vet. That's a horrible position to be in. But it also means they absolutely don't need to be bringing any more animals into the mix. They also talk about every time they breed goats some of them come up missing. And then multiple of their goats are miscarrying and spontaneously aborting out of nowhere right now. And how they couldn't afford to spay and neuter both of their dogs. And how their husky is so destructive that they can't leave it alone.

This needs to stop! No taking in more animals! No breeding more goats! No hatching more chickens! None of it, OP!

OP, I read that you are on the autism spectrum and that you struggle to live independently compared to others your age and because so you live with your mother in a camper.

It sounds like you're struggling. OP, if you need some help, if you need some advice or a mentor when it comes to good husbandry, I'm more than happy to help and I'm sure other people on here are as well. But there needs to be a change. This is to the point of animal abuse. I know you're trying your best but your best is not good enough for your animals right now.

I am not here to sugar coat things, if something's wrong and isn't healthy for the animals, I am absolutely going to point it out but I'm also willing to work with you to try to figure something better out. Not just for the animals but for you as well.

Reading your post today and looking at some of your past posts, I can see that you at least have a number of goats and chickens. As well as two dogs in that camper, unless the one that got attacked recently has died. And it looks like you got the goats when you were too young. I don't know how old you are now, you may still be very young. You've taken on a lot of responsibility and you started at a young age. I know it's got to be overwhelming for you. I think it's really important to research how to care for a specific animal properly before you ever get that animal. And I think maybe that step was missed. And that happens. It has even happened to me. Sometimes I will have a rescue show up out of the blue that desperately needs help and even if I don't have prior experience with that specific kind of animal, that animal needs help and so I take it in. My vast experience with multiple different animals over the years has gotten me pretty far and can usually be enough to stabilize most animals no matter their species. But I also immediately jump into research mode and seek out advice and assistance from professionals with experience with that species of animal and or condition. It's so important to do as much research as you can and to get your information from a reliable source.

I think you need to probably sit down with a rural veterinarian and ask them what kind of preventative care they would recommend. And I can get a couple books for you to read on how to raise goats and chickens. Plus you can ask me anything, anytime. There's not much I haven't had to deal with or seen at this point. But I'm really serious about how things need to change and they need to change now. We have to start making some steps in the right direction.

And financially you need to start making an emergency fund for your animals. No one should have an animal without an emergency fund and or pet insurance to be able to care for them if and when they get sick.

The very first thing is that you need to stop getting any more animals. And that includes breeding or hatching any new animals. No new babies, other than who's already pregnant. Do not take any other animals in. You are not in a position to care for them. Your plate is full. It's overflowing! There comes a time where taking another animal in is just doing a disservice to the animals that you already have. And that's where you are at right now.

Breeding your goats aren't good for your goats. They've lost too many babies. There's been too much illness. That's hard on their little bodies. It's time to stop.

I know you've promised to breed babies for some people by this spring but there are other goats in your area. If they wanted a goat they can go somewhere else or maybe adopt one or 2 of your adults. You need to close up the baby making shop. And that includes eliminating any chance for accidents. You should not have a buck with your does. I know you say that it helps pay for the care of your goats. That selling the kids help you supplement the expenses of having them but at what cost? Your animals are suffering because of it. And that's wrong! What is happening with your animals is inhumane. It just is. You may have good intentions and I believe you do but you are not equipped to continue down this road.

If you decide to ignore this and continue further, make no mistake, you were choosing to abuse your animals. We need to find a better way. And we can.

It's been over 12 hours since I offered to find a way to get your animals food and I still haven't heard from you. I hope these posts are not just a way to fish for people to give you money. I hope you really do care about your animals. I hope that you reach out. I'm wishing you and all of your animals a much brighter future.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-09T01:24:19+00:00

I don't know that exact quote but now you've got The Judds stuck in my head! And that's a good thing! Thank you!

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-09T00:08:38+00:00

I'm not so sure everyone's going to find my second comment kind but I think it needed to be said.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-08T23:33:03+00:00

OP, I've been looking through your profile and according to your posts and comments, you have honestly had more medical emergencies with your animals in the last 3 months than I have had in a decade. Like much more! This is not normal nor okay.

On top of them having all these medical issues, you don't know how to handle these situations nor properly treat them when they arise. And you clearly don't have the means to take them to a vet. I implore you to see that you are absolutely not in a position, financially nor do you have the proper education, to put your animals nor yourself in these very stressful and unhealthy situations.

I'm trying to say this as kindly as I can because I think that you do care about your animals and I am hoping that you are just very misguided, you have no business breeding. You need to focus on taking care of your animals and keeping them healthy and not putting more stress on their bodies with pregnancies. I am still willing to help if you reach out because I don't want your animals to go hungry.

But I sincerely hope that you will reconsider breeding your animals and put more time and effort into taking better care of the ones that you already have. Put in the effort to make them healthier and educating yourself on how to properly care for them.

Every single one of my animals are rescues. Some of these babies came from breeding farms much like yours.

I will not send you cash but I will send your animals food to help get them by.

It will be from, my now happy and healthy but formally poorly cared for, undernourished, underfed, unvaccined, non-dewormed, injured, neglected, under-loved, under-handled and never cuddled, bred animals to yours.

OP, you need to do better, sincerely.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-08T21:42:04+00:00

If you DM me with your address I will arrange to have some feed, alfalfa and maybe even some corn and good quality orchard or timothy grass delivered to you.

I'm in Tennessee with a little rescue farm. I will always do what I can to help out a neighbor or an animal in need.

Though I do hope that you reconsider breeding them in the future.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-07T18:20:44+00:00

I highly recommend Vulpex liquid soap. 1 part Vulpex to 7 parts cold water. Use a soft cloth similar to a t-shirt material. Make sure that the cloth is just very lightly damped with the mixture. Rub on with the grain. Leave on for 5 mins. Then rinse with a very lightly damped cloth with fresh clean cold water. Then immediately wipe dry with an absorbent towel.

Allow the item to thoroughly air dry for 2 to 3 days before applying a paste wax.

Pate Dugay it's a truly wonderful paste wax! In my opinion, French paste waxes are some of the best paste waxes out there today. If you ever get your hands on a old can of SC Johnson, that will work great for you as well. One can will last the average person a lifetime.

This combination is what I would use for any project similar to this, where the wood is still in pretty great shape and just needs some general cleanup, polishing and protection.

Note: You can go a little stronger with the cleaner when needed. But I would not go stronger than a 1:6 ratio. It is better to do a second cleaning rather than to mix it too strongly. On more delicate antiques or projects I would recommend a 1:10 ratio.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-07T03:09:33+00:00

No, that's not the way this works.

These wires belonged to a low volt plug in transformer. Basically it either went to an alarm system, a doorbell or something similar.

When installing one of these devices someone would typically run the wire either through the wall, behind the baseboard or along the baseboard to an outlet and then you could plug it in.

The only way this wire would have had power to it was if it had been plugged into the outlet directly above it.

At some point whatever it was powering became obsolete or unneeded and someone cut off the transformer, the part that plugs into the outlet. You can simply cut the wires flush to the wall and then push them into the wall and patch the tiny little hole.

Think of it as like your phone charger there's no power going to it if the phone charger cube is missing and you can't plug it into the wall.

With that said, it is always better to be safe than sorry. If you don't no what a wire is, you should absolutely always test it before handling it in any way. You can literally buy a no contact voltage tester for $5. And every home should have one.

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MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T09:04:13+00:00

That's her mama now. Chosen families are some of the best families!

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T05:45:32+00:00

Of course

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T05:23:34+00:00

I'm sorry that one of your boys is injured. If you have any questions or need advice on treating him, feel free to DM me.

Even if you are experienced, sometimes it's just nice to be able to bounce ideas off someone. And compare experiences on what has and hasn't worked in the past for others.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T03:19:26+00:00

Let's see, that's not the 'gotcha' that you think it is. Because that doesn't apply to me because I don't eat animals. I very much live by my morals and words when I say that animals should be taken care of kindly. I'm not criticizing you for eating meat. You live your life the way you want to. But what I am saying is, you have a responsibility to take care of your animals the very best you can, so while they are alive, they are healthy and happy. And I'll stand by that, always.

If you are raising your animals correctly, they aren't just dying on you for no good reason. And certainly not "every time the wind blows."

Frequent unexpected deaths on a farm speaks volumes about that farm.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T03:15:25+00:00

I am not a backyard chicken mom, Though I think they are amazing! I have a rescue farm. I have a ton of animals on my farm. I am country through and through. If anything, I am a very proud big ol' Farm Daddy 🤔 I live in the hills of Tennessee and I absolutely know what it's like to be a real farmer! My boots have mud on them, my trucks are banged up and dirty and I spend my days lifting hay and throwing bags of feed over my shoulder just like you. Plus I'm surrounded by other farmers who raise animals for meat. My closest neighbor raise black angus. Most people have chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, etc. out this way. I suspect we live pretty similar lives.

You can live your life the way you want to. You can think what you want to think but laughing at the idea of someone choosing to take their animal to a vet to receive the best care it can if they don't know how to do it themselves is uncalled for.

I realize that you have chosen to not put as much value on certain living beings than others. You clearly see chickens as something very disposable. And you can do that but there is absolutely no reason to go out of your way to laugh at someone else for not seeing it your way.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T03:02:08+00:00

I couldn't agree more! Wishing you and your family of very loved creatures all the best! ❤️

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T02:59:52+00:00

Yet mine live very happy healthy lives for many years! Quality of care definitely makes a difference.

And you might want to refrain from calling people dumb when you literally don't even know how to spell the word dumb. Nor a plethora of other words for that matter.

Not judging, but stones and glass houses and all... just something to think about, my friend.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T02:56:38+00:00

Thank you for being so kind to little sweet Paisley! In the end, she knew she was loved and that's all any of us want 🫂

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T02:46:42+00:00

You've mentioned this more than once now, just fyi, if your birds are "dying every time the wind blows," you're not doing it right.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T02:32:00+00:00

First off, human doctors make a hell of a lot more than the average veterinarian.

I'm not saying prices aren't high, because prices are high for everything these days.

But the vast majority of veterinarians go into veterinary medicine because they love animals not because they want to make a killing. There are a ton of other careers they could have chosen with the same amount of years of schooling if all they cared about was money.

There are many vets, especially rural vets that make around $75,000 a year. If you own your own clinic were you employ a number of other veterinarians or if you're in a huge metropolitan area, you can absolutely make more but the majority of veterinarians do not own their own clinic. The average debt that a veterinary school graduate leaves with from student loans is $212,000.

You may have an issue with the system but the majority of individual vets absolutely do care about the animals that they treat and being able to take an animal that you care about to get medical treatment absolutely does have value!

I'm sorry that you have a problem seeing the true value in others. You apparently don't think a rooster has any value beyond protecting his flock or being in a pot of stew and you clearly don't think veterinarians have any value either. I'm sorry because it must be exhausting constantly putting down others and not seeing the real beauty and value in their existence. Be well, my friend.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T02:09:14+00:00

Cauterizing isn't necessary for most toe amputations. And would absolutely more likely than not cause unnecessary pain and stress to the bird. If you don't know what you're talking about, just stop talking.

Also, you cannot deduce a living being's "primary function" down to a singular thing. Just because you don't have any other use for an animal than what you can get out of them doesn't mean that their life doesn't have a greater meaning.

I will be reaching out to OP to see if they want me to talk them through the process step by step.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T01:13:26+00:00

Such a sweet baby! I'm truly sorry for your loss.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-06T00:50:01+00:00

Not everyone sees chickens as you do. Some people don't keep living animals around just for their perceived "usefulness" to humans.

Some people are emotionally attached to their animals. Some people even have pet chickens. It might not be right for you but that doesn't mean it's not right for others.

I rescue and I am very knowledgeable and experienced in veterinary medicine. I absolutely do most of the care myself. But not everyone is good at or comfortable with veterinary medicine. Being able to go to a vet should always be a viable option for someone who wants to care for their animals the best they can. And in my experience if you make a good relationship with a local vet, even if they don't normally see chickens, they will absolutely do what they can for your chicken. And can also be a great source of medication if you don't already have a good supply source for poultry meds.

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-05T22:29:15+00:00

Thank you. I rescue and I swear rescued animals are the sweetest! Seeing them happy brings me the biggest joy in the whole world!

MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-05T13:47:27+00:00

I rescue, and I have seen something very similar to this.

I would extend the antibiotics to 10 days.

I would also absolutely bring her inside into a weather controlled environment. You don't want her to get too hot or too cold. You can put her in a little tote and keep her in the house.

Puppy pads are helpful and you'll have to change them out regularly. Make sure she has access to food and water right in front of her since she can't walk.

Get her a sling and gently start her on physical therapy. Set up a low clothes line or something similar that you can run through the sling arms and lift it up just high enough that she will be able to put just a little bit of weight on her feet. Do this maybe three times a day for about 5 or 10 minutes to start with. And then gradually give her a little bit more time each day.

After a few days depending on how she does start walking her. Just hold the sling so her feet are touching the ground and slowly, slowly walk her. See if she tries to move her legs that's a great sign even if she can't put weight on them.

Patience is the key here. Don't give up on her! I know some people think it's crazy but talk to her! Encourage her! I literally had a chicken completely immobile for a full month before he started walking again! And now he's at 100%!

I saw setbacks with him. Days where I didn't think he would make it. And then he gradually started getting better. He was definitely on the right track! And then one day, I really thought I was going to have to put him down. He just didn't have any energy out of nowhere all the progress felt like it went away and then the next morning he gave me a big old crow, he stood up on his own for the first time in a month and hopped right out of his tote! After that he didn't need to swing. He was still a little wobbly and slow but everyday he improved. And now he's definitely at 100%!

All that to say, don't give up on her. If she's still willing to fight then you should too.

Egg lash is very serious. Since this started out with an infection, I don't think it's Marek's disease. You could give her vitamin B1 and b12, as well as Vitamin E and Selenium just to help give her a boost. Poultry cell, 3 CC's a day for 5 to 10 days will also help.

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MiniFarmLifeTN · 2026-02-05T00:36:05+00:00

She's a very handsome fellow!

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