tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81679713207441043462024-03-12T17:45:15.234-07:00Baa Ram Ewe SheepLearn about sheep and their care.
Follow our Sheep Experience, as we share pictures and information about our pet sheep, and sheep in general.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-38593665024534879332017-03-31T07:48:00.002-07:002017-03-31T07:48:57.270-07:00How Heavy Is Too Heavy To Ride a Horse?Many riders are concerned and may wonder "<i>Am I too big for my horse?</i>" There are three components needed to answer this; the riders height, the riders weight, and the horse itself. If a rider is disproportionately tall for their short horse they may have trouble balancing and may look awkward, but it doesn't put the horse at risk of problems, an overweight rider on the wrong horse is a concern and that is what this article addresses.<br />
<br />
<h3>
How Much Weight Can a Horse Carry? </h3>
<br />
Generally speaking most horses can carry 20% of their body weight before showing any signs of stress (elevated heart rate, and so forth). If we consider the average horse to be around 1,000 pounds this would mean that the rider and saddle should have a combined weight of no more than 200 pounds. A person riding western, for example, would then be considered too heavy for their horse if they weighed over 170 pounds, noting that the typical western saddle itself can weigh 30 pounds.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Consider the Horse Factor</h3>
<br />
The horse itself must be considered. You can have 2 different 1,000 pound horses, one of whom will show signs of stress after being ridden by a 170 pound rider, and one which wont. As well there are risk factors to the horse that wont show up in stress tests but may show up as arthritis in the joints years later, and the general risk of injury if a horse is consistently ridden by a rider that is too heavy for the horse.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8q6kGsRpiP4/WN5rcu0dy2I/AAAAAAAABD0/X8TwSj1hlecrcI_LoHCD-ur6PNVxW-wUACLcB/s1600/june202009_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8q6kGsRpiP4/WN5rcu0dy2I/AAAAAAAABD0/X8TwSj1hlecrcI_LoHCD-ur6PNVxW-wUACLcB/s320/june202009_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightweight jockeys racing on undeveloped 2 year olds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Young horses haven't had their joints fully develop. Even two-year-old racehorses are often put at risk for injury when being ridden by lightweight jockeys. Their joints have not developed fully and when ridden hard (or fast) this puts stress on their joints. Problems may not show up until years later, but absolutely the more overweight a rider is on a young horse, the more damage they could do to the joints, particularly the knee joints.<br />
<br />
The horse's physical condition is important to note here as well. An underweight horse, or an overweight one, will already have health factors that put it at risk for stress related problems after being ridden. A horse that is not well conditioned (one that is seldom ridden) will also have problems with a heavier rider. <br />
<br />
Horses with less "bone" and narrow loins are more likely to show signs of stress when ridden by an overweight rider. To compare how much bone a horse has a measurement around the middle of the cannon bone is taken. Two horses of the same weight may have different amounts of bone, for example compare the thick and solid legs of a Fjord to those of an Arabian. <br />
<br />
Horses with long backs will suffer more from a rider that is too heavy. <br />
<br />
The amount of time that an overweight rider rides the horse will also impact the horse and have a part in determining if they cause stress to the horse or put it at risk for long term concerns. <br />
<br />
<h3>
The Whole Picture</h3>
<br />
Just because a 250 pound cowboy rides a 900 pound cowpony doesn't make it right and should never be used to justify that is okay for an overweight person to ride a horse. <b>Riders must consider the health and well being of their horse overall</b>. Again, an important thing to realize is that some problems related to carrying an overweight rider might not show up until later in life, and may be the kind of things that shorten the horses career. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-78806008740175124162016-12-20T10:04:00.000-08:002016-12-20T10:04:35.715-08:00Why Eating Meat is Bad for the EnvironmentI own sheep and have sold them for meat, but I am still intelligent enough to know that eating meat is bad for the environment. I should preface this article to also note that when I talk about meat I am speaking more about meat from animals raised on a large scale and not hunted meat. I also want to note that I am not trying to convince anyone to turn vegetarian, but rather suggest we should eat less meat to reduce the negative impact of livestock production on the environment.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Deforestation</h3>
<br />
One of the biggest concerns for the planet as a whole is deforestation. Vast areas of rain forest in North and South America have been lost due to deforestation to make way for grazing land or to turn a forest into a hay field (or to grow other feed for livestock). There are many negative implications when a forest is turned into a pasture or used for crops. The loss of trees means the loss of important carbon filters as well as a loss of habitat for hundreds of animals. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mcvHyG2bNY/WFlx8BbafXI/AAAAAAAABCw/__RFEfkYP90PaWpVTaCKYmK_PRk8rUMsACLcB/s1600/P5050570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mcvHyG2bNY/WFlx8BbafXI/AAAAAAAABCw/__RFEfkYP90PaWpVTaCKYmK_PRk8rUMsACLcB/s320/P5050570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cattle at auction</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
Water</h3>
<br />
Livestock animals require water. The foods they eat (crops) require water. The more water taken out of rivers to be used for irrigation or for livestock to drink the less there is for other needs downstream. An average steer requires roughly the amount of water contained in 30 Olympic sized swimming pools before going for slaughter. Water is a vital resource. We cannot continue to divert water for livestock farming without continued negative impacts on the environment.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Waste</h3>
<br />
Of course animals have always produced waste (methane, urine, feces) but with the numbers of livestock animals being what they are today the amount of waste produced is an environmental nightmare. We are talking about huge amounts of toxins (more than three times what humans alone produce) that go into the environment. Some of the waste is used as fertilizer but even this is not environmentally friendly as particles do run off into the local waterways, contributing to the growth of blue-green algae in lakes, and killing coral reefs in oceans. In the USA the methane produced by cattle is roughly 20% of all American methane emissions.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Poor Use of Resources</h3>
<br />
Overall it takes far fewer resources to grow crops for humans than to grow crops for livestock to produce "meat". Cattle are consuming more vegetable matter than humans. In the USA alone roughly 41 million tonnes of plant protein (including things such as corn and cereal grains) is fed to cattle, to produce an end result of 7 million tonnes of meat, according to a <a href="http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/aug97/livestock.hrs.html" target="_blank">study from Cornell University</a>. This translates into the equivalent of 50 bowls of food that could have been eaten by humans to produce just one 8oz steak. Or consider that Basically farm animals are poor at converting one food (plants) into another food (meat). It would be less damaging to the environment (require less land) if people simply at more plant matter and less meat.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Chemicals</b></h3>
<br />
In order to produce all the feed for livestock the USA uses 167 million pounds of pesticides and 17 billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer. This produces nitrogen oxide which is even worse for the planet than carbon dioxide and is a greenhouse gas, as reported by the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environment/" target="_blank">Scientific American</a>.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Overall Notes</b></h2>
<ul>
<li>The human population is over 7.5 billion people, our numbers combined with the amount of meat we eat are very alarming.</li>
<li>We are now eating more meat per person than we have in history. In the past meat was not consumed daily and not to the portion sizes we consume now. </li>
<li>While a <a href="http://dailytwocents.com/what-is-the-difference-between-veganism-and-vegetarianism/" target="_blank">vegetarian diet</a> may not be for everyone, if people could simply have smaller portions of meat (4 oz is the recommended portion size) and could adopt at least 2 meatless days per week (such as Meatless Monday and one other) then we could reduce some of the negative impacts that livestock production has on the environment. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Further Reading : <a href="http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/is-eating-meat-bad-for-the-environment/" target="_blank">How is Eating Meat Bad for the Environment</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-62247714089503644702016-11-24T12:56:00.000-08:002016-11-24T12:56:22.691-08:00Information on Sheep with Horns<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Polled is a term given to sheep without
horns, the animals with horns are said to be non-polled. The poll
being the highest point on the animals head, roughly between the
ears. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some sheep breeds have no horns in the
rams (males) or ewes (females), while others have only the rams with
horns, a few have horns on the ewes too. Some breeds can have sheep
that are both polled, or non-polled. Scurred is a term given when an
animal has small, poorly formed, horns, and these are more common in
ewes.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When people consider what breed of
sheep they wish to have, horns, or lack of horns, should be a
consideration, as for some people horns are an advantage, and for
others they are a disadvantage.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BQszxEVzuSU/WDdTWeOpQlI/AAAAAAAABCg/srR1lxvWTnoLTrm52TbsAlDaZa5Dw4-WQCLcB/s1600/100_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BQszxEVzuSU/WDdTWeOpQlI/AAAAAAAABCg/srR1lxvWTnoLTrm52TbsAlDaZa5Dw4-WQCLcB/s320/100_0079.JPG" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Six month old ram lamb.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b>Advantages of Horns on Sheep</b></i> </div>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</h4>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Horns make great handles. When a sheep
is caught there really isn't much to hold on to, especially with the
wool sheep, a rope around the neck, or a halter, can be used, but
horns are far easier to hold onto and offer excellent control of the
head.
</div>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Horns can add value, as a mature ram with a
good set of horns will often sell higher, and in some areas are very
sought after by hunters (certain breeds of sheep in
particular).</span></h4>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><br /><b>Disadvantages of Horns on Sheep</b></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Large horns prevent sheep from getting
their heads into the feeders.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Horns can get stuck in the wire fences.
This is more of a concern in lambs whose horns are small enough to
fit through a fence along with their head, but will catch when the
lamb pulls its head back.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When the lamb is still nursing, and its
horns are growing, they can hurt the ewes udder, and underside.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Although sheep do not fight
aggressively as some animals they do head butt each other, in play,
and at feeding times. When sheep have horns such action can be more
of a concern, while they don't intentionally hurt each other with
their horns, they may lock and as such when rams are penned together
they should be checked regularly.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When damaged (which occurs more often
in young, and scurred sheep) damaged horns from can result in
bleeding which can be a problem, or lead to infection.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When sheep are not using to being
handled, the horns can be dangerous to the human handler, or can be
dangerous if a ram is aggressive to humans.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If not curved correctly they can go
into the animals head, or eye, a serious problem, and should be
removed if this is a concern.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OFNdVMNdZoQ/WDdTEeM3DVI/AAAAAAAABCc/SwOx-aSiHpcEhvPSV6iOEUi-oa_3kMUTgCLcB/s1600/june292009_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OFNdVMNdZoQ/WDdTEeM3DVI/AAAAAAAABCc/SwOx-aSiHpcEhvPSV6iOEUi-oa_3kMUTgCLcB/s320/june292009_0007.JPG" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my ewes, featuring 5 horns (two smaller).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<b>
</b>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>What are Horns?</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Horns start growing from a horn bud
which can usually be seen when the lamb is born. In rams the horns
grow faster than in ewes, and often become larger. Horns stay on the
animal for its lifetime (unlike antlers which shed seasonally). In
sheep that do grow horns, they grow the most in the first two years.<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Horns grow from the skull and are a
boney structure, make of keratin. The center of a living horn has
blood flowing through it will will result in bleeding if broken.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sheep Horn Genetics</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Horn presence is controlled by three
genes, P (dominant for Polling), p (sex linked for non-polled) and p'
(produces horns in ewes as well as rams). Each sheep has 2 genes and
depending which ones they pass this will determine if their offspring
are to be born with, or without, horns. Note that of course some breeds are always polled so all animals of that breed would be PP and could never pass on a gene for horns.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As an example two sheep who are both
polled (no horns) might have the genes Pp. Each would have a 50/50 chance of
passing on the P gene for Polling, or the p gene for non-polling.
For every 4 lambs the chances are that 1 would be PP, 2 would be Pp,
and 1 would be pp, as such only one in four lambs would have horns,
and only if it was a ram as this gene is sex linked. The other three
lambs would be polled and there would be no physical way of
determining which was PP and which was Pp.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-54241591337965508892016-09-02T08:38:00.000-07:002016-09-02T08:38:39.388-07:00Is Diatomaceous Earth Safe to use for Chickens?In recent years more and more people are looking for natural solutions to pests. Diatomaceous Earth has been used to control garden pests, such as slugs, and has been recommended as a way to control fleas on cats and dogs. The question is "<i>Is it safe to use Diatomaceous Earth on chickens?</i>"<br />
<br />
<h3>
What is Diatomaceous Earth?</h3>
Diatomaceous Earth, also known as DE, is actually a soft rock; the fossils of ancient lake algae, known as diatoms. It can feel mildly abrasive and at the microscopic level it is very abrasive. It works at controlling small pests, such as slugs, mites, and fleas, by being abrasive and cutting them. Diatomaceous earth is considered natural and can be used in organic farming. It may also be sold as Red Lake Earth.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Using Diatomaceous Earth With Chickens</h3>
<br />
There are two possible ways of using DE with chickens (and other birds). One is internal, the other being external. Some people add it to the feed in their birds, with the idea being that it can control internal parasites. Other people use it as a dust bath, or sprinkle it in the nesting area; the idea being that the diatomaceous earth will control external pests.<br />
<br />
When mixed with feed, no more than 2% of the entire feed should be DE. As chickens are likely to ingest what ever is in their environment, even if used only externally the diatomaceous earth should always be labeled as <b>"food grade"</b>.<br />
<br />
A rather lengthy study was done on laying breeds of chickens, <a href="http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/90/7/1416.full.pdf+html" target="_blank">you can read it here</a>, but the results basically showed that hens that had diatomaceous earth added to their feed did not show any difference in resistance to internal parasites. Therefore using it as a feed supplement to control parasites proved to be a waste. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HgdDed5KGp0/V8mcAU-ktWI/AAAAAAAABBM/niLG_PQPFo0tnvvmTrnfqX-VIuqdIJ-DACLcB/s1600/P6080216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HgdDed5KGp0/V8mcAU-ktWI/AAAAAAAABBM/niLG_PQPFo0tnvvmTrnfqX-VIuqdIJ-DACLcB/s320/P6080216.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
However, the study did show a reduction in skin mites when the DE was used as a dust bath, or when applied and rubbed onto the birds themselves. When sprinkled around the coop it does help control odors and moisture to some extent.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that studies on mice have indicated that long term exposure to breathing in DE can cause some lung cancers, and as such using DE in the nesting area on a regular basis may not be advised. As such use in the coops should only be when certain insects (mites or other crawling insects) are an actual problem.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-74014702002844246572016-08-26T07:55:00.000-07:002016-08-26T07:55:16.764-07:00How to Breed Frizzle and Sizzle Chickens<br />
Frizzle chickens are becoming very popular, but please note that "Frizzles" are
not a breed of chicken. Frizzle refers to the type of feathers.
Frizzled feathers can appear on any breed of chicken. In a frizzled
chicken the feathers are loose and curve upwards or forwards. As such
birds with this type of feathering require special protection in the
winter where it is cold as they are not at all cold hardy. Additionally
they don’t cope well with rain, but they sure look interesting.<br />
<br />
A sizzle is the term given to a bird with frizzled feathers when the bird is also a <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2010/12/fluffy-pet-chickens-silkie-chicken.html" rel="nofollow">silkie chicken</a>. Other breeds such as Cochins, and Polish chickens, are often bred for
frizzling, but sizzle is a term reserved specifically for frizzled silkie birds.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqqOxjePkzE/V8BX1h7lZ2I/AAAAAAAABA8/ucG95lbEz-wfazdfYQkaVos9ueMM3IFcgCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tqqOxjePkzE/V8BX1h7lZ2I/AAAAAAAABA8/ucG95lbEz-wfazdfYQkaVos9ueMM3IFcgCLcB/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My silkie rooster and sizzle hen. ©BNelson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The frizzle feather gene is dominant, however the presence of two frizzle
genes can create birds with feathers that are so “frizzled” they break
easily, potentially leaving the bird with many bald patches. This is known as being
“double-frizzled” and most breeders try to avoid it by breeding a
frizzled bird to a smooth (regular feathered) bird. The frizzle
gene is dominant; any bird with even one gene will be frizzled. <br />
<br />
Breeding a
double-frizzled (has two dominant frizzle genes) bird to a smooth feathered one
(no frizzle genes) will always produce frizzled chicks. The chicks will have one dominant gene for frizzled feathers and one recessive gene for smooth/regular/non-frizzled feathers. <br />
<br />
When
breeding a frizzle feathered bird (one with one frizzle gene and one regular/non-frizzle gene) to a smooth feathered bird the results
are that half of the chicks inherit the dominant frizzle gene and will
be frizzled and half the chicks will only inherit the non-frizzle gene
and will be smooth feathered. This tends to be the cross many breeders prefer. <br />
<br />
When breeding two frizzled birds together where both have one frizzle gene and one regular/non-frizzle gene 3/4 of the birds will be frizzled, but 1/4 will be double frizzled which may be undesirable (as mentioned), and 1/4 will be smooth feathered (regular/non-frizzle).<br />
<br />
Silkie chickens, frizzled chickens, and sizzles, are typically kept as ornamental <a href="http://dailytwocents.com/about-keeping-pet-chickens/">pet chickens</a>.
They are often taken to shows and can command high prices at sales.
They can be any color as per the breed of chicken. Egg color is also
related to the breed of chicken used and has nothing to do with being frizzled.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-72464851832026669852016-08-10T20:45:00.000-07:002016-08-10T20:45:10.640-07:00On August 1 our bantam silkie hen hatched 9 eggs sometime in the afternoon. She remained sitting on the chicks all that day and the next. I thought it was a bit odd that she had not moved on day two. On the 3rd I checked under in an attempt to see how many chicks she had and noted two unhatched eggs. She refused to move. On August 4th, one of the other two eggs hatched.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFwC1Xmbj28/V6vyIQGMvQI/AAAAAAAAA_8/o1Ws0LkbleIMaK0PW2UU-r1sbn7t-OAEwCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFwC1Xmbj28/V6vyIQGMvQI/AAAAAAAAA_8/o1Ws0LkbleIMaK0PW2UU-r1sbn7t-OAEwCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rooster with a different chick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
For those of you not familiar with chickens it should be noted that a hen will normally lay an egg every day (roughly) for a period of time and then she will start to sit on all her eggs and stop laying any more. After 21 days the eggs hatch, often within a few hours of each other, regardless of when they were laid. Usually all eggs that are going to hatch will hatch at that time and any remaining are duds, and can be discarded. <br />
<br />
By the time the last chick hatched the hen decided to leave the nest but that chick was unable to keep up and was on the ground when I found it. I picked it up and put it with the others, but later that day when I went out to check them the chick was where I put it, but the hen and her other chicks had already moved off...<br />
<br />
I figured I should bring the little one inside and set it up in an empty guinea pig cage. I gave it a light for heat.<br />
<br />
I noted the chick had splayed legs (not too bad in that it could stand but they really made it hard for the little one to walk). I learned that spayed legs were somewhat common in late hatching chicks. There are two methods of fixing splayed legs in chicks. One is to keep it in a small cup and take it out often to give it food and water; the other is to put an elastic band around the feet, with a cut portion of a straw in between. I did the second method and should have taken a photo of that. I kept this on for two days (but removed it in the night).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QFz00wj0l8/V6vyWLBCAvI/AAAAAAAABAA/-X-ax6LkAXke6C9BbOprhs1-Bp-trF0UACLcB/s1600/IMG_2926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7QFz00wj0l8/V6vyWLBCAvI/AAAAAAAABAA/-X-ax6LkAXke6C9BbOprhs1-Bp-trF0UACLcB/s400/IMG_2926.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chick sitting down because it could not stand well.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The little chick is now 1 week old and doing well. We call it a "him" but really do not know for sure. We take him outside for periods of time but he still is kept in the cage indoors as we have gotten close to him and he will be more friendly than the outside chicks as the hen and rooster are very protective of them so they think people are bad!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDjRBn41PUQ/V6vykp2r7EI/AAAAAAAABAE/Fcs-LW91-XwqWd6MYErn364JiTAQXiGXwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDjRBn41PUQ/V6vykp2r7EI/AAAAAAAABAE/Fcs-LW91-XwqWd6MYErn364JiTAQXiGXwCLcB/s320/IMG_2941.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two days old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>About Silkie Chickens</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2010/12/fluffy-pet-chickens-silkie-chicken.html" target="_blank">Silkie chickens</a> are often kept as ornamental pets. They are unusual in that they have black/blue skin and meat. They also have an extra toe. <br />
<b> </b><br />
Silkies come in bantam and standard sizes.<br />
<br />
We keep ours as pets, they are just fun to have around and are super cute. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-23812175664123071502016-03-05T16:04:00.000-08:002016-03-05T16:10:30.791-08:00One Very Gross CheeseUntil recently I had always thought that Blue Cheese was the most disgusting type of cheese. Blue cheese contains mold. Blue cheese is very popular, this other type of disgusting cheese is less so.<br />
<br />
Casu Marzu, a sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia and area, is most noted for containing maggots. The maggots are the larvae of a cheese fly and are intentionally introduced to the cheese itself. They help break down the fat components in the cheese causing it to be very soft and in some cases it even oozes a liquid.<br />
<br />
The maggots are just under a centimeter in length but have the habit of flinging themselves out of the cheese when disturbed. They can actually fling themselves 15 cm in distance (almost a hand's length). When served on bread the consumer may cover their food with their hand to stop the maggots from flinging themselves into the diner's eyes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brFrM3kcZ3A/Vttyj_F7OjI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/RYYUJp4Rq4I/s1600/pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brFrM3kcZ3A/Vttyj_F7OjI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/RYYUJp4Rq4I/s320/pic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Shardan, via <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu#/media/File:Casu_Marzu_cheese.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Other times, when diners are not so fond of eating the live maggots, the cheese is placed in a bag and the maggots tend to fling themselves out of the cheese as they use up the air in the bag. Similarly it can be placed in the fridge to kill the maggots and consumed afterwards.<br />
<br />
Casu Marzu cheese is said to have a strong taste, soft texture, and lingering aftertaste. It is often served with a red wine.<br />
<br />
It is often said to be dangerous due to the risk of maggots potentially surviving being eaten and causing health problems in the person who consumed the cheese. For this reason it is considered illegal (laws regarding this are back and forth). Nonetheless it is popular for special occasions. <br />
<br />
A few other cheeses throughout Italy and France are also made and/or served with the intentional use of maggots, cheese mites, or other arthropods.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-59693272290544117002015-12-05T15:10:00.002-08:002015-12-05T15:15:56.672-08:00What You Did Not Know About Black BeautyMost horse lovers know the story about Black Beauty. The story is about a horse who changed owners many times, some cruel, some kind, and eventually finds his way back to his original owner where he has a good life for his final days.<br />
<br />
There is a lot more about the story that people do not know, there is a story behind the story.<br />
<br />
<b>Anna Sewell</b> wrote <a href="http://www.listmyfive.com/2d6125de/The-Top-Five-Facts-About-the-Book-Black-Beauty" target="_blank">Black Beauty</a> over the years 1871 and 1877, it was the only book she ever wrote, and she died shortly after it was published.<br />
<br />
As a young girl Anna had a fall on her way to school, injuring her <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6">ankles</span>. She was not treated correctly and left permanently crippled as a result. She frequently traveled about in a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD1">horse</span>
drawn carriage which started her love for horses and also allowed her
to see the cruel ways many of the carriage horses were treated on the streets of
England.<br />
<br />
One of the first improvements to animal welfare credited to the story of Black Beauty was an improvement to the horse
drawn taxi licensing and fare system worked as previously the license
fees were so high it forced taxi owners to work their horses long hours,
and many days. Another change was in doing away with the over use of the “<i>bearing
rein</i>” or overcheck, as it is now known as, which at that time was often
so over used that it made breathing difficult for the horses.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BytAIxRNyNc/VmNtXjlHCCI/AAAAAAAAA9k/vk-aDubZ06A/s1600/pic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BytAIxRNyNc/VmNtXjlHCCI/AAAAAAAAA9k/vk-aDubZ06A/s320/pic.jpeg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BlackBeautyCoverFirstEd1877.jpeg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cover of Black Beauty book</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Black Beauty was written differently than most books of the time; the tale was narrated by its main character, who happened to be a horse. His breed is never mentioned, but is often assumed to be Thoroughbred.<br />
<br />
Black Beauty was born on a quaint farm but his life takes on many
turns as he passes through hands of both good owners, and bad. Along
the way Beauty also meets many horse friends, including Ginger, a horse who has had a bad life.<br />
<br />
Interestingly enough Black Beauty was not written as a children’s book. While it was written with the intent to showcase <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.ca/2015/07/about-horses-dying-during-chuckwagon.html" target="_blank">cruelty to animals</a> it was also Anna's desire<span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4"></span> to showcase cruelty of people towards other people, as Anna herself had been teased following her own injury. <b>Black Beauty was originally written as a book for adults</b>.<br />
<br />
Some of the issues of cruelty to horses mentioned in the book were, as mentioned, over use by taxi drivers, the bearing rein, tail docking, <a href="http://guides.wikinut.com/What-Happens-to-Racehorses-When-They-Cannot-Race-Anymore/32q8df8p/" target="_blank">steeplechases</a>, hiring horses out to people who did not know how to handle them, dangers of putting away a hot and sweaty horse, running horses on cobblestone (hard streets), and so forth.<br />
<br />
Black Beauty, the book, also inspired other books to encourage awareness of animal cruelty issues, such as <b><span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">Beautiful Joe</span></b>, about a dog.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
Originally published at <a href="http://socyberty.com/issues/black-beauty-a-book-that-started-animal-welfare-movements/#ixzz3tUS1nTtD" style="color: #003399;">http://socyberty.com/issues/black-beauty-a-book-that-started-animal-welfare-movements/#ixzz3tUS1nTtD</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-39981413881020115032015-11-25T08:24:00.000-08:002015-11-25T19:44:17.793-08:00Basic Guide for Hunters in North AmericaThis is a basic guide on some of the animals that a hunter may encounter in Canada or the United States which should not be shot. This article is meant primarily for awareness and is mostly directed at hunters who come out from the city and are less familiar with common livestock and farm animals.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MXO9ocrojJo/VlXcqfbjvSI/AAAAAAAAA84/2ahQYkTITgE/s1600/P4290865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MXO9ocrojJo/VlXcqfbjvSI/AAAAAAAAA84/2ahQYkTITgE/s320/P4290865.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are cows and calves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Cattle are large, they have a fairly rectangular look to them, they are much larger than deer, and are not quite as tall as moose. Cattle tend to gather in herds. Cattle come in different colors, brown, black, white, and all sorts of combinations of color.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hq13tw5yq6U/VlXc_8cIgTI/AAAAAAAAA9A/pYERQzb8kUs/s1600/00610023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hq13tw5yq6U/VlXc_8cIgTI/AAAAAAAAA9A/pYERQzb8kUs/s320/00610023.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full sized horse and miniature horse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Horses are large, but ponies are smaller. They have a slightly rounder shape than cattle do. They are often in herds but not always as some people might just keep a single horse. Horses come in many colors. Horses tend to me less afraid of people than cattle are, but they might run from strangers. <br />
<br />
Similar looking animals include <a href="http://guides.wikinut.com/Differences-Between-Donkeys,-Mules,-and-Horses/286ndxtt/" target="_blank">mules and donkeys</a>. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t4Yw49-HAkM/VlXddKX8MUI/AAAAAAAAA9I/OzxvOgEEgGQ/s1600/00460007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t4Yw49-HAkM/VlXddKX8MUI/AAAAAAAAA9I/OzxvOgEEgGQ/s320/00460007.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a hair sheep</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Sheep and goats are small. They sometimes have horns. They can be many colors and are nearly always in herds or flocks. Most sheep distrust people and will run if approached but goats can be friendlier in some cases.<br />
<br />
Click <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.com/2010/11/popular-breeds-of-sheep-in-usa.html" target="_blank">here to read about the most popular breeds of sheep in the USA</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BX8DwIlUwG0/VlXeJS1BvMI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/SAox6XJO_Iw/s1600/00260018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BX8DwIlUwG0/VlXeJS1BvMI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/SAox6XJO_Iw/s320/00260018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 Llamas and an alpaca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://guides.wikinut.com/Care-of-Alpacas-and-Llamas-on-the-Farm/xzu-lx3a/" target="_blank">Llamas and alpacas</a> have smaller bodies, long legs, and a long neck. Farmers sometimes keep them to guard sheep or goats. They come in many colors and could easily be mistaken for a deer when grazing, but they tend to have thicker coats.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Recently just north of me a hunter shot and killed a child's pony. Every year there are stories about hunters shooting cattle by mistake, or other farm animals. There is really no need for this. If you cannot see an animal clearly enough to identify it, you should not be shooting in the first place.<br />
<br />
Also note that in most areas if you are hunting on farm land you must have the farmer's permission. You cannot hunt from the road, nor close to a road, and you cannot hunt after dark. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-42377938611859458752015-11-12T09:49:00.001-08:002015-11-12T09:55:27.256-08:00Best Places to Sell SheepI have only had sheep for just over 10 years and learned a lot about buying and selling them in that time.<br />
<br />
When we bought our first sheep we found them for sale in an advertisement in the local newspaper, and as such that was our first thought when it came to selling them.<br />
<br />
Selling sheep via advertisements in the newspaper is not something I would recommend, and we stopped doing it after a couple of tries. This might work in some areas, but even though the newspaper went to all rural homes in the area, it did not really pan out for us with great results, and there is always a fee involved and no sale guaranteed.<br />
<br />
We soon found auctions for buying and selling livestock. I am in Alberta, and there are several auctions where a person can buy or sell sheep. The <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2011/04/innisfail-odd-and-unusual-animal-and.html" target="_blank">odd and unusual auctions</a> are twice a year in my area and are closer to me than the bigger livestock action in which sheep are sold by weight. At the odd and unusual livestock auctions all sorts of livestock are sold, everything from chickens to bison. The animals are sold individually, by the animal itself, not by weight. As such you never know what the prices will be like and I have (regrettably) had good, young, sheep sell for under $100.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SipMYOuzrFs/VkTQImxJdTI/AAAAAAAAA8s/dpRSBfN1hio/s1600/IMG_0909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SipMYOuzrFs/VkTQImxJdTI/AAAAAAAAA8s/dpRSBfN1hio/s320/IMG_0909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep at the Innisfail auction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>What has proven to be good is selling online.</b> At first I used a Canadian site, kijiji.ca and had sold several sheep this way. The main problems I encountered with kijiji was that it took ages to get a sale. You would post the ad then it might be a week before a seller would contact you. They often would try to talk me down in price even though I set my prices low (typically below market value as I wanted fast sales on the ram lambs as I had no where to separate them from their mothers). Most of the buyers I found on kijiji were people looking for meat sheep.<br />
<br />
Selling at auction means you know your sheep will be sold that day, but you do not know the price, and you have to pay commission. Selling online means you can set your price but have no idea when your sheep will sell.<br />
<br />
Then my daughter encouraged me to try selling the sheep via Facebook groups. Wow, we had some bottle baby lambs one winter and within minutes of her posting them for sale on Facebook we had interested buyers. As with selling on kijiji, buyers sometimes asked for a lower price, but not always. I found more of the buyers on Facebook were hobby farmers, like myself, who just wanted a few sheep for pets, 4H, or lawn control.<br />
<br />
Overall if you have some sheep to sell I would suggest listing them online first, with plans on taking them to an auction later if you are unable to sell them online and need them gone by a certain date. I would rather sell online for a lower price than have to drive to an auction (consider your time, gas, commission, and so forth) and not know what price I might get. <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Other Reading</b><br />
<a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.com/2011/04/innisfail-odd-and-unusual-animal-and.html" target="_blank">The Innisfail Odd and Unusual Auctions</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-28634159480291482082015-09-18T08:25:00.001-07:002015-09-18T08:25:54.238-07:00Do Ducks Make Good Pets?
When people think of pets, “ducks” are not typically one of
the first things they think of but many people enjoy keeping ducks as
pets.<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
Ducks are considered to be waterfowl and are less aggressive than
geese. There are whistling ducks and “<i>other ducks</i>” with the
“<i>other ducks</i>” being divided into three groups; diving, dabbling
(surface birds), and perching ducks. Most pet ducks (other than the
Muscovy which originated from perching ducks) derived from the
Mallard duck, which comes from the diving group.<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
Ducks are noted to being beneficial to their owners not just for
providing eggs, but more so for controlling insect pests, such as
flies, slugs, ticks, and so forth. Muscovy ducks are probably one of
the best to use around the garden for pest control. Other ducks are
often kept as ornamental birds, or show birds.
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
One interesting thing about ducks is that it is the female who is
the noisy one; males make a quieter raspy sound, while females quack
loudly. Some duck breeds, such as the Call duck, tend to be noisier
than others, with Muscovy ducks noted for being the quietest.<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
As with all types of pets, certain duck breeds are friendlier than
others, with Rouen ducks being noted for being calm and Pekin known
for being more nervous. Ducks that were hatched in incubators and
held at an early age may be imprinted on humans, and thus be a better
“<i>pet</i>” than naturally hatched ducklings, but ducks soon learn that
you bring them food and can become quite friendly. Hand raised ones
can even come to enjoy sitting on a lap or being carried around.
Certain breeds are more likely to fly away so most owners do clip
their wings or keep them in covered aviaries.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7s2FwaaN-aU/Vfwr2G973zI/AAAAAAAAA7g/-rAM1HxLVbw/s1600/cleaning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7s2FwaaN-aU/Vfwr2G973zI/AAAAAAAAA7g/-rAM1HxLVbw/s320/cleaning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Call Duck, Duckings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
<br />
The main thing with ducks is that they long for water to swim in
(Muscovy ducks a bit less) and actually require access to clean drinking water at all times, in
fact they can get very sick if they are without water for even a few
hours. They tend to be messy with their drinking water, often
spilling it.<br />
There are commercial duck food rations available for them but if
given enough space they will eat vegetation and insects and wont
require other food except perhaps through the winter, but feeding
them a ration once a day does help keep them tame and friendly.<br />
<br />
Obviously ducks are not legal as pets everywhere, in fact most
cities won't allow them as pets (even if they do allow chickens).
Always check your area's by-laws before getting any unusual animal as
a pet. Speak to your veterinarian about health concerns for ducks in
your area.<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
I have only kept <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2011/01/cute-little-ducks-called-call-ducks.html" target="_blank">Call ducks</a> as pets and we quite enjoyed them. We
let them lay eggs and hatch ducklings. We did learn (the hard way)
that until they are 3-4 days old, ducklings can get water-logged and
can drown. Other than that we had good experiences with the ducks,
but they were more work, and messier, than chickens.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-33019118338346071602015-08-30T14:09:00.003-07:002015-08-30T14:09:54.660-07:00Taking Pictures of DonkeysIf you own a donkey you know the same thing that every other donkey owner knows... they are nearly impossible to photograph unless you have help!<br />
<br />
Donkeys are very curious and if raised well they are also very personable. If you are trying to photograph a donkey that does not know you it will try to get to know you, getting impossibly close to your camera. Even if the donkey knows you it will get up close and personal, looking for snacks, pats, or just saying "<i>hello</i>".<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JFDCN6wgjeU/VeNvjbU_dxI/AAAAAAAAA7M/ZHXI2XEtGCg/s1600/may22010_038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JFDCN6wgjeU/VeNvjbU_dxI/AAAAAAAAA7M/ZHXI2XEtGCg/s320/may22010_038.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She would be even closer if she was not behind the fence!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have deleted more pictures of donkey noses than anything as my donkey, <b>Aggie</b>, always wants to sniff the camera just to see if it is edible. She is cute though!<br />
<br />
In all seriousness if you want to take a picture of your <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2011/04/mules-donkeys-burros-and-horses.html" target="_blank">donkey</a> one of the best solutions is to have a friend help you. The friend can either hold the donkey on a halter and lead and keep it a reasonable distance from the camera, or they can use themselves as "<i>donkey bait</i>" standing just off camera but having the donkey focus on them so you can get your camera in a better position for picture taking.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-5584580465454188952015-06-21T14:53:00.001-07:002015-06-21T14:53:54.136-07:00How to Stop Hens from Eating their EggsRecently we got 6 laying hens from an auction. We separated them, leaving 3 in a large enclosure for the purpose of producing eggs, and giving the other ones to a rooster for the purpose of raising chicks.<br />
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In the past we have never had any issues with the hens. We either had them produce eggs, or raise chicks, no issues at all.<br />
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This year, something seemed wrong. First of all it was ages before we got our first egg and it did seem that we were not getting as many eggs. Odder still was that the hens with the rooster were not laying eggs at all.<br />
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Finally I found one egg in with the hens and the rooster. Yeah! I got excited, however after two days the egg disappeared. I looked around to make sure no predators had gotten into the enclosure. Then a few days later I found another egg, but it too disappeared after a couple of days. By now I was suspecting they were eating the eggs.<br />
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When chickens egg their own eggs there is no evidence, they even eat the shell. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JWOJwLMXp6w/VYcx3wrCEfI/AAAAAAAAA6A/1vo3aFw8tLg/s1600/P7140099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JWOJwLMXp6w/VYcx3wrCEfI/AAAAAAAAA6A/1vo3aFw8tLg/s400/P7140099.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good hen, rooster, and their family!</td></tr>
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I tried to combat this by offering them more oyster shell, and also by placing fake eggs in their nesting boxes. It seemed to do the trick as a couple of days later I found an egg, but not long after that, it disappeared too, so I know they ate that one as well.<br />
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Another suggestion was to empty a couple of eggs and then fill them with Tabasco sauce or something spicy, but I have not done that.<br />
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The only other suggestions would be to remove the eggs sooner and put them in an incubator but we do not have one, or to take the chickens and make them into soup, which is not going to happen either.<br />
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At least we did get a few eating eggs from the other hens, as long as I check them early for eggs I typically find some, but I suspect they are also eating eggs if they are left too long as would be on the days we leave early for work and get home later.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-87606585871085815932015-04-21T19:44:00.003-07:002015-04-21T19:55:12.796-07:00High Pressure Tactics Used By Livestock BuyersWhen many people think of high pressure sales techniques they think of the techniques that sellers use to pressure people into buying things, or into paying a high price. In my experience <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.ca/2014/05/is-it-time-to-sell-sheep.html" target="_blank">selling sheep</a> I have actually encountered a few buyers who use pressure to try to get me to lower the price.<br />
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Of course typically I will lower the price a bit on sheep from time to time, but what I am talking about is when I have already negotiated a price and the buyer then comes up with some reason why I should lower it further.<br />
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I had one jerk that I actually did let myself get bullied by several years ago. It was winter. One of my ewes had got herself stuck in a feed trough and died, leaving two orphaned lambs (about 2 weeks old). Another ewe had rejected one of her lambs, so I had 3 <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.ca/2014/05/how-to-care-for-bottle-fed-baby-goat.html" target="_blank">bottle baby</a> lambs in the middle of winter and I was working away from home at the time too. It was simply too much work for me. I had other ewes for sale at the time too because I was very short of cash and needed to pay some bills. I had negotiated a price for all the sheep over the phone with a buyer. He lived 2 hours away, and while he was on route to come and get the sheep I actually turned away other interested buyers because to me they were "<i>sold</i>".<br />
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When the guy got here he said that I should lower my price because he had to come from so far away. Then he said I should lower my price because he thought 2 of the ewes were older than I had stated, which I know was false. I had already caught all the sheep and put them in a pen ready to go. Catching and separating sheep is a lot of work, not something I wanted to do again. I did not keep the phone numbers of the other buyers, I was at a loss. So I gave in. I was furious at myself for allowing him to bully me like that.<br />
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Just recently I had another potential buyer call about the sheep I currently have for sale. He too tried to bully me. I only have 3 lambs for sale at this time and he said that since he had to come from far away I needed to make it worth his trip so should lower my prices. To note I had already offered the three sheep as a package deal for a price lower than if a person bought them individually. Then he said I needed to sell more sheep to make it worth his trip. Needless to say, this time I as firm with the guy and said "<b><i>NO</i></b>".<br />
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I really do not mind being fair to other people, offering a reasonable price, but it is not my fault if a buyer lives far away. It does not lower the value of my sheep if a buyer lives father away. I just do not like bullies!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-70666625704901412262015-04-14T19:00:00.001-07:002015-04-16T16:26:27.515-07:00What is the Value of Old Barn Wood?Old, weathered, barn wood, is in big demand these days. You may also see this advertised as "<i>reclaimed barn wood</i>". Old window frames are also something that many people want.<br />
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The window frames are often turned into picture frames, or just hung on the wall as "<i>art</i>" itself.<br />
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The barn wood is also used as art, for picture frames, and other craft projects. I have seen people use reclaimed barn wood to build tables or to use for other home decor items.<br />
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The value of the wood depends on many things, including the type of wood. Some, such as chestnut, may be worth more. If the wood was painted and the paint has come off in strips, it adds to the character and may be very much in demand. In the case of window frames, the condition of the glass is important.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7qx-UhhlCw/VS3Eg-sfkcI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/nJWmJW4nFpw/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7qx-UhhlCw/VS3Eg-sfkcI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/nJWmJW4nFpw/s1600/042.JPG" height="320" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I sold this one for $20.00 </td></tr>
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I recently posted a listing featuring two large window frames for sale, and I had very much underestimated how much people were willing to pay for them. To be fair I mostly wanted them gone anyhow so the fact that I got money out of them was a bonus for me and I hate to be greedy. I sold them for $25, but probably could have gotten $100 or more for the very large ones (8 ft long). <br />
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I have seen prices for weathered barn wood (as would be on the barn pictured below) anywhere from $1 per foot to $3 per foot. A long beam, made of oak from an old growth forest, may be worth hundreds of dollars because of rarity. Wood from old growth forests is much stronger than wood from younger trees.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TeXLD0IHsws/VS3DpqRmjoI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/0W_mf9tXrYo/s1600/00410006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TeXLD0IHsws/VS3DpqRmjoI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/0W_mf9tXrYo/s1600/00410006.JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My old barn. Well weathered wood.</td></tr>
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One tip for selling old, weathered barn wood, is not to fix it up. If you have a piece of old wood with some paint still clinging to it, you need to resist the temptation to rub the loose paint off; leave it, it adds character. If you have an old piece of wood and it has the bent head of an old rusty nail sticking out, do not pull the nail out. The nail may be seen as character. If the buyer wants it out, let them remove it, but otherwise leave it as a "bonus". The same with rusty hinges and so forth, these all add to the value of what you are selling.<br />
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Old door knobs, doors, and other hardware items are also in demand by the same people that seek out old barn wood, so be sure to hold onto them and offer them for sale when somebody comes looking to buy barn wood from you.<br />
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Other reading: <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.com/2012/03/best-features-in-proper-farmhouse.html" target="_blank">Designing a Farm House Kitchen</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-48768545076792101192015-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:002015-02-23T09:49:33.254-08:00Arabian Gelding, The Sorcerer, ZoryA few years ago I wrote a blog post about a wonderful horse I owned back in the late 1980's, his registered name was <b>The Sorcerer</b>, but for short we called him Zory. I had sold him and the last I had heard was that he had been sold again and his new owner was not particularly good to him, showing him so much that he was looking very unhappy in the ring. I wrote about this in <a href="http://expertspages.com/2013/07/the-sorcerer-arabian-gelding/" target="_blank">my blog post</a> and assumed that was the end of the story.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sa5emCltCyM/VOtmXdOvY1I/AAAAAAAAA1M/e7yvPVZB5g8/s1600/The%2BSorcerer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sa5emCltCyM/VOtmXdOvY1I/AAAAAAAAA1M/e7yvPVZB5g8/s1600/The%2BSorcerer.jpg" height="284" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myself on The Sorcerer, I think he was 4 years old in this picture.</td></tr>
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Then, just last year (December 2014) I got a comment on that blog post. It seems that a lady, Elain, who had purchased him (presumably from the owner I had heard about) just had a feeling to do a search for her horse;s online and found the blog. She bought him when he was 8 years old and had owned him ever since, actually retiring him from the show ring with a proper ceremony when he was 19 years old. He was now 31 (a good age for a horse). She invited me to see him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNdHrE3mb68/VOtm0PfyiYI/AAAAAAAAA1U/QzPOsPXv620/s1600/1847_118226910384_6638_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNdHrE3mb68/VOtm0PfyiYI/AAAAAAAAA1U/QzPOsPXv620/s1600/1847_118226910384_6638_n.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Years later as owned by Elain</td></tr>
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It was the middle of winter and although where he was stabled was only about an hour from my home, I decided to wait until spring. She had told me that he had arthritis (typical of older horses, especially those that had been used in English pleasure), but was otherwise in pretty good shape.<br />
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She sent me photos of him which showed his progressive steps into going gray (this is normal for horses with a gray gene). He looked beautiful and happy! She told me that when she got him he was scared and not a real happy horse at all, but that she was able to bring him around to being his former self. She told me she had often heard about how much I loved him. I looked forward to seeing him, and meeting her, in the spring.<br />
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Sadly only three weeks after our initial talk she sent me a shocking e-mail. It would appear that one evening he had suffered a heart attack. She raced to the barn to be with him and although he did struggle to get up, he was unable to, and did pass away.<br />
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At that point I was able to drive up and meet with her, we shared our tears and talked about the life The Sorcerer had and she showed me her other horses.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bg1bOoLIS3Q/VOtnFMEVRoI/AAAAAAAAA1c/yoWYLtTMgi8/s1600/1927892_26425105384_478_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bg1bOoLIS3Q/VOtnFMEVRoI/AAAAAAAAA1c/yoWYLtTMgi8/s1600/1927892_26425105384_478_n.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Years later and playing with his friend "Mover"</td></tr>
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Elain impressed me a lot with her love for Zory, especially as she did not own the farm where he was kept and actually paid board for him there. Not too many people are willing to pay board fees for an old horse they cannot even ride, but she said he had more than earned it.<br />
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Although I am obviously sad that I did not make it up to see Zory when he was alive I was thrilled to know that in the end he did find a wonderful owner and did have a great life.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-70805222279798691062015-01-20T09:25:00.000-08:002015-01-20T09:25:00.603-08:00Lamb Born With Unusual CoatJust two days ago we had a lamb born on our farm that has an unusual coat. The mother is a Barbado x Jacob sheep, she has wool and hair, but evenly mixed. We do not know who the father was as we had a few rams at the time, I suspect an unrelated Barbado cross Dorset ram (due to the color) although we also had some <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.ca/2013/04/katahdin-hair-sheep.html" target="_blank">Katahdin</a> and Katahdin cross rams too.<br />
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The lamb was born outside in the afternoon and we got her into the barn within hours of birth. I thought she had a sort of gray color to the fur on her shoulders but then noticed that she looked almost bald there. In fact the hair on her shoulders looked very fine and totally different to the hair on the rest of her body.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VnmDJZPzS9o/VL6OKs9BD6I/AAAAAAAAA0k/KDIjVTpTlO4/s1600/P1190408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VnmDJZPzS9o/VL6OKs9BD6I/AAAAAAAAA0k/KDIjVTpTlO4/s1600/P1190408.JPG" height="277" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lamb is one day old here, photographed with her mom.</td></tr>
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<i><b>Could she be a Chimera? </b></i> I know they can occur in any mammal. Or did she just not grow proper hair in that area prior to being born? I am keeping an eye on her to make sure that she gets more hair, or wool, there prior to going outside.<br />
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I have noted in the past that when I have a white Katahdin they often have orange in the same area and that it tends to look a bit different for a few days, although not "bald", which does make me suspect a Katahdin connection of sorts.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_IT34Q7uoc/VL6ObYSBmvI/AAAAAAAAA0s/CBn_cdNP-t4/s1600/P1180404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_IT34Q7uoc/VL6ObYSBmvI/AAAAAAAAA0s/CBn_cdNP-t4/s1600/P1180404.JPG" height="320" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo was taken within hours of her birth</td></tr>
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I should note we have had other lambs born earlier, none of whom exhibited any signs of having different hair. I am very curious to know of other sheep keepers have seen the same thing on their lambs or know anything about hairlessness on newborn lambs?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-80787696038880782262015-01-05T10:16:00.000-08:002015-01-05T10:16:23.841-08:00So Many More Ram Lambs Than Ewe LambsWhat are the odds that out of 11 lambs only 2 would be ewes?<br /><br />I have had 6 lambs born so far and only 1 was a ewe. Somebody who bought 2 ewes from me has also had lambs born, out of the 5 lambs they had only 1 was a ewe.<br />
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It is the sperm from the father that determines what gender the young are going to be so I am wondering if the early breeding somehow predisposed things so that we would get more ram lambs born than ewes. These sheep would have been bred in the middle of the summer in order to have lambs now, so I am not sure if that somehow affected the odds and caused us to have so many more males?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uE_zdEOqfBM/VKrUny2geSI/AAAAAAAAA0U/cL5c2lcdtvk/s1600/PB230331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uE_zdEOqfBM/VKrUny2geSI/AAAAAAAAA0U/cL5c2lcdtvk/s1600/PB230331.JPG" height="266" width="320" /></a></div>
I am wondering if there are any other people out there who have noted that the time of year when they breed their sheep seems to have any bearing on what gender the young are more likely to be. Usually its a bit more of an even ratio.<br /><br />Getting a high percentage of ram lambs would be great if I were strictly breeding for the meat market, because most of the buyers in my area want ram lambs for meat, but I am a sucker and prefer to sell my sheep as pets, so I prefer to get ewe lambs.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-55192490845230087992014-11-29T11:53:00.002-08:002014-11-29T11:53:30.846-08:00Surprise Triplet Lambs Born at the Wrong TIme of YearOn Sunday, November 23, I went outside to feed the sheep as usual. We had known that at least one ewe was pregnant but did not expect lambs for another month at least (ideally later than that), so when I went out to feed them in the morning and found one ewe with triplet lambs following behind her I was quite surprised. Especially since the weather had been below freezing and there was snow on the ground.<br />
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I got them into a stall in the barn and made sure they were okay. They were already dried but the tails on two of them were frozen and I expect may fall off due to frost bite. I tried to warm in my hands but it could have been too late.<br />
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After a day it was clear that the ewe, named Girlie, was not producing enough milk for all three lambs so I went to the feed store and bought a bag of lamb milk replacement formula which cost around $50.00. I also bought more nipples for the bottles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--gTa1XjsPB0/VHojY_61F4I/AAAAAAAAA0E/zIL03dW356k/s1600/PB260336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--gTa1XjsPB0/VHojY_61F4I/AAAAAAAAA0E/zIL03dW356k/s1600/PB260336.JPG" height="336" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the three lambs, the one in front is not being bottle fed, the one in back is.</td></tr>
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I am currently <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.ca/2014/05/how-to-care-for-bottle-fed-baby-goat.html" target="_blank">bottle feeding</a> two of the three lambs at least three times a day, four if I am home from work. Unfortunately the weather only got worse, we have a huge amount of snow now and the temperature fell to -34 C (including windchill) which is about the same as -29 F. <br /><br />The lambs are doing okay and I am monitoring the other ewes as well, it looks like 3 of them are pregnant too, so we have started giving them extra rations and bringing them in the barn for the night too (mind you with the cold temperatures I would have started to bring them in the barn at night anyhow).<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-20816815280353959402014-11-20T09:34:00.001-08:002014-11-20T09:34:47.895-08:00Oh Gosh a Starving Stray Cat Has Shown Up At My HouseThe other night my daughter's boyfriend said he saw a fluffy (he thought it was black and white) cat run out of our garage. Drat! This meant that a stray has shown up on the farm and one thing we do not need is more cats. We have five cats already (only one of whom we adopted).<br />
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The following day my husband was cleaning out the deep freeze, and found a couple of meat packages that had been ripped so he put them in a box and set the box on the deck so we could take it to the dump later. It is below freezing here and we did not think the frozen meat would attract coyotes, but it did attract the stray cat.<br />
<br />I was just about to go outside and I noticed a fluffy tabby and white cat sitting at the box trying desperately to get some food. I opened the door but the cat took off. At that point I figured it was feral. Later in the afternoon I spotted it again trying to get some meat but this time when I opened the door the cat did not run. I approached it and patted it. I went back inside to get it some cat food.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGAyJa7cRPE/VG4kmpAQZwI/AAAAAAAAAz0/YqOV9t9ucyk/s1600/PB160317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGAyJa7cRPE/VG4kmpAQZwI/AAAAAAAAAz0/YqOV9t9ucyk/s1600/PB160317.JPG" height="291" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see this poor cat is really hungry.</td></tr>
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I do not want to bring the cat inside as we have plenty of cats indoors already and the oldest cat gets very upset as it is, and we do not know if this cat is vaccinated or anything about it. I have plenty of sheltered areas outside and put more food outside for this cat.<br />
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It is definitely friendly so I assume it was a pet, perhaps abandoned, or scared off its home by coyotes. I put up a poster at the mailboxes but so far nobody has called about this cat. It is thin and so I am going to continue to give it extra canned food.<br />
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If nobody claims the cat then we will end up keeping it, but for now I do hope somebody calls and says "<i>Hey that's my cat</i>".<br />
<br />
Here is information on <a href="http://expertspages.com/2013/05/what-to-do-when-you-find-a-stray-cat/" target="_blank">what to do if you find a stray cat</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-42413828849641273212014-10-16T19:24:00.000-07:002015-09-04T20:44:32.534-07:00Trapping A Problem Skunk On The FarmWe have had skunks here before. I remember one year seeing a mother skunk and her two little ones. We had one skunk that would come onto our deck and help itself to the food we left out for the cats when they were outside. None of these skunks were ever really a problem, and for the past couple of years we have not had any skunks around that I was aware of.<br />
<br />
This year we were awoken at night by the nauseating smell of a skunk on more than one occasion. I am not even sure what the skunk was spraying, they are usually very accurate but none of our cats was sprayed, nor where the sheep. It seemed like this skunk was just "<i>spraying</i>" so I suspected perhaps it was a male marking territory. I saw it a few times in the compost, and tried to scare it off, but the skunk just kept hanging around.<br />
<br />
Finally I went and rented a skunk trap from the county office. The charge was $5.00 a week. I baited the trap with cat food (sardines also work well) and put it in the barn, shutting all the doors to the barn so the cats could not get in. I knew the skunk was in the barn, it had a hole that it used to go under the tack room floor.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfujG9S5D3k/VEB7SJ5blaI/AAAAAAAAAzc/VjjftxxJuH0/s1600/PA150270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfujG9S5D3k/VEB7SJ5blaI/AAAAAAAAAzc/VjjftxxJuH0/s1600/PA150270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skunk trap, with skunk in it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After a couple of nights I did catch the skunk, so now all I had to do was to release it.<br />
<br />
I should back up my story here a bit. When I went to rent the skunk trap I asked the man what should I do with the skunk after catching it, he said to either <i>hook it to my exhaust pipe and gas it to death</i>, or to<i> release it in the yard of somebody I dislike</i>.<br />
<br />
As I was not going to gas it, I drove it far away to a park. I pulled over, set the skunk trap near the side of the road (I had tossed some cat food into the bushes for the skunk to hopefully find later) and waited for it to come out. It took a few minutes before it moved and left the trap, scurrying into the bushes.<br />
<br />
It is fall, and we are expecting good weather for a couple of weeks more so I do hope the skunk will use that time wisely to set up new accommodations before winter.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Df1xtb6KZ8g/VEB7scit30I/AAAAAAAAAzk/IWnqvCaUhg8/s1600/PA150272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Df1xtb6KZ8g/VEB7scit30I/AAAAAAAAAzk/IWnqvCaUhg8/s1600/PA150272.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skunk as it left the trap and made its way into the forest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
According to the guy at the county office this year has been really bad one for skunks, he was glad I returned the trap as quickly as I had, some other people had skunk traps out for several weeks. <br />
<br />
Skunks are cute and I have heard of people <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.com/2010/11/exotic-pet-skunks.html" target="_blank">making them into pets</a>, but this is illegal in my area. In areas where it is legal to own skunks, people have to buy them from breeders and cannot catch wild skunks and turn them into pets. Other than the obvious problem of their smell, skunks are also known to <a href="http://health.wikinut.com/What-to-do-when-Bitten-by-a-Dog-or-Cat-and-you-Fear-Rabies/-dhd7p58/" target="_blank">carry rabies</a> so caution should be taken around them at all times.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-80534786505440758932014-10-03T10:47:00.000-07:002014-10-03T10:47:57.647-07:00What is Heartworm in Dogs?Heartworm disease is a problem for dog owners worldwide but more so in warmer areas. Many dogs
are infected with heartworm and the owners are totally unaware until the
disease is fairly progressed. Do note that many herding dog breeds are extra sensitive to some medications used for heartworm.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Cause of Heartworm Disease in Dogs</b></h3>
<br />
Heartworm
disease is caused by a parasite known as Dirofilaria immitis. This is
a worm that is spread by mosquitoes and it is most prevalent in areas
with large mosquito populations.<br />
<br />
Dirofilaria immitis pass through
several life stages, starting when they are sucked up as tiny larvae in
the blood by a mosquito. The next time a mosquito bites an animal the
larval worms, known as microfilariae enter a new animal and start to
grow to a length of 12 inches. When these worms become adults they move
to the dogs heart and that is when problems begin.<br />
<br />
As the worms grow and build up the dogs heart becomes full of worms causing it to lose energy and will eventually kill the dog. This is not an overnight problem, it takes months to progress to a life threatening stage.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xY5wftLI9f0/VC7gWtX3yNI/AAAAAAAAAzM/mYJslaogbxc/s1600/Yellow%2BLab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xY5wftLI9f0/VC7gWtX3yNI/AAAAAAAAAzM/mYJslaogbxc/s1600/Yellow%2BLab.jpg" height="320" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawing by author ©</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Symptoms of Heartworm Disease in Dogs</h3>
<br />
-Coughing, particularly after, or during, exercise<br />
-Lack of energy<br />
-Vomiting blood<br />
-Heavy Breathing<br />
*It must be noted that less active dogs may not have any symptoms.<br />
<br />
<h3>
How is Heartworm Diagnosed?</h3>
<br />
A
diagnosis can be made one of two ways. The most common method of
testing for heartworm is by a blood test. The blood test can determine
if a dog has microfilariae in the blood and adult worms in the heart.
The test is often found to be most effective if done in the early
spring.<br />
<br />
X-Rays will also show if worms are present in the dog's heart or lungs.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Treatment of Heartworm in Dogs</h3>
<br />
Once diagnosed there is no guarantee that the treatment will cure the dog, but without it the dog will certainly die.<br />
<br />
The
veterinarian will want to determine how infected the dog is and if
there are other problems that may become issues when treatment is
started, such as a risk of heart failure, and liver or kidney failure.<br />
<br />
The veterinarian will try to kill the adult worms using twice daily injections, for two days, of an arsenic compound.<br />
<br />
The
dog must be kept resting, and inactive during treatment. The concern is
that the dead worms will circulate and cause other problems. If the dog
is allowed to rest its body will absorb the dead worms.<br />
The veterinarian will ask to recheck the dog, usually three weeks after treatment and again the following year.<br />
Treatment for heartworm is both expensive and risky, as such prevention is very important.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Prevention of Heartworms in Dogs</h3>
<br />
The only way to really prevent heartworm in dogs is to prevent the dog from being bit by mosquitoes, otherwise medications which are said to prevent heartworms are not really doing that; but they are killing the larval heatworms that may be in the bloodstream, and as such are preventing the adult heartworms being a concern. <br />
<br />
There
are several products, both oral and topical, for <a href="http://theanimalcabin.blogspot.ca/2012/12/do-dogs-need-heartworm-medication-in.html" target="_blank">prevention of heartworm</a>. Every dog owner should discuss the level of risk in their
area and what are the best prevention methods. Again, the risk of heartowrms is lower in colder areas. Also remember that some <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.ca/2012/12/what-dog-breeds-are-best-for-herding.html" target="_blank">herding breeds,</a> including Border Collies, are sensitive to some medications.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that
all canines are at risk of heartworms (in case a person owns an exotic
canine such as a Fennec Fox) and cats can get them too. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-43434362403372324862014-09-23T15:13:00.003-07:002014-09-23T15:18:59.244-07:00Selling Lambs via Private SalesAs there are no regular sheep auctions near me and as I only have a few lambs (so not worth it to drive to a farther place where there are regular sheep auctions) I sell my lambs privately if I can, taking them to the odd and unusual sales if I cannot. I prefer the private sale, you get the money yourself (no worries about unknown prices and commissions) and there is less work.<br />
<br />
I have had ads for my lambs for sale for a while now and had only a little interest. However since yesterday I have had at least 4 people call and ask about the ram lambs for sale. <a href="http://www.bubblews.com/news/7888680-some-sheep-buyers-are-on-the-way" target="_blank">One person</a> has already come for two, others have asked if I would hold them until this Friday, or next. I generally do not like "holding" sheep for anyone, even if they pay in advance, it is just not worth the hassle. So many times people insist they are coming and do not show up.<br />
<br />
I have had people say they would send me the money in advance, but what if they do, and then something happens to the sheep I have reserved for them (a coyote, or if they suddenly cannot make it to pick the sheep up). There are also lots of scams in which supposed buyers pay by check, then cancel the check, or make an "overpayment" and ask you to give them cash back due to their "error" then cancel the check too!<br />
<br />
Now my rule is cash only, first come, first serve, I will not hold sheep for people, nor take advance payments. If you want it, get here, pay for it, and take it! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9cuHEk66jk/VCHv24fZq9I/AAAAAAAAAy8/faxf4GvBthQ/s1600/P9210247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9cuHEk66jk/VCHv24fZq9I/AAAAAAAAAy8/faxf4GvBthQ/s1600/P9210247.JPG" height="316" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ram lamb in front, some of my older ewes behind.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some buyers come prepared, with a couple people to help load. That is always the best, or at least people should ask if they should bring help.<br />
<br />
I have had people call and ask if they can butcher the animals on the farm, even though my ads always say they cannot.<br />
<br />
I have had people call and ask if they could "<i>fit the sheep in the back of their SUV</i>" to take it home! When I say "<i>NO, he has horns and will break your windows</i>", they say "<i>but we will tie it up!</i>". Of course I would not allow an animal to be transported like that.<br />
<br />
For sure selling sheep privately, off the farm, is easier in some ways, but there are complications a person needs to be aware of when selling their own animals and not using an auction market.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-78610216035399584482014-09-10T16:08:00.000-07:002014-09-10T16:08:01.850-07:00Sheep out in a Summer Snow Storm
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This week Alberta was hit by a freak
summer snow storm. I do not recall getting snow so early before but
I do have memories of late snows in May and June.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The trees still have leaves and many
are bent over and some are breaking. The animals are not
particularly happy about it either. The roosters are not even smart
enough to go inside and are roosting on a branch with no shelter
above heads. The cats are unimpressed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The sheep are pretty well adjusted, the
snow is not too much for them, they can still dig through to the
grass. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is that time of year to sell them
though. I had a buyer who was all lined up to come two weeks ago,
but when he went to leave his place he noted something was wrong with
his trailer, I think he said an axle was broken. He was going to fix
it and come the next day. The next day he had bought the wrong axle
and was going to have to try again a few days later, but after
repeated trips to Canadian Tire, or wherever you buy new trailer
axles, he was having no luck getting the right one and eventually
said for us to go ahead and sell to somebody else.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was frustrating, but
understandably not his fault, unfortunately I had turned 3 other
buyers down in the process, two of which I did not get their phone
numbers. Thankfully I did get the e-mail of one guy and he is coming
right away for a ram lamb. Well, I should say, he is waiting for the
weather to improve then will be here. He has selected a nice brown
Katahdin ram so we are holding that one for him, but we do have an
interesting bunch of rams this year including one with four horns and
a really neat looking tri-color hair sheep.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am not happy with the weather, I am
not a big fan of the cold. I have aches and pains, and it is hard to
take. It is one thing to get winter weather in winter, or even in
the fall, but again, this is still summer and we have 2 more weeks go
to before it is fall.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I love Alberta, but sometimes I think I
am crazy to live here.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167971320744104346.post-50738624157343812312014-08-20T19:39:00.002-07:002014-08-20T19:39:47.240-07:00Ram in Altered StatesOne of our first rams was a beautiful <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.com/2010/10/first-ram.html" target="_blank">Barbado hair sheep ram</a>. There really was nothing much to fault him on, he has a great hair coat and shed fully in the spring, fantastic horns, he was not aggressive at all so we never felt afraid of him. The only problem with him was that he was totally sterile.<br />
<br />
We had purchased him at an auction and after keeping him for a year without getting any lambs it was pretty clear that perhaps he was past his prime. We never did have a vet check him, we just sold him at auction with the suggestion he be used as a pet.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5SfvtjTPAQ/U_VaiJlSUiI/AAAAAAAAAyE/ONHCu-Ys4Cc/s1600/100_0036%2B(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5SfvtjTPAQ/U_VaiJlSUiI/AAAAAAAAAyE/ONHCu-Ys4Cc/s1600/100_0036%2B(2).JPG" height="320" width="264" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As he was handsome I one day did a <a href="http://baaramewesheep.blogspot.com/2010/11/painting-sheep.html" target="_blank">painting of him</a> using acrylic paints. I really liked the way his horns looked in the painting, I have painted horses and dogs before, but never painted anything with horns. I love how the horns turned out although I am not particularly happy with the mouth, but never mind...<br />
<br />
So today as I was a bit bored and looking through some of my older photographs I came upon a picture of the painting of this Barbado hair sheep ram and thought I might mess about with it in Corel Paint. I am not really familiar with the program all that much, I just sort of play with it, doing this or that, seeing if I like it and if not I do something different.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
I sort of like the image I created today, so wanted to share it with you. Digital art can be very interesting.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944781712274179977noreply@blogger.com1