Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[savingdogs]

Well wishing it here musta worked cuz we are getting a sunbreak right now. That is often what it is like in Washington, we have rain all the time but at some point during the day the sun comes out for awhile as well. We are not too worried about the fire danger this year for the 4th. lol Last year it wasn't too noisy here.

Fat Liver aka Henry leaves on the 5th. I'm really getting to like him, and won't be happy to see him leave. He is the real-attached to mama kind. He is getting his rabies shot today, it should be interesting because he gets carsick. Guess I'll be glad Hubby runs the errands nowadays.

 

[Farmfresh]

my daughter's name IS one of the Fleetwood Mac band members names. She does not mind being named after a guitarist,she loves music. I guess I've kinda revealed my daughter's name there, but only to avid Fleetwood Mac fans I guess.

I named my son after the singer in Jethro Tull.

I have been very lucky with Sage man. He is happy to work for those tiny sized Retriever dog biscuits ($5.00 for a 3 pound bag)! When he is full of life and energy we have a little lesson time or he goes on a field trip. Anything that takes a lot of thinking seems to wipe him out!

 

[savingdogs]

Well my daughter would have named her baby after one of the singers in Korn if she had been a boy......and I couldn't say a word. I'll still refer to her by her nickname Bud here if that is okay with y'all.

Duck: I guess I have some duck woes today. 1) The one female thinks she is a chicken now and has gone broody in the chicken coop. Sigh. 2. The second female, who has been broody, seems to have left the nest again. She did it on a day I was feeling ill so I didn't move them to the incubator. So I think those are all a waste again. and 3. The same female seems to have been injured and I cannot see how it happened. It looks similar to the day I thought a hawk might have swooped down in my yard. I can't imagine the same scenario happening again, there must be another way they are getting cut.

Rabbit: Sister did not kindle like she was supposed to yesterday. Sigh. I'm still hoping, but she didn't build a nest. I'm not sure how long to wait to rebreed her, but I'm not getting tons of bunnies here yet. The tractor-cage is working well for Daughter, but when it rains, she needs something more for protection, she is getting too damp. I need to make more of a roof over it. She is actually doing a decent job of chopping off the grass. This won't work for the cold season, but it is a good summer solution, I wish I had four more cages for the rest of them to have summer time on the grass.

Goats: Milk production is UP? I don't really understand why. They have had more alfalfa as opposed to browse the last two days because it was pouring rain, would that make the difference? How long is a typical lactation for a first freshener? I kept reading how first fresheners don't give much milk beyond what their kids need, and that isn't the case at all with mine.

Java, have you tried freezing farmer cheese? We are really liking it and wanting to have it year round, I was thinking of freezing some.

Chickens: I've integrated the younger ones with the older ones except the youngest chicks. And my new little roo, he got so scared in the new environment, he wasn't eating, just hiding. So I moved him back with the little chicks. I don't know if he is going to have the right personality for being The Roo. We are starting to think he isn't pretty enough. That sounds snobby, but Easter Eggers are really pretty and this guy is the ugly duckling who isn't getting any cuter with his adult feathers. He kinda looks like an owl, just a brownish black combo. We also think one of the "sexed pullets" is a roo, and a very pretty one she/he is, so I'm kinda hoping they sexed that one wrong. it is a blend of gold and white, very colorful. With the four chicks I hatched, I'm having a hard time sexing them. I may take photos for BYC. I know I have the two types but I'm thinking the two purebreds are females at least, the other two are the same, whatever they are, and I am afraid they are both cockerels. They are cross breeds so that would be okay. However, overall, I'm wondering if I should get more Rhode Island reds next year. They seem to be the ones always producing eggs, my plain old production reds that are now two and a half, and they are also my nicest hens.

Dogs: Very quiet around here. Henry gets adopted next Tuesday. I'm attached and so is he, he won't like change, but he will like that family. This is another dog I would have been happy to call mine. Very protective, very loving and very mellow. He is a poor representative of the breeds in the looks department, but this is a great rhodesian ridgeback. I will miss him and his quiet little way of jumping on the foot of my bed discreetly to sleep and sneaking his head onto my foot. He lets me know he worships me in that doggy way that is so rewarding for owners, I'm sure he will make that family very happy. I'm so glad the shelters in Utah network so far and wide for their animals, we were happy to make sure this one got a good home.

Edited to add the cat!
The unnamed as yet kitten is still doing well. Computer Nerd is taming her. She is still skinny but likes my cat food very much. We have her in a big cage for now, actually a huge wire dog crate so she can't "miss" the litterbox or get lost. We are still working on a name, but she is doing great.

 

[Javamama]

Sorry to hear about the breeding/hatching difficulties.
Yes - the increased alfalfa is probably what has upped the milk production. Alfalfa is a super milk maker
I have a not-so-pretty EE roo too. And he's scrawny so I don't even want to process him, but he can't stay. I ended up with 4 roos out of this year's purchases. 2 black austrolorps, 1 EE, and one stinking cute, tiny little OEGB with a huge attitude. This little guy is smaller than a robin and you should see him get all up in my... uhhh..ankles Cracks me up. He may get to stay because his crow is tiny too.

Hey - do you know why a cat would become very thin? My cat Linus has been off for awhile and I thought it was the last bag of food - both cats lost weight on it and looked horrible. When I switched brands, Lucy got better and Linus still looks sickly. But he acts just fine and goes out prowling every night. Maybe I need to worm him?

 

[Javamama]

And I think I saw a post by someone here who had a freezer full of homemade goat cheese...don't remember who it was though. You could try freezing one batch and see how it works out. I was thinking of doing that too because we don't eat it before it spoils usually.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey baby! *gives hug to SD*

They have had more alfalfa as opposed to browse the last two days because it was pouring rain, would that make the difference?

yep. they might eat more browse but the alfalfa really kicks the production into high gear. yesterday we gave the goaties a huge pile of our hay - Debbie milked like a demon this morning. i also gave them a bunch of blackberry brambles and some wild rose branches.



ps i think "kindle" is a funny word. all i can think about is your rabbit sitting around reading a new ebook from amazon - ha!

 

[savingdogs]

I had to laugh thinking about my Cremes reading, propped up on a hay pile, Sister, reading aloud to Daughter. But I thought it was weird that it is the same word. I find myself wanting to capitalize it when I'm referring to rabbits giving birth!

I did try freezing some feta as well as some farmer cheese, I hope it works out. I know you are supposed to age the cheese but not the farmer cheese. And my feta already tasted good, so I thought I should freeze it at that stage. My motzarella came out more like parmesan in texture, I need to try a new recipe. It is good but kinda bland. I just haven't thawed it yet.

I wonder why alfalfa makes more milk, it looks all dried up and stuff compared to the moist plants, but I have not let them have blackberry, I heard that causes the goat milk to taste "off". Luckily we have already cleared out the blackberry nearest the goat pen.

Java I got my family to enjoy the goat milk by making pitchers of chocolate milk. It is such a hit now, we go through so much milk, but they rarely drink it plain except over cereal, they make it all into chocolate milk. I could certainly think of worse things teenagers could have as a snack.

My zuchinni is starting to have little zuchinnis! and my pumpkins are going wild. My potatoes have suddenly all sprouted and grown huge over the last few days, whoda thunkit? I think I'll end up with a good crop of pumpkins, potatos, peas, radishes and zuchinni. Not so bad as I thought it would end up....and I do have some beans, quinoa and wheat and oats growing too, I'm trying to just save seed from that so we can have an ongoing supply for preservation, but it is a start at least.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I freeze my farmer's cheese. Fresh goat milk just squeezed (!!) heated, add vinegar, separate curds from whey, salt and add herbs (dill and garlic - yum!) to curds, pack tight, drain off extra, put in labeled freezer bag, freeze. Delicious with baked potatoes or pasta.

Started late with the garden so I'm very very jealous of yours!

 

[savingdogs]

I'm so glad it works, thanks! It would be a way to conserve our food costs year round, we have found a variety of uses for my farmer cheese. We love it on pasta too with spagetti sause, or over refried beans. yesterday I made Au Gratin potatoes with it. I've also dropped it in soup and sprinkled it over salad, the farmer cheese has been a bit hit here. Our favorites however were inside tamales and on pizza.

I'm thinking of starting a blog......

 

[savingdogs]

The Story of Tank and Freddy

I thought I'd tell the tale of a couple of my favorite fosters. I know, I know, I say that about all the dogs. But really, these guys are special!

While we were taking litters from the humane society for the all breed group, we fostered quite a few litters of wide faced pups of unknown ancestry. Most had a smidgen of pit bull somewhere in there, and that is why they were chosen to be turned over to a rescue group, it was just easier for the shelter to not deal with these dogs. Many were pit labs, and many were some of the nicest dogs I've known. While I'll never know exactly what they all were, I suspect that Tank was actually not pit bull at all, and that Freddy was 1/2 pit bull, half something else.

But they were not from the same litter. Tank was a large, black pup from a litter I had that I thought might have a little dane in them, they were so large and so calm and a little clumsy. Tank had several brothers that looked exactly like him and for some reason he was passed over at adoption time and finally he was getting to be a dog, no longer a puppy, and had grown up mostly at my house. I took him through an obedience class and he did extremely well, and the dog came with me when I was commuting out of the county to work at the dog training place. But eventually, a wonderful family came forward and adopted Tank and it was a great match.

Several months down the road, the humane society called with some 10-day old pups and my husband answered the phone and said we would take them. He actually didn't realize what taking care of 10-day-old puppies was like.....they had to be bottle-fed. I was out of town quite a bit at that stage for work, so for the most part, the men of the family bottle fed the five pups that I brought home. They were mostly gold colored (red nose) and the men's hearts melted for the pups as they took turns with the late-night feedings.

We were actually getting ready to move and it was NOT the time to adopt a new dog, but even Hubby wanted to keep Freddy. I told everyone NO, as the voice of reason, we did not need another dog at that point as we were downsizing from our nice home into this humble one. And lo and behold, a few days later, we received an application for Freddy, from the same folks that adopted Tank! I was delighted! Everyone else, not so much, but they I knew they had worked out so well with Tank, and Freddy loved other dogs, I knew it would be a great place for them both. So it was arranged and of course they could not help but fall in love with the little golden red nosed Freddy.

I am still in contact with these folks, they insist they "get their dogs" from us now. I guess that means their next one will be a rhodesian ridgeback!