We had a small, let's just say, incident here on the farm. Jack, the St. Bernard, attacked the chickens....again. He killed 2, wounded one, and I can't find our rooster that we was going to keep. It was my fault. Usually we keep him at the house when we let the chickens loose to free range. This time I didn't. I wanted to see if he had gotten any better than the last time. He. Did. Not. So it's back to keeping him at the house when the chickens are let out. At least until we get the chicken coop completed. (Yep, still not done.)
Now to put a better spin on this. I wanted to get different types of chicken anyway. (Did ya like that spin?) We were gave Speckled Sussexes by friends of ours. They are beautiful chickens, they just don't lay big enough eggs for my liking. I want BIG eggs like my Barred Rocks and Silver Laced Wyandotts laid. I want blue and green eggs again like my Aurracanas laid. So now I have an excuse to go and get some. hehehee. (And no, I didn't make Jack go up and kill the chickens! How dare you think that! :) ) So now I'm looking on the agricultural pages on Face Book and looking on Craigslist for chickens. That's my kind of shopping!!! Our local feed store will soon have chicks in. But, I don't want to have to wait until March to get chicks. Plus, I want eggs NOW! I'm impatient.
Speaking of impatient, I'm waiting on baby goats to be born. It should be any day now. I figure it would be when the temps drop. Of course they couldn't be born when it was in the 60's. I think they are waiting until it's going to be in the teens before they decide to come out into the world. I just hope that I catch them in time so they don't freeze. We don't have a barn that we can put them in. YET. It's on the list. lol. We have goat huts. They are small buildings that are just perfect for goats.
This will be the last year that we breed to have babies this early in the year. I don't have market goats actually. We have Myotonics. Myotonics are Fainting Goats to some. We raise the very muscular ones that people want to cross with their Boer Goats so that they have more meat and are more hardy. The Fainters have more meat to bone ratio than Boers, but the Boer goats are taller. If you cross them, you get a more hardy goat with better hoofs. They usually get their height from the Boers. Very good goats! And no, the 50/50 crosses don't faint. lol
Well, that's what's been going on around the farm. Just waiting for this weather to get better. It's been warm but wet. Next week we are suppose to be in the 50's and sunny. I hope so. I could REALLY get some things done outside!
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, guilty writer.
8 comments:
Sad story: My dad had to shoot his boyhood dog (a beautiful Samoyed) and our cousin's year-old puppy because they would *NOT* stop chasing (and killing) the chickens... going so far as to figure out how to dig into the chicken house.
Once they get the thrill, they're not likely to stop. :( Good luck on this.
Sorry about your chickens.
We had a dog get ours once, but we got a shock collar and then used it when the hens were out and set the dog up. He fell for it and we shocked him with the collar when he went after the hens, and he never did again.
Just a thought.
I know that it sounds awful, but I can tell you how I cured my dogs of this habit - for chickens, anyway. They killed two whole flocks of chickens, to the point of digging into the coop, but the second time, I took my farrier's advice and smacked the dogs with the dead chickens while they were on a leash - it doesn't hurt them, because chickens aren't very sturdy - but it got the point across.
My chickens can walk ON the dogs and the dogs do not react. The sheep are another matter - we've had trouble with that, and you can't smack a dog with a sheep it has killed.
Glad to see you blogging again! Sorry to hear about your chickens. Some dogs just don't get it. We've got a new puppy and we're lucky that he doesn't seem to be that interested in the chickens. But if he starts, we're putting on the shock collar and zap him until he gets it. Can't afford to keep losing chickens, especially to one of our own critters. Hope your goats give you a break and kid when it warms up a bit. But you know how that goes :)
NancyDe, I didn't want to say it, but that's what I did. I just didn't want to put the image of me out there with rubber boots up to my knees, an over sized coat flapping in the wind, and my pajama pants beating a dead chicken against a giant dog. lol!!!!!But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Carolyn, I'm glad I'm blogging again too. And yes, I know how it goes. lol
Why don't you order some chicks through the mail? You can get them sexed and everything, and they really aren't that expensive. We get ours through Ideal Poultry, and they've been great.
Ideal Poultry
Andrea, I've thought of that. But, right now I don't have a brooder up yet. We have a hatchery around here too. I just figure that it would still be later on in the year before I get eggs. :( Oh well.
I have to keep my chickens in their run all the time so our dog doesn't get them. If they get out, he figures they are fair game. It works for us.
Glad to see you back writing! :)
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