Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Day 285
Normal gestation for a full size horse is 335-360 days - average is 342.
Day 285:
Tess got her feet trimmed today and baby kicked me. I hope that is the first and last time I get kicked by a mule.
Eating for two and we still can't keep the chub off.
Lactation should help with the neverending diet.
Day 285...and counting
Day 285:
Tess got her feet trimmed today and baby kicked me. I hope that is the first and last time I get kicked by a mule.
Eating for two and we still can't keep the chub off.
Lactation should help with the neverending diet.
Day 285...and counting
Monday, March 25, 2019
The Ugly Bits
Everyone likes to eat chicken.
The latest batch of pigs have caught and eaten three or four of them in the past couple of weeks. The pigs aren't usually a problem, but every few years, we get a batch that has a taste for poultry. Pigs are smart, fast and slyly cunning. They can be very nice, friendly animals. They can also be vicious, aggressive, unpredictable and extremely dangerous. This pair definitely fall into the later category. They like to let the chickens come in for regular visits, even let them share their food and then, when a hen is feeling safe and happy, BAM! Chicken dinner is served.
Weasels also like to eat chicken. A mink showed up this week and killed three more chickens. They sneak in like vampires, kill the birds and drink the blood. They leave the rest of the chicken for the ever hungry pigs.
It is never a good idea to get attached to animals who live at the bottom of the food chain, but Farm Buddy loves her chickens anyway.
Losing a bunch of nice laying hens is also a bad financial blow. Which is why we spent most of the weekend rebuilding the chicken coop, covering every inch with hardware-cloth and making plans to get the pigs outside where they will, hopefully, find something more fun to do than fowl murder.
If nothing else, we made enough noise to scare off any self-respecting mink, at least for a little while.
The latest batch of pigs have caught and eaten three or four of them in the past couple of weeks. The pigs aren't usually a problem, but every few years, we get a batch that has a taste for poultry. Pigs are smart, fast and slyly cunning. They can be very nice, friendly animals. They can also be vicious, aggressive, unpredictable and extremely dangerous. This pair definitely fall into the later category. They like to let the chickens come in for regular visits, even let them share their food and then, when a hen is feeling safe and happy, BAM! Chicken dinner is served.
Weasels also like to eat chicken. A mink showed up this week and killed three more chickens. They sneak in like vampires, kill the birds and drink the blood. They leave the rest of the chicken for the ever hungry pigs.
It is never a good idea to get attached to animals who live at the bottom of the food chain, but Farm Buddy loves her chickens anyway.
Losing a bunch of nice laying hens is also a bad financial blow. Which is why we spent most of the weekend rebuilding the chicken coop, covering every inch with hardware-cloth and making plans to get the pigs outside where they will, hopefully, find something more fun to do than fowl murder.
If nothing else, we made enough noise to scare off any self-respecting mink, at least for a little while.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Have I Mentioned...
...That St. Pat's day is also Tessa's Birthday and that her fancy registered name is Daisy's Irish Jig and she is 11 years old today?
Do you also remember some crazy talk a while back about the silly notion of breeding Tess to a super nice mammoth Donkey stud? Have I mentioned that, in a moment of spring-fever/peer pressure/mid-life crisis induced craziness, I mailed off a breeding contract? And then, all of a sudden, the vet was here with a semen-shipping container and ultrasounds and it all just kept rolling smoothly along like an avalanche and....well.....Tess is due on May 19th.
I haven't said anything because I have been busy alternately trying to pretend I am not really that crazy and trying not to kill myself with over-application of dope-slaps. If you would like to give me a dope-slap, please refrain, you can't possibly compete with my own!
You can't hide these kinds of things forever though and I can now see Tessa's belly getting bigger even driving by at 60 mph. Tess will be coming home in a few weeks to have her baby here and we will all (hopefully) have a mule baby to play with. I have never raised a mule baby and idea is quite exciting/terrifying. I do love raising babies and I guess I just couldn't resist the temptation.
So....yeah. Mule baby on the way. That should liven up the blog.
Do you also remember some crazy talk a while back about the silly notion of breeding Tess to a super nice mammoth Donkey stud? Have I mentioned that, in a moment of spring-fever/peer pressure/mid-life crisis induced craziness, I mailed off a breeding contract? And then, all of a sudden, the vet was here with a semen-shipping container and ultrasounds and it all just kept rolling smoothly along like an avalanche and....well.....Tess is due on May 19th.
I haven't said anything because I have been busy alternately trying to pretend I am not really that crazy and trying not to kill myself with over-application of dope-slaps. If you would like to give me a dope-slap, please refrain, you can't possibly compete with my own!
You can't hide these kinds of things forever though and I can now see Tessa's belly getting bigger even driving by at 60 mph. Tess will be coming home in a few weeks to have her baby here and we will all (hopefully) have a mule baby to play with. I have never raised a mule baby and idea is quite exciting/terrifying. I do love raising babies and I guess I just couldn't resist the temptation.
So....yeah. Mule baby on the way. That should liven up the blog.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Pack Fun
Bess' puppies are all grown up now. They all turned out to be wonderful dogs and, a year later, they are all much loved and invaluable additions to their new farms and flocks. One of them, Bruno, lives just around the corner and often comes for a visit so he can play with the rest of the pack. 
It is always fun spending time with a group of well trained, well raised dogs who all know how to get along and have lots of fun.
It is always fun spending time with a group of well trained, well raised dogs who all know how to get along and have lots of fun.
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