SA Farm's journal

[SA Farm]

Thanks, Devonviolet Typically, I either chase off the dogs or in some cases have taken a few in and found homes for them (There was a husky last year who we took in and found homes for her and her puppies as well) and I do prefer that than to shoot them, if I can. I haven't shot one yet, anyway.

I really love my Ameraucanas and highly recommend the breed. They tend to have very sweet personalities once they grow up (flighty chicks) and, for me at least, the blue and the EE's green eggs just don't get old! I do like the diversity of color you get with the EEs as well though
The only downside I have found, is that they tend to be very good fliers - which is good when escaping dogs, but bad when you're trying to pen them

 

[bonbean01]

So sorry about the stray dogs and losing chickens Here we also had a large pack of stray dogs a few years back and they did not belong to anyone, yet kept increasing their numbers with large litters of puppies. Until they went after a neighbour's grandchildren in their backyard....no paint gun..a for real gun with for real bullets....and that was that. Although....one wild puppy did show up here on my front porch...and yes....I took her in...worms and fleas...I am a sap....LOL!

 

[goatgurl]

your ss/am hen is a cutie. i bet she'll tame down with a little extra attention. I'm in search of a blue maran rooster myself and they are hard to come by around here. just going to keep looking.

 

[Pioneer Chicken]

Aww, sA Farm, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I know how hard that is. Hoping you find some Ams soon!! ( :

 

[SA Farm]

So sorry about the stray dogs and losing chickens Here we also had a large pack of stray dogs a few years back and they did not belong to anyone, yet kept increasing their numbers with large litters of puppies. Until they went after a neighbour's grandchildren in their backyard....no paint gun..a for real gun with for real bullets....and that was that. Although....one wild puppy did show up here on my front porch...and yes....I took her in...worms and fleas...I am a sap....LOL!

Thanks Bonbean

your ss/am hen is a cutie. i bet she'll tame down with a little extra attention. I'm in search of a blue maran rooster myself and they are hard to come by around here. just going to keep looking.

Isn't she though? She'll come around once she realizes that I'm the bringer of all things good
I think I may have a lead on one. Hopefully can pick him up this weekend.

Aww, sA Farm, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I know how hard that is. Hoping you find some Ams soon!! ( :

Thanks PC I'm working on it

 

[SA Farm]

Well, it's a new year, and a new slate! Thank you all for your encouragement and for sharing your own experiences with me, it means a lot! I'm very grateful to have found such a wonderful little community here!
And now it's time to forget the sadness and losses of the past and focus on 2015!
I think I've found myself an Ameraucana rooster for my flock and I've found a breeder of Anatolian Shepherds about 8 hours away. They breed once a year and occasionally have trained 1year olds available, so I know where I can get my LGD as soon as we get our field fenced and can afford one. I'm hoping next year
So the future is bright!
There's so much to look forward to this year! We're making progress on our outbuildings and fencing, we're getting quite the assortment of very nice livestock to work with, and we're narrowing that stock to what works best for us!
I'm even looking forward to gardening! And that's saying something! (I'm sure I'll regain my senses soon )
I found this and found it rather appropriate for this year!

 

[SA Farm]

Today was actually decently mild, so I worked on the Barred Rock fencing a bit.

I'm really starting to wonder if I got the dates wrong for Granny. She is looking impressively large...
I was so sure...She lived with Gruff all spring, then I took her away sometime in July. I put them back together in the beginning of October. I don't think they were together at any point between August and October, but now I'm really starting to wonder...

She was getting annoyed with me at the end there
Well, I guess the next few months will consist of me obsessing over her, checking her ligaments, and watching her every move like some kind of crazy goat stalker!

 

[jodief100]

Glad to hear you found some nice birds and a dog! Granny is so cute.....

 

[SA Farm]

Why is there always so much to do!
I've been making lists again
It's just barely January...I'm not supposed to have spring work fever until February/March!
Turns out we're supposed to be heading into a deep freeze starting tonight, which means tomorrow will be a lot of work anyway. I also need to dig out one of my big indoor cages for my NZ doe I decided to breed. Deep freeze + kits = frozen kits, so she'll be having her first litter inside. And since, if all goes well, I'm planning on keeping at least 2 of them, that's fine because I'll have more opportunity to handle them so they'll be super friendly and tame
All goes well
In other news, I've decided that this is the year that I'm going to learn how to vent sex baby chicks
Wish me luck...
My plan is to keep all the chicks from my trial incubator run that I do every spring and vent sex them. Organize them, either by different bins or using zip ties and, when they're old enough, I can work out what my percentage of accuracy is. I'll keep practicing throughout spring and do another test run late summer/early fall.
If I get the hang of it and have good percentages, in 2016 I'll be able to sell day-old pullets and cockerels as well as straight run
Again, all goes well!
I'll probably start a thread on it on BYC when the time comes.

 

[goatgurl]

cool, i'll be anxious to see how the vent sexing goes. I've thought about that myself but haven't tried it yet. hope your NZ doesn't mind being moved into the house. we wouldn't want her to throw a little bunny fit.