With the holidays here and not working, and especially with the nice weather, we’ve been trying to let the birds all out each day. We let the peacocks out and then close their pen because the turkeys like to go in there and eat all their food. Not that it is any different, just they have their own. So we let the peacocks out, close their cage and then let the turkeys and such out. And I’ve been opening the garden gate so they can get in and out of there. The peacocks like to follow us around but not get too close to the turkeys. They all followed me into the chicken coop one day when I was went out to check eggs. They seemed right at home in it, and ate from the feeder and jumped up on the roosts. Was pretty cool. Didn’t have my phone with me to get any picks though. Then the turkeys came in. So there are 4 turkeys, 3 hens and a Tom, standing there looking at the 4 peacocks up on the roosts. Then we all left kind of peacefully.
So one day I’m go out to the coop and look for eggs. Or should I say “The Egg.” Seems that we’ve only been getting 1 egg each day since can’t remember when. And today I counted 8 hens in the yard. So that means we have 7 hens that are just eating and not producing anything. Not sure why or what to do about it. But I digress.
So I collect the chicken egg from the nest box and look around the coop. Over in the corner under some of the new straw I put in I find a turkey egg. Not I know it can’t be that old because not too long ago I put the straw in. But it has been cold at night so not sure if it got cold enough to kill the embro. That was a few days ago. So I started collecting the single chicken egg and setting it aside to go in the incubator. Then the other day I found an ad on Craig’s List for Barred Rock hatching eggs. So Tuesday we’re getting 3 dozen Barred Rock Eggs, plus the chicken and turkey eggs I’ve collected and starting an incubator.
So today, 12-31-11, I got out the incubators and scrubbed them all out, sprayed them with a bleach solution and set them out in the sun to dry. Now they are on their shelves with the tops set sideways so they can continue to keep airing. It was a beautiful day today, so I walked around in the chicken yard and looked to see what I could find. What I found is they need a new yard area, this one has very little green stuff left in it. I also found 2 turkey eggs out by the blackberry bush. So as of tonight, I have 3 turkey eggs and 6 chicken eggs. I should get eggs Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, or as many as 3 more turkey and chicken eggs, plus the 3 dozen I’m buying. So as many as 45 chicken eggs and 6 turkey eggs.
The purpose is this. Well, first, I just can’t resist hatching every turkey egg I collect. The second thing is that we need to rebuild our laying flock. Some of them we want to be Easter Eggers, but the rest can be brown eggs. And it will take 5-6 months for them to start laying. And we have had several people say they would like to get eggs from us.
With the holidays here and not working, and especially with the nice weather, we’ve been trying to let the birds all out each day. We let the peacocks out and then close their pen because the turkeys like to go in there and eat all their food. Not that it is any different, just they have their own. So we let the peacocks out, close their cage and then let the turkeys and such out. And I’ve been opening the garden gate so they can get in and out of there. The peacocks like to follow us around but not get too close to the turkeys. They all followed me into the chicken coop one day when I was went out to check eggs. They seemed right at home in it, and ate from the feeder and jumped up on the roosts. Was pretty cool. Didn’t have my phone with me to get any picks though. Then the turkeys came in. So there are 4 turkeys, 3 hens and a Tom, standing there looking at the 4 peacocks up on the roosts. Then we all left kind of peacefully.
So one day I’m sitting on the couch and the birds are out, and here come the peacocks, right up onto the front porch. Even Archie and Edith and Hot Rod were there with all 4 peacocks. Then the turkeys must have figured out they were there because they came up on the porch and chased the peacocks off.
And one day there were all there and we went to open the door to chase them off just as the turkeys came up on the porch and the end result was one of the peacocks got chased in the house. So we had it in the house on my knee. Took some pictures and then one got on Jeanne’s shoulder for a while.
We live on 10 acres and raise poultry and have problems with raccoons and other wild life, so we have been looking for this type of dog for some time also. A while back, we answered an ad for her. They said some one had dropped her off near their house and she was pregnant. So they kept her until the pups were old enough to get rid of, and then they got rid of her. What none of us knew at the time was that she was a week or two pregnant the day we picked her up. So instead of getting her fixed as planned, we were back in the same position she was in before: We have a litter of puppies to get rid of before we can get her fixed.
As to the dad dog, we have no clue what type of dog he was. I’m not even sure if she is pure blooded, so anyone thinking they are getting a full blooded Pyrenees puppies, sorry. But just from the few weeks we’ve had her, she has been everything we have wanted in a dog, and she has been unbelievable with our 4 year old son. She allows him to grab her head or wrap his arms around her neck and lead her around. She follows him everywhere and they are quite the buddies. We named her Marshmallow, because she is all white. She does have some brown markings on her skin underneath, but nothing that shows in the hair. None of the pups have dark hair, but some have a light chocolate tint to them. And all the pups are the same size and almost identical color. There appears to be no runt. Based on the delivery, I believe one pup died in-utero, probably early on. When we went to bed last night, there were 10 pups. When we got up, we found a dead one, but upon counting them, there were still 10 live ones. So she must have had the last one after we went to bed, and for what ever reason it didn’t make it. So far she has been an excellent mother, being attentive and watching over them.
We don’t have a vet that is “ours” but there are several around here and Springfield. Our plan is to contact one and see if we can get a deal and have all of them fixed. There are too many unplanned animal pregnancies as it is. And while we are at it, they need shots. If we can, I’ll cover these costs up front and hope to recoup them somewhat as we go.
Sometimes seems like she walks all over the pups. Mostly think they yelp when she leaves or when she disturbs them when she comes back. She just flops down. Actually she is a great mom, and takes good care of all of them. Just the pictures look really great. These are lovingly titled “Underfoot”.
The pups have been growing like crazy and so far they all seem to be growing about the same. We marked the under arm of one of them we plan to keep with a sharpie, but I think it is wearing off. Going to have to redo it. And probably again after that.
I put a post on Craig’s List the day the puppies were born and got several responses. More than enough I think to get rid of them all. Then my post got pulled, guess some one didn’t like it. Not sure why cuz I can’t figure out what I did wrong.
Any way, we have the pups in the laundry room, inside a frame I plan to use for a raised bed in the garden next spring. It helps keep the puppies enclosed, but isn’t high that mom can’t step over it. Tonight is New Years Eve and they are one week old tonight. So far none of them have opened their eyes, but a couple of them have started to whine and yelp when they are disturbed. One in particular has a sharp yelp.
Some one looked at pictures and said they thought by the looks that dad could be a Blue Healer. So we looked up some pictures on the web and there is a lot of similarities. Of course, at this age I think it is impossible to tell anything worth while. To me, babies look too much alike to be able to pick out specific traits that belong to mom or dad, or a certain breed of dog. The one thing that is becoming more obvious is their color. When they were born they all looked white. Now it looks like only a couple of them are all white, some have a light tan or soft brown color to them and some of those have the white “spot” marking on their foreheads.
Christmas Puppies!!!
Well, we have been trying to figure out when the puppies might come based on when we got the dog and the way she has been acting. Well, the 24th she started acting weird, and didn’t eat. When we took her out her poop was different: Not really runny but not hard like usual. And she was looking in hidden spots for what we could only assume was a place to have her babies. She has been whining some, but hard to tell if that is from being uncomfortable or because she is locked in the laundry room and away from us.
Then this after noon noticed that she would start whining when no one was around, whine for few minutes and then stop. So decided to time the time between. When I noticed and finally timed it, there were six and a half minutes between them. But Taylor had come home from her Dad’s and it was dinner time and we kind of lost track. Then I timed it and there were only 4 minutes. Dinner was ready and I went into the bathroom to wash and decided to check on her when I came out. I found her in her bed and a wet spot on the floor. Told Jeanne we would be having Christmas puppies for sure. When she came in she saw the puppy. I thought there was just fluid, but they were obviously from the first puppy being born. And I’m guessing that she was out of the box when her first water broke and then she got back in the box. So we watched her for a minute and then ate.
Came back later and watched another puppy be born at 656pm. This one was a boy. The first girl has distinct brown on her ears, but both of them appear to be primarily white, like mom. Then she had the third puppy at 704pm, another girl. The next one wasn’t long in coming. It was also a girl and arrived at 719pm. On each of these, Jeanne was there but I had just gotten up for a minute to do something. Try to write this is what I was doing mostly. I mean, remembering the time the first one was born wasn’t too difficult, but by the time there were 4 of them, it was becoming an issue. So I’d get up just for a minute, and a puppy would be born.
So we had the camera and had taken a bunch of pictures and decided we wanted to get a video of one being born. Jeanne had watched one be born and was sure she would know when to start videoing. So we sat there and waited and watched. And waited. There was a whole hour and 30 minutes between the next one, and we sat there the whole time with the camera, waiting for it to be born. Figured maybe it was because we sat there and watched, or maybe we some how interfered with things by touching her or whatever.
This one we love because of the curve in the tail, it looks like the tail is coming out of the leg. All of the dogs were mostly white, but some had brown markings on them also. ANd some of the ears are darker while others are pink. In fact, in the pile of dogs we mistook the pink ear on a puppy for a sore nipple. Funny, And in the picture below you can see the white markings on the head of one of the pups. This one had some kind of green discharge with it, so I went to look that up. Turns out that the green discharge indicates a placenta that has come detached and the puppy has died. If it comes out before any puppies, it can be bad, but if puppies have been born alive and well first, then it is not a concern. And since we had 5 at this point we felt we were good to go. So I went back into the laundry room and there were 6 puppies. I figure the last one was born about 910 while I was looking up stuff. Well, actually what happened is I went back and realized the puppy was covered in brown or green stuff and needed to be washed off, so I took the puppy into the kitchen to wash it off in the sink. And the stuff came off, too. Only Marshmallow got upset and out of her box to see what I was doing to her puppy. The good news is that when she laid back down it was on her other side, so we could see the damp stuff all over her thigh. Loverly! And that was when I realized there were 6 puppies.
Then she started having contractions and moving around like she was getting ready to have another one, so I called everyone in to watch. Same thing happened. Nothing. Gavin came in to watch and stood there for a while and then got bored and left. Taylor I watched for a while, then she pulled out a placenta, followed by a puppy and then another placenta. So pretty sure she has had one placenta for each pup, and for the one I think died. And now there is another girl born about 1015pm. Her bed is a mess and very wet under her. We’ve tried to move it some to put a more dry section under her. And her fur is a real mess, she needs to be washed. But we can’t do anything until she is finished, because another pup would get everything wet again just like it is now. So we wait. I don’t think she’s done. She settled down some and moved a bit, but then she started having contractions. I termed them “irregular” because she’d have one and then another 25 seconds later, then not again for 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Then she might have 3 or 4 of them 20-25 seconds apart, then wait another 4 minutes to have anymore. And so it went. She laid down, obviously tired from her ordeal. Would lay her head on the edge of the crate. She’d mess with her pups, then lay back down. She started having them again pretty close together and so I held her leg up like I had done many time before. This one must have been difficult and painful because she yelped when the puppy was born and then started to bite at my hand. Only took a second and she stopped, but I know it was the pain of it that caused her to bite at me. So 1120 she had another boy. That makes 9 total so far, 6 girls and 3 boys. Not sure how we got that lucky but we’ll take all the girls. Think they make better dogs anyway. Just not sure what we are going to do with all of them or how we are going to get them all fixed. The best thing to do would be get them all fixed at the same time, including mom, and then try to get some of the money back from who ever we give/sell them to. Having a litter of pups costs so much more than having the dog fixed to begin with, just doesn’t always seem that way.
But this has been a real experience for our family. Having pups on Christmas eve, and the kids getting to see them. Now we’ll get the pleasure of raising them, inside, for the next 4 months or so. Not sure how we are going to train them and all that, but we are thinking about keeping 2 of the girls, and that would give us 3 working dogs. I’ve read a lot of things, and sometimes when there are 3 dogs they take turns guarding and sleeping so that one or more of them is always on duty and predators are so much easier to scare or chase off when you have larger numbers. The raccoons around here get pretty good sized, and they are mean and tend to runs in small families of 3-5 in a bunch. So having more than one dog should be a good thing.
Wednesday. One more day of work and then the holidays.
Lots of things going through my mind right now. First is about the dog. She’s walking around the house right now, looking very pregnant. Her belly sags and she looks like she should give birth at about any time. And we go to work and leave her home alone for 12 hours each day. I know that one day we are going to come home and it will be like the fish. We looked in the tank one day and realized it was full of new baby fish. The laundry room will be full of puppies!
Been doing a lot of thinking about the garden and what I want it to look like. There are several thing that I know I want ot do. One of them is I want to build raised beds for as many things as I can. I’m not sure I f I really want rasied beds for everything, or just most things. I also want to build covers to go with most of the beds. Some of them will have screens on them, and some will be just have frame work to put other covers on. I also want to build some kind of bed to extend the season in. Either a cold frame or some type of mini-green house. I need, or want something to keep established plants from being damaged by frost in the fall and to give me a place to put out plants early in the springs.
I have some frames that I got from the waste bin at the lumber yard. They have been stacked in the garden. I used some of them for some things this year. Measured them and they measure 36 by 44 inches internal diameter. They are about 5-6 inches high. I’ve been thinking about build new frames. I want them to be 4 feet wide, but not sure how long to make them. In a perfect world I’m build frames to fit over the outside of them too, and then I’d have the prefect combination for growing things in. In my mind I can see row after row of the raised frames with gravel walking paths in between them. But it is difficult to get rid of the visions or memories I have of things being grown in the ground.
And then there is the orchard. I need to clear out some of the trees and make room for them. I’d like to plant a lot more than what I actually need or want for myself. Maybe I can sell the extras or something, not sure, but know that I can’t have too many trees. Just have to make sure they are different kinds. We want to have fruit and nut trees. They could take 3-5 years to start really producing, but they will be worth the wait.
Then there are the birds and the fences I need to put up for them. Need to put up perimeter fence around most of the property, over in the one corner where their grass field will be. And around the orchard and garden. I want to fence the whole place, especially the other side and down through the woods, but can’t afford to do most of that.
Money seems to be the bottom line for so many things. Along that line, I have been working for 6 weeks or so as an aid at the Early Childhood Development center in Springfield in an open position. I applied for it and interviewed the other day. They had interviews this afternoon, and then they are supposed to make a decision. I’m really hoping I get it. Would be a permanent job, I’d know where I was going everyday and could learn so much more than I already have. It just doesn’t pay a whole lot, but it would get me into the system and maybe help open some doors. And if I don’t get it, then I go back to looking for a job each day. So far, that hasn’t been an issue. There is almost always a job if I am willing to work some place. If I have to do that, I’ll also try to pre-position one of the vans at her moms house and go in early so I can teach at the middle and high schools. I mean, we did it for a short time for Central High, so we could do it again. Just have to prepare for it.
The other thing I need to think about is going back to school and getting my Masters Degree. There are things I need to learn about labs and such and this might make me more marketable to the schools here. Just have to figure out tuition and how to afford it and all. And if I’m going to do it, I need to do it now, before I take on all the responsibilities of my own classroom. Just need to find an employer that will help pay for it.
The birds. Still only getting one egg a day. Good news is that I think I know which bird it is. Not sure how to encourage the other birds to start laying. Today is the shortest day of the year, the official start of Winter. I have the light in the coop set to come on just before I go out in the morning, and then stay on until About the time I put them to bed. Was supposed to be shorter but didn't like going out there in the dark. Had it off for a while, now it's on all day, and each week or so I'll lengthen the time until they have 14-16 hours of light in the coop. Oh, and I took one of the bags off the screen. They need the extra real daylight and the air circulation. Think the straw is doing good for them. Need to get more to use int eh coop and garden next year.
Maybe after Christmas I will start collecting them and start a batch in the incubator. Late February or early March I need to start plants inside to put out for spring garden. May need to start the cabbage and such earlier to put out even before then. And sometime in April I guess the turkeys will start laying and I’ll have those eggs to deal with and then the chicks when they hatch. Think I have it figured out a little better how to do it so I’m more successful and have better hatches. I do really well on fertility, it’s just getting them to hatch. And I think a lot of it is the last 3-4 days of actually hatching. The incubation goes well. Need to up my temps some because they are still air incubators, and lower it some in the hatchers. Still haven’t figured out exactly how I’m going to do this with just four incubators. Back to the money issue. I have rough plans in my head, and probably some where on computer, to build a cabinet one that would enable me to use a couple of Incubators as hatchers and keep them in the cabinet one the rest of the time.
Marshmallow getting trimmed before she has her pups. As we stated in a previous post, our new dog is definitely pregnant. And probably due any day now. So we have been wracking our brains trying to figure out how we are going to deal with this. I mean, let’s face it. There will be plenty of time to deal with finding homes for pups some where down the road. Right now, we need to be thinking about the pups getting here.
So we have both been doing some cramming and reading about pups and how long pregnancy lasts and what the signs of impending delivery are. Or “Whelping” as the proper term goes. One of the things almost every article tells you to do is start taking their temperature. And since dogs don’t hold thermometers under tongues very well, you have to take a rectal temp. And you can’t re-use the thermometer on humans, so that is kind of out. We haven’t got a digital doggie thermometer. It is supposed to drop a few degrees a day or so before delivery. The other thing is says is they stop eating, may even regurgitate the previous meal.
So came home tonight and she hadn’t eaten, hadn’t even touched the bowl of food I put out for her this morning. So gave it to the chickens and got a fresh bowl. She didn’t touch it. Put some turkey broth on it and she ate it. OK, some of it.
And when she walks her belly hangs down, way down. Like she’s gonna give birth any time now. And the thought that keeps going through my mind is a woman that is 9 months pregnant and was due yesterday, the way it hangs down and way out. And when you look at the timing of it, things look like this. We got her on or about 5 November; today is 19 December, which is about 45 days. The average is 59-63 days. And if she still had 2 weeks or so to go, no way she would be looking as pregnant as she does right now. Which means she got pregnant before we got her, but how many days we aren’t sure.
The weather today got up into the upper 40s, and tonight is should get down to just below freezing. So if we leave her outside and she goes into labor, we might not know and the temps would surely get the pups. So we made the decision to bring her inside. Re-arranged the laundry room, took the shelves out and put the stuff on it all over the house. Brought in 2 wooden frames from the garden and put her bed spread over it. That will make the whelping box for her. Will keep the puppies in and she can get in and out if she needs to. Got the clippers out and shaved her belly and nipples. While I was doing that I felt a puppy move and later Jeanne felt one move also.
So… Now I have a dog back in my laundry room, and this one is pregnant! And she could have puppies tonight. Or tomorrow. Or guess she could just wait another week or so. But so far she hasn’t chewed anything. LOL!!
Then after we got Marshmallow clipped and were getting ready to give her a bath, I got this bright idea for a picture. So I got Yaco out of her cage and tried to put her on Marshmallow’s back. But Marshmallow sat down and Yaco wouldn’t sit on the sloped back. The dog wouldn’t stand up so we got her to lay down. Of course, the dog turns her head around to check out the bird and Yaco bites her lip. Smart bird. But it wasn’t much and she let go right away. Marshmallow just laid there and let her sit in her back and I took a couple pictures. I think she is going to be a great dog. Other than being pregnant, so far what I’ve seen is everything I’ve wanted in a dog for the farm. Now maybe I’ll get to have a couple of them.
Well, Ho, Ho, Ho! Guess what Santa’s bringing us for Christmas?
A closer inspection of the new dog reveals swollen teats, a larger abdomen and huge appetite. Diagnosis? We are having puppies. Have to assume she was already pregnant when we got her, a consideration we did have. Checked the internet for times, and the Great Pyrenees pregnancy should last from 58-62 days. We got here about 5 November and today is 17 December so I’m guessing that’s about 45 days or so. We have been gone during the days, and a dog could have come around here and gotten here. And she roams free at night, so it could have been a midnight rendezvous somewhere, but I’m more inclined to think it was before we got her.
So, we’re getting puppies for Christmas. Exactly how that is going to work, not sure. I mean the weather and all and where will they live, etc. She can obviously care for them and feed them. Just hadn’t planned on this. But have noticed that she was eating like a horse.
Probably means we will keep one of the pups, a female, and get her fixed, lol. Will be nice having two dogs guess. They can keep each other occupied and may do a better job protecting the place.
Today is Thursday 15 December 2011. The month is half over and the year all but gone. Worked at the Early Childhood Center again today, the last day I’m scheduled for. But they are going to have to extend it for a while. Interviewed for the job there after school.
Originally when I got there, I was placed in a classroom with one other para. The other para had been moved to a different classroom to replace someone that transferred out. I was under the assumption that the new position would be in the same classroom. During the interview today was told that the new position would be a different classroom, and not in the one I’m in. Doesn’t make a big difference, other than I really like the room I’m in and the kids and the teacher and all. But in the final analysis My goal is to get a job in the school, and a paraprofessional position is the most logical way to get known and have people recommend you for a position. I was told there is one full time position and two part time positions open right now. The first part of the year she hopes to open another classroom, and there will be another full time position open. I told her I would be interested in either of the full time positions. I mean. I have experience as substitute teacher and my certification is in middle and high school science, can’t get much further from that than this.
Went to the winter concert at Taylor’s school. Started at 6pm and lasted till 7:30. Got home about 8:30 or so. 6 of the turkeys were up on the coop, and had to chase them in. Like that every night. And it is always the Narragansett hens. Got my one, lone egg again. Decided to try something with them. We all know that animals are sensitive to the length of the day, or photo-periodicity. It is the changing length of daylight that causes plants to flower, the geese and other animals to migrate, and causes wild animals to go into heat and begin breeding. For deer in the fall it is the shortening day for most it is the lengthening days of spring. Well, chickens need daylight to lay eggs, and they lay less during the winter when the days are shorter. I’ve got a light in the coop set to go on early in the morning and again in the evening to help give them artificial daylight and maybe lay more eggs. Doesn’t seem to be working. So I got to thinking about it and decided to revert back to a standard day, then in a few weeks start lengthening the days again. Also, December 21st is the Winter Solstice, or the shortest day of the year. After that the days naturally start getting longer again. Even thought he days are getting longer in January, we have colder weather in January because the Earth is still loosing heat faster than it is gaining. At any rate, hoping the change in daylight hours will jump start the birds into laying again. It may even affect the turkeys and such. I mean, in the past when I’ve turned the light on, I’ve had turkeys lay eggs in November and December. So here’s to what ever happens.
Went out and looked at the birds last night and this is what we have.
We have 11 turkeys.
5 Narragansett Hens
2 Narragansett Toms
1 Bourbon Red Hen
1 Brownie Hen (cross)
1 Broad Breasted Bronze Hen
1 Broad Breasted Bronze Tom
The BBB Tom has to go, probably for Christmas. The BBB Hen may or may not stay around until next spring. I’m curious to see if I can breed her with a Heritage tom, or if she’ll just get too big to get by. Will be interesting to see. So I’ll have a minimum of 8 and maybe as many as 9 hens in the spring. Oh man, 9 hens laying an egg a day is 63 eggs a week. That will be too many for the incubators I have now.
We also have 11 chickens, 3 of which are roosters. 1 is a Rhode Island Red and he needs to go. The other 2 are Eater eggers, or a cross, and will be good for our flock. Plus we plan to increase the number of hens in the spring. Either purchase some early or try to hatch some of our own eggs. As soon as any of them start laying again. Have 1 that lays a green eggs almost everyday, gotta make sure to keep her and hatch some of her eggs. That is a trait need to make sure gets passed on to my new birds.
Guess we have 2 more chickens, the pair of Mottled Cochins; Archie and Edith. But they won’t ever be real egg layers like the others and will probably try to hatch some of their eggs and sell the chicks. They are much smaller and while we love them, we just aren’t set up to handle the smaller birds.
Additionally we have 2 geese (a breeding pair) and the 4 peacocks, also 2 pairs. So some time in the future we should be doing really great as far as production goes.
Well, the jerky from the gizzards and hearts turned out pretty good, not to spicy. It was kind of tough, and so the next time I'll cut the meat into small pieces, like bite sized cubes instead of the strips. Or I might to it in strips and then cut them up after they dry when I put them in the baggie. So I took the stuff I had and cut it into bite sized pieces. It worked great. So the next time I'll just dry the strips, makes it easier to dry, then cut it into pieces. Makes it easier to eat.
I also took some more out of the freezer and did anouther batch with a little Jaleno in it. Tastes great.
And right now the dehydrator is full of bananas. I'll let you know how that works out.
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