Heather's Keep Farm

Americauna "Easter Egger" chicks are released!

2011-09-15T07:03:00.001-07:00

These lovelies are running around with the other chickens now that they have grown big enough. They are so pretty and cute flocking together around the yard. I love their "tufted" cheeks! They will be laying pink/green/blue pastel "easter egg" colored eggs by the spring.

New bunny hutch

2011-09-15T06:57:00.001-07:00

Okay, first off - we are not carpenters, obviously! However, we finally finished the new bunny hutch. It is a 4-plex and makes it easier to care for them. The best part is - all recycled material except for about $6 worth of furring strips we bought to complete it. Not bad for a $6 hutch, right? We have a bit of painting left (well, the kids do!) and are putting some recycle corrugated plastic on the roof but other than that it is done and perfectly functional if not beautiful!

This Thunder/Twister/Tornado aka "T".

Here is Lucy.

Ruby.

Clover.

They all seem very happy in their new homes!

Our Daisy girl in the milking stand

2011-09-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

Not bad for a first freshener that I was lazy about milking. :-)

I still have to hobble her, little stinker. She is perfectly content to hop up there and be milked but if I don't hobble her she will kick up a storm.

Another chicken embryo

2011-08-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Heather cracked her egg for breakfast and we were dismayed to find this little guy. This is why it's so important to mark eggs and keep tabs on a broody hen's nest. When a hen goes broody, she stops laying but other hens will come add to her nest and so there is no telling how long eggs have been there if you don't keep track. When I got around to checking her nest and deciding on marking eggs, she had 20+ in there and I decided to leave her with 12 of them. We knew there was a possibility of this, so had made sure to put the questionable eggs that I had gathered from her nest into cartons marked "OURS" (so they are not sold) where any stained, dirty, questionable eggs go. We are always careful to crack our eggs into a bowl individually instead of into a batter or pan.

This one is probably about 7 days along.

I think next time I go to remove eggs from a nest, I will candle them before deciding which ones to leave and take. :-( See how to candle an egg here.

Developing Egg

2011-08-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

We have a broody hen who we have been allowing to set on 12 eggs. She is in a corner of the hay shed and very protective of her eggs. We marked the 12 eggs that we would allow to stay and just gather any extras from the nest once a day. Today when I went to collect, I found that one of the marked eggs had rolled out of the nest and was stone cold. I brought it in, knowing that the chick couldn't survive being that cold. We opened it up for a little science lesson (being homeschoolers, we grab every opportunity). It was less developed than I thought. The yolk was completely runny (yolk is absorbed by chick for nourishment) and there was a bit of blood. The kids didn't think there was anything there, but at closer inspection I found the baby chick, we could see it's eye and little heart slowly beating and then becoming still. Wow! From this website, it appears that the chick was about 2-5 days developed. Amazing little life! How sad. Let's hope the next 11 survive. I put some extra padding around the nest to prevent any others from rolling out, hopefully that will work.

Here are a couple pictures:

More learning and info, including some worksheets for kids is located here.

Here is a YouTube video showing all 3 weeks of development.

Black Jack

2011-08-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

We picked up our new buck last week!

Nubian, black and white - great ears.

Doesn't he look like Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars?

I am tempted to change his name!

He will be bred with Annalise this fall for some great kids and yummy, creamy milk!

About the farm today...

2011-07-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Will took this picture of mom milking.

Daisy getting milked.

Our milking stand (Curious is cleaning up the spills).

Samson chilling in the shade.

New "easter eggers" are getting big!

Luke and Beau in the new pasture.

A great article on broody hens

2011-06-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Trying to figure out how to get these broodies to actually hatch out some chicks! :-)

Update: heat, weeds, broodies, a deck and goats!

2011-06-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Peas

I haven't updated in a while, sorry about that. We have had such a strange spring, very cool temps and lots of rain to suddenly very hot temps and dryness. The garden is doing okay for the lateness at which we planted it, we've harvested a cucumber, a couple handfuls of peas, and are about ready to get some lettuce this next week. There is still a lot to grow, beans and squashes are doing well. I planted tomato seeds straight into the garden, and they are slowly but surely coming up. I've never done that before but by the time I got around to it, it seemed the best option. I will likely buy a few larger plants to supplement until they get large enough.

Domestic blackberries

The chickens ate all our strawberries this year, I need to get netting over and around that! The blackberries and raspberries are doing very well and should be ready for harvest in a couple weeks.

Apples

The fruit trees in the orchard seem pretty happy - one apple tree had 5 apples on it (then 1 dropped off), still great for it's first year here. The other apple tree didn't even flower, but one peach tree did. The fig plants are doing surprisingly well, I thought I had lost one over the winter but it has surprised me. The deer have been nibbling a bit on them, but not too bad so far.

Broody girls

"Easter-egger" chicks

We picked up 7 more hens - black austrolorps. Two of them are very broody and I'm pretty sure that they are going to hatch out some chicks for us in the next few weeks. The "easter-egger" chicks are doing well and have moved out to the chicken house, though still in their own shelter for their protection. I need pretty soon to start culling out the hens that aren't laying and the extra roosters. If I'm feeding them, they need to feed me in one way or the other. :-) I've been able to sell several dozen eggs a week successfully which has been nice.

Collected eggs

We sold all of our baby bunnies for the asking price, which was wonderful. They all found great pet homes and I am happy about that. I am planning to put my white buck up for sale too and just use the dwarf buck for breeding next year.

Deck in progress

Our deck is finally moving along again! It now has the base finished and there are 10 boards laying across the top and we can fit 2 chairs out on it. This makes me very happy!!! I don't know when the rest of the floor will get down and who knows when it will have rails and steps but I'm excited for what is done so far. :-)

Daisy saying hello.

Our goats have been doing pretty well. I need to get out for hoof trimming and am considering summer shaves too, we'll see. I've never done that before but it may help their comfort through the summer. Everyone is a joy and lots of fun. Our new buckling should be coming home the end of July.

New kitty Cassie has settled in quite happily. She is mostly in the house still but has gone outside a couple of times and enjoyed that.

Samson smiling

Samson and Molly are doing great. Samson lives with the 2 wethers and he loves his goats. I look forward to him being old enough to be with all the girls too next spring. We'll see how he does at kidding. We love them both!

I think that's about it, thought I should update for now while I had a few moments.

New kitty - Cassie

2011-05-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

We have been looking for a new young cat to add to our outdoors as Jonah is at least 15 years old and while he sure seems spry and healthy, we know he can't live forever. Cassie came from my dad and has been living outside and is reportedly a fierce hunter! :-) She is 5 years old and spayed and very pretty and playful. She is Will's cat and is adjusting now to home, we will adjust her to the outdoors eventually once we are sure that she will stay near and she's met the other critters.

Ruby's kits - 8 weeks old

2011-05-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

I *think* this one is a boy, no guarantees though.

Black eye patch, think it's a girl.

Grey nose patch, think it's a girl.

Brown and white, think it's a girl.

Our new buckling

2011-05-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

This little guy (the black one) will be coming home in July after his mama weans him. He is 2 weeks old now. He will be Annalise's beau and they will get their first date in October. :-)

Aren't his ears great? That's his brother there, if anyone is interested in him - I can put you in touch.

He has not been named yet, but here's his pedigree:

Sire: FLYING FARM BLUE LUMBER JACK

Sire's Dam: POCOMOKE S CAPPUCCINO

Sire's Sire: GOLDTHWAITE FATICUS

Dam: FLYING FARM ITTY BITTY

Dam's Dam: POCOMOKE S DEVORAH

Dam's Sire: GOLDTHWAITE FATICUS

New alpine doeling

2011-04-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

We picked up this sweety yesterday. She is 3 weeks old, a bottle baby and a purebred alpine (ADGA registerable). We found a great deal from a trusted source and are pretty pleased with her. We will breed her with The General for a fresh 1st generation of mini alpine kids, hoping to get a bit more alpine into the lines. We have named her Marseille (mahr-sayeh). Her mother's name was Paris so went for another French city.

Presenting: Iron-Gate DDDJ Marseille

Sire: DIXIE-DOES DREAMY JUNO

Sire's Sire: IRON-ROD THE COLOR OF DREAMS

Sire's Dam: WAIILATPU WRAL MAIRE

Dam: DIXIE-DOES SOCRATES PARIS

Dam's Sire: WAIILATPU WRR SOCRATES

Dam's Dam: DIXIE-DOES DREAMY MONALISA

Lucy's kits - 4 weeks

2011-04-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

These sweeties are currently for sale. Check out the "For Sale" page for details.

Lucy's kits - day 4

2011-04-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

These are going to be some very pretty bunnies. They were making little squeaking noises and flopping all over the place when we checked on them today.

We've got milk!

2011-04-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

Daisy was a bit more cooperative this morning, even though it was raining and her babies were clamoring for her. Rose and I milked about 3 cups and no hoof in it, so we were able to drink it ourselves this time. Everyone agrees that it was yummy!

Baby bunny pics

2011-04-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 13

(the all white one does have pink eyes!)

Lucy's kits - day 3

A walk through the woods

2011-04-04T11:45:00.001-07:00

First milking

2011-04-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

Rose and I went out to milk Daisy this morning for the first time. It went - o.k. She was mad at us for keeping her away from her babies all night, and surprisingly not real happy to have her head stuck in a grain bucket. However, with Will feeding her hay in handfuls and Rose and I alternately petting/soothing and milking, we managed to get about 2 1/2 cups of milk - which immediately went to the dogs as we also managed to get her hoof in it at some point. I had told Rose not to expect much on our first try, and honestly it went a little better than anticipated. Daisy can be a stinker when she wants to be. With time and practice, it will get better. :-)

I remembered to take my camera down, but forgot to put the CF card in it - so didn't get pics, but will try again tomorrow.

Daisy is now happily grazing with the prancing sisters, Magnolia and Melantha - little does she know, we'll be doing it all again tomorrow!

Ruby's kits - day 12

2011-04-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 11

2011-04-03T08:55:00.001-07:00

Standing on their feet more, eyes are opening more, much more active - sweet!

Lucy's kits - born April Fool's Day! :-)

2011-04-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Lucy decided to have her babies today - 3 little ones! One is black and the others look light, but I haven't investigated much further yet. She was laboring when we left this morning and had padded her nest with fur overnight - so they were born sometime between 9-4 today. Both parents are Netherland Dwarves, 2 of these kits will be for sale for $10 each in 6 weeks. Lucy will also be for sale. She will make a great pet, very sweet and gentle and uses a litterbox. We have realized that she would be very happy with a family as an indoor pet so will sell her once she has weaned her kits.

Individual pictures of Ruby's kits

2011-04-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

10 Days Old - eyes starting to open, hopping erratically.

The one with black spots.

The one with gray spots.

The all white one.

The runt with brown and gray.

Keeping Bees?

2011-04-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

Natural Beekeeping

Reading at this site and have commissioned Tom to build me a Top Bar Hive to put in the center of the orchard. I've been fascinated with it for years, and this actually seems do-able - got me all excited!!! :-)

Ruby's kits - day 9

2011-03-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 8

2011-03-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the noisy radio, kids were listening to "Adventures in Odyssey". Bunnies are starting to open their eyes just a bit, and are beginning to exercise their back leg muscles - hopping will begin soon, erratic and uncontrolled still now. Funny!

Dogs to the vet

2011-03-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

We took all 3 big dogs to the vet today. Tom took the morning off so that he could help me. It was not as difficult as I thought it might be. We loaded them all up in the farm van and took them in one at a time. Molly got weighed and got her rabies shot, she weighed about 50#. Carl got weighed and got his rabies shot, he also weighed about 50# and he stayed the day and was neutered (did not phase him a bit - ha!). Samson got weighed, about 60# at 4 months of age, and got his rabies shot. Now to get them all licensed and everyone is set!

Ruby's kits - 1 week old!

2011-03-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

Samson @ 3 weeks old

2011-03-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is a video of the litter of pups that our Samson came from (at Bearskin Creek Fiber Farm). They are 3 weeks old here. He is the one with dark ears, dark spots over his eyes, around his tail and a dark spot on his left side (these spots lightened as he grew).

Ruby's kits - day 6

2011-03-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 5

2011-03-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 4

2011-03-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

Disaster to the flock - and new hens

2011-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, we lost around 20 hens and a rooster to what we assume is neighbor dogs or possibly coyotes (thus the new LGD pup!). We were devastated! We love our healthy, free-range birds and really enjoyed the variety that we had and all the eggs we were finally getting and selling. We are now working on trying to re-build our happy flock.

We picked up 12 hens from a local farmer today. We found once we were catching them that they were not very healthy, crowded conditions and being fed only cracked corn. We got them anyway and now I am playing vet. We have them house separately from our healthy flock and are feeding them medicated layer feed mixed with Diatamaceous Earth (for worms) and I gave them all .25cc Ivomectin orally also. We have to feed their eggs to the dogs for the next few weeks due to the Ivomectin, but hopefully by that time they will be much happier and healthier and we will be getting more eggs from them.

We are also picking up a few roosters (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) and a couple hens from freecycle.

In May, we are getting 5 Americauna chicks ("easter eggers") for fun. This should round out our flock well.

Ruby's kits - day 3

2011-03-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits - day 2

2011-03-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ruby's kits

2011-03-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Baby rabbits born last night and discovered this morning! There are 4 of them, they are 3-4" long with sweet little ears and are very squirmy. Two seem to be all or mostly white, 1 has black eye patch and some black on it's back. 1 has quite a bit of black and possibly brown spots on it's back. Their mother is American Sable and father English Spot (med size rabbits). They are for sale - $10 each and ready in about 6 weeks. Make great pets and their waste is excellent garden fertilizer!

Our new puppy

2011-03-20T05:59:00.001-07:00

4 Month old Maremma/Great Pyrenees mix, Samson is his name. :-)

Introducing our new doelings...

2011-02-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

Realized I had never posted the new kids names...

Melantha was born first and we are so happy with her markings and blue eyes. She is very sweet. Her name means "dark flower". We call her Mel for short.

Magnolia came next and looks much like her mama. She is precious and we call her Maggie.

Both girls are doing wonderfully. They are healthy and happy, so much fun to see bouncing around and playing. Daisy is a wonderful mother and her udder is filled in nicely, we look forward to milking her in a few weeks. We have decided to keep the girls so far, so they are not for sale at this time.

Traumatic experience

2011-02-26T19:47:00.001-08:00

We just had a very traumatic experience, having week old kids I am sure you can guess what it involves! Thankfully turned out well in the end... We have a nice farmer friend that has cows and goats and chickens and we asked him to help us with the dehorning of our new kids. We have done it once ourselves before, but it didn't take and we wanted to see someone do it right. He agreed and we took the girls and their mama to his farm (mama so that we could bring kids right back to her to be comforted), only one of the doelings had enough tip to be able to do yet and so my hubby and I went in to watch and 2 of our children said they wanted to be there. We knew what to expect, had looked at pictures, had talked about why it was best and that it would be difficult and painful and smelly. Well, we had brought a box that we built to use for holding the kids but the farmer always had someone hold them so we let him do it how he is used to it. I assumed my hubby would hold her but he had a young helper there who did. They finished the first one and I noticed she had stopped struggling, and they lifted her and she was completely floppy - I rushed my children back out and we stood outside praying and crying. I knew they sometimes fainted but she really looked lifeless. We waited 5 long minutes outside the door not knowing what was happening and then went to the van and told my older daughter who had opted to stay there with the mama and other doeling. I told them I thought she was probably gone or daddy would have come out to tell us that she was okay. We all cried and cried, it was so heart-wrenching! 5 more minutes and my husband walks out with the little doeling who is perfectly fine and has both horns finished and goes right to her mama and nurses. Apparently the young man who had been holding her had never done it before and had his hand covering her nose and she passed out not being able to breathe!!!!! I couldn't believe that hubby hadn't come out and told us as soon as they realized she was fine. Needless to say, he will be holding the next one and the young man learned a lesson too. She had revived as soon as they moved her around and had walked around for a while before they finished the other side and had done fine through that one. It was soooooo scary though, we are still pretty shaken. :-(

Mini Alpine goat babies

2011-02-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

2011-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Video of goat birth

2011-02-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

Free range chickens

2010-11-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

We love having our chickens free-range. We enjoy watching them flock about the yard and they do a good job of keeping bugs and weeds under control. We have had these free-ranging for several months now and the only complaint I have is that they like to lay their eggs all about the yard! The dogs have realized that they are yummy - so it is a race to beat them to the newest hiding spot and gather them. I have started paying the kids 10 cents an egg. It is frustrating to me because I want the chickens to serve their purpose but I don't like having to pen them up all the time. We are experimenting now with capturing them all (27 of them now) and putting them in the houses at night and then letting them out after a few hours of daylight and hopefully they will get in the habit of laying their eggs before then. We are going to try 11am and see what happens from there. I don't really want to feed them all winter if they aren't going to produce at least enough for our family, so they better get the message or they will be in the freezer! :-)

New to us fish tank!

2010-11-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

We were able to get a very good deal on a 30-gallon tank setup from craigslist. Will had been asking for one, and when Liz died, it became a little more urgent. We had read books from the library and found a really neat one that showed creative / unusual ways to decorate your tank. One of the ideas was a winter wonderland - which we decided to try to create first. (Stay tuned in the spring for a playground!) We found items at the dollar store and made a background with the blue snowflakes, tissue paper and glitter. The white snowflakes are suspended on fishing line and dance around in the water so that it looks like it is snowing. We plan on getting some more things to fill up all that space, but this was a fun start! We will add a few starter fish on Tuesday and then if they do well we will add more to the tank. We plan on barbs, gouramis, sharks, etc... nothing too aggressive but still some fun stuff.

"Liz" passes away

2010-11-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

We were very sad this morning to find that "Liz" the lizard had passed away. She was well loved and lived with us for 2 1/2 years. Will was sad and buried her near the canna lilies.

Baby bunny update

2010-09-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is the baby bunny who survived from the litter born in May this year. His littermates all ended up dying one way or another. :-( I was away and they were falling out of the cage. Anyway, this little guy looks just like his daddy.

Two More Additions

2010-09-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is Milk Maid Ranch GA Daisy, a registered 2nd generation Mini-Alpine doe.
   Sire: Milk Maid Ranch MS Gaston XA00185 (MDGA)
   Sire's Dam: Milk Maid Ranch P Aruba XA00145 (MDGA)
   Sire's Sire: Milk Maid Ranch G Mr Sinatra XA00154 (MDGA)
   Dam: Milk Maid Ranch G Dixie XA00155 (MDGA)
   Dam's Dam: Mt River Ranch Gretta E1369509 (MDGA)
   Dam's Sire: Milk Maid Ranch Galloway XA00119 (MDGA)

This is Ivy Gables OB The General, a registered 1st generation Mini-Alpine buck.
   Sire: CornerStone Farm STS Obadiah D-36488 (AGS)
   Sire's Sire: Caesar's Villa CBS Stetson D-6684 (AGS)
   Sire's Dam: 4 Fun My Fair Lady D-25790 (AGS)
   Dam: Iron-Rod STG Sustina A1376071 (ADGA)
   Dam's Sire: Iron-Rod Radical Strategy A1332318 (ADGA)
   Dam's Dam: Iron-Rod Abner Susan A13196071 (ADGA)

We have high hopes for some great kids from this pair. We anticipate them being born Feb 2011. If you are interested, contact us!

Introducing Annalise

2010-09-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

This is a Nubian doeling that we have in hopes of breeding and milking. She is my goat!

More pictures of the animals

2010-06-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Beau

Beau and Rose

Beau

Luke

Surprise baby bunnies!

Chicks continue to grow - I love the variety we got this time.

Goats on their runs and the small a-frame shelter for shade.

Farm additions

2010-05-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

May was a busy month here on our little farm. We added 27 new chicks and were able to move them outdoors and then we built an addition and additional run and got them all settled in with the 12 older chickens.

We also got a new bunny "Susan" who actually is Ruby and Max's offspring but the family we had given it to were moving, so we took it back. "Susan" ends up being a boy!

We are very excited to add a couple of goats to our farm! Beau and Luke are mixed breed wethers who will be used mainly for brush control. They are brothers and very sweet. They are young, so we are bottle feeding them for a bit to ensure they are handled lots.

Link

2010-02-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

A fun website with lists of tricks to teach your dog!

Doggie Buddy

Carl is growing

2009-05-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is an updated pic of our puppy, now 5 months old and almost as tall as Molly. He is looking more houndish in the face, his feet are still quite large and he is very, very active. He has flattened 1 iris bush, 2 hostas, and 1 peony bush so far this year. He LOVES to wrestle with Molly and run and be crazy. He has to stay in his large kennel when we are not outdoors to watch him as he can be pretty destructive with digging and rolling if he isn't being watched. He is very good about not whining or barking while there though, and we are outdoors a lot! He is a sweet boy and still sleeps indoors in his crate at night in Heather's room.

Liz's Great Escape

2009-05-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Liz the lizard had a day of freedom recently. Rose went in to check on her and didn't see her in the tank, so she lifted the lid and Liz (who had been clinging to the screen lid) jumped and ran for it. Rose did not tell us that Liz had escaped that Saturday morning and when we finally discovered it, she was nowhere to be seen. We picked up Will's room and searched under and in all possible crevices. I had given up hope and was sad (possibly moreso than Will :-) and a little freaked out about a lizard being loose in the house.

Sunday afternoon Tom walked in the front door and saw Liz perched on the edge of a pack-n-play that I keep there. He stood very still and called me over. Will's net was close by and I grabbed it and caught her easily (almost like she was happy to come home). She is perfectly fine and content in her tank again. Whew!!!

Dogs update

2009-05-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

I need to get a recent pic of Carl to put up here. He is growing and growing! I watched the movie "Marley and Me" last night and it definitely reminded me of our Carl. He is constantly on the move and often in trouble. We love him though.

The wireless containment system (PetSafe) has worked so very well for us. I am thrilled with it. Molly is completely yard trained and so I put the collar on Carl and he has done super with it also. They both know where the boundaries are and have not been "corrected" more than a couple times each the first day. They turn around and run to the porch anytime either of them hear a beeping warning. I love it!

I weighed the dogs today and ordered Frontline Plus tick treatment. After the experience with Seargant's Gold I am not taking any chances. I had bought Hartz for Carl and it has not been working at all and my sis-in-law says that it is known to cause problems for dogs, especially puppies also. I will be tossing that too.

Molly weighed 45lbs and Carl weighed 25lbs.

I ordered from www.entirelypets.com and paid $67.03 after a 10% coupon discount for 2 3-month supply packs.

Containment System

2009-04-16T08:04:00.002-07:00

Molly had started chasing cars on our road and I was concerned for her safety, and really dislike that habit in dogs... then Carl wandered off to the neighbors the other day - so we decided to go ahead and try out a wireless containment system. It is working great!

The base unit just plugs into a wall and sends a signal out in a radius. The area it covered is perfect for our needs. Molly can go half way up the drive and into the woods a bit to each side, then all the way over the whole back yard. Our house is the center of the radius and it also covers the gardens and chicken house. She learns very fast and I think soon I can put the collar down to only beep a signal, not needing to shock and then eventually remove the collar and use it to train Carl (when he's a little bigger).

I am happy with the way it has worked this week and thrilled that our dogs can be easily trained to stay in the yard for their safety and ours. The best part, it was SUPER easy for the kids and I to set up, took only about an hour to lay out the flags at the boundary. :-)

The system we got was a PetSafe Containment System.

Warning: Dog flea/tick treatment

2009-04-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I gave Molly a flea/tick treatment, Sargeant's Gold liquid drops that are applied to the dog's back and are effective against fleas and ticks, etc... After becoming fairly certain that we lost our dog Morgan to Lyme's disease last year, I have tried to be more consistent with treating our dogs and the ticks have become quite active again this year. I applied the drops and within a couple hours noticed that she was looking a little weak/shaky and was drooling. It was late and she had just been outside barking at deer, so I thought maybe she had just worked herself up. We went to bed and this morning noticed that she was drooling more and was having obvious difficulty swallowing. I hopped on google and found some information here from others who have had the exact same reaction. I saw that when they called the vet he said to wash the dog with dish soap, so I did that twice and we left for church (she was acting fine otherwise). She rested and ate and drank while we were gone and was back to full health by the time we got home. I am SO thankful! I tossed the rest of the treatment in the trash and will never buy it again.

More pup pics

2009-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Let sleeping dogs lie...

2009-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Lyme's disease

2009-02-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

We have to be very aware of ticks and their danger here in our area. They are just a fact of life on our wooded acres. Had heard about a new test for dogs that was reasonably priced, the C6 test. We plan to ask our vet about it so that if one of our dogs begins to show symptoms, we can be prepared.

Here is an informative article about dogs and lyme's disease. See the whole article here.

A snippet:

"A dog with symptoms of Lyme disease ideally should have a test to confirm or rule out Lyme disease. Since it is almost impossible to culture the Lyme spirochete, efforts have centered on detection of antibodies against the Osps. The problems encountered with this method are:

In a Lyme endemic area, as many as 90% of the dogs will have antibodies against the Lyme spirochete. Most exposed dogs never get sick but almost all of them will develop antibodies and these antibodies persist for years. How do we tell the dogs that have active infection from those that have been exposed and are not sick from their exposure?
Vaccine has been available for Lyme disease for a decade or more. How do we distinguish antibodies generated by the vaccine from those generated by natural infection?
How do we distinguish antibodies generated by similar organisms (Leptospira, for example, or harmless other Borrelia species)?

The solution to these problems has come about only recently in the form of the C6 test. This is an immunological test for antibody against the C6 peptide, a unique section of the one of the Borrelia burgdorferi surface antigens. As the spirochete changes its configuration to escape the host's immune system, the C6 peptide remains constant and always detectable. Vaccine does not contain the C6 peptide so vaccinated dogs will not test positive. Dogs with other infections will not erroneously test positive. Further, this test is simple enough to be available as an in-house test kit (the IDEXX Snap-3 Dx test), which can be run in most veterinary hospitals with results in approximately 10 minutes.

This still does not address distinguishing active infection from exposure. Dogs will test C6 positive within to 3 to 5 weeks of infection. They stay positive for over a year.

Treatment and Its Goals

Which of these dogs get sick and which do not? Does the dog with joint pain, fever, and a positive C6 test need medication? This is where the news is particularly good.

Treatment of Lyme disease utilizes a 2 to 4 week course of doxycycline, a medication that is inexpensive and has limited side effects potential. Amoxicillin is another effective alternative, also inexpensive and with minimal side effects. If Lyme disease is a consideration, many veterinarians simply prescribe the medication. Obvious improvement is seen within 48 hours. Furthermore, most tick-borne infections capable of causing joint pain, fever, and signs similar to Lyme disease generally are all share responsive to doxycycline so a simple course of medication actually covers several types of infection.

Eradication of the Lyme spirochete is not a reasonable expectation with treatment; the organism is simply too good at hiding. The goal instead is to bring the patient into what is called a premunitive state. This is the state that 90% of infected dogs achieve when they get infected but never get ill: the organism is in their bodies latently but is not causing active infection."

Carl comes home

2009-02-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

Pics of our new pup we picked up today. He got a bath and food and lots and lots of snuggles, then some playtime with Molly (who is patiently putting up with him, lol) and then more snuggles. He didn't do too bad his first night in his crate and is learning already how he is allowed to behave. He is very sweet!

New puppy!

2009-02-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

We picked out a new pup from some friends tonight. Mother is pure golden lab, father an unknown who crawled under the fence, LOL. He has markings like a rottweiler and Heather thought he looked like the dog in this book Good Dog, Carl so we are going to name him Carl. We will pick him up next week, he is 7 weeks old now. We are very excited!

"Liz" the lizzard update...

2009-02-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

We are starting to be not so sure if "Liz" is a girl... we'll figure it out I suppose. Will wants to find a mate and have her lay eggs. That's going to take some research!

She is doing really well. We are thrilled that she has been so happy living with us. She is fat and glossy and happy! She shed her skin shortly after we got her and we noticed today that she is starting to shed again - so every 6 months or so I guess? She is so pretty and way more fun than I anticipated.

A true story... yesterday, Will fed her 2 crickets and one she ate right away and the other we couldn't find anywhere, just dissappeared! So she ran up to the little cricket cage that is inside her tank (I know, cruel to see your food and not be able to eat it - but they stay warm and live longer, and she would eat them all at once and die from engorgement!)... anyway, she tried to grab a couple through the clear wall of their cage and realized she couldn't SO, she ran up on a stick and looked up at Will and let out a "squeak"! I am serious!!! I had no idea they made noise, but she clearly knows where her food comes from and gets quite animated at feeding time. :-) He rewarded her with a couple more.

So cute - who knew?

New bunny

2009-02-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

We have a new bunny! His name is Ivan. He is lop-eared and very sweet. We were looking for a new male bunny after our second Max died early this year for unknown reasons. We've decided that bunnies named Max are not good here... so are keeping his name as Ivanhoe (though will likely call him Ivan). We wanted a male and we wanted him to be brown as we love Rubies color so much... and I love the floppy ears - so we were so excited to find all of that in Ivan! We found him on Craig's list from a Christian homeschool family who were very happy to find him a good home.

New Pet

2008-08-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is Will's new pet. Mommy caught her in the backyard. She is an Eastern Fence Lizard. We feed her crickets and keep her warm.

The loss of another pet...

2008-08-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sadly, while the kids and I were gone on vacation our dear Peter rabbit was killed by neighbor dogs who came and pushed into his cage and left only a ball of fur. We are all very sad...

Peter "Lightning" Rabbit

2008-06-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here is Peter, the baby that we kept as our own. He has a great cage that he really enjoys. He is growing SO much and is still very gentle and sweet. We enjoy watching him and playing with him lots.

Morgan is gone.

2008-04-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Our dog Morgan now rests. He was over 8 years old which is pretty good for a large breed like he was, he had always been our outside guard dog and didn't have it easy. He had become weak and thin and shaky, wasn't eating well and I don't think his eyesight was very good anymore. I am sad and will miss how safe he made me feel, miss his big bark and nighttime howls even. Molly misses him too.

Six weeks old!

2008-03-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

All of the bunnies except Peter have gone to new homes. We are thrilled that 3 of them are in homes of friends so we can still see them every now and then! Peter is doing fine by himself and getting more attention. We have enjoyed our baby bunnies SO much.

Five weeks old!

2008-03-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Clover and Poirot going to their new home!

34 Days old!

2008-03-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

Peter, Poirot, Millie and Clover's last day together. :(

30 Days old!

2008-03-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Peter and Poirot

29 Days old

2008-03-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Super Will and Peter (aka Lightning)

Four weeks old!

2008-03-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

This is Peter, Poirot, and Millie.

27 Days Old!

2008-03-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is Millie, Rose's favorite. She has the cutest black eye.

She still needs to be adopted!

26 Days Old!

2008-03-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is Clover, Heather's favorite. She will be going to a new home on Saturday.

25 Days old!

2008-03-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is Dante with Drover in his pocket - he hung out there much of the morning!

Today was a big day. It started with me finding some bunnies with hurt paws when I went out to feed this morning. It looks like 3 of them have missing toes, torn paws, poor, poor babies! I am thinking that a dog may have nipped at them from under the cage? It could also be just the wire floor or mom or dad (I've seen both of them pushing the babies around a bit lately). So.... I moved the babies back in the house for now. I will take them out in the morning and see if Ruby will nurse them and be nice.

We also found a new home for two more of the bunnies! A nice lady is going to give Poirot and Clover a new home in a week or so. :-) That leaves just Millie available for adoption!

24 Days old!

2008-03-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is the one we called Snowball, he has been adopted by our friend Elijah who has named him "Cuddly". :-)

Nursing Mama Rabbit - 23 days old

2008-03-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

22 Days old!

2008-03-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is the runt - hasn't he grown? His name is now Drover and he has been adopted by our friend Dante. :-)

Three Week Old bunnies!

2008-03-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is Poirot (the British detective - looks like him to me!), and I think Clover's back.

I tried to load up a video of the bunnies, but I can't get it to come up. :(

20 Days old!

2008-03-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is "Peter". It is Will's favorite, the one that we are keeping! :-)

19 Days old!

2008-03-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

The bunnies can squeeze through the squares in the fence and get over to their daddy's side of the cage. It has been sweet to watch them nuzzle their daddy, and he has been fine, but I wish they would stay on their own side where it's soft and carpeted!

18 Days old

2008-03-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

We moved the bunnies with their mama out to the outdoor hutch today. They have a 3-level condo :-). They seem to be doing well. Ruby was nervous about having Max in such close proximity, but I think she realizes now that he can't get over to their side. It's fun to watch her be so protective. They all seem quite happy out there. The weather has been mild and rabbits do well in cold weather - it's the heat that gets them more, so I'm sure they will be fine.

17 Days Old!

2008-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Today we moved the nest out of the cage and put the lid back on the carrier that Ruby uses as a bed. This allows her a place to go that the babes can't reach! She tends to get annoyed if they continually try to nurse. It is harder to get a picture of them all at once now, so you'll likely see more close-ups of individuals. They are now nibbling on the dry rabbit food, some oats, lettuce and leaves. I think this is the one the kids have named "Snowball".

16 Days Old

2008-03-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

15 Days old

2008-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

They are all over the place now! In and out of their box with ease and hopping all around.

TWO WEEKS OLD!

2008-03-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

13 days old!

2008-02-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

12 Days old

2008-02-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

11 Day Old Bunnies

2008-02-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Update

2008-02-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

The bunny babies (kits or kittens as they are called), are growing by leaps and bounds - literally!!! One of them actually jumped out of the nest and landed in mama's litterbox today. She went over and fussed over it and it started nursing, then she jumped in the nest with all the others and let them nurse - so I reached in and set the wandering babe back in the nest with her. She nursed them for a bit and then they calmed down and went back to sleep. So far everyone else has stayed where they belong today! :-) I wonder how long the "nest" will last? I may need to remove the box part soon so that they don't get out and then get trapped in a gap or corner - we'll see.

We still haven't named any of the babes, but got to know them a little better today!

Up close! The 2 black baby bunnies

2008-02-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Here are the two black and white baby bunnies. We held them for the first time today! They are so soft and snuggly. :-) Will is holding his favorite one here, and Angela (my sis) is holding the 2nd one.

Brown/tan bunny babies up close

2008-02-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

These two are quite pretty. The light brown or tan markings are nice and soft. Heather is holding her favorite in the first one and then Rose is holding the second. It was harder than I thought to hold onto them - they keep trying to hop but are quite clumsy!

White babies up close

2008-02-26T19:42:00.001-08:00

The two white bunny babies. These two actually look a lot alike, mostly white except grey on the ears and a bit on the face. The first one got shy and buried it's face when I took the pic! The 2nd one here is the runt, who seems to still be doing well. It is just over half the size of the others, but is also beginning to open it's eyes and is growing more and more hair every day.

Day 10 Bunnies

2008-02-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

9 Day Old Bunnies!

2008-02-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

They are starting to open their eyes! They also are beginning to try to hop around, it is quite amusing to watch their awkward efforts. Runt is looking pretty good, has a good bit of hair now and we can see more markings. They are such darlings. :-)

8 Day Old Bunnies

2008-02-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

See the one starting to stand? Their colors are more and more vibrant. The runt is still growing, slowly but surely, it has more hair now and I can tell it has greyish ears and a gray spot on it's rump. They are so sweet!

One Week Old Today!

2008-02-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

They are a week old now. They are starting to be noisy, moving around their nest, scratching and just thumping around. They should open their eyes in a few days! I thought it was pretty cute how the two with the brown are next to eachother and the two with the black stripes are next to eachother at the top (Will's fav is on his back, you can see his nose and one paw sticking up from under the pile). Then the two that are mostly white except the face (one is the runt) are next to eachother in the middle.

Six Day Old Bunnies

2008-02-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Growing so much! They are moving around a lot more now.

Day 5 Bunnies

2008-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Runt has a bit more hair and seems to be okay so far. It's a bit less coordinated, definitely behind in development, but maybe it'll be okay after all?