Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

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CanuckBock

THE Village Ijit
10 Years
Oct 25, 2013
1,598
1,152
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Alberta, Canada
My Coop
My Coop
Heel low:

I would like to welcome you to my family...to my life living here in paradise.
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Pear-A-Dice

I am a retired accountant that drives school bus (to buy bird seeds!) and my husband Rick is a grader operator and cabinet maker.


1998 - This is the opposite of "HyBlading!"


Latest photo of Glorph & my "Boy!" - July 26, 2014

My spouse and I run Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Central Alberta, Canada. We are a biosecure hobby farm with no expectations of profit...happiness is not normally found on any Income Statement but we see that all the more reason to continue to pursue it with ZEST!
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We love what we do and hope to be able to share that feeling through photos and my words about daily life living the dream.


Sign I carved for the Swan House

We are intense and dead serious about our FUN! Not a day goes by where we sit idle (idleness is the holiday of fools!). Every day is precious and every day is a brand new start to the future fun. Something to look forward to and enjoy to the fullest. Bring her on!

I'm a truck gal thru and thru...lift that load, tote that bale...get her done so we can have dinner, eh!
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Truck & different trailers fer hauling various loads


Tractor for lifting, moving, tilling, snow removal...


Life has been made SO much easier here with equipment to use. My Hero takes care of so many tasks to help run this place.

Speaking of which...better intro the live things since they are the whole reason for the existence of the Ranch!

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Foamy and Fixins frolicking

Our family has had poultry, dogs, and livestock since we were children (my spouse and I have a combined 90+ years of experience in having tons of FUN!). The happiness we seek is right behind our eyes and enjoyed here every single day.


October 2003

We raise poultry (heritage chickens, heritage turkeys, pheasants, ducks, geese, Ruddy Shels, and swans), Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, and Australian Cattle Dogs. We blame the dogs for all the troubles they have herded us into...yes, bad stock dogs...BAD DOGS!
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Muttley Crew of FIVE canines - Foamy, Stoggar, Fixins, HyBlade, and Makins
Anyone just has to see the facilities and resources (some 30 buildings--go see "My Coop" for more on those) we extend to our animals to realize we are in this for the sheer love of the hobby. Our animals are raised as naturally as is sensible; we do not raise our waterfowl on wire (like many people do!) and have a zero predation record since Earth Day 2007.


Pastures and orchard

We practise many biosecure protocols and will use chemicals as per our vet's advice to keep parasites under control.


Fecal Float to determine worm count

Have done fecal floats here at home to determine worm loads and use labs to do DNA testing for gender in our swans and DNA colour genetics in our dogs (taught 450+ Biology 30 students canine colour presentations over the years with ACDogs Makins and HyBlade).


DNA gender testing Australian Black Swan cob

Never used antibiotics on any of the poultry but would in an instant (have some on hand for emergencies which I often have to replace because they have expired--sigh!) as per our vet's instructions.



Rosy - Blue Fawn Call Duck; Reserve in Breed - 2006

We are devoted poultry "Fanciers" and take great pride in our birds. I use to show waterfowl but quit due to biosecure concerns--my vet's preaching of "Do you want what everyone ELSE has?," finally sunk in! Our first entry at a sanctioned poultry show was in 2006 and our entry of Rosy was the very first Blue Fawn Call duck hen to ever go Reserve in Breed here in North America...at the time this variety was unrecognized (fully recognized now), so her win was totally against APA and ABA SOP rules. Was a neat way to start showing poultry, eh? Having our birds breaking the rules right from the very start!
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I get asked what we have critter wise, so let's get that part over with so we can get down to the daily grinding of living the good life.


Looking into the Bird Yard - 2008

As of today...we have the following creatures!
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Silver Appleyard duck Gala - February 2010

Waterfowl:
DUCKS: Calls (24 varieties), East Indies, Mandarins (Wild & White), Crested Ducks (White, Grey, Black, & Black Bibbed), Australian Spotted (3 varieties), Dutch Hookbills (crested and non), & Appleyards (crested and non).


Mandarin Ducks

GEESE: Buff, Buff Tufted, & Buff Pied American.
Ruddy Shelduck/Shelgoose.
SWANS: Australian Black.


Rick's Ruddy Shels & Dad's DOG Fixins...fiery RED things!
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Landfowl:
BANTAM Chickens: Brahmas (Dark, Light, Buff, & Partridge), Wyandottes (White, Blue Dilutions, Laced, Barred, & Crele), Booteds (MDF & White), & Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff & White).
STANDARD Chickens: Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff, Red, & White).
Heritage TURKEYS: Wishard Bronze, Red Bronze, Blue Bronze (Red/Bronze Slate/Fawn), Red Blue Bronze, Blue Slate, Rusty Black, Dilute Rusty Black, Narragansett, Jersey Buff, JB Grey downed, Bourbon Red, Lilac, White & Sweetgrass/Ronquière (Black, Red & White (Desert Palm/Sweetgrass tricolour/Yellow-shouldered Ronquière), Black & White (Royal Palm BLACK patterned Ronquière Jaspee), Red & White (Royal Palm RED patterned Ronquière Fauve), & Rich red/chocolate patterned (Ronquière Perdrix).


Red Golden pheasant hen

PHEASANTS: Red Golden & Silver.


Waterfall and Fish Pond - 2006

Registered: Australian Cattle Dogs, Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, & Llamas.
Pond Fish.



Heidi and Momma Dixie - Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats


Nascor & Rota - Jacob Sheep

I wouldn't trade it for anything


We do some pretty funky things now and again...this is the covered wagon Rick built for me...I braided up the harnesses, trained the rams, and Voila...

Draft sheep at the Big Horn Rodeo parade...Yee Haw and slop the chickens, eh!
As with the birds, I use to show the Jacobs but for biosecure reasons, have now kept a closed flock since 2003.


Canada's 1st Grand Champion Jacob Ewe Melody - Olds, Alberta 2003


I love the buildings Rick designs and builds for the ranch...he builds 'em and I fill 'em up! LOL
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The Taj Mahal to house the Mandarin Ducks


Rick even comes up with some rather nifty economical & useful inventions...such a smart man that one!


Rick Higgins' Invention - The Five Gallon Pail Nest

Oh, how I love my dogs & ducks (Fear The Duck!)
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Fixins and Pudgy

and my Hero, well he ALSO loves his trucks...

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http://www.stovebolt.com/gallery/higgins_mapleleaf.html

Being a ranch, we are also working on restoring some big rig vintage farm trucks (six 1936 Chevrolet Maple Leafs, two 1928 Chev one-tons, 1989 Chev 4x4 one-ton, and our regular ride, a 1984 Chev 4x4).


Three of Six 1936 Chev Maple Leafs


1989 Chev one ton 4x4 & 1984 Chev 4x4


One of Two 1928 Chev one tons with Makins

Because I often get asked about the names and phrases we use...

The Ranch is named after the first initials of our all our names RAT; R for Rick, A for Alexander and T for Tara and my name backwards "a raT" and no, we do not raise RATS! We just think it is cute to call the place this as Alberta is touted to be rat free--'cept for us that is!
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My salutation for each post begins with the greeting of Heel low to pay homage to the Heeler Dog's scissor grip and I will sign off each post with Doggone as that is where I am headed...to be with them dawgs out and about. Chicken UP! is a saying designed by Rick...for our youth exhibition poultry club. Round here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, you will often hear the cowboys/girls say "Cowboy up," well we just simply "Chicken UP" here!
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Various forms of chocolate & blue Call Ducklings


A Dozen VERY Fresh Eggs!

For 30 years, I apprenticed in chooks with a bunch of barnyard mutts...Oh the MANY things those birds taught me...lots of beaky bitey pecks and wing slaps to the tete...proves even the dull and dumb can make progress given enough time and incentives!
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We've slowly progressed somewhat from the backyard flocks over the years!

May as well talk about some of the last additions, first since a lot of the in-betweens will show up here on a day to day basis summarized when I find a moment to post on this thread about our ongoing family life.

What a summer we had last year...summer of the swans!
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Fire Ember in foreground, Rat Ranch Fixins in the shade, and Black Pearl flapping with joy

It was a life long dream for us to acquire Australian Black Swans.


Girls in 8-week quarantine nibbling on romaine lettuce

In 2009, we brought in Stove Pipe (Holland import) and Smoke Stack (Alberta/Ontario cross).


Smokey in the foreground, Piper in the background.

We completed the dream last year on our Ranch's 15th year anniversary by importing two unrelated pens from the Southern States to complete the uniting of the two cobs with their mates...life long mates. And yeh, Black Swans have a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years...no light undertaking that commitment!
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Pearl & Ember

This May 7th, Pearl gave us five beautiful swan eggs (see my hand trembling below?)...Piper was moulting and not so interested in the next generation of Black Swans...but it does give us something promising to look forward to (nice to have that pending, eh?)...a future with cygnets!
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Australian Black Swan Pearl's egg - 230 grams


Veg Garden - July 7, 2014

Because of so many weather factors living here, Rick built me a lovely greenhouse...now if I was not ever so busy hatching birds at that time of year...might see a bit more production plant wise!


Greenhouse in Orchard - 2007

We hatch birds here late compared to most (June to September) but then I get to enjoy putting them outside on the lawns as Day Olds! No worries either that there is not at minimum 14 hours of natural sunshine to ensure good quality egg shells and fertility is at its peak. The wild Wood Ducks in our area hatch ducklings for the end of June...why fight good sensible Nature? So we mimic her and enjoy the benefits of that.


Bantam & Standard sized chicks - July 14, 2014


Red standard Chantecler doing "face plant" in chick starter
We natural hatched all our poultry up until 2007 when we purchased Buster the Bator. We still natural hatch in the winter months, but do most of the other hatching using him.


Call Ducks the size of pocket change

After a bit of learning how to prune fruit trees, this Dolgo crabapple survived my attentions and sure makes a spectacular show every June.


June 14, 2009

I am a colour breeder and study colour genetics. I often find White birds terribly boring once they replicate truly. Our first attentions go to vigour and natural disease resistance, fertility & production, temperament and longevity....all BEFORE we care about "what the birds look like" as in phenotype!
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Bantam White Wyandotte roo

I enjoy taking good quality, well shaped birds (breed) and instilling that into different varieties (colour patterns). My thoughts are that all the varieties within the breed should have the same positive attributes no matter what colour patterns they possess. I like the challenge there is in producing a rainbow of colours and patterns and then investing the years of fun & creative work it takes to make them pure breeding predictable varieties once again.


F4 Generation - not quite White but getting CLOSER!
May 13, 2014 - winter natural hatched

I have nine years invested already in making real blooded BANTAM Chanteclers from Standards.


Top - Standard Chant eggs
Bottom - Good quality eggs from the Bantam project birds

I hope to have Partridge, Buff, and Whites in bantam chickens by doing what we have always done, retain the top three percent for breeding prospects and repeating that season after season after season.



Sweetgrass turkey girl Chiq and her "bowtie"



Buff and Buff Pied American Geese parents and six not so little "goslings" - 2013

Glenn Drowns wrote the latest edition of Storey's Guide to Poultry which has a farm profile on us in it...I figure it is a good short like summary of what we do here. I'll post that now to give you a general idea of some of the concepts regarding what we do here.


Storey's Guide to Poultry, by Glenn Drowns, 2012; Pages 318 & 319:



Pretty is, as Pretty does...


Extra Large - July 27, 2014

Production in our poultry is most important...you won't find me touting the virtues of heritage poultry that don't put good tasty firm meats and great delicious good-for-all eggs on our plates to be enjoyed.


Buff standard Chantecler cockerel harvested at 20 week old fryer - 2009

For us, poultry = production or why would one bother raising birds without these BENEFITS to enjoy?
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Bantam Duck Eggs
Left: 3 Indie eggs (note that the first eggs they will lay are dark!)
Middle: Circle of Call Duck eggs
Right: 3 Australian Spotted Duck eggs​



Waterfowl Eggs
Top: 2 American Buff Goose eggs
Middle: 3 Silver Appleyard Duck eggs
Bottom: Left; 2 Production Rouen Duck eggs AND Right; 3 Dutch Hookbill Duck eggs​




Easter 2012 - Heritage Turkey Dinner


Thanksgiving 2012 - Heritage Turkey Soup
Whilst raising up heritage poultry costs MORE in time, efforts, and resources (feed & water well; your inputs = your outputs!) to do compared to the factory farm mush meats and grocery store swill eggs...the pay back in quality and taste <<a premium quality happiness product>> more than makes up for the added monetary expenditures! There is no price to be put upon the love that is created and shared when you choose to keep heritage poultry.
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So let me close this beginning post with some of the lyrics from a great song that I adore and have used in the title of this new thread of ours.

A song all about...JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!
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Just Another Day in Paradise
Phil Vassar:​

The kids screaming, phone ringing
Dog barking at the mailman bringing
That stack of bills - overdue
Good morning baby, how are you?
Got a half hour, quick shower
Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour
My funny face makes you laugh
Twist the top on and I put it back
There goes the washing machine
Baby, don't kick it.
I promise I'll fix it
Long about a million other things

Well, it's OK. It's so nice
It's just another day in paradise
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be
Well, it's two hearts
And one dream
I wouldn't trade it for anything
And I ask the Lord every night
For just another day in paradise​

Hope y'all enjoy these posts...posts from the Great White Northern Pear-A-Dice living the happy family life.
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Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
 
Tara, I love all the pics and your place as always is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing! I think it is great that you started your own thread! Congrats!
 

Hee hee...two thumbs up and the consumption of popcorn (extra butter please for moi as I am getting ready for winter now, eh!)...so it must be good! LOL


Phew, that made for some reading! It really is a remarkable place you've built up.

Thank you...was every second an investment in FUN! Can we have too much of a good thing like fun...hope not!

Any songswans in the plans?

Ha ha ha...I had to go look that up.
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Hoping not tomorrow or the next day, but I have lived a good life, so it may be what will be.
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Hoping more on about the FULL retirement than actually kicking the bucket, OK?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_song:
: κύκνειον ᾆσμα) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans (Cygnus spp.) sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime. This belief, whose basis in actuality is long-debated, had become proverbial in Ancient Greece by the 3rd century BCE, and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art.


"The singing swan" (1655) by Reinier van Persijn.

Love learning something new! Thank you.

Hmmm...says swans don't make nice musical noises (or are silent...big joke there past maybe the breed of the Mute Swans-Cygnus olor but even those are just less vocal than the rest) . Well I beg to differ! I wish I was more "fluent" in computer to be able to tape the sounds the four we have here make. Really quite enjoyable...better sounding than Rick's song birds...the Buff Geese...as I refer to them.
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Piper piping

It is not a trumpet like the Trumpeters make...no...(those ones do fly over here in the late fall...they are so large and so breathtaking...it literally is magical to witness them migrating.). The Ozzy Blacks make a beautiful crescending musical bugle amongst other sound offs!


Why yes, we do have a Piper that PIPES!
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Some of the sounding off sounds by the Australian Blacks are used to announce "I am wing flapping" after or even during a nice bath...



Piper in kiddie pond



Big wing flaps around the swan yards



Note the amount of white in the wing primaries!


Younger Black swans have less white in their wing feathers...the white increases as they mature and the black lacing on the edges goes completely way in the older specimens.




This is female Ember, she is younger than Pearl by probably six or so months.


This is Pearl who is older and has more white in her wings...

And yes, you will notice that all the swans we have are pinioned too...missing the end joint part of their wings...done as very young cygnets and not by me...I will do the same to the cygnets...grin and bear it and just do it.
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I do hate lopping stuff off but it does make keeping them easier and safe too--no just popping over the fence to get into all sorts of troubles! The pair of Ruddy Shels of Rick's are pinioned also but not our Mandarin Ducks.


They need to fly up to the "tree nests" to lay eggs, so we leave them be. You can trim the wing feathers on one wing with scissors (trim feathers, not the actual wing!) if you like and until they moult and grown in new fully useable wing feathers again, are pretty "flightless."




Before we had the Blacks, I thought they were completely black but a little tidbit about how pigments affect feathers helps explain why they have white wing feathers. The strongest feathers are white (no pigment makes for a white feather)...so though in the wild Aussies don't really migrate living in Australia...they do still fly. It would be advantageous to have white wing feathers so their wings would be nice and strong for flying!


Piper has no black lacing in his primaries

A lower keyed sound (more a nagging shrill like one to go along with the bop bop of their heads) is used by the pens...when I come to let them out for the day...or when they call to us when we arrive home. "We SEE you...come let us out...right NOW!"
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Very much like geese, guarding and watching...very inquisitive and like the geese, nothing would be able to sneak up on them.


Pearl approaching me to nag at me..."Where's my romaine?"


big tromping webbers
and her head drops



to quickly rise up (BOP) and I get the full BIRD salute with vocalizations!
Like the swans are saying to me, "What took you so long...??? And don't EVEN TRY to tell us there is anything MORE important than just us!"



There is a very aggressive war cry sound when the cobs are defending territory...very loud and vocal...first would be the charge, followed by hard wing slaps, and much fussing over nothing much!

But all very intimidating!
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Smokey with an evil eye
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I just laugh at them but I am sure others not use to them might be taken aback!



My photographic SIL took this photo of Piper...he DOES look intimidating in all his ruffles fluffles, eh!
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They really do get into shaking up all those ruffly feathers--like some dainty school girly in a ruffled pinafore...


"Oh heavens...it is NOT the wavy apron of dangerous floofy feathers approaching... We should SO run away now! Away, AWAY!"
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I guess my problem is that I have photographic proof how silly these regal swans can really be...who knew until you spend some years in their company, eh?
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I was out fencing with the dogs in tow and left some gates open...never thinking the silly girls would actually follow us...well I guessed wrong!

Like periscopes in the long long grass...."We found you!"​


Pearl & Ember
swinging their heads while they "SHAKE IT PAPPA SHAKE!"


Lookit those silly wing feathers and those very widdle webbers...
Swan Lake...HA! You see a dainty pair of ballet slippers on those feets any time soon?? I think NOT!
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The swans can do tricks too...like balancing romaine on their bills!


Pearl a Girla doing tricks!

I wondered if they would be any good at shining up boots; you know a spit and a polish? Perhaps licorice boots?


But Pearl only gave the boots a bite and told me to "Get stuffed!"


She will do quality control on water bottles quite well tho



So I guess no "swansong" from me just yet but lots of FUN from the actual birds themselves!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teila

Thank you Tara for allowing me to partake a little in your day ... I look forward to reading the news from the Rat Ranch
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Regards and best wishes
Teila

Glad you accepted the invitation!

The more the merrier but even if it is only a handful of people that want to catch up on "the news" (<---cute, I like that!), good enough by me.
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It is about always about QUALITY, not quantity in my books!


Congrats on the brave move.

I look forward to reading your diary

Thank you Oz...

I will never reach the popularity of your own good thread but sure to have some fun along the way, eh?
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All about enjoying the fun stuff...


Tara, I love all the pics and your place as always is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing! I think it is great that you started your own thread! Congrats!

Yah...another fun person to join the <<ahem>> silliness...

Thank you for the kind words and for joining in the happiness!
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Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
 
Tara thank you so much for giving me the link to your new thread. I love it here. I am really enjoying the education I'm getting on geese, and so many other topics - minus crabby teachers and tons of homework.
 

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