Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Anniebee]

Same here. Rode lots of horses in my life , but never as well as this one. We finally got the foaling shelter done and this morning I found Jack in there. He is a little tired after his weekend of jumping. Lots of oats tonight. They are off to the mainland again in January, so he can have a bit of rest now. Show jumping season ended with champs.

We have a lovely little bay gelding that is just off the track , when I say little , he is almost 16 h. He is the sweetest horse and so relaxed. Can't wait to see him ' out and about ' at comps.

The photographs are superb Fancy ... and well done to your daughter. No wonder you are so proud.

I gather she rides for other owners too - as you mentioned she was happy with her mount, in one post. If so, then she has risen to great heights in the show ring.

Used to live around horses, rode - including jumps, however I gave that all up when arthritis began to visit - some 15 years or so back. I would end up in hospital now I think, if I even took a horse over cavaletti. !!

My balance ain't what it used to be !!

Cheers .......

 

[Anniebee]

Thanks to all who commented on my story about the Emporer Penguin and Antarctica. So glad you enjoyed it.

Craig absolutely loves being there --- it is like a different planet and so quiet, serene - but can be treacherous. They are all kept busy, but the list of what he does is too long to
go into here. His main job is dieso mechanic, but he has to assist scientists etc. as well - out on the ice and there's plenty of scientific experiments done there.

He is also the 'lay surgical assistant' ... ( which blew my mind ) ... but he enjoyed every moment of gaining his certificate from the Royal Hobart Hospital where he learned the instruments, techniques, and sterilisation processes. Has already been on a 10 person, medic team that had to go to Macquarie Island to attend to and rescue a badly injured and ill person there - prior to leaving for Davis. It was decided at the time, that surgery was not immediately necessary, and he was taken back to Royal Hobart Hospital for treatment, after they'd patched him up.

The photographs that are supplied, not only from Craig, but from the Australian Antarctic Division ( AAD ) ... are really fantastic. It is a truly fascinating place.

Again thanks for the positive feedback.

...........

And Teila .... I agree with everyone here - there is always 'one' who will try to upset apple carts with their nasty comments. They are trolls, who get their sick kicks from
just being nasty and insulting others. I usually respond to them in such a way, that they know they've been dealt with --- but I never abuse them back. Finally I warn them of blocking,
or reporting, say that is "the end of it " - .... others do the same, and eventually they disappear, to find some other place to be nasty.

Never let it upset you.

Cheers all ---

 

[RodneyRooster]

Thanks @Fancychooklady thatchart is great! Ur so full of helpful resources it doesnt really seem to be like the one described on it tho and she has not had any extra calcium of late.

@satay she is LS x RIW. 3 speckled eggs in a yr

Ill take a pic

 

[RodneyRooster]

Same base colour as all her others. Alwys seems to be the slighty darker shade of her range tho

 

[RodneyRooster]

@Teila should have told him to come join ur thread and see how many fiercely protective friends u have!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks @Fancychooklady thatchart is great! Ur so full of helpful resources it doesnt really seem to be like the one described on it tho and she has not had any extra calcium of late.

@satay she is LS x RIW. 3 speckled eggs in a yr

Ill take a pic

The spots and colour will vary. It could be nutritional either way. What is the calcium ratio in your feed ?

 

[RodneyRooster]

@Fancychooklady

 

[Fancychooklady]

@Fancychooklady

That all looks fairly adequate, but if you have any Roos in your flock its best to keep the calcium under 2%. Do you add table scraps of treats to their daily diet ?
If so , is there any extra calcium ?
Faulty shell gland or a simple hiccup in the shell production is also a possibility.

 

[RodneyRooster]

That all looks fairly adequate, but if you have any Roos in your flock its best to keep the calcium under 2%. Do you add table scraps of treats to their daily diet ?
If so , is there any extra calcium ?
Faulty shell gland or a simple hiccup in the shell production is also a possibility.

Thanks. One of my girls had thin shells with a small build up at the top back when everyone else seemed to be having thin shell issues too haha and i noticed yesterday she had the same thing again. Just that one girl. Yes i give treats everyday but rarely calcium. I give them yoghurts either when the kids havent been eating much so its getting to the end of its life or if theres no waterbased fruits when its hot hot so maybe every 3-4 weeks during summer ill give them some yoghurt, otherwise no calcium treats.

Might have a look at one of the other feeds ive always been drawn to next time i go down then and see if it has less, ive asked about it before and basically theyve said that the one im using now is the best and most popular - of course they didnt tailor their advice specifically tho

 

[Teila]

Good morning Friends

I think I have been on a horse once in my life when I was much younger and that might have actually been a pony

I believe I have mentioned in the past, horses are beautiful but as I know very little about them, how to handle them etc, I prefer to admire from a distance.

Thank you Anniebee, I handled the bully with my usual grace and charm; I do not need to sink to her level; Karma is always lurking

Thank you RodneyRooster, that means a lot to me.

I didn’t mention this yesterday because I did not have time to tell the story and as you know, I do like to tell a story

Anyways [touch wood] I have not experienced a predator attack here but I was woken at 04:30am yesterday morning by much screeching, frantic flapping of wings in the coop .. what I can only best describe as what I would imagine having a fox, or cat etc in the coop would sound like.

As tends to be the case in these situations, flew out of bed, dressing on the way out the door just in time to see the girls all rushing down the ramp, wings still flapping, still screeching, absolute panic.

I am living my worse nightmare, adrenaline is pumping and I am so scared for their safety .. what am I dealing with here? My eyes are darting everywhere, trying to count gals, check for injuries, find the predator, how did it get in? etc etc

On opening the big door on the coop, no large predator .. hmmm, OK, look for something smaller, snake etc .. nope, nothing, zip, zilch. Spent a good 30 minutes checking absolutely everywhere and everyone.

The only ‘evidence’ was a couple of LuLu feathers on the coop floor. I have no idea what the reason was but I am thinking LuLu might have fallen off the roost, spooking everyone else; or someone jumped off the roost, landing on LuLu or something maybe landed on the coop roof, freaking them out.

If you remember, my set up has the coop in the middle with a front and back run .. breakfast is served in the front run .. even with breakfast in the front run, there was no way they were going there .. they were gathered in the far corner of the back run and not budging.

With much encouragement, I finally got them to come in the front run for breakfast at 10am .. my racing heart did not settle until well after that

I did not sleep well last night, one ear tuned in for any signs of a repeat .. nothing, all good this morning. Interestingly, for the first time in ages, no eggs were laid yesterday.

ETA: Ooops, nearly forgot .... Happy Birthday to LuLu who turns 2 today

As she is hubby's chicken, I have no doubt that she will get some sort of treat when he gets home from work