Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Been there, done that. LOL. Except because I'm such a nerd, I recorded it all digitally rather than in a notebook. Its kind of fun making graphs with colorful squiggly little lines from the results

OH yes, I was using Fertility Friend online for my charts. Now I don't bother and just write it down and don't worry about too much since I'm not trying to anticipate anything. But yeah, the charts are so much fun to create! LOL So funnY!

 

[Hawkeye95]

I don't blame you. Was it Amazon you purchased from? Perhaps you could return it using their returns policy? I've never had to return anything to them so I can't remember how long you have to do it, and if you don't have the original packaging maybe they won't take it back, but it might be worth looking into....

I have the original box, but not the receipt. I probably threw it away about a week or so after I bought it. Sigh. It's okay, I'll take the loss. I'll just be MUCH more cautious to check my therms from now on! Off to go check my incubator with my BBT again.... I bet the makers of my BBT would fall over laughing if they knew I was using it for spot checking temps on incubating eggs.... aaaah, the similarities or maybe it's irony???

 

[Hawkeye95]

I'm down to 99.9 and I adjusted it down a teeny tiny bit again. SIgh.

 

[JosieChick]

Hi all,

You guys are too fast for me!!! She is the GP in Leroy. Owner says she is about 8 years old, I was afraid everyone would think I was crazy for getting such an old girl but I thought she would be a good start for us and sounds like just a perfect girl all around. I am going on Friday to look at her which pretty much means picking her up! I thought if we could get an older dog that is wise to the world she could help me with a pup in the near future. DH already knows that when I have found the right pup we are getting one because this girl isn't going to be around forever and I don't want to go from being spoiled with a dog around to no dog at all. SO a puppy is with an older dog seems like a good solution. Life expectancy on these guys is 10-12 years. I groomed dogs for years before I started grad school and loved the GP that came in, hated grooming them because they only came in once a year, but always lovely dogs.

I am a bit confused about the will stick around the yard/will run away aspect. I plan on keeping her in the goat/spare roo pen for a while and getting her lots of goodies to keep her busy so she will feel welcome. I know she will be wary of me for a bit but I am hoping I can befriend her. Owner said she is a very sweet dog and does not wander far or run away. I keep hearing people say they will take off given the opportunity??? After she is settled in I would really like to be able to leave her out of the pen so she can protect our property. The goats are hopefully going to have access to the pasture as will the geese and I would like her to obviously be out there with them to protect them. Doesn't make much sense to me to leave the guardian dog in the pen and let the critters out to be eaten!! How long of an adjustment period does she need, a couple weeks? Every farm I have been to that had GP the dogs wandered around the yard and down along the pasture fence lines but I never saw them take off and disappear? If they were out of sight it wasn't for long. Am I mistaken?

Thanks for answers!

 

[JosieChick]

Danz-Just read your GPs don't run away if bonded with farm animals, sorry, missed that earlier!! It seems like everytime I read about someones livestock guardian running away or straying too far it has Anatolian in it. I read a lot online last night about guardian dogs and it is fascinating how different breeds of dogs work differently to protect livestock. Who knew they had such a diverse range of techniques!

Hawkeye- Don't beat yourself up, incubating eggs is a lot of work and kind of an art form. I still lose chicks sometimes that I think should have made it and I have been hatching for over 2 years. I saw you have a Brinsea. Is it an octagon? I have found with my brinsea that I can't trust the "air" temperature. I have a Brinsea spot check thermometer and I make an "egg thermometer" for each batch of eggs I put in the bator. I just pick an unfertilized egg, make a tiny hole in the top and stick the spot check probe into the egg. Then I tape it to the egg with a band aid (don't know why, they just stick really well to eggs where scotch tape lets go over time) This will give you the temp inside the egg, my thermometer at the top of my octagon usually reads around 100.1-100.2 on average. I just ignore it and watch my homemade egg thermometer. This way you get a lot less of the temperature swings that you will see with an air temp, the temp inside the egg is much more constant. Chicks can die in the process of forming for a million reasons. A change in temp, humidity etc are only a few of the huge can of worms of variables involved with getting a chick to hatch. If it makes you feel any better, I have a fantastically hard time getting silkies to hatch, I get them all the way to lockdown and they never hatch. Some pip the air cell, some don't. It has taken me many tragically failed hatches to get to the point where most of my silkies hatch now. Don't give up, I know how hard it is to lose them and feel like it is your fault but it is a learning process.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye 101 degrees won't cook an egg. It just makes them develop a little too fast. Sorry about your thermometer. I just buy the cheap digitals at Walmart and have wonderful luck with them. They've been really accurate.
Josie the only reason to pen the dog at all is to get her to bond with you and your livestock. Since she has spent her whole life elsewhere she needs to learn where her new home and animals to protect are. At max I would keep her in a pen for a couple weeks. You'll know when the time is right to let her out. She will accept you and all will be well.
Everyone is very opinionated when it comes to things like LGDs but the truth of the matter just lies in the dog itself. Either it is a good livestock guardian or it's not. They aren't different from any other dog breed. They just need to learn where home is. I would say since it is coming from an older couple it is probably going to be an easy switch. Believe me for the price they are selling her for it's a real bargain.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye 101 degrees won't cook an egg. It just makes them develop a little too fast. Sorry about your thermometer. I just buy the cheap digitals at Walmart and have wonderful luck with them. They've been really accurate.

Really?? So you don't think the 100.9 is what killed my egg?? Well if it didn't kill it, it sure didn't help it! I'm now down to 99.8 and I just moved it another teeny tiny bit and will check again in a while. At least now, I'm in a much more reasonable temperature. I honestly didn't think to check the digital. My digital was reading 99-- and that is when it was actually nearly 101. And NOW my digital therm in there (the piece 'o crap) is reading 97! We're talking about a 2 degree difference!! That is kind of a big deal. Oh the neurosis I could have over this. I hope I sleep tonight! Now I'll be wondering if Rosie's poor little rosecombs might have been fine and instead I put them in the "Incubator Of DEATH" to torture and kill them off. UGH.

 

[HEChicken]

I just pick an unfertilized egg, make a tiny hole in the top and stick the spot check probe into the egg. Then I tape it to the egg with a band aid (don't know why, they just stick really well to eggs where scotch tape lets go over time) This will give you the temp inside the egg....

Thanks Josie - this is a great idea. I'm going to remember this for next time I incubate.

On the LGD issue, Candace has written an article (I can try to find the link for you tomorrow if you're interested), on keeping one dog vs. multiples and what she says makes a lot of sense. Disclaimer: the reason she sent me the link to her article is because I was asking if you can have just one, and that was in her response. I do not have and have not had LGD's but might consider it in the future. Anyway....I know you are planning on this being the older dog who trains your pup but you might consider down the road, when your older dog has passed, getting another pup that can be trained by the first pup (who will then be an adult) so that you always have two....

 

[averytds]

Even hatcheries have bad hatches and their stuff is likely much more state of the art compared to anything we are using, so don't beat yourself up about it. Personally, I'd lower the temp and let the eggs keep going. Then just look for some possibly ahead of schedule.

Maybe we don't have any 4H practice shows around here. Poultry isn't high on the list around here either though, so it doesn't surprise me. Too bad, it would be good for the kids. Maybe after we get some more going with our program here we can get a one day district thing going. We hadn't planned on going to Rosie's fair and ours, only Rosie's. They are usually held the same week. I was getting really fed up with ours. The kids didn't want to switch clubs however, so it's a non issue.

We're 100% new to 4H and are mainly the pioneers with all things poultry. Not 1 time have I asked a question of anyone in 4H, both clubs and extension office regarding poultry that anyone has ever been able to answer or even tell me where to go. Our first foray into state was a major fiasco full of nobody knows, never been, no idea...... It truly stinks some times. I hate being a pest, but contacting state has been my only hope to date. Outside of 4H, like when we got into opens, I've relied on breed clubs and BYC members for info. Took forever to fill out the kids first opens entry form.

 

[JosieChick]

HEchicken-Thanks so much!! I have actually just gotten in touch with Candace about a pup!! I do plan on always keeping two so they can work together. After reading her website I understand the need for more than one dog so they don't exhaust themselves. My goal with this new endeavor is to always have one dog that is the "experienced" one that will bring up the next LGD puppy. The thought of two puppies at once makes me want to roll over and give up. But I think between me and an experienced, trustworthy older dog we can manage. I also wouldn't want to leave an older dog on her own just because I imagine she is getting a little stiffer with age so she can use the "young blood" to prevent herself from being exhausted. Unfortunately she will have to be alone for a bit because all of Candace's current litter is sold and I want to make sure I get a pup from someone that is willing to offer advice and support to a LGD newbie.