Consolidated Kansas

[Ivywoods]

IMO one livestock dog does fine as long as she doesn't have a lot of animals or a large area to patrol. They are smart enough to retreat when they get in over their head. It would be wise, I agree to let the dog gets used to it's new home then get a pup for it to train. I certainly wouldn't put a pup in with a dog that wasn't at home yet. If you have two dogs they work as a pair. One usually works the outside area while the other works up close to the animals. If one or the other has a big problem they have a certain bark and the second one will come running to assist. However if you don't have a lot for them to watch and you have two dogs they can easily get bored and that is when they might start wandering some. A pup along with an older dog to train it is the perfect set up in my opinion. The older established dog will train the pup and it keeps them both occupied. If I were you Josie, I would ask the people you are getting the dog from where they got their dog. There is an outstanding GP breeder in the LeRoy area with huge dogs that are known for their excellent abilities. Unfortunately I don't know what their name is and the person I could ask if off work on medical leave right now so I have no way to contact them for the information.
People will argue till they are blue in the face about LGD. But the one true thing I think everyone agrees on is there is no dog better suited all around for livestock as well as poultry than a Great Pyrenees. They are beautiful, smart, loyal and majestic.

Agree totally!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

KarenS & Hawkeye, I'm with you two also, incubator hell here.

My sympathies.

 

[Trish44]

GPs fascinate me with their intelligence. This morning my goofy one, Lily who I call Lily pilly because she is kind of a pill right now, was messing with a baby kitten when she knew she wasn't supposed to. I went out & scolded her & Jasmine was standing there & reached over & nudged Lily with her paw like come on lets get out of here. She is the really awesome one of the two & in my opinion is going to be the best LGD. Lily is a people dog, she loves attention & being around us when we go out, but Jasmine is very shy & reserved & cautious about people. She also listens twice better than her sister. I have thought for quite awhile now that Jas will be the leader & Lily will be backup. I can't wait until they start getting out to run off the night predators. I hear them barking even from in their run at night, so even from there they're scaring some thing away. The rabbit hutches are right next to their run, so anything that comes up there should be scared away by that big woof they have. Even at five months they have a very deep bark & they sound ferocious.

Hawkeye, I finally got my incubator back on track, I should have left well enough alone because it took me hours to get it back to where I wanted it. I'll leave the temp control alone from now one, geez. I did order a couple of those therm/hygrometers that IVY said she got because they're much smaller & that is one issue I'm having with the one I have it's just too darned big for the incubator. It slides around & that's what cracked my egg, plus it's hard to see because of where I have to put it. The smaller ones will be much better & I should have them this week. IVY, by the way I found the same one from the company itself on eBay & the shipping is about a third what it is from their web site, so if you need any more get them there. They even ship more than one for the same price.

KarenS, I hope you're feeling better soon, I always kick myself for being such a clutz too. Good luck on your hatch, are these Aloha eggs? I've been following that thread on BYC, it's interesting.

I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I found out there is a source for Cream Legbar chicks closer to home & I won't have to have them shipped. I'm so excited! I have just been drooling over those & I'm going to get a pair later this summer along with some Swedish Flowers also. Keena if you read this, it's all your fault, LOL! No, really I'm so thrilled to be able to get these rare chickens. I may have to sell off something else to make room for them, but I'm not going to miss out on this opportunity.

Well one more day until my little doe rabbit is due to have her babies. I'm so excited! Little baby Mini Rex, how cute will those be! She has been working frantically getting her nest ready. She's such a cutie, she is on the smaller end of the scale for that breed, but not as small as a Netherland Dwarf if you all know what they look like. She is pretty small though for a rabbit, but that's what I like about this breed is their size & the velvety fur.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

KarenS, I hope you're feeling better soon, I always kick myself for being such a clutz too. Good luck on your hatch, are these Aloha eggs? I've been following that thread on BYC, it's interesting.


Well one more day until my little doe rabbit is due to have her babies. I'm so excited! Little baby Mini Rex, how cute will those be! She has been working frantically getting her nest ready. She's such a cutie, she is on the smaller end of the scale for that breed, but not as small as a Netherland Dwarf if you all know what they look like. She is pretty small though for a rabbit, but that's what I like about this breed is their size & the velvety fur.

Yup, they're Alohas and Aloha crosses! Can't wait! How many Swedish Flowers are you going to get? I would love to have just one or two!

I'm going to look up the mini rex bunnies. I just may need to get one of those from you. How long till you might have Chinchilla babies? My kids have been taught how to handle animals -- we have Maltese dogs who aren't recommended for children because they're so small and relatively fragile but the only injury we ever had was from our dearly departed labrador who accidentally stepped on Jorgie's foot and broke a toe.

 

[chicken danz]

I noticed that greenfire farms has swedish flower hen chicks for $20 each. I don't know if that is a good price or not. Seems a lot to me for a baby chick but they have some breeds that are $200 a baby chick. Crazy. I like my chickens but not anywhere near that much.

 

[Trish44]

KarenS, I have one momma Mini Rex that is due tomorrow to have her babies, she is a first time momma. Then I have a litter that is going to be 5 weeks old this weekend so I will have at least 2 of those, probably a pair that I will be selling in 3 weeks. I'm going to keep 3 out of her litter. The Mini Rex though are quite a bit more expensive than the Chinchillas. I think at least that my oldest Chinchilla doe is bred, it's hard to tell for sure yet, but if she is she will have her babies around the middle of April. I'm not that good at palpating for pregnancy yet, it's kind of an art form I think, even experienced breeders sometimes have problems with it. Danz, yeah Greenfire Farms is quite expensive & they have a waiting list miles long. KarenS, I'm planning on getting just a pair to start of the Swedish Flowers unless her price is really good on the chicks, we'll see. Her price I know on the Cream Legbars is quite a bit cheaper than Greenfire Farms & I don't have to wait forever & have them shipped either. If you're interested in getting on her list for the Swedish Flowers send me a PM & I'll tell you how to contact her. Maybe Keena could also pick up yours for you if she knows who all wants some, of course you would have to ask her if she would mind first. The gal does take PayPal also, so that's nice.

Well gotta run again, time to go cook lunch & get DH off to work then I have an egg customer coming. Yay, she's taking all my eggs in the fridge!

 

[Candace69]

Josie, I'm so glad you're going to get a pup from Candace, her dogs are so awesome & so is she! She is so helpful & has answered so many, many questions I had because this is my first time to have GPs too. I got two sister pups because of what she said about them working together & one not being able to rest properly by themselves. My girls are now 5 months old & they already weigh I'll bet at least 50 lbs. They will be working soon to protect my chickens & rabbits. They go next door to the junk dump over there is the only real reason they go there because they bring me presents of all kinds from there, lovely. But other than that they stay here where they're supposed to be. They sometimes go watch the horses next door, but just from up on our hill. They like to get up on the hill where they can see all around I think. They have been watching over my momma cat & her babies since she had them the other day too.

Just stopped in for a minute, that is so sweet of you to say Trish, thanks so much for saying it. I just feel bad the last few weeks have been kinda crazy. I know it was out of my control but boy do I still feel behind the 8 ball.

Also, with the wandering, what Josie was saying she read about, drives me nuts when people say my LGD wanders. Sorry folks, I know I can tick ppl off with this one, but an LGD WILL NOT wander, a pyr will, and anatol will, any breed WILL wander...But NOT an LGD. Not every Pyr is an LGD. You have to raise the pyr to be an lgd, if it wanders, then it is not bonded and thereby NOT an LGD, but a pet. Make sense? I can take my goats and dump them in the middle of a thousand acres and I have every confidence they would not leave the stock and come home, that is an LGD. If you take them and leave them and the dog beats you home, that's not an LGD. Make sense?

HEchicken, I want to redo that info page some, but refer anyone to it if you like, it is attached to my site, I think under the LGD info tab, I want to add more, on how to pick one out, how to raise one, but just don't have them time.

Oh, and Trish, the collecting of items, I KNOW I always forget that part, they seem to go through that faze I pups at a certain age seem to collect junk! I know it's funny, the stashes that they have, but all of mine do outgrow it, or have outgrown it! But it usually lasts from about 4 months to about 9 or 10 months.

Danz, not arguing here, but you know we can agree to disagree,

but let me explain my point of view. The first and foremost reason I stress more than one LGD, even in a small area, is needed...You see in my experience, it's not the fighting that can cut their life span in half, but the need of rest, lack of re-cooperative sleep can cause the stress that can cut in half the time they would live if they are a single guard. It is the rest that they need more than anything. If they are the only one, they will be ever vigilant, and their hearts will give out; you see even when they appear asleep, only one will always not fully relax into the restful re-cooperative sleep. I will share with you one example, that shows the point. There was a gal that insisted she only needed one, and that was all she got, she lived on 1.25 acres with a few head of goats and some chickens. I would tell her that she needed to give him a counterpart, she wouldn't. Finally, when he was about 6; she said ok, fine, I was glad, but a little sad, as I knew the stress he had been in until that point; not sure how much longer he had. She got him a pup to raise that end of summer/fall. Every spring as it was turning to summer, she would bring him in the house and give him a bath, he would get to spend the time with her and the kids (she had 2). The pup was about 7-8 months at this point. He got his day; he got his bath, his grooming. After she was done, she let him and the kids out in the back to play. He went over the the swing set as the kids played and laid down, .....went to sleep...listened to the kids playing.....and never woke up. His heart gave out. He waited until he got to say goodbye, and the young pup was old enough to take over, but he was so tired, he just stopped. She was torn up; but finally saw and understood. She got a counterpart for the pup...but it was to late for the boy. This is just one story I could share with you, over and over I have heard and seen of the single LGD just stopping, they were so tired. So, this is why I say more than anything else, more than one is needed. AS they are yes, awesome dogs, hey guard and protect out of a Love they have in their hearts, that is what makes them awesome, but also, what can be their downfall.

 

[checoukan]

Been working on a grant for 4-H poultry for more large coops for fair.

Been reading the posts, but no way can I reply to all posts.

I got my first GP when I lived in Mo. Dudley was quite the dog. He was big and fast, many a day I would see him take a coyote across the pasture at a dead run, and usually the coyote never made it completly across the field. I have 2 now, and I would not be with out them. I had thought about letting one go, but they work so well together, I just never could. Earl is very friendly and can do anything or have anyone around him. Casper is 100% goat dog. I can handle him, but no one else can. He is very leary of stangers, but man the wrong noise in back and he is gone like a rocket!!!!

When I used to have a lot of baby goats, Earl would stay behind with the babies if the mommas parked them here in the barn lot, and Casper would take off with the mommas when they went to eat brush. I never worried about my goats.

Now, they are very good about taking care of the ducks, geese and chickens when they are out where the goats are, but WILL NOT get out of the fence to help them if they get into trouble out in the yard. Its like they know the goats are the main item out there, and they stay with the goats. That is why I lost a bunch of chickens over the fall and winter, they never leave the goats, even with a coyote in the yard.

Hawkeye, Go ahead and bathe Seymore, but there is nothing you can do to fix the "chips" in her tail feathers. After you bath her, she will preene herself, and fix a lot of feather tears, they can do that. If there is a chip, a piece missing from the feather its self, you will just have to let it go. Beside a lot of birds are in molt right now. Judges know that, but it will cost up to a point on her, course, I really cannot see the tail all that well so it may not be that bad.
When you take her make sure you have a kennel big enough for her to lay down in, then cover the kennel with something, blanket, towel. Keep her in the dark until you get ready to coop her. That way won't be turning around in the kennel, and mess her feathers so bad. She could break her tail feathers in the kennel by trying to turn around looking for a away out. If you ever need to you can call me, I have me cell with me all the time, just won't answer during bus time.

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks for sharing that Candace. It sounds like Josie is in a great position to be able to get an older dog that already knows the ropes, and have him/her train a pup, versus getting two pups at once and trying to teach them the finer points of how to be an LGD.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Been working on a grant for 4-H poultry for more large coops for fair.

Hawkeye, Go ahead and bathe Seymore, but there is nothing you can do to fix the "chips" in her tail feathers. After you bath her, she will preene herself, and fix a lot of feather tears, they can do that. If there is a chip, a piece missing from the feather its self, you will just have to let it go. Beside a lot of birds are in molt right now. Judges know that, but it will cost up to a point on her, course, I really cannot see the tail all that well so it may not be that bad.
When you take her make sure you have a kennel big enough for her to lay down in, then cover the kennel with something, blanket, towel. Keep her in the dark until you get ready to coop her. That way won't be turning around in the kennel, and mess her feathers so bad. She could break her tail feathers in the kennel by trying to turn around looking for a away out. If you ever need to you can call me, I have me cell with me all the time, just won't answer during bus time.

Okay, I wasn't sure how much they'd take off for the tail feathers being a bit of a mess. It's just the very ends of them, but still... not great. I really appreciate your advice!! I do have a large dog kennel I plan on taking her up in. She can lay in it without it touching her feathers. It's just if she gets upset and starts really turning around. She should be okay, she's used to being handled and before she got too big, I used to take her in the car with me places! LOL


Trish, was it you asking about the cream legbars?? Revolution Mama Ranch has them here in Lawrence. She moved back from Co. Her name is Jenn, but you can search for her BYC user name and find her. I don't know if she's hatching them right now, but that might save you shipping if you could work something out with her. She runs auctions here too, she has a lot of heritage breeds. I believe she also has lavender americaunas... at least, I remember her posting pictures of them! ha! You can also find her here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Revolutionmama-Ranch/107928304406


ETA: hmm... maybe I was wrong? http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...7660329406.149670.107928304406&type=3&theater I can only find the Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons. Be worth asking, though... sure thought it was her that had them!