Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Howdy all!!

I just read through 54 some odd posts and can't hardly keep up!

Welcome to ginnylea!

Hawkeye- You are correct about rabies. Please make sure your dogs, cats, horses are up to date on their rabies vaccines. My husband is small animal vet and the state of Kansas has seen a huge spike in rabies cases this year.

KarenS- I will probably have eggs later this summer from the silkies,

they are in a pen with cochins right now but they are getting their own pen soon! I have two hens that are laying and one more that hopefully will start in the next few months. My splash roo is huge! I keep debating on kicking him out but the blue roo is fast catching up with him in size. Maybe Hawkeye can jump in on this but I think these guys are enormous. A lot of people like silkie meat, I imagine you could just stick a meat thermometer in to see when its done.

I imagine we will have to butcher some after I start hatching unless someone wants to buy a bunch of silkie roos as pets. They are kinda naughty little buggers, chasing the big hens all over the place and hanging from their sides so I don't think I could have more than one or two!

Well my girls, Molly and Lucie (our livestock guardian dogs for all the new folks) got groomed and spayed yesterday! Molly got shaved because she was scratching really bad and half her hair on her flanks was gone so she looked like a patchwork quilt. She looks like a totally different dog now but she has to feel better and it will help me keep up with the ticks all over her. She is on certifect and we are adding something else just in case she has flea allergies but the ticks are awful this year. Wish the preventic collars weren't back ordered. I was worried about Molly being so old and it can be hard on them to get spayed but DH said her uterus was in great shape and the surgery went really smoothly. She seems happy as a clam this morning other than the fact that she is stuck in the garage! I will try to get pics of them while the puppy is all clean and fluffy!

 

[Ivywoods]

That is troublesome news about the rabies, especially living here in the country where we have so many predators and wildlife.

When we moved here the fleas were THICK. The guy that lived here previously had chow dogs that he just allowed to breed and breed and run wild. 30 of them, maybe. They were never taken care of. It was a mess. We got rid of all the old places where the dogs hung out, burned old dog houses, etc. and treated all of our animals for fleas.... the stuff you put on the back of their neck... I can't remember which brand we used, maybe frontline. Fortunately we managed to get rid of all the fleas. I think I've seen one flea in the last 5 years. If there's one, I know there are more, but they just haven't been a problem.

Ticks... that's another story. They are bad every spring so we treat the dogs and the other animals every year. It seems to keep them under control. I hope those ticks don't become immune to all the stuff we use to get rid of them. I hate ticks with a passion.

Josie-Glad your dogs are doing well after their surgery. I remember how beautiful yours was after you groomed her. They are such amazing dogs. You were so lucky to find her!

I'm so eager to get my little havanese puppy. I can hardly wait. She WILL be neutered when the time comes. We have always had all of our dogs neutered, except when we raised the one litter of GP's. Now the only dog we have that is not neutered is Runt, (and Britt who is still too young) and I've been trying to convince my DH that we need to do that. I think he has it in his mind that he wants to raise one litter out of Britt and then get her spayed like we did Runt's momma. I guess I "might" be okay with that idea. We will have to see.

 

[chicken danz]

Ivy, those are some of the breeders my eggs came from. He is in Rhode Island and has some major prize winners. He's been breeding for years to get the perfect mille fluers and porcelains. I have some porcelain eggs he threw in as well. I am hoping to come out with a couple trios of each anyway to start my own. He has four breeding pairs of each kind that are not related but all top birds so the chances of having unrelated hatches are perfect.
In my limited experience the females are the bigger birds when it comes to quail They have heavier bodies and usually a bit taller.
RVroman, I have lots of mixed chicks. I am sure I have some purebred brahmas and cochins though. Maybe a few others. I literally have hundreds so it's hard to know what all I do have. I have some young pullets I've separated which are just a month or two old. It's easier to tell what you have later on.
I had no idea Josie, that your hubby was a vet. wish you were closer. You remember when you were here how awful Marshmallow looked with her grass allergies? She is looking somewhat better but still needs a shot. She gets some kind of steroid for her allergies. Is that what your hubby recommends? So here is a question for you. Is the rabies vaccine good for one year or 3 years? I've heard it both ways. I need to get Marshmallow in for a booster and I guess that Fluff is getting close to needing one. Marshmallow also needs to be spayed but I know I can't do the rabies and the spaying at the same time.
I use frontline plus on all the dogs and cats and have a preventic collar on Fluff but it doesn't seem to be working as well as they did last year. It is really hard to get them down through all that hair. I try to clip a little hair on the neck so it can have closer contact with the skin. I only had one collar left from last year and am on a list to be notified when they get some more in. We don't have flea problems at all. Once I got the dogs they ended. I finally determined that the coons and maybe possums were bringing them in. With those away we haven't had any reccurrences.
Wow there was a lot to read.
I have to go get a load of feed today. We went through this load a lot faster. More reason to get some of these birds sold.

 

[chicken danz]

Oh one more thing. I have some guineas chicks to sell if this guy doesn't call me back today. I also have a couple of Salmon Faverolle chicks that were just hatched. I have them in the with the guinea chicks just to keep them separate so I could keep track of them. I hope I don't loose them. My overcrowding is such a problem right now. I wrote my normal buyer while ago to see if she wanted to take some of these roos and older ducks. That might help thin them out.
Also have a group of black silkies I want to sell cheap. I am just not doing anything with them. I think I have two males and two females that are breeding age and then a couple of younger ones. I want to sell the whole group. These are not great quality. Just pet quality. PM me in your interested in any of these. I know this isn't the place to sell but wanted to give you guys first choice.

 

[Ivywoods]

The other night I was laying in bed and I heard our dogs barking. Good they are doing their job. Then I heard another dog barking and I knew that was NOT one of our dogs. It didn't sound like a coyote, either. Mike was half awake so I told him I think our dogs just ran off a stray dog. Next morning, I was walking around Wal-Mart where I normally work. One of my bosses was telling me that her husband had to take their chocolate lab to the vet. Something had got ahold of her dog and cut it all up around the neck. Gulp. This boss of mine lives catty-corner across the section from us. I hated to tell her that it was most likely our dogs that did it. They will not tolerate a stray dog on our place near the livestock, and that is where the commotion started. Well, I did tell her, and she took it fairly well. She was pretty non-chalant about it and said she guessed her dog would just have to learn to stay home.

Of all things. To have your dogs tear your boss's dogs to pieces. Fortunately, her dog is going to be okay. The vet didn't think it was too bad. I am so glad for that. I hate to hear about anyone's dogs getting hurt!

 

[tweetysvoice]

The other night I was laying in bed and I heard our dogs barking. Good they are doing their job. Then I heard another dog barking and I knew that was NOT one of our dogs. It didn't sound like a coyote, either. Mike was half awake so I told him I think our dogs just ran off a stray dog. Next morning, I was walking around Wal-Mart where I normally work. One of my bosses was telling me that her husband had to take their chocolate lab to the vet. Something had got ahold of her dog and cut it all up around the neck. Gulp. This boss of mine lives catty-corner across the section from us. I hated to tell her that it was most likely our dogs that did it. They will not tolerate a stray dog on our place near the livestock, and that is where the commotion started. Well, I did tell her, and she took it fairly well. She was pretty non-chalant about it and said she guessed her dog would just have to learn to stay home.

Of all things. To have your dogs tear your boss's dogs to pieces. Fortunately, her dog is going to be okay. The vet didn't think it was too bad. I am so glad for that. I hate to hear about anyone's dogs getting hurt!

OH WOW! You are so brave for telling her. I don't think i could have done that. I'm glad that the other dog (AND YOURS) are all ok after the apparent dog fight.

 

[JosieChick]

Ivy- I don't think Molly looks as pretty as her last haircut, she got a buzz job to even out the chewing so right now she looks like a giant white lab! But it will grow back and she was such a mess that it would have taken me all day to get her blown out! We don't want to deal with puppies or dogs wandering off in heat so they both got spayed. I could see Molly being used for breeding, she is such a nice dog and so healthy for her age, she must have great genetics. According to her last owner, Molly hasn't cycled in at least a year but there is always the risk of a uterine infection in an older dog and I didn't want to take the chance. She is such a great dog, I just love her to pieces.

Danz- DH says he will do a steroid shot if necessary but prefers to do oral steroids if possible so they can be taken away if need be. I have attached two of the articles he recommends to clients about itching/allergies. A skin scraping wouldn't be a terrible idea just to rule out anytime of mites etc. As for rabies vaccines he recommends for farm/working dogs to be vaccinated once a year instead of every 3. The vaccine is labeled effective for 3 years but they recommend vaccinating any time a dog is exposed to a potentially rabid animal which is impossible to keep track of with working LGDs so once a year vaccination is much more likely to protect your pooches.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2604
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=599

 

[Ivywoods]

I've had mixed feelings about giving our dogs a haircut. They get SO HOT in the summer, but at the same time, I've read in several places that the thick fur is part of what protects them in a fight, and lord knows, with all the coyotes (and dogs!) our dogs do get into fights. I guess the predators just aren't able to get a good hold on them with so much fur.

So far I have just made sure ours always have a cool place to go, which isn't hard because we have a kind of dugout under the old barn, and we have running springs and creeks in the back yard. The biggest problem is they just always look like a mess. I rationalize that it's excusable when you are a working dog day and night.

 

[Trish44]

Josie, it occurred to me awhile back that you had asked about whether my dogs had quit eating eggs or how I had stopped that & then I forgot about it & never answered, I have a hard time keeping up sometimes myself. No, I didn't stop them from doing it, they still will if given the chance. I think once they get a taste for egg they just keep eating them unless you keep them out of where they are. I test them sometimes just to see if they still will & a couple of days ago they did it again, so the answer is still no they still eat them. I had a piece of board that is about 18 inches wide & tall enough to span across the run door opening. I have a livestock panel door on the inside of the run door, so when it's propped open in the daytime that is the kind of screen door. But unfortunately I think the silly dogs can still squeeze through an 8 inch square, even as big as they are. So I latch the livestock panel with clips & then put the board across the bottom that has a little door cut out just chicken sized so the chickens can get in & out to lay & get a drink & such & then I have a cinder block I reach in & push up next to the board & nobody can push the board aside. It's kind of a hassle for me, but I deal with it in the evening when I go back out to feed & gather eggs. I would rather deal with that than lose all of my eggs since I sell them.

Speaking of spaying dogs, I need to get mine done soon, I sure don't want some mixed puppies to deal with. I just don't know where the money is going to come from right now. They're also due for rabies shots, so I need to get those too. That really is a concern here too with all of the various predators around here as well. I saw a post last night from a friend who lives in Arkansas City that she was in the ER with a friend getting the painful rabies injections because they were bitten by a crazed cat. That would be terrible!

On the trimming of the hair issue I have actually read that you shouldn't cut off the dogs hair because it is protection from the heat as well as the cold. It may seem like they're really hot, but they may be even hotter without it. Our GPs have lots of places to get where there is deep shade, so I don't feel like they will suffer too bad this summer if they have enough smarts to go there. We have a wooded area right in front of the house where there is lots of shade & cool plants to lay on & then there is a windbreak with trees on the north side of the house too where I see them a lot laying around in the daytime. I do plan to get them a plastic pool just to get in & cool off, but haven't gotten it yet.

Hawkeye, congrats on your new little chick! I still have chicks hatching today, I had two more this morning so far, a Welsummer that I didn't think was going to hatch & one I guess black barnyard mix since I can't technically call them sexlinks. I didn't think any of the Welsummer eggs were going to hatch, I only had two left that developed & the other one may not hatch, we'll see. At any rate I'm pleased to get one since I had to buy those eggs.

Well I haven't gotten anything done yet today, so I had better get myself moving. I've been having a hard time this week motivating myself too. Everybody have a good day today, it should be a nice one!

 

[JosieChick]

Yeah, I had misgivings about clipping her but she was such a mess and had chewed/scratched so much of it out already that it looked terrible so I figured we could start over. Plus most of the coyotes have disappeared since Molly came around. She barks so much I don't think they bother venturing near our property anymore! We don't really have stray dogs, the few who used to come around don't anymore because of the giant white dog. I didn't really want to shave her but she was such a mess and needed to get cleaned up before surgery it was the quickest option to get her clean. I would have rather bathed/blown her out but she was pretty sparse for hair as it was so I don't know that it would have helped her much. The girl I worked with that used to groom down in Texas said everyone down their shaved their GP during the summer so hopefully once we get the allergy stuff she has under control her hair will grow back in nicely.

They do always look like a disaster, don't they? My MIL was not impressed with how Molly looked the other day but I told her there isn't much I can do about it, she goes where she wants and digs big dirt holes to sleep in so keeping her clean is pretty well out of the question!