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

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Got a ton of photos to go thru as I clicked the three dogs and the Dolgo blossoms before the rains we had last night (given, June is our WET month!) came thru.

Sure hope the whole summer does not fly by like it is starting! Cripers...be winter before I can blink, eh!

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During one of our get out loser laps...we can see three of these >< walled outbuildings. Still no input on why they are built with sides that v in. I'd sure like to solve this mysterious building method before I die.

This one below, from its location, likely houses machinery and the farm is a HUGE one.

Had the girl sheeps in the goose yard trimming grass down. Gonna plan on lambing a tad earlier than this year...middle of May perhaps...I may be feeding the preggers too much goodness and the lambs, they may be growing up too big to be an easy pop...we shall see...less than a week for Peanut and 12th for Snickers...working on the two lambing jugs.

May 31, 2017 - Pear-A-Dice goose yard
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Decided instead of using up my energy swimming yesterday--how's the exchange of moving 4,400 pounds instead?? Finished off the 80 bags of feed. Loaded up fifty-five pounders for two heavy tons...there...done and like it or not, dinner is there for one third of a year, eh. For the birds that is.

Jun 1 - Feed Store room...stowed and stored--tucky tucked the tucker, eh?
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Good feeling to have the 160 in the feed room, not sitting out on the grass killing it with a load that needs to be stowed. June rains are here and at $26 a bag...that's a lot of risk I don't need hanging over me head now.

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Holy moly...Rick mowed the New Orchard and now the flowers sure stand out!
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During berry season, what the wild birds don't get to, Rick and the dogs harvest...every night after dog run runs. The day ends with some picking by Rick and you know who gets the berries...the girls do...dogs before humans...always!

Jun 2 2017 - Post Rick mowing​

Leave it to the girls to take their barking to the best shady spots.

Only allowed three more photos...sigh...

May 28 - Emmy using one of the tiers of the new water feature
Dog's gotta drink, eh
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Not sure what the girls will think when this pond is done...dog bathing, dog drinking areas??

May 29, I loaded up a dozen wheelbarrows of gravel
About $300's worth, that's the CHEAP gravel

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The limerock that will be placed on top is about three times as much...

And Rick has the audacity to say to me, "Why don't other people put in ponds?" Yeh, sure... If'n the labour part of the pond don't deter people, the costs will. LOL

Good thing we both have a vision...vision of each night sitting with the girls at the New Orchard admiring the water pond. Yuppers, visions...delusions...ooops, where am I going here...

June 2
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I put a smidgen on the top of the gravel, smidgen of grey limerock to see what it will look like when finished. Should be rather purdy.

So saw a study done...which left people better off?

For breakfast...these three have the SAME (yes, I said same) caloric count...so choose which one will start yer day best...make you least hungry for longer and likely to binge at lunch!!

Refined cereal and milk
Yoghurt and fruit
Eggs and bacon

What I love, is food is best simple. Whole grains and don't get way laid by the label saying whole grains, because once refined, they go thru you quickly! The old ways yer parents (or fur the younger crowd GRAND parents) ate was not so bad when you had REAL work to do. I got lots of real work, hard work to do here and burning off a decent meal, well that is why I joke always about earning that extra slice of pie...bwa ha ha!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/diet/3311472/Whats-best-for-breakfast.html

Whole grains not refined...not processed...are way cheaper on your food budget too. the KISS principle...Keep It Simple Stupid!

My hopes to have our own pork providers (your own bacon is SO easy to make without all those chemicals too...unnecessary chemicals!) will go hand in hand with our cackleberry providers. Grow it yourself, raise it yourself, best healthful and best investment in you...food wise, earth wise...just GOODNESS!

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Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

View attachment 1019227

This is the other bird - as you can see, she has a lot more black. When BB2K saw her coloring, she named her Cowabunga , or Bungee for short.

I'm pretty sure we have Silver in these birds; we have had Birchens and a couple of white hens with Columbian markings (one such hen I suspect may be their mother). And then there was this dude:
View attachment 1019228

Much too big to use as a breeder, but a more personable bird you'll never meet (I think he was checking his tweets in that picture). Am I seeing hints of Pyle showing through on him? His body was sort of a pale cream color, with yellowish neck feathers and a little bit of rusty coloring peeking out on his shoulders.

Quick and slick...

Yellow in white feathers of birds...causes...

Environmental causes...
- Sunshine can bleach white feathers yellow
- New feathers, the preen oil is often pretty yellow in colour and new feathers can look more yellow than white when newly emerged and before the feather ages and oils are dried out.
- Too much bathing...show preparation can lighten say a self-buff coloured bird, so too can too much show bathing bleach or lighten otherwise cleaner coloured feathers--not such a worry with self-whites but can be problematic to pastel and buff feathered varieties.
- Yellow pigments in food like green grass (green colour is made from blue + yellow pigments) and grains like yellow corn (feed white corn if your line is hyper sensitive to carotenoids).


Genetic hindrances...
- Autosomal red
- Gender linked red (as in male birds may be gold AND Silver...females only Silver OR gold) s"+"/S.
- Not enough genetic white enhancers...recessive white only or dominant white on their own...not strong enough to remove all pigments...the more genetic "white" makers, the better chances to get white for exhibition. Once you got a line that is white...for Pete's sake...quit messing with it and keep the line pure as possible...pure as the driven snows, eh.

I have a line of White Booteds that I breed freely with my MdF's...how I keep the line fresh without having to add new blood...double recessive white (White) versus none (MdF) or one recessive white (MdF with white miscolours in tail and wings).

Breeding self white or self black is simple...once you have a pure line... Easiest variety to win at the shows with because quite frankly, they are the ones with the least with colour faults. Achievable...simply. Some do it because they get hunkered down with colour pattern distractions and can solely focus on breed characteristics like shape. I prefer the challenges colour pattern breeding has over simple whites or blacks...but that be moi!


So you know, unless test breeding is done or you have a genetic DNA lab for testing in yer backyard...autosomal red or gold/Silver males...impossible to know which is which by looking AT the bird.

Best to breed lots of birds, select the ones that stay pristine white, no matter where you locate them (deny a bird chance to sunbathe...how cruel IS that?), no matter WHAT you feed them (deny a bird green grass or candy corn...yeh sure!)...

Not rocket science...breed from the ones that L00K like you want and that be that. Simple with no distractions of genetic mumbo jumbo either. Purchase the best you are able and piggy back on another's invention of the wheel. Lots of self whites, lots in poultry.

Commercial breeds in poultry are...are WHITE...white turks, white ducks, white geese, white pheasants, white meat or egg layers...white is simple and like white exterior paint on vehicles--stays looking cleaner longer than any other shade (no pigment). Added bonus on meat aspects...if you miss a few pinfeathers when processing, far far less noticeable than say broad-breasted Bronze turkey processing. I chose Sweetgrass, Jersey Buff, and Lilac heritage turkeys because they all have light coloured feathering close to their skins...gnaw on that drumstick, eh. Nyuck nyuck!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[BantyChooks]

Gorgeous pics, Tara. Looks like spring is in full swing over there.

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Our first Canary Gabby, was a warbler and what a song he had. Also very tame.Used to take bits of ice cream or banana off a finger tip, and would sit on a finger till it felt like it would fall off. Just a real sweetheart.

When he passed the next one, Junior was none of that, very flightly and choppy song, if that's what it was.

PS always good to see Ms.Foamy and the girls playing nicely.

Dogs on route to run runs...all puppers here are good with fowl...they had better be. Stock dogs must respect the stock, eh! The yard bantam Brahmas out and about enjoying the season of plenty.

But as far as respecting each other...whole other story...

May 31, 2017 - Bitey bites...
Foamers - "Really, and you call yerselves girls??"​

Girls being good...goodness knows that's a farce...or force to be WRECKoned with?

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Gorgeous pics, Tara. Looks like spring is in full swing over there.

Leaping lizards...

May 31, 2017 -
Be grateful there is no sound recording...
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Spring means sprung...hose time said Rick!

Nothing shrieks like a Cattledog...Cattle dogs screaming like school girls!
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Not sure who enjoys dog hosing more...Rick or the girls??

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Everything's a bloomin'

May 29 - New Orchard​

May 31, 2016​

Shade garden is working on getting started...everywhere I look, stinky flowers, distractions like that once there pallet of poultry rations (gone to store yesterday-YAH, no more nagging at me!). Yeh...shame shame with so much to do, so many things you could be staring at and doing nuthin' about... All has to get going on before the warmer weather
is gone.

May 31 - Canary finch male hiding amongst Dolgo blossoms​

I think I found my fav Dolgo photo for this year...May 31 (sometimes late as June 9th)...Dolgo in bloom and them dogs there.

Managed to get the three pups posing somewhat decent...​

Emmest barking, Lacy sitting at Dad's feet looking precious, and Foamers enjoying the moment...

This one is cutester of Styra Foam...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Akrnaf2]

Tara if I had 1 acer of good land I would grow 90% of my food.
But un fortunately I have 1/12 of an acer. ........

 

[BantyChooks]

View attachment 1028822 Tara if I had 1 acer of good land I would grow 90% of my food.
But un fortunately I have 1/12 of an acer. ........

I used to live on 1/12th of an acre. It's awful.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I used to live on 1/12th of an acre. It's awful.

It is much MUCH MORE THAN THE MAJORITY! they live in Apartments of 1/20 of an acer with neighbors above and below!

 

[BantyChooks]

It is much MUCH MORE THAN THE MAJORITY! they live in Apartments of 1/20 of an acer with neighbors above and below!

I am thankful every day for the land I have. I couldn't live like that.

 

[CanuckBock]

View attachment 1028822 Tara if I had 1 acer of good land I would grow 90% of my food.
But un fortunately I have 1/12 of an acer. ........

Where there is a will, there is a way.

My son's balcony 2014 July ...in the middle of the city of Red Deer

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Yes, one LARGE salad could devoid his planter...BUT wow, what a salad!!

He also has grown raspberries and grass for his [email protected].

I have NO photos of when I moved out on my own...to a one bedroom apartment, but I do remember vividly...the container gardens I had on my balcony.

I grew carrots, peas up a trellis, tomatoes and lettuce as my son did. I would not grow potatoes on a balcony because of the space they take up (I have even removed them from my veg garden because of the space they take up)...but a plant that was tomato on top and potato on the bottom does exist...then it would be more feasible.

Hanging flower pots...and all the ideas on how to layer plants in small spaces...I did an espalier Dolgo tree in my veg garden...gotten away on me and needs a trimming...oh my!

I love your backyard and your perfectly wonderful fruit trees you so cherish. Delightful and what you do with what you have, most admirable!

What soon happens IF you have more dirt...you end up being overwhelmed at trying to do too much...harvest time is a nightmare sometimes. I try to not put myself out to doing TOO much...but often you "feed the wildlife" if you put in crops you can't harvest...so not going to waste in a complete sense.

Tara

 

[drumstick diva]

Still going nuts trying to navigate the new site. Every time I find you Tara, I