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

[scottcaddy]

The harder you work, the less you need to wear ,within reason, you don't want to panic the neighbors. I never understood why people would wear vests in cold weather - I figured their arms would freeze. Then I started shoveling - had to dump the parka and grab a down vest. Working up a sweat sometimes I don't even need gloves. But it's true once you stop moving - bitter cold. Once I come into the house I have to cover up till I stop shivering- it's the truth.

My Dear diva,
I have always thought that if the neighbors can/or are getting panicked they are watching too close.

' but I am used to the country and a bit of distance between places.
I did the wood splitting back in the late 70's and we didn't do a lot of film pic's just for fun, as that cost a fair bit of money in the day.

Scott

 

[vehve]

That is a shame really, because in my opinion, the best pictures are of doing something. It's a lot of fun to look at an old picture and think "Hey, we were building the outhouse together here" or something like that.

 

[CanuckBock]

Marans were added to the APA but have not made it into the print version because Marans made it in after the latest revision was printed.

The SOP for them can be found on the Marans club website. There was supposed to be an insert that could be added to the current APA but I have been told it was never distributed.

Cheers!

Thank you for that most helpful info Ron.

I have not stopped long enough to have gone to snoop at their site...wondering note to self...did they accept feathered legs then (French Marans more than others I think)... ??

My Dear Lady Tara,
I'm surprised that you have made the genetics easy enough for me to understand most of what you are posting. Too say nothing of the fact that it is fun enough to keep reading and rereading to make sure this old&slow brain is getting it!!
We used to live up in the Up of MI and had to learn all about 6 months of snow covering anything left out 1 day too long.
Thanks much and keep up the good work.
Scott

Nothing more boring than little letters, big letters, percentiles and statistics. The more you play with it, the more fun it is and not like learning whatsoever!

You wanna get one of us oldsters switched to OFF...start telling us we need to know something totally foreign, not the way we have done something for YEARS...and instantly we think...well it works jest fine...why should I learn some NEW way to what seems to be working already...blah!

With us, you gotta prove to us that what we know to be true, tried and works...can be improved upon...then and only then, you might have an audience!

If one makes it fun and silly and like playing, sure, we might be enticed into it...need a CARROT to keep our attention span..."Is that a shiny?? Gotta go..."

Scott, Tara really seems like a high school biology teacher sometimes, she has a way of making it fun and easily digestible.

*Edit* Although I have trouble memorizing it all.

Had a great Bio teacher growing up...he was hilarious in the most dry of senses. He would wear tweed suit jackets, cords...kinda a soft kind hippy type.

Not alot of us took Bio 12 but for those that did, we were keeners. We were scratching away on a test one day, and in a LOUD and very unexpected stern tone, he commanded us to "Put down your pens!" and we did as we were told but were all very freaked because none of us had completed the two hour test in that first half hour. Then he starts quietly giggling, mumbling to himself out loud..."I KNEW I had the POWER!"

Toy with us, eh...well I got him the very next Biology class! I bought a nice pack of gum...enough for the entire class (and him). Passed it out at the beginning of the class, knowing full well it was LECTURE day. Walked up and gave him his piece and he takes it and begins to chew. Go back to my seat and there the class sits, ready to take notes while he lectures some bio thingy. Complete silence but for the chewing of gum. After more silence, he begins to look disturbed...takes the gum out and says..."I cannot lecture and chew gum at the same time!" Oh drat, eh??

What I teach was considered UNIVERSITY level materials when I was in school (when dinos walked the Earth)...but not so much now. But still, when anyone of any age "gets" how to use a Punnett Square...it is a marvelous thing! To me, knowledge is power and I love to know others have the power to ask and answer their own "what if" questions.

steam off your 'bare hands,??? or gloves? Instant frostbite

I rarely wear any gloves or mitts when doing chores in winter. I do have two pairs of huge leather covered and wool lined ones (they run about $75 each...ack!). I use those when it is past -35C (-31F)...I stick my hand in a mitt to warm up but for the most part...because it gets so cold here...dipping your hands into fluid water is considered a way to heat them up quickly...but of course you want to dry them off too.

I wear layers of clothes in winter here...wear almost the same thing I wore on the Coast in winter...cept for the boots and coat, toque or Fud hat. It is not the cold but the humidity that burns! LOL

If we can get a dry cold here....love that. Back on the WEsT Coast...never get away with zipping over to the garage to get something outta the freezers for supper...on the Coast, stick a toe out and instantly cold right to the bones.

Here it can be a dry cold when normal...then you can get away with a short time outside not dressed proper. Takes a while to chill down...not so instant freeze up.

No... Bare hands. I shook the water off, wiped them on my pants and put them back in my gloves when they got cold... I was over dressed for the weather as impossible as that sounds and got away without wearing gloves quite a bit and opening up my jacket. We actually waited to see how long I could go before I had to put my gloves on and thats when someone got the picture. I could make snacks, fix fishing gear, take pictures etc, and then tuck my hands back in my gloves if they got cold.
There was almost no wind that day and the sun was out so that was a huge factor. At the end of the day it clouded over and the wind picked up. That's when it started to "feel" cold and we quit goofing around and packed up. We didn't catch any fish anyway.

I agree...the wind wicks away the heat. I like when the bantam ducks all nestle up in the deep oat straw (bare legs and webs tucked up high in their down), there is like this bubble around the bevy...of happy, warm air...a stillness. But if the duck barn was not all shut up tight (put up sheets of tenplast over the front of the building), then the birds would not be able to manage winter.

I have lived several years in the state-side 'greatwhitenorth' also known as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I remember many days when the sun was out and the wind was dead, you could over heat if you didn't take a few layers off time to time, you don't want to start sweating and get wet inside all of the clothing.

Scott ( who did get down to his tee shirt splitting wood a few times)

The geese are the ones we notice sunning themselves on bitterly cold days. That sunshine is a joy and happiness maker. On the Coast...90 days straight of rain...I don't give a hoot the thermometer reads above freezing...with the dull and drab dreariness...yeh, way too depressing.

Might be forty below, but with that sunshine we get...wonderbar and cheery!

I love wool clothing, wicks away the moisture and even if wet...is the only known natural fiber that actually generates heat from water...yeh wool makes heat when wet...bizarre.

I spent a good share of my childhood in far more northern climes than my current adopted state. Though we learned all about layering, we never did learn the knack of dealing with extremities, particularly feet, As I recall, going ice skating usually meant at least 20 minutes of sitting on the floor crying as frost-nipped feet thawed out.

On rare occasions, we have gotten to revisit those earlier times, even here. Christmas of 1989 was one of those, when an all-time record low of 0o F (-18 C) was reached. We had an unusual snowfall at the same time - 15 inches (38 cm); I remember shoveling out my driveway in my shirtsleeves with the temperature in the teens. (yeah, yeah, I know, Diva. Didn't happen).

Yeh, Rick got me my fireman boots...good to -100C (-148F) and I love them. A bit heavy but ever so toasty. We have wool socks and I will often change out my socks at lunch when I come in for something to eat (keep my own fire going to make it thru the chores).

Ears are something that seem to get cold...so I wear an assortment of Fudd hats and love them. My son, well he has never been too impressed in regards to the hat choices that I add to my uniform...but like I care...I'm warm and happy...not about the view! LOL

Speaking of view...I remember being all cleaned up and ready to go out for dinner...ran down to shut the ewes in and near caused a stampede. They were all sniffy nosed and wide eyed..."WHO is that?" Everyone is a critique, eh!

The wind makes a huge difference too. It can be brutally cold according to the therm. but, if there is no wind and bright sun - you can overheat easily.

Agreed and why the layer system works...but when I have to put on the insulated coveralls...I feel like a kid in a snow suit...by the time I get the whole outfit on...I gotta go! Off it all goes, glasses fog up, I gotta go thru the whole jump hurdles thing again...LMBO

But that is when our secret OLDster weapon comes into play...one day, some day soon perhaps...I shall wear "depends" and well...like I'll care if I "hafta go!"

That is a shame really, because in my opinion, the best pictures are of doing something. It's a lot of fun to look at an old picture and think "Hey, we were building the outhouse together here" or something like that.

Trees...I have been admiring how large and robust our trees are...I forget what they looked like 15 years ago and sometimes re-visiting the photo album is really neat and shakes you awake to how much time has gone by.

I get tired just trying to list the buildings we have built here...never mind thinking about how much effort it took to build them all. Oh well...

Speaking of which...time to recount the week and five er so days that just flew by...hee hee...but in another post...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

So we have been going GREAT GUNS to get all we need brought in and projects completed.

Took a ton of photos since a week and 5 days ago...

So here we go...jest another few days more here in Paradise! LOL

Oct 19 2014
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Rick had the metal come in for the walls of the parking building...they are up now and lookin' spiffy.

Big ol' sliding door closed...
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He got the two rooms on the end of each C-can done and will probably put up a temporary roof on each one for the winter.

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The back side of the building...it is now a wall of RED metal...

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Am thinking we will close her up now and let the snow fly. Happy with the progress on the Parking Building and, uh, yeh well Rick has been distracted by getting the critters all ready for winter, haulin' in the provisions for the year.

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He has parked the two trailers up in the Parking Building area and told me not to worry about the birch splits on the one side...no roof, so no worry that the piles will get buried by snow sliding off a roof that don't quite exist yet. So I can happily fill the wood boxes up in the Man Porch with the split pile in front of the one goose buildings.

Oct 27 2014​

Snow came as predicted on Sunday...makes it strangely WHITEish out. Better get use to it...less and less of the GREEN scene over the next bitta time, eh!

We had a lift of 2x4's for roof strapping delivered...Rick asked them to bring it at the end of day and well, it arrived at the beginning of the delivery fella's day...whatever. I was here and guided his forklift to where it needed to go.

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Makes me laugh, it'll sit there nice and waiting for spring to come and that eager urge that comes after spending an Albertan winter chomping at the bit to DO SOMETHING besides haul water pails and dig out from the last snow fall...ha ha ha...

Had some serious winds and well I guess I never stacked the one wall of wood well enough...or it settled out...

Oct 19 2014​

Either way, she greeted me as fallen over...luckily no birds or dogs out to get crushed, so I restacked her up.

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I also raked up the fallen leaves...so good excuse as any.

I bin doing so many things, forget all it...did dump the swan and goose kiddy pools yesterday...no more real fall like conditions, more winterish coming.

Oct 24 2014​

Not quite given up on Pearl's six eggs but suspect her mate Piper has still not gotten what he is suppose to be doing...but no matter. Was kinda a mixed bag...if they did have fertile eggs...what to do about the cygnets and winter...maybe this coming May.

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Australian Black Swans can live to 35 to 40 years in captivity...we got TIME eh...lotsa time...hee hee...

Before this recent blast of white...

Oct 19 2014​

Oct 20 2014​

Was taking the birds out as much as possible...

Oct 24 2014​

Their last digs at fall time fun out and about on the lawns in the bird yards. Whee hee hee...

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Here is Stalker...doing the high steppin' out and about that only a duck a luck can do! Still as much a brat as always...

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This is Stalker August 3 of this year...capital T for trouble!


OK...back to the regiment of the past bit of time...

So hauled in 120 square bales of oat straw. Rick ordered them and then he got the call they were ready...off we went on the Saturday to load and haul them on home.

Oct 18, 2014 ​

Still clearing out pens and other such nonsense, so I decided to do 40 squares a day...

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Had LOTS of helpers...

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Helpers and inspectors...quality control at its finest...

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Helper, inspector and why are you not tossing toys for me to retrieve kinda look!

Oct 19 2014​

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One load of 20 and second load of twenty into the Hay & Straw Barn...​

Helping with squares is a tough and very TIRING job...jest ask Fixins!

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Tiring job just THINKING ABOUT IT...so tiring your head gets heavy and well, uh, yeh, need to rest it on something to keep it up!

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Inspector Fixins...on duty!​

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Bales in the barn...now to get them all stacked up...tidy like...so more can go in.

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Day's end on Oct 19, more squares but tucky tucked in the trailer...tomorrow is another day...got lots to do so will pace this out.

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Oct 20th...Another day!

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Yeh, another day and lookit who's rested up and wants to play, "TOSS THE TIRE!"
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So we oblige the work crew...toss the toy.​

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The bales, they just unstack and stack themselves...all by themselves you know....

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The bales stack themselves and the loads get taken magically by themselves to the barn....

Some Gremlins come by while you sleep and just stack the squares in the barn!


Day 1 - Oct 19 bales stacked up.



Day 2 - Oct 20 bales stacked up.​

Day 3 - Oct 21 bales stacked up and squares are all completed (and dog approved!). ​

So next work bee...round oat straw bales...October 24th...

Once again, we have those much needed inspecting helpers!



Have to take the sides off the trailer for the big rounds! ​

On the road and off to get the rounds...

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Nice weather were we live and along the drive...but...

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Not so much when we get to where the rounds are...no matter...

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The bales are netwrapped and only a few snow sprinkles...

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Not very pleased how the fella loaded these bales on the top but whatever...we will manage as we are able...sigh! My hero is able to drive extra careful and keep those two on top secure. We stop about five times along the way home to cinch and secure the load.

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Awesome...we are home and we have all FIVE! Yah...

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Straps off the load and one bale on the way to the barn...

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I did MY job and got the Straw Barn all ready and waiting...note the bull rails piled up in front of the pipe skids on the building...so the tractor can climb up nice...

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First round bale in the barn...pushed to the back with the tractor's bale spikes...

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Second round...

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Dropped in...

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Pushed in the barn.

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Stop all work so Inspector Dogs can inspect...

OK...all clear and certified that WORK may continue...

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YAH! Four rounds tucked in barn...

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Such a nice feeling...an ample supply of squares and rounds....OAT STRAW for bedding is ready and waiting...bring on the winter!

OK...next day, no rest for the wicked...no resting on our laurels...more work to do.

Morning of Oct 25th, busy work bee.

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Gates are open, there is a dog in attendance as there WILL BE toy tossing interludes to this work bee...no fear!

Rick has a bin of duck goo to bring to be composted.

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Off loads the round on the pallet I have put down.

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He has the fifth round straw bale to bring me, I have a pallet to put down so the straw bale sits on that and also a tarp to put on that round and the round of hay there in the Ram Pasture.

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Dumps the duck goo...

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I keep an eye on the animals out eating...so they don't go running off with all the various gates open...

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Follow Rick out of pasture and close gate...

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Before tarping the rounds...must toss toy...

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Bales tarped...toss toy...

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There...all done on that project...now on to the next for this day...

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OK...not to get on with the day...time to get geared up for totes of grain...got five totes of whole hard red wheat and whole heavy oats to go get today...

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Sides on the trailer...inspected by Fixins...

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Trailer is ready for tote trip.

afternoon of Oct 25, 2014​

And away we go....

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And we arrive...

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Empty trailer awaits the totes...

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Augers...nice items...this one loads the totes with whole oats.

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This tote is being filled with whole wheat.

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Yah...almost full and now that is fast...too bad I am going to be doing the bucket brigade when we get home...but then I get dibs on that SECOND slice of pie for my toils!

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Totes...them big ol' totes of grain awaiting loading into the trailer...two in, three to go and away we go to home!

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Yee haw...in the yard at home, totes in the trailer...now to lift off a side and ...

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Tractor lifts the totes off the trailer. Over the next week (once it stops snowing), I will be filling totes inside the feed room with the grains.

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Rick is leaving the sides off the trailer...he has a service that the tractor has to be hauled in for at the dealership where we bought it from.

Next on the agenda...get the call that the six tons of species specific bagged rations I have pre-ordered last week are now ready for pick up at the feed mill. Haul those home in two loads.


In retrospect now that gardening season is virtually over...what a fab year indeed it was for the Veg Garden...carrots were one of the fan favs...for both man and beast...sweet and tasty...was nice to have fresh produce to eat!

Oct 20 harvest of carrots​

So yesterday, Oct 26, Sunday...forecast for snow...

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So we got busy. Rick set up the fish tank in the garage and moved his fish pond fish into there...ready for winter to blast in.


Rick's man porch tomatoes...

Oct 24, 2014



Harvested on Oct 25​

I have them in a pan with a ripe apple so the green ones will ripen up.

NO more tomatoes...Oct 26​

Tops are now in the compost heap...no more temptation to get just one more day outta them.

I spent the start of Sunday, first harvesting the last of the carrots and beets...still got potatoes to finish.

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Garden after harvesting beets and carrots.

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Because of the snow...

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Veg garden ornaments ready to be stored...took those off to be stored for winter.

Began the tear down in earnest of the outdoor items.

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All this needs to be gone...

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Hauled in many cart loads of lawn ornaments...so when the snow is serious about staying, we can clear it away.

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Off to be stored in side the greenhouse for winter.

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Lots of items in here...ready and waiting for next season!

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More white comes throughout the day...remove the pile of rocks in front of the greenhouse...all clear and ready for snow--let it snow!

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Start hauling the potted plants to the veg garden to be buried.

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Ornaments gone, round up the plants to a general area to be hauled cart load by cart load to the veg garden.

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Dumped the rain barrels and stowed them away behind duck barn.

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So got maybe four carts of ornaments left outside to wrangle in yet but it being Sunday...feed mixing day for the week needed doing.

Spent the next few hours left till dark mixing up feed for the week, making trips to put the feed out and all the while, putting critters away for the evening. Tucky tuck time.

I took a break from feed mixing and put a roast beef on, then about an hour before we ate, went back to the house and put on the bakers...figure Rick and I deserved a nice sit down fill the gullet type meal after our busy weekend. What fun and so much completed!

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These three pictures I took on the 19th and will post as the close to my post as day's end.

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October 19, 2014​

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Lookit those faces...such a group of

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[drumstick diva]

Did Fixens have some surgery a while back? I noticed in one of your photos she looks like she has been shaved from back of the withers to set on of tail. Maybe it was a summer trim.

 

[CanuckBock]

Did Fixens have some surgery a while back? I noticed in one of your photos she looks like she has been shaved from back of the withers to set on of tail. Maybe it was a summer trim.

No, no recent surgery on Fixins. I never shear the dogs...now goats, llamas, and sheep, fer sure!

I heard one time someone DID shave their Australian Cattle Dog...it was not good...the fur grew in all weird and the hair coat was never quite right again. Suppose to have a "wash & wear" kinda coat. It looks harsh to the untrained eye but ACD's have very soft and downy fur with a second outer coat of guard hairs...yes, very huggable these them Heelers! the outer coat is quite good at keeping out moisture and dirt...so really quite a practical coat for the breed.

Makins gave birth to Fixins on July 14, 2001...Fixins is way way TOO old for surgery.

Junk Yard Dawgs...Mommy Makins and Daughter Fixins round about ten or so years ago. ​

I doubt she would survive it and we would ONLY do surgery if it was a live or die sorta incident at her age.

The last time she had surgery...we had just lost her mother and Rick and I were engrossed in our misery over the loss...I know Fixins felt it and we were too weak to snap outta it. We sure did when we almost lost Fixins...

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Fixins took a toy like this (suppose to be the best of the best for chew resistance...HA! and we know that don't jive with Cattle Dogs!) and ATE a huge chunk of it. Next morning, I noted she could not take a crap and refused to eat her fav breakfast...chicken. Off to the vet tout sweet. We knew she was in dire straights.

Conan (or Coney) the Princess Warrior HAS to have the "cone of shame" when she has stitches...she will tear them out...foreign unwanted items on her...out they go!

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She is one of those annoying dogs...that when she has the cone on...she hits you in the back of the legs...HARD...I can say when it is cone OFF time...there is much rejoicing all round!

Goes without saying she is NOT a model patient. She goes ballistic at the vet's, has to be muzzled because everyone deserves a swift no warning BITING! She absolutely refuses to eat OR drink during recovery at the vet's...she starts to shut down without her family there. My vet is good and lets me in for pre-surgery to hold her for shaving and pre-sedation--nightmare if I am not there to calm the savage beast...post surgery, they come get me at the first sign that monster dog is awakening! They know better than to leave the sleeping beast to wake on its own without her fam. She will tear up one awful stink...she has a sense of self and you know, our family is quite OK with that.


After her last surgery to remove the chunk of toy...she would not eat or drink for two days...we told the vet he was going to have issues and we were beside ourselves! Knowing she was not going to recover and be that nice typical doggy...HA! So THAT's it...we told him after two days of fretting...we are coming to get her whether you release her or not. She was going to die.

I worked so Rick went and got her (three hour round trip...great vet but nobody believes how stubborn Heelers are--how devoted they are to the family and how living without family is simply not worth doing) and she was all happy to see him--for all of ten seconds. Rick said she was happy and then just as swiftly..."Where's MOM?" I got home from work, put on a whole chicken to boil and had her eating and drinking, eliminating and everything, half an hour after Rick got her home.

She is what she is and she is her best right here at the Ranch.

See the poofies on her haunch there..."I'm getting the comb Fixins" Fixins, "I'm sharpening my teeth up to bite you!"

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What you might be seeing is her patchies or puffies of fur as I call them. She don't put up with grooming, screams like I am killing her...so when she sheds...I have to make a game outta it. I toss the toy, I get one puffy...toss toy, another puffy! If I bring out the comb...oh heavens...stresses her right out. So, toss toy, get puffies! I know, ludicrous and silly but whatever...whatever she wants that don't stress the old dog out. Eeek...

Summer coat is quite bald and I could see someone thinking it was shaved and growing back in.

Puffy haunches and tumour on left front wrist...​

I would have taken her in as a much younger dog...she has a few Histiocytomas that are getting quite large. They are benign tumours but what bothers me is their locations...the one on her left wrist is quite large and might be inhibiting free movement. Would I take her in now...nope, the operation alone could kill her. We can live with the lumps, bumps whatevers...not worth not having the presence of Fixins here over.


So we live with LARD LEG...my vet always laughs at that one...HyBlade had them, Makins her mother had them. So long as the fluid in them is clear (and we have checked that out)...no worries past as I said, can be liable to limit movement.

Does that answer your query then?

Tara

 

[vehve]

Coney the Warrior looks like she's getting good reception on that thing.

It's interesting what you can do anesthesia on, the better half did some dental work on a miniature hamster yesterday. It weighed 30 grams, and she put it to sleep for the duration of the teeth trimming. It woke up just fine

If you're interested in getting the tumors on Puffy removed, you could ask your vet about removing them while she's awake. With at risk dogs that can be kept calm by the owner, the better half uses lidocaine to numb a whole extremity by doing sort of a circle around it higher up than the spot she will work on, as well as numbing the spot itself. Works well when you need to stitch up cuts, but you could probably remove a small tumor like that too.

What kind of temps do you usually keep in the chicken coops over the winter, Tara?

 

[CanuckBock]

Coney the Warrior looks like she's getting good reception on that thing.

Yeh...Conan looks hilarious and laughing AT her situation by us probably explains the back of the leg head butted with hard plastic cone pretty much...

"Laugh at me...well here's a CONING!," says the Fixs.

Aghhhhhhh!


Quote:
Well aren't you a brute for punishment!

Yes, very nice your wife was able to operate on a ... hamster...a miniature hamster at that!

We have left a ram lamb with split eye intact so he could have surgery done up on his eyelids to fix them--altered him after his full recovery. Ruminants are not really good at recovery from sedation and my vet explained to me we could have lost him on the table. Having notches in your eyelids was not something I thought a sheep should endure his whole life--painful eyes from dust he could not clean away. Well he is alive and fully well for the risk we took way back then...blinky blinking at me daily!

Cattle Dogs we have owned, all five have been sedated (that first time is when I ask for them to be tattooed on the inside thigh) when young and come thru with flying colours. I get to enjoy a softer duller version of them for half a day after the surgery--I get this silly grin on my face and a few vet techs have been a bit confused & puzzled to see my overwhelming amusement at having just ten percent of the dog force I am use to having...thinking to myself, "So this must be what it is like to have a regular dog breed...yeh...strange, almost where you can coast along, not paying attention to the dog...wow--very interesting!" It never lasts...and am truly glad of that...piss and vinegar is right back to its spunky causing all sorts of mayhem and I am along for the white knuckle ride of a lifetime all over again...

It is not the sedation for pain (numbing the spot is not the issue...I am betting if I asked Fixins to do it, I could whack whole chunks off her in regards to the Cattle Dog's "no pain, no gain" attitudes--breeze right thru major hurt if the point of it was understood by her)--pain is no worry or issue with an operation to remove a leg lardy lump...more like how to keep the beasty stationary so nobody but her gets the scalpel treatment! I would first have to believe the operation was valid and warranted as I won't be able to lie to my dogs...an impossibility for me.

Fixins hates the vet...the clinic...the whole load her up and drive off with her...she KNOWS where we end up at. Why in tarnation would any intelligent being wanna go to the vet's...historically their record runs that they poke and prod you like no place else--invade your space, ask you to endure things that never ever happen any place else, most of the painful, your family is separated from you, alone in a strange place of torture, smell of fear and pain everywhere...as an ACD, you wanna bite them for what they are about to inflict on you and you are told not to and muzzled when you won't listen...because it is not reasonable to ask an aware of itself being to sit there and take it--she has things to say about what happens to her and she would choose to...uh, well avoid pain and discomfort! An unaware of the unavoidable dog might wag a tail and jump up on the exam table the first time--but if they have intelligence and a memory, that is the last time that happens.

Dogs cannot see the point of "preventative" methods and something done to increase their future abilities...dogs live in the here and now...there is no tomorrow and explains why they can wear all their parts out using them up for the moment...no consequences and planning to "save it for a rainy day." Might kick tomorrow and what was the point of having any fangs left if you die with a mouthful left never having explored their full potentials?

The vet and the whole regiment is something to be avoided--intelligence and awareness of places (environment is very important to dogs...teach them in all places they are expected to perform that task...they have a good understanding of geography, space, ownership/territory/possessions, and doing things in certain places). To act civil and obedient AT the vet's, just means they may just do more obnoxious things to you and do them more often. Like this example of let's wack off the lump because the dog behaves SO well at the clinic. NOT! Gong show...horror show...

Cripers...I remember taking her in to the vet's and WOW, what a lasting statement she made...for good reason--she don't want to be there and everyone is gonna pay big time if you do decide she HAS TO GO...she dropped her anal glands, she barfed bile and stomach contents on all of us, snotted us, she peed (even though I pottied her right before we went in--I think ACD's have an extra pouch like a marsupial...like a skunk does for protective defensive purposes), she crapped up one of the more offensive deposits I can recall in recent memory...yeh...we all paid dearly because she was miserable about being forced to attend the procedure--center of the attraction and a most memorable event indeed--she may not speak English but her objections were very well understood by all involved that day. The vet, the techs and I all just shrugged and laughed...covered from head to toe in most all manners of fluids that a dog could provide--she does not like the vet's. Hmm, one good point...there was NO blood...we never cut her thankfully and nobody cried outright...we sure sweated up a storm though...Tasmanian RED devil dog!

Here's a window on the breed's physical attributes (or follies, pending how you wanna view this)...Australian Cattle Dogs are a hybrid off the feral dog Dingoes (scientists trying to save this rare breed would not know for sure it was a "Dingo" unless able to do skull measurements...incredible density and lunker head gear...meant it was a bonafide Dingo dog!) and tough & rough cattle breeds. Stubborn tenacity, temperaments that will meet a fist with a bite (anyone with a heavy hand on dog training has met their match...you cannot force a Heeler to do anything--beat on the dog and you'll see teeth come ripping through your fists to get you back because you deserve it--teach YOU a lesson they will--force met with force...you have to convince them this is the best alternative and to work as a team), a breed that meets a bull's horns with a bite to the beast's soft snout and once turned, running, a few good nips to the heels gets the job done before the sun sets. I once watched HyBlade do the May pole roundy round on one of the Jacob ram's four horns when the ram charged him...HB decided biting the horn had no effect that he liked, so he let go, backed up and charged at the ram himself, giving the insolent ram an ear wedgy--not a bite, but a really good pinch to the ear...we owners of livestock don't appreciate STOCK dogs messing up the stock and having to do stiches--not conducive to good stockmanship! From then on...the rams practically saluted HyBlade...let's just say when I was messing with the gates and the rams SAW it was HyBlade who I had brought to bring down the law & order--decency to the world...one could not open the gate in time for the dog to get in the pasture and the rams had "put themselves away!" peering out of the barn like cowards..."Is that dog gone yet??" LOL

ACDs are a hybrid of Dingo and working dogs. They have muscles that are WAY over the top...indeed almost too much strength. Took the young Makins out to get firewood when we first moved here...she shattered a back molar--slab fractured it right off...simply chewing on a pine cone. I held the piece of tooth in my hand thinking..."OK, now what?" We took her to a vet in Calgary that specialized in dog dental work. He sealed the molar which to me now...is sorta like a crown...a root canal done on humans. There is no guarantee the root canal will work and in this instance, live and learn. About six weeks after the molar was sealed...I noted on her half mask (dark part on her face)...a lump the size of a pea. Took her to my regular vet and he said, "how in the world did I even SEE the lump" but I had. The "sealed" molar had abscessed and I was wild about failing my dog. She was sedated AGAIN and had the tooth completely removed. Something I figure should have been done to begin with. Save the tooth...why...she is only going to crack it again. So now, when an ACD has a tooth "issue" we yank it right out. I am not going to waste pain and suffering on a dog when it is my duty of care to make sure the medical aspect is taken care of for them...with the least stress to them as possible. The dogs here get dental work and I laugh as I eat on the one side of my mouth because I should go in and have dental work done...yeh...our priorities are all correct, we figure!

Males like HyBlade are more massive than the females



But even the girls have some substance...Foamy is only partially Cattle Dog but she still has some decent form
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Cattle Dogs have the muscle structure to bust their own bones. I kid you not....the weak points that bust when they are determined about something ARE the teeth and bones...compared to the ligaments and muscles on their bodies. Have a look at the structure...we are talking one incredible massive skull, attached with a bull neck, shoulders that ripple and fill a bodybuilder with sheer envy. The whole makeup of the ACD's structure is a life support system for a mobile set of jaws. I wrote not one but TWO articles entitled JAWS (and love the shark jaws I drew--posted below...hee hee...) regarding what toys to try and entertain the breed with. Bite force extraordinaire! If the toy has a suggested dog size like good for 150 pounds...that is the one we would buy...the maximum strength ones and even then...we watch...not trusting it will stand up to them. HyBlade shredded fake fur...not seen that done before!

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Jaws written by Tara Lee Higgins, Dec 2000:

Looking for a new activity to keep you and your ACD busy? Weight pulling just might be your answer. It promotes physical conditioning, strengthens the bond between dog and handler and provides for a constructive outlet for canine competition.

Much like a tractor pull, the object of the game is to see who can pull the heaviest load. The dog must pull a weighted cart or sled for a distance of 16 feet within a 60 second time limit. Dog and handler both enter the pulling lane together. The dog is attached to a cart (or sled, if the competition is being held on snow) and told to stay while the handler leaves the dog and goes to the finish line. Once across the line the handler is not allowed to touch the dog until the pull is completed. The handler calls his/her dog; the timer starts; and the cheering begins. Sometimes you can even see the whole crowd leaning toward the finish line mentally pushing the cart along with the dog. The winner is the dog that pulls the most amount of weight. In the event of a tie the winner becomes the dog that pulled the weight in the least amount of time.

Any dog can compete in weight pulling; large and small, pure breed and mixed. Some of the most popular breeds have been Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, Rottweilers, Pit Bulls and mixed breeds. Dogs are divided up into six different weight classes so that they will be competing with other dogs of comparable size. The different classes are: 35 pounds and under, 36-60 pounds, 61-80 pounds, 81-100 pounds, 101-120 pounds, and 121 pounds and over. The largest dog to be seen competing in a weight pulling event was an English Mastiff weighing in at approximately 250 pounds and the smallest dog has been a 12 pound poodle.

The International Weight Pull Association (IWPA) is a non-profit organization that promotes the sport of weight pulling. The IWPA was first organized in 1984 and has been growing ever since. It consists of ten regions spread out across the United States and Canada. The pulling season officially begins on September 1st and runs through April 1st. Dogs and handlers compete at various events throughout the season earning points. At the end of the season, the points are tallied and the top three dogs in each weight class for their region earn medals and the opportunity to attend an international pull-off competition.

In addition to earning points, individual dogs can compete against themselves to earn working dog titles by pulling a specified percentage of their body weight at three or four events. Three certificates are available: Working Dog (WD) in which the dog pulls 12 times their weight (5 times if pulling on snow) at four different events; Working Dog Excellent (WDX) in which the dog pulls 18 times their weight (10 times if on snow) at four different events; and Working Dog Superior (WDS) in which the dog pulls 23 times their weight (15 times if on snow) at three different events.

Although not as popular as northern breeds and terriers, Australian Cattle Dogs can excel at weight pulling. Weight pulling is an athletic event; quite simply put; the strongest dog will win. ACD's are most definitely athletic dogs. They are well built, muscular and posses the stamina needed to continue to pull as the sled gets heavier.

In addition to being physically strong, Cattle Dogs are mentally tough. The handler has no contact with the dog during the pull, so it is up to the dog's willingness to pull. The most important quality in a good weight puller is "heart and desire." While many Malamutes and Pitt Bull type dogs have the physical strength to pull much higher weights than my German Shepherds, the thing that has continued to win medals, earn titles and allow us to compete in the annual pull-off is the "heart" these dogs posses. They strive to please and they just never quit trying. Like my GSD's; Cattle Dog's have huge hearts and tons of determination. This quality, which draws so many of us to the breed, also provides the basis for Cattle Dogs to be successful at weight pulling.

Along the same lines as "heart," a successful weight pulling dog must have a strong bond with his/her handler and have the desire to please. No food or toys or other treats can be used in competition. The only tool you have to convince your dog to try his hardest to pull the cart is your voice. The desire to please and the strong bond most all Cattle Dogs have with their humans only helps them to do well at this sport. Lastly, but still important, is obedience. Cattle Dogs are smart and very willing to learn. In competition the dog must stay in place while the handler goes across the finish line. If the dog moves the cart before the handler is across the line it is considered a false start. Two false starts and the dog is disqualified.

There are five ACD's from three different regions currently participating in the IWPA this season. Right now, Bulldozer is holding the silver medal in his region on wheels; D.D. presently holds a gold medal in her region on wheels and won the gold last year on snow; Jack has held onto the silver medal on wheels (was 4th place over all last year) and he pulled a personal best of 1,225 lbs. this year; Breeze is maintaining a 4th place on wheels in his/her region this year and Inferno who is currently in 10th place in his/her region this year.

Although the standings are not final yet for this season you can see that ACD's are having fun and bringing home the medals too. In addition to these five; there are two young Cattle Dogs who are just getting started in weight pulling. Poe and Tessa have been coming to practice and are learning the basics. Poe is a natural; he just hunkers down, leans into the harness and pulls. He has already shown that he's capable of pulling over 18 times his own weight. We are looking forward to seeing these two in competition next season.

If you think you might be interested in trying weight pulling with your dog, the easiest way is to attend a fun pull. Loaner harnesses will be available and there will be experienced people there to help you walk your dog through. The most important piece of equipment needed for weight pulling (other than a healthy, well conditioned dog) is the harness. It needs to be properly fit to the dog and it must have a spreader bar at the back end so that there won't be any restriction of the dog's movement when it's pulling.

Safety of the dog is of paramount concern and since IWPA's organization in 1984; no dogs have been hurt in competition. To continue this trend; it is highly recommended that newcomers to the sport wait until their dog is at least a year old, has had his hips and elbows certified free of dysplasia and that your dog is healthy and in good physical condition.

To find out more about the sport of weight pulling, you can visit the following home page on the world wide web:

http://www.iwpa.net/index.html

ACDs Excel At: Weight Pulling
Teressa Keenan - March 2000

Yeh...over 1,200 pounds...how much horse power is that in dog torque? And I am going to "hold down Fixins" while the vet removes a lump...me and what army?

I get the seriousness of sedation. I worked at the Conservation Office on the West Coast and would get calls from the Public. "Why was that bear that was in MY garbage not sedated and relocated????"

Yeh...fifty/fifty chance the bear they made a problem out of by irresponsible garbage storage is MALE and males are not welcome in other bear's territory...relocation of males is pretty tricky--usually the new male is beat up pretty bad and run off...to some other male's stomping grounds where it keeps happening badly. The sedation knocks the heck outta an animal, so first off the bear has to be in tip top prime condition to survive being sedated, transported and adjusted into a new area...finding food and water and shelter at the unknown new location is rough. There are lots of things besides the sedation that relocation of "problem" bears mean potential harm to. I just know that sedation, having had some done to me in my lifetime is really not a nice thing to go through and recover from. Knocks you down quite a bit. Worst than any hangover and you never had the party time to deserve the down time, eh?

What kind of temps do you usually keep in the chicken coops over the winter, Tara?

What temperatures...whatever Mother Nature happens to force upon us I suppose. Last night it was -9C (16F), so that was what the chickens were kept at. Chickens and all the birds, ruminants too.

I can feed really good rations, ensure they birds have the inputs to be tough. I can also breed for temperature extreme tolerances and indeed, make sensible choices about breed features too. All the chicken breeds we keep have either pea or rose or cushion combs...other than my one fatal choice in the Booted Bantams...single combs. There is not an Albertan chicken alive, either gender (once read in a book that roos will not tuck heads under wings...yeh sure...sure they won't!) that don't tuck its head under its wing at night in winter. I would have grave reservations about keeping single combs like those found on some of the more Mediterranean breeds...Marans would not be a serious option here without them having very hurty blackened by freezing head gear.

The Duece Coop is where we house the breeding bantam chickens...I change out the summer waterers for winter ones.

Booted Bantams with summer stainless steel puppy pail for water​

Booted Bantams with winter rubber tub for water inside stainless puppy pan.​

There comes a time every winter where the rubber pans freeze solid overnight and I have to collect each pan up and smash the contents out with a heavy mallet before I may refill them. How cold does it have to be for water to freeze solid overnight in the building then?

We often let the setty hens have chicks in winter. Duece Coop is insulated and holds heat very nicely...nothing finer than Christmas or New Year's chicks...not only does it test fertility since I do not use artificial lighting to achieve minimum of 14 hours of light, but also proves the determination of the hens to raise up a clutch and be good mommas. I will put on a heat lamp when the clutch is near to hatch...any early born chicks can scurry out and be frozen pretty quick when not under the mother...so I like to ensure the winter babes stand a good chance. After all...being hatched in an Alberta winter is incredible already!

Nov 4, 2013 - Surrogate Pewter giving the Momma chicken EYE..."What?? Better be bothering us for a reason!"



Dec 22, 2013 - Happy chicks and Happy surrogate Mom​

At around -25C (-13F) outside, I do become concerned about my geriatric hens...some girls are working on over being 6 years old and well, I have a soft spot for oldsters--longevity is something we breed for...love to have birds live long and prosper! I will hang heat lamps for plugging in at lower than -25C for the older birds. We do up the ration in their feed mix with some cracked yellow corn...I go round after breakfast rations are provided and top the pans with some corn...don't want them just to fill up on chicken candy corns but appreciate that some more corn plus that breakfast helps to fire up their furnaces better to endure the cold. Same thing at night...a full crop is probably more important going into the night in winter than breakfast...but breakfast is good too for them to start the day and if I want any winter eggies, I cannot expect eggs from birds just making it by on the rations provided--feed good quality balanced rations, and one can expect to receive THE goods in appreciation.

Free pour works well and watching what is being eaten and then offering up more of what they are eating as per the season is good too!

Never ever lost a single bird here to freezing. Wish I could say never lost a bird ever but back when I was a kid living on the WEsT Coast...I recall getting ready for school and my sister's best friend was by early and my sister sent her out to open up the chicken pop door...her friend had seen us do it a million times before, so no biggy...yeh right! Her friend came running back to say something was wrong with one of the birds...yeh...hanging frozen solid, upside down by its feet from the roost. Kinda weird but that humidity makes all the world of difference I suppose. Another time my sis sent the same friend out to the coop...we felt it was an omen of a jinx NOT to send her friend out ever again...this time a raccoon had chewed (how easily is this!) the fisherman's netting my father had chosen to use and gone and slaughtered a hen. Needless to say, I am betting the friend of my sis figures keeping hens on the Coast is all folly, eh? Twice sent to view carnage and she was never really into the birds to begin with!

Feed well, breed characters chosen for temperature extreme tolerances, uncrowded conditions, happy factors like greens to bring joy and entertainment to them, as little stressors as possible (zero predation, no fights or pecking going on--squabbles over resources and such), heated water buckets so fluid water is available (like a hot chocolate to warm up!), along with deep oat straw for bedding...wind protection, not standing in snow and ice...all make survival here a given for winter time.

Minus ten in the middle of winter here is a breeze...-25C and lower, not something I like to see months of but we do get two week stints of -20C straight (forty below is frightful!) and even I have to say, kinda a long amount of time to expect them to get thru it...but they do. Think in these terms...our freezers in the garage are warmer than outside in winter!

By February, minus ten is t-shirt weather...but right now with the Coast like humidity in play...it is going to take a few weeks of it to get use to. Up in the real Great White North, a newbie to the area would be best to accept that pail of lard the neighbours brought by to see you thru winter--ten months sometimes it feels like! Bacon is not only the fruit of the gods...it is something you end up craving and for good reasons!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

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

 

[CanuckBock]

Did Fixens have some surgery a while back? I noticed in one of your photos she looks like she has been shaved from back of the withers to set on of tail. Maybe it was a summer trim.

Here you go DD...

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Taken as of today of Fruitcup.

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No clippy clips...photo proof that you so

Tara

 

[drumstick diva]

Tara l love, love, love, your postings. I think it is because of your conversational style. I don't feel I am reading, I feel I am listening to you. So very comforting.