Wow! I mean WOW! You are busy busy busy! Had to reply to your "Pear-A-Dice" since I call our place "Parrot-dise", Yeah, you can guess I'm a parrot person but have been deeply involved with many kinds of fowl. Not near as busy as you are though..lol Love your posting.
x2Fixins was a lucky dog...Tara and Rick
No, did not know about the button. After winning the golden feather with Hannible's comb winning the cushion comb contest...I was able to turn off the banner advertisements too.
Regular run of the mill round bale feeders are too large for the Jacobs and the 50 pounder Nigerian Goats on one hand and too wimpy in another. Have to be "bull proof" to accommodate the wear and tear that horned beasts lavish on the feeders but being that in the pre-made size, then they would climb right in there when they get the bale down.
The "key hole" feeders suppose to be used for goats are lethally dangerous. One lady bought this goat raising book, followed the suggestion and discovered how the goats would hard head butt any goat that had its head down inside the key hole feeder...she said she darn near lost a few...head down, stuck in feeder whilst another goat bashed the snot outta the other. Goats seem to do that alot, always trying to establish a NEW pecking order--climb to the top of the crap pile I suppose. Sheep have different attitude...they will do the pecking order thing but mostly all get along very nicely after the fact. People are goat or sheep persons, I lean more towards sheep...much more conducive to peacefulness and tranquility. LMBO
So what we did do for sheep and goat feeders for round bales at first (never fed rounds until we got the tractor...went from yearly squares costing us $3,250 to $225 for rounds of the exactly SAME hay quality...WHAT a savings, eh!), took the 16 foot combo panels and cut them into shorter sections. Premier (nfi) offers up wire twisted hinges you order in and used to lace up the panels into say like an octagon feeder that is great, you can move it about and easily fold it up, make it smaller and such. Issue we had...dang horned creatures again! No matter how you try...you try to keep them fenced and safe from predation and the counter is they get their horns hooked into the wire or panels and there you go...bleeding busted horns all over the place. Very aggravating! Now in reality, Park Sheep like Jacobs would run wild and free...never EVER get a horn caught in a fence wire because they would never be near one. But nope, we have ewes with six horns and while they are self-aware of their head gear, they get in the groove of eating and go into the ZONE...forget to keep mindful of how horns can get hung up, and then pull...instead of calming and walking BACK out, nope, forward, full steam ahead and there you go...busted head gear! I guess they don't mind so much...the horns keep on growing but I hate having to balance their freedom with their safety! So not only dealing with tough strong ruminants, the horned kind just adds to the dilemma. :-(
I do laugh at them horned beasties...they actually use the horns like tools; great to scratch areas with...hilarious to watch...and as tools...holy cow. I watched Lego who has four horns, two that stick straight outta the side of her head at odd angles and the other two do a nice big curve...she walked up to a poplar sapling (very goat like in what these sheep eat...tell they are a primitive breed use to wooded forest living...they like to BROWSE like goats do...not graze like most other sheep breeds do)...so she hooks one of her curved horns on the stem of the tree and blows my mind...she walks the tree down, all the while head turned eating the succulent new leaves...just about completely de-foilaged the whole tree. Very athletic these Jacobs--can easily leap six foot fences if they have a mind too...super intelligent compared to other ruminants (brains are eight percent heavier than other sheep breeds!) and people often complain they are WILD...they can be if you don't work with them alot. Mine are all halter trained and I shear them, so I have a working bond with them...condition score them, so they are very use to me walking up to them and catching them to check on their healthfulness. Sheep can be very misleading, got a covering of wool which means they can lose condition and hide that well. Best to have hands on them lots to know how they are doing, not just look at them only. Another useful use of horns...I have a small alley gate you can lift up to allow them access to and from a corral...I lifted the gate up and went into the forested area to do some raking and branch piling and suddenly was joined by one of the curious "what you doing?" sheeps. She had stuck her nose under the gate bottom and lifted it up with a horn...her nose would have been too soft and tender to wedge up the full weight of the metal gate..."Blighme," I thought...that's all I need, sheep in the forest chewing bark off the trees. And chew bark they would...I remember one winter thinking putting some hay out in the snow covered ground of the forest might be a nice bit of scenery change for the flock one early spring...YUP...the sheep ignored the fresh hay and gnawed on the poplar tree bark...I was wild the next day when I went out to inspect the area because the hay was still all scattered about there. Ate the alfalfa leaves up first, left the stems and had a dessert of tree bark. That was when I began to learn seriously about being a keeper of the land and plants over the animals. The animals will make an utter environmental mess of your property if you are not mindful that geese will drill holes in perfectly good pasture land when the moisture lets them...that ruminants will eat the trees that offer shade and wind protection and Jacob Sheep will chew the bark off and ring trees without a care about what they just killed.
I get people requesting "sheep" to "mow" their yards and I laugh very hardily...yeh, you lazy B's have no concept now do you...I'll get right on that thought of you thinking you can cheap out and escape yer yard work, eh. You can do that, sure, but AFTER you fence off every flower bed and shrub in sheep proof fencings...and then you gotta think of what THAT looks like with ever bush encircled with scookum fences to protect the plants from browsing lips.
Same people would never DREAM of letting their herd of cows into the yard around their houses because the smelly cows would rub up against their vehicles and take the siding off the house and garage, never mind the cow patties--I've been told to let loose cows if you want your Caragana bushes trimmed back...but these persons are ignorant to the ways of ALL ruminants...sheep like the Jacobs will take an affinity to your ornamental plantings...all sorts of shrubs are good eats as far as they are concerned and sometimes even the poisonous ones get eaten with dire consequences to the consumers.
I do love the beans that llamas, goats and sheep expel...those make wonderful fertilizer strewed about...better than cow plops or horsey apples...but past that, you don't want no sheep and especially goats like the Nigerians in your yard. First time I let the goats out, where did they run, straight to a small sized spruce tree to thrash it to pieces with their need to head scratch destructively. I even have a large bristly like scratcher I bought screwed to the fence posts for just that purpose...but NOPE...we don't want that because we KNOW you tried to see to it properly--this need to itch ourselves...NOPE, we want to beat the poop outta yer smaller trees so there is no new generations of ongoing growth here for future generations...it is all about US now and our needs--jest today.
DESERT...dang desert is what the beasts of the land would make of our place if I did not watch and know what they are gonna wreck if I don't continue to be vigilant. Mud heap and then desert would be their objective. The Jacob rams...they ignored the tree bark as in consumption of it...their forte was head butting the bark of the large spruce trees...yeh, no crap. They would run full tilt and hit the trunks of the trees here hard enough to flake off the bark which harms the trees...lets bugs access the tree and there goes the big tall ones. So between goats beating the small evergreens, the sheep stripping bark and then leaves off the deciduous saplings...and the rams beating the big trees of bark...a four corner empty field of forage grasses, would be good for the negligent herd/flock persons. Not a lick of tree or shrub and they could be left willy nilly 24/7 without thought for the conditions.
So back to the "wasted hay"...nope, no waste...after the horde gets a few days on the round bale, their free for all ends. Sadly, oh the SADness is rampant...sadly they get shut out from the access to the round bale and out I go...cart and fork, rake and some boo berry pie that needs to be burned off and I rake up the stems (hear the bleats of utter horror..."NOT the dreaded STEMS! NO! She's trying to make us eat our stems!"). Easy peasy. I raked up three, four cart loads of stems and "clean up, aisle nine" is in the works. Then the dreaded "eat yer stems" happens in their corral. Heh heh heh...wez have wayz to make you EAT it all, eh...
Waste, none...not a stem goes to waste. Even if my leaf rake misses a few stems...no worries. EVERYTHING that is hauled in here, gets used to the fullest. The oat straw is brought in as beginning its use as bedding...which is soiled, which is then collected up with a bit of the river sand off the floor...so a straw, poop and light bit of sand mix is removed from pens and then hauled by Rick to the fields. He piles them up in the winter time and then like now, he begins the tilling...it breaks down the moment it is piled up and becomes the best ever compost mix. Heck most gardeners don't get the luxurious MIX we get from doing what we would do to keep the animals and birds well... I raked up the edges where Rick tilled, 160 feet got tossed back on to the dirt...to be tilled in the next time he works it.
All really good ones and not seen them before. Thank you. <<hugs>>
I love the last one best.
Fixins...well after 8 weeks last Friday, she decided it was a good day to die. She passed peacefully with me beside her, petting and talking to her yesterday at 14:00. She had a convulsion at 13:24...partially stopped breathing, then began breathing but laboured...not frightened or panicked but very slowly breathing and with some effort. She had another bit of a leg twitch fifteen minutes later and again slowed breathing. I knew it was her time. I am happy I was there and not driving the bus when she passed. I would have HATED to go to work and come back and find her gone. All those unanswered questions...did she panic, did she have excessive pain, how did she pass...I was totally against her going alone. That's a complete horror to die by yourself, eh. I wanted her to go like I would want to die.
This way that she went, that is what we where hoping she would do. She stopped eating the evening before and that is why we made the "Dr. Death" appointment to be held here. She ate just a few pieces of special bought just for her BQ chicken shredded pieces given to her by Rick. Rick named her "Fixins" after what a cowboy makes for a meal...fixing up something good...and she did enough her eats...now doubt on that! She drank right up to the end and MAN, she fought like a trooper. There were times when she literally drug Rick or I around on the leash with her halter on...I know, little 45/50 pound dog dragging humans around like pull toys. When she was passing, I gave her lots of kisses (not like me at all...kissing our animals :-/) and told her that it was OK...that she could go and stop this all, I was "OK with her leaving us now." Such a good girl she has always been for us ... it was time for her to be at peace and stop fighting that nasty lump and what it was making her go thru. Yeh, she was strong...my goodness, strong like no tomorrow but what rips our hearts to shreds is she also had those weak moments where she slept so deeply you had to look very hard to see if she was still breathing.
Pitstop at the dog water bowl outside the Ram Pasture
On Sunday, after a good morning rest up, we took Fixins out to be part of our work project. Rick did some more tilling of the pasture, me-I did the raking up of the overflowing tillings and of the round bale and gathered up alot of the wind blown stems and ruminant beans...makes the pasture look all messy and getting it ready for the spring grass green growth. We made a big party of the affair...Foamy, Fixins, cold bottles of water (stowed in the sheep waterers), water for the dogs, chair and dog bed...spring work bee for all of us to be out enjoying the warm spring weather, sunshine and shade. Fixins was so happy to be on the big escapade...I set up a nice dog bed and blankets for her in the shade of the ram barn and she got to watch and then nap in the shade. It was a very nice time we all had. Could not have asked for a better weekend full of reflective fond memories now.
Today is Earth Day and day zero of many to count forward from. What Rick and I need now is some time...we can fall apart...we can let our emotions come and go. I found myself being selfish and pitiful about our loss of the Chore Dog yesterday during evening chores. We buried her up by the Three Kings...where Makins, HyBlade, Stoggar, and now Fixins all rest in peace. Foamy came with us to say last goodbyes...not sure Foamy "got" it but good enough. She liked the biscuits I gave her. We do that with all the dogs, let them have a smell and a visual and then we bury the body that contained the essence we never wanted to do without but must for now.
I drove bus after Fixins passed, tried not to think about what had just happened. Kept it together...had to smile at the irony. Got a spare bus right now because the regular one is in for the semi-annual inspection...I happened to look down at the odometer on this spare and saw the last three digits read six, six, six and chuckled...Yup, there is no heaven here on Earth and about the worst thing that can visit us in Pear-A-Dice, the things we cannot stop is disease and death but in Fixins' case...I looked at her vet records, getting ready for the "Dr. Death" visit that I got to happily cancel for tomorrow...that Fixins had her fist bout of madness with these hystiocytomas beginning in October and then again in November...2007! I had our best vet remove one set of small pin sized tumours (benign) from beside her one eye and then another set beside her nose. She had six years with no sign of these tumours and then she began to have them show up. Always watched them and as she has gotten older, none were in the way of mobility and not on her head...not until March 6th, when this last one showed up on her skull. Yeh, too old to make it through an operation to remove this one. Rick figures we lost maybe two more good years with Fixins because of that particular lump. He learned to hate that thing...he even thought of it separately from Fixins herself. Me, I never really targeted the lump...I did not like what it did to Fix, but the choices were few to none on what we could do about it.
The house here is quiet...ungodly quiet. Not that Fix was noisy, it was just that if she was not right there, then you listened for where the dog might be since she was not there--she's always been there...you don't usually not have her beside you...being your shadow, Velcro or Siamese twin; it is just RUDE how quiet it is...alone. Both Rick and I are happy for Fixins...and sad for ourselves and us. I reflect on all this and realize, I just spent 30+ years planning the litter as the breeder that produced Fixins (one of those life long dreams fulfilled where you have the "planned" puppy hood with everything you always wanted done--all the testing, all the planning, all the FUN...I even built a jungle gym for those pups...took them to be socialized at a petting zoo where there were all sorts of creatures we don't have like Zebus and mini-donkeys to peafowl...took her to U of Saskatoon to have the litter hearing BAER tested and got to expose the litter to horses at a friend's place...all the smells and sights to give puppies a well rounded introduction to a stock dog's life)...so now we have enjoyed the 13 years and just over nine months of living the dream of having the puppy that grows into being the dog you always dreamed of enjoying...and now that is over. It helps explain the hollowness and the hurt alot that we need to work on thru. World don't stop, in fact it probably spins faster when you are sad just to spite you.
We invested alot in that dog Fixins and we feel she never did let us down...she held up her end and then some. Problem child right from the start...she was the pup in the litter that freaked my beak...she charged at things that scared her. One's logic is that you would figure if something scared you, the natural proper reaction was to RUN AWAY...not Fixins...her choice was to attack what she was fearful of and ask questions later. You'd get a face fulla teeth if you made her uneasy--that's our nasty red girl. During our CKC sanctioned show career, I tried taking Fixins to the city for those "socialization" classes everyone raves about. I so had to muffle a good giggle when the one woman thought she was going to entice Fixins to accept her--Fixins abhors strangers, from people to creatures...she has no use for them sorts! I had baked liver, her fav food past chicken from Dad and the woman asked for a piece to give to Fixins thinking she would tame the wild beast...HA! Fixins, at least she obliged me, and took the piece of liver from the woman's hand (she could have just as easily BIT her insolent hand), looked up at me and that piece of liver shot five feet up in the air across the floor..."Phhhttttt!" was Fixins regards to being a nice nice doggy for ditzy woman..."That's what I think of YOU...take the treat, eh?" The woman gasped and I had to fight the laughing out loud part SO hard... :-/
Fixins is totally self aware with trouble as an attitude. We are ever so happy for her...and now, we can be ever so sorry for ourselves. Time, some much needed rest, the burden of responsibility is lifted and we can sink down and wallow in pity for a time. She was nothing short of a trooper and there is not a single thing I would have changed with the lot we were given. Sucks she is gone but for her sake, good.
Rick and I need to get rested back up...was six weeks last Friday since the ordeal with the nasty lump began and that's been an ordeal thru heck and back. Time will heal, we need to burst into tears when we need to...hold each other, laugh and talk about the fun and the good times. This didn't all happen overnight and don't expect to have it heal up quick either. We never did want this to end, we made adjustments as we all got old together--dog not able to jump in the bathtub for a drink out of the tap...so a big water bucket beside the tub became a fixture in the house--Rick is bleaching that bucket for the last and final time for now...
Dogs for us are like the glue, and ACDs are like the nasty hoof glue that cements a family as a living loving unit. The Mom, the Dad, the Kid and the Dog(s). But nothing is ever constant but the changes.
Goodbye for now Fixins...gone but not forgotten...wait for us with ALL our other doggy coats of many colours...please wait for us to join you when it is our time to go too. So many happy dogs we have gotten to enjoy over the years now...share our lives with. We are unimaginably blessed.
RATRANCH FIXINS R HIGGINS
CKC Registered / Red Speckled Female / OFA Hip GOOD & Elbow CLEAR / BAER bilateral 50 decibles / CERF / Herding Instinct Certified / Full dentition-scissor grip
Born 3 a.m., July 14, 2001 @ 13 oz. / Died 2 p.m., April 21, 2015
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
