Other Pets & Livestock Database

[Cryptkeeper]

1 dog Cocker spaniel - Laci, 3 fish (2 Parrot fish and 1 oscar), My wife's 6 cats, and currently looking for my chickens. I don't have any pictures of them right now but will as soon as i get them transfered from my old hard drive.

 

[featherfinder]

Do you have a profile for Akita's yet?

 

[Kevin565]

I don't believe we do.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Name: Bearded Dragon
Experience Needed: Need to be familiar with reptiles and their heat requirements. Not much different than keeping a brooder going for thier entire life.
Temperament: Extreemly friendly and love to be handled.
Colors: Brown, Golden, Green & blue/reds
Diet: Kale, fruits, super worms & crickets
Life Span: up to 20 years, so it's a lifetime committment.
Environment: They need 100 degrees in the hot end and 70 in the cold end. They also must have UVB light to simulate real sunlight for Vitamin D production.
Family: The make great family pets.

This is Syd. He's 3 years old and just got out of a brumation (3 month hibernation). You have to give him a bath at least once a week because they do not drink out of a water dish, instead soak up water through their vent for hydration.

 

[aggiemae]

Hungarian sheep dogs. Milo, puppy Phoebe with Chloe, Phoebe's mama.





Luka our Kmoondor (Hungarian flock guard dog) and our mean kitty Fat *******.







Puppy Milo and Luka.




Luka hiding in the garden




Phoebe visits Milo's Uncle Beasley




Milo, Black Puli's are very hard to photograph!





Puppy mill rescue Puli, Zsofie. and Will. This wheaton color Puli is not shown here in the US but is very popular in Europe



Zsofie, two years after rescue with a full coat!

Puli's are very intellegent curious and devoted but also very stuborn. They do not like strangers or change. Milo will bark at a lawn chair of it's been moved from the last place he saw it in the yard. Our's all stay so close and mind so well that we don't even need a fence to keep them on our property.

Luka, our Komondor, came to us from flock and guardian rescue. Despite his size (110 pounds) is submissive with our 35 pound Pulik. Unbfortunatly he is very aggressive towards dogs that are not in his pack. He is a natural born guard dog, and though we never encouraged it, he is extreamly protective of his people. He requires a very high fence and a locked gate. and though he is 12 years old (very old for a Komondor) he still dangerous and can not be left outside unsupervised.

Both breeds are high maintence. While the grooming is time consuming,it is nothing compared the the amount for energy and attention their temperments demand.

 

[meshellrose]

aggiemae---Love em, I always thought Komondor's looked like big mops..lol.

 

[Kevin565]

Great Profiles Tweetysvoice and aggiemae

 

[SLBodkin]

Name: Labrador Retriever: There is an English breed and an American breed. The English breeds are medium-sized dogs, shorter and stockier with fuller faces and a slightly calmer nature. The American breeds are often bred as taller, lighter-framed dogs, with slightly less broad faces, a slightly longer nose and are more athletic.
Experience Needed: Need some experience and lots of patience. One must always research the type of dog they are looking at getting. Labs tend to be a first dog and many people do not know what they are getting into when getting them.
Temperament: Athletic, protective, easy going and loopy.
Colors: Black, Chocolate and Yellow.
Diet: Spend the extra money for good food for them. You want to get something that will maintain a healthy active dog. If they start getting dandruff in their coat then supplement their diet with a food high with omega 3 oils.
Life Span: Their life expectancy is generally 10 to 12 years
Environment: They need a home that is chew proof since Labs hold onto a puppy mentality until they are between 4 to 6 years old. They need room to run. A small yard or kennel will not do it for these dogs. They also do not do well in small apartments. Being cooped up in a small apartment tends to lead to mischief such as eating the walls.
Family: They are great family dogs. They are loyal and protective of their family.
Work: Labs are working dogs. They are a favorite for guide dogs and are often used by the police as trackers and drug sniffers. They are also excellent bird hunting dogs.

I got a lot of the information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrador_Retriever but quite a bit of it is from my own experiences.

I own two labs: an English breed black and an American breed chocolate. Both have been adopted from the pound. The black lab is AKC registered. Her first owner bought her to be trained as a hunting dog. She is gun shy. So due to this she was dumped off on her second owner who lived in an apartment. She chewed through a wall out of boredom and was dumped off at the pound. We got her when she was 2 years old and she is now 6 years old. We adopted our chocolate lab in Jan from the pound. We know nothing about him. He was found as a stray out in the woods. Our vet has confirmed that he is a pure breed. We only know that he is about a year and a half old. Our black lab has become a mellow, unmoving doorstop. Our chocolate lab gets into as much trouble as he can.

Below is Midnight our black lab. She decided to help daddy paint the bathroom.


Below is Chuck our chocolate lab.


And the two together. As you can see Midnight is a bit shorter and has a blocker face. Chuck is longer with a longer nose.

 

[Kevin565]

Great Profile SLBodkin

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Name: Domesticated bovine, Cow, or Cattle

Experience Needed: Highly recommended a person does their research before they buy any cattle, by talking with veteran cattlepeople or reading books on cattle. Some breeds are good for people who have no experience with cattle, other breeds are not so forgiving.

Lifespan: On average, a bovine will live 10 to 15 years. Some cattle have been known to live a lot longer though, one notable cow lived until she was around 40 years old. Most cows are culled for slaughter if they are no longer productive to the herd, few are allowed to live out their lives on the place they live. Cattle raised for beef only live to around 2 years of age before being slaughtered for beef.

Size: This depends on the breed. Average weight for a cow is around 1500 lbs, and stands between 5 to 6 feet tall at the shoulder. Bulls are generally heavier and a little taller. Some cows can grow over 2000 lbs, whereas others will only mature at 1000 lbs or less. The miniature cattle often do not exceed 800 lbs, including the bulls. The largest breed in the world is the Chianina, with bulls recorded to exceed 3600 lbs, and cows 3000 lbs. The smallest non-miniature breed in the world is the Dexter, with cows weighing around 750 lbs and bulls often under 1000 lbs.

Origin: Most cattle originated from Eurasia. Exact origins depend on the breed in question.

Diet: Grass and legume pasture mainly, especially in periods from spring to fall. Some people can have their cattle graze on grass/legumes all year round. If grass is not available, then they are fed hay, ranging from mostly grass to mostly legumes. (Legumes include alfalfa, clover, laspedenza, sanfoin, milkvetch, trefoil, etc.) Grain and grain-mix rations are fed according to the owner's discretion. Most bottle calves are fed a calf-starter ration of grain-mix, and cattle that are being "finished" to slaughter (either in the feedlot or on farm for a person's own freezer) are fed grain to fatten up or gain more adipose tissue (fat) in their bodies. Cows can also be fed grain if they are requiring it for weight gain, lactation needs, or if they are doing poorly on pasture alone. Silage (fermented, chopped up fodder comprising mainly of grasses or barley or corn) is also often fed to cows in the winter or weaned calves to assist weight gain. Silage can and is often also be fed to feedlot cattle due to its high nutritional value. (Note: not all cattle owners feed the same thing to their animals, so whatever you choose to feed them is up to you, just make sure it meets their nutritional requirements in such a way that they won't loose a lot of weight on it. But be careful about feeding grain. Putting cattle on grain too soon will make them sick to the point that they may die. Too much grain in the first place can cause problems as well.) Cattle are also allowed access to free-choice mineral, either in block or loose form (loose is considered better by many cattlepeople), and fresh, clean water.

Temperament: This really depends on the breed, the individual animal and the situation.. Some cattle can be real nuts, others are very calm and docile. Most people think that all cows and cattle are calm, docile and a bit stupid, but that's not exactly true. There are cattle that will respect your space but not run for the hills if you make a sudden move or loud sound, and there are others that will head for the hills as soon as they see you, even if you're 100 yards away or so. There are also cattle that will charge if cornered or if they just want you down and out and are not cornered. Cows and heifers right after calving tend to be more dangerous, as their hormones are raging so much so that they may see you, their human friend, as a threat to their calf if you come too close. Bulls are very dangerous during breeding season as well, since they may see you as a threat to their harem and feel they have to dominate you. Dairy bulls are more dangerous than beef bulls, and beef cows are a bit more dangerous around calving time than dairy cows.

Colouration: Again, this depends on the breed. It will also depend on the cross as well. Possible colours include black, white, red, brown (light to dark), tan/buckskin/yellow, light silver grey to dark smokey grey (or white with grey around the neck and shoulders), orange or chestnut, and mahogany. Colourations include roan (blue, red or strawberry), leopard, pointed (white with black or red ears, muzzle, eyes, hooves and udder or scrotum), spotted, patchy, speckled, solid, white-faced, dorsal-striped and belted. Majority of these colourations are white mixed with any of the colourations listed above. Some cattle can haev a dark face or neck (like in bulls) than the rest of the body. Some breeds or crosses may have a lighter colouration around the muzzle, eyes, ears, under belly, the inside of the legs and under the tail. Noses are either pink, tan, or black. Hooves can be solid black, light-coloured, brownish or striped.

Environment: Cattle are found all over the world in almost any climate except at the extreme polar ends of the earth (Arctic and Antarctica). Some breeds are more tolerant to hot and humid climates than others, and other breeds are more tolerant to colder climates than others. What environment a breed is found in depends on the breed, and how adapted cattle of that certain breed are to that particular climate or environment. Most cattle have no problems spending most of their lives outside of a barn, as long as they have some form of shelter like a shed or a grove of trees for the more adverse conditions.

Family: A good animal to educate children about farm life and how to take care of animals much bigger than them. It's not uncommon to get the family involved in raising cattle or owning a pet cow, be it a milk cow or a baby calf. However, cattle are not something to let small children be alone with, unless there's a sturdy fence between them and the animals and the child knows to never cross into the pen or corral without adult supervision.

Additional Notes: Cattle are large animals, not small kitties or puppy dogs, so care must be taken to respect their size and power. Even a dairy cow can send a big grown man flying if she has the mind to. Cattle should never be invited into the house, as they are not house pets like dogs, cats, various rodents, reptiles, amphibians and even insects are. They are to be kept outside in a fenced enclosure, with no limit to pasture, or at least any grazing space, or, if there's no pasture, a source of feed like hay. (Grain should only be fed if it's needed, and only if the animal has access to pasture and hay as well to limit the chance of digestive upset.)

Bulls should never be made into pets because of their unpredictable nature and because they're nothing more than breeding machines. Dairy bulls are the worse for this, due to both their lack of respect for humans and genetic selection for more femininity and milking ability in cows and heifers which indirectly leads to more masculinity and testosterone in the males. Dairy bull calves should be castrated as soon as possible to avoid them turning into monsters when they reach puberty.

There are many ways cattle can be raised, so the options of how to care for, raise and own cattle is endless and never the same thing. Options include dairy (small or large commercial), raising dairy calves, raising dairy replacement heifers, beef cow-calf, beef cow-yearling, backgrounding, feedlot/finishing cattle. Cattle can be raised intensively (holding them in a barn or corral and constantly bringing feed to them throughout their stay on the farm), extensively (letting them roam the owner's land eating wherever and whenever they please), grazed for most of the year following intensive grazing practices and practicing winter grazing from fall to early spring, grazing only from spring to fall and holding them in the corral and bringing feed to them in the winter, etc. You can raise cattle to breed them, have them as pets, for the freezer, or for profit.

Most herds should follow an annual or bi-annual vaccination schedule according to what diseases are prevalent in the area and according to how you are raising your animals. You need to see your veterinarian for what vaccinations are best for your herd and your animals.

I could go on with this, but it's best to do your research in what you want to achieve with your animals and how you want to raise them. Always ask questions, don't be afraid to ask for help from knowledgeable people near and far, be it person to person or on the internet.

Here's some pictures of the cattle we had in the past: