Surviving Minnesota!

[Bogtown Chick]

No she sleeps inside tbh. Although I know of people around here that keep labs outside. It is a rarity any more though. Our German shepherd on the farm was an outdoor dog. Straw is a great bedding/ insulator on cold days.or nights. Not much is moving outside on those days anyways.

Our lab is territorial so she keeps everything run off. I don't have squirrels, rabbits, deer or anything in my yard. She's also a barker. Previous lab was more laid back.
Junior is crazy this morning. Must be getting eggs today. I got 0 yesterday. First 0 day since last November. We are getting to summer break. I usually keep a dozen in the fridge and sell off rest but maybe I better hang on to the rest now.

Jerry good work up north. I meant to come by but these jobs have us running every day. Kids are only 15 yet. So I run for their job and mine. I can't wait for 16 and drivers licenses. I think.
. I will pop by in a week or so and see if the have any progress...? Butch is the best. People like him a lot. Glad you found some efficiency up here.

Ralphie I bet Grandmas term there was the same as wryneck?

 

[duluthralphie]

So a Livestock Guard Dog in the VWN kills the birds so nothing else can?


Interesting thought process, definitely Canadian and not mainline thinking.

 

[BantyChooks]

So a Livestock Guard Dog in the VWN kills the birds so nothing else can?


Interesting thought process, definitely Canadian and not mainline thinking.

I'm just talking about fencing. My dog is about as far from a LGD as you can possibly get.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Siggie condolences on loss of FIL. It's no dress rehearsal is it?

Checked in flower garden herb garden. Chickens dusted in newly planted marigiolds so they are gonzo. And thyme I thought was going to die. Made it.

I'm off to start my Saturday folks. Have a good one! Resort work with the kiddos today.

 

[I Love Layers]

Nikasha
We have a Great Pyrenees cross, 1/2 Great Pyrenees, 1/4 Border Collie, and 1/4 Australian Shepard. In my opinion if you're going to get an LGD it should sleep outside. There coat is so thick that they are miserable inside, when she tore her ACL and had to stay inside for about 4 weeks she hated it. She has a dog house but rarely if ever uses it, we made her a 4×4 "deck", right outside her dog house, that's sitting on the ground that we put hay in. It's open on all sides and she'll sleep there in the winter if it's snowing or if it's very cold. When it's raining really hard might be the only time she uses the dog house.
On the roaming ours never has. She did run away once as a puppy, long story but she was really young and we were still tying her up when we left, she thought we left her behind freaked out and followed us. About 3 days after this, and after she traveled about 100 miles she showed up again at our house. After that she never has done anything like that.
I wouldn't get a GP cross, especially with a smaller dog, as they have a higher tendency to tear their ACLs. While we didn't go with the surgery, and with some vitamins and no running, or jumping for 8 weeks she healed the same she would've with surgery, it's still something I wouldn't want to do again.
They also are harder to train, they probably won't play fetch, we tried for months with ours hoping her half of cow dog would play but she wouldn't. They don't do things like come very well, depending on the situation you may have to sound stern.
And in the case of the barking at something that they see as a threat the chances of you being able to make it come back is almost impossible. A month ago there was a coyote on the hill right by our house her and I saw it at the same time. I tried bribing her with treats, but when it took 2 steps closer to the house she took off. She came back about 2 hours later panting and exhausted. Last night there was a skunk in the yard about 20 feet from the coop before I could even grab a gun she had it cornered and was about 2 feet from this skunk. I think it may have had rabies, due to the fact that it was still light out and when the dog came running the skunk just sat there.
There coats aren't that hard to take care of. Brush it maybe every other day for 5 minutes and it'll be good.
And they are great with animals and little kids. The first day we got her she say by my two ducklings who were in a cage and watched for hours

This is her after our first snow. She sat on the snowbank all year

 

[duluthralphie]

@bobbi-j Good to see you back, Sorry I forgot this first, How was the bible school and 800 little kids?


BC, I liked the term limberneck, I have one bird with it, the neck is not wry but actually flops around and can turn every direction. She walks, but is like a drunk. I saw them drinking some yucky pukey looking water the other day and thought they were stupid as the waterers were 10 feet away. I have waterers all over the place and they prefer the yuck.....

I have no trouble thinking it could be a botulism in the stuff they were drinking.

I think of a wry neck as a stiff neck in a weird position. Am I wrong? I normally have no problems with disease but this year seems to be my year to catch up to the average....




@Nikasha What BC said about the alpha pup cannot be emphasized enough. I kept the alpha pup from my Lab when she had pups...NEVER again. I want the meek mild want to serve dog, not the bull headed leader that wants to do it his way.. 9 years I have lived with this mistake!

 

[jerryse]

Limberneck was just Grandmas name for it . I found out what it really was when I had ducks and chickens running loose . Ducks as you know are nasty creatures . They fouled some puddles and the dumb chickens were drinking from them . So the cure for botulisum is a laxative = Epsom salts .

 

[jerryse]

Some pics from the project .

 

[holm25]

My grandpa has a friend with sheep and pastured poultry up by mom of many and he raises LGDs and he said they never leave the herd. If cars drive by the farm the dogs will be in between the cars and the sheep. They are really neat dogs. Over here we don't need them. The cows do a good enough job of protecting calves. My birds could probably use one lol. I am down to two Guineas which really stinks...

 

[holm25]

Ralphie did you ever figure out what killed your one PC Cockerel? These last two kills have been just like your PCs murder scene... It happened when the birds were off the roosts but before we were out to open up the coop. The Guineas are now locked up permanently...