The Front Porch Swing

[BCMaraniac]

Now that I have caught up with the whole thread I would like to pull up a chair and have some tea. Lisa, so sorry about your losses .I lost half of my flock to neighbor's dogs last week. Still trying to decide if it is worth going for compensation.


On a lighter note. my dh surprised me with tickets to see the Eagles last night in Cincinnati. We got a great hotel room and really enjoyed the show. We don't leave the farm much, because finding someone to feed that we can trust is difficult.
Anybody here that keeps bees? We took a beginners class a few weeks ago and are ordering our hives. Hope we can still get bees this year. They are in demand and hard to find.
This thread is so comfortable. Thanks for letting me visit for awhile. Need to toss the cat from the bedroom and get some sleep. Last night was a lot later than usual for us and was a two hour drive home.God blessed us with good weather and clear roads for the trip. The sky was such a beautiful blue today.

Welcome to the Front Porch! I'm glad you enjoyed the concert, but very happy you didn't spend the night at the Hotel California!!

Hopefully you've come to sit a spell!!

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, he is such a lover!!! Thank goodness it is cold there--think of the smell....

Lisa

Yes...thank goodness!

I'll be spending the first part of spring raking and picking up all the bone ends, skulls, deer hides not consumed, feathers and skin fragments of all the carcasses of animals that dog has been gnawing on since fall. I took a video of his "den" and it looks forevermore like a wild animal's den. He's pretty jealous of his "things".

I thought our first dog was strange and he surely was, but Jake is a whole 'nother type of strange when it comes to these chickens. Total mushpot silly over his chickens and it's gotten way worse over the years...pretty soon he'll be sleeping with them in his dog house.

 

[TexasLisa]

Maybe Jake has 'dragon blood' in him. Dragons like to sleep with or on top of their treasures!!

Lisa

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Yes...thank goodness!    I'll be spending the first part of spring raking and picking up all the bone ends, skulls, deer hides not consumed, feathers and skin fragments of all the carcasses of animals that dog has been gnawing on since fall.  I took a video of his "den" and it looks forevermore like a wild animal's den.  He's pretty jealous of his "things". 

I thought our first dog was strange and he surely was, but Jake is a whole 'nother type of strange when it comes to these chickens.  Total mushpot silly over his chickens and it's gotten way worse over the years...pretty soon he'll be sleeping with them in his dog house. 

It really is an amazing thing to get to observe. I want to hug him.

 

[Beekissed]

It's kind of sad but also makes me a little proud of him that he can identify with these chickens as much as he does, which throws all the bias against bird dogs as livestock dogs out the window. Each of my Labs were very sweet with the smaller animals and would guard them, lick them and make sure they were safe.

My first Lab, Jim Dandy, could herd cattle better than most herd dogs...and he didn't even have to run to do it. Just moved them with his attitude, didn't even have to bark. He would go on point if we lost a baby rabbit out of the cages, to show us where it was. He would also hold over the rabbit for quite a while until we would come out of the house to see what in the world he was staring at so intently and for so long. He could track wounded game and was an excellent rabbit hunting dog.

Lucy and Jake both would alert the house when lambs were coming and would lick and treat them like their own when the sheep allowed. Lucy was protective of the kittens when Jake's playing was too rough, but would also protect little chicks from the kittens. Both would break up disturbances in the flock.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yep, you need to clone that dog!

 

[TexasLisa]

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

Oh dear. This is sad news.

But it sounds like the right call. Your one remaining hen will be lonely. Is anyone in your area selling pullets? Or will you hold off on getting more birds until after the dog situation is resolved?

 

[sarahsunshine]

Update: I am down to one hen, Lena. DH is going to put Droopy down when he gets home. She wasn't eating today, just sitting. I picked her up (which is unusual) and had her on my lap. Her head was under my jacket for a bit. I noticed little flecks of blood on my coat. I put her down and then I noticed my shirt was red. When I checked her over she looked fine...no feathers missing or anything.

Lisa

Sorry Droopy... Ya been a good hen!

DA$%^ dogs! Maybe you should drop her off at the neighbor's with a bill?

 

[sarahsunshine]

DH is starting a new job in a month. We just sold our house, and now we are supposed togo on a house hunting trip next week... We've been checking MLS.ca (we will be on Vancouver Island), and found this this morning: http://beta.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=13627409

It looks amazing!!!!