The Old Folks Home

[Bunnylady]

Some people say that goats are born looking for a way to die, but perhaps they aren't really any worse than most stock . . . . there seems to be no lack of awful things that can happen to almost any kind of animal we try to keep.

Mentioning awful things, the pun here is irresistible . . . . a little smile (I hope) to start the day.

 

[microchick]

On my second cup here also and just having a really hard time cranking the motor over this morning so to speak. DH and I have been fighting a virus for the past 3-4 days. It's just the run of the mill really crappy cold that just doesn't want to go away and makes you feel really miserable.

To date we wound up with 8 chicks from this last broody hatch. 5 OEGB and 3 Buff Os. I have 4 eggs in my homemade bator. 3 OEGB eggs looked like they had pipped internally but that was it. 2 were showing the early signs of blood ring last night so I am not holding out much hope for them and the one Welsummer egg that was under her looks like an early quitter. For some reason I cannot get more than 8 eggs to hatch out of the broodies I've had this year. I'm hoping that is because they are young and their hatch percentages will improve.

I'm moving them out of the nesting box this morning and into a bigger nursery pen where they will spend the next week or so. Then I have apples waiting for my attention but since I feel crappy I'll probably settle for making a dutch apple pie today.

 

[perchie.girl]

Some people say that goats are born looking for a way to die, but perhaps they aren't really any worse than most stock . . . . there seems to be no lack of awful things that can happen to almost any kind of animal we try to keep.

Mentioning awful things, the pun here is irresistible . . . . a little smile (I hope) to start the day.

yep.

LOL cute picture.

deb

 

[pennyJo1960]

3rd cup here almost human chickens are out in their run
caregiver here always cheerful

 

[microchick]

Some people say that goats are born looking for a way to die, but perhaps they aren't really any worse than most stock . . . . there seems to be no lack of awful things that can happen to almost any kind of animal we try to keep.

Mentioning awful things, the pun here is irresistible . . . . a little smile (I hope) to start the day.

We kept sheep briefly and one day asked our vet if he could give us any sage advice about keeping them healthy.

He just chuckled and said, "The first thing you do when you get sheep is dig a hole to bury them in."

Yep, turned out to be VERY true.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

3rd cup here almost human

On my second cup here also and just having a really hard time cranking the motor over this morning so to speak.

On my 2nd cup already,

LOL - made me think of this (I so need to get this for my husband)

EIA has created some dilemmas here in the Southeast. There are several feral horse herds on islands (sometimes collectively known as 'Banks Ponies' or 'Banker Ponies') that have their numbers managed through adoption programs - anybody remember 'Misty of Chincoteague?'. Most states won't allow horses to be transported through without a negative Coggins test, and a few of these horses have tested positive. Animal rights groups howl about killing the animals that test positive, they can't be sold, even for meat, they can't be returned to the islands without being a hazard to the other animals. Some of the herds have been breeding in relative isolation for at least a hundred years, and represent some fairly ancient bloodlines; just sterilizing the whole herd and letting them age and die out is insupportable. I know of a few permanent quarantine facilities where infected animals are living out their days (paid for by the government), but there are limits to how much of that one can do, too.

Animal Rights folks tend to become blinded to the big picture of things sometimes - and end up creating a worse problem than the "issue" they think they are addressing to begin with, and this is a prime example of that.

Some people say that goats are born looking for a way to die, but perhaps they aren't really any worse than most stock . . . . there seems to be no lack of awful things that can happen to almost any kind of animal we try to keep.

SO true.

DH and I have been fighting a virus for the past 3-4 days. It's just the run of the mill really crappy cold that just doesn't want to go away and makes you feel really miserable.

To date we wound up with 8 chicks from this last broody hatch. 5 OEGB and 3 Buff Os. I have 4 eggs in my homemade bator. 3 OEGB eggs looked like they had pipped internally but that was it. 2 were showing the early signs of blood ring last night so I am not holding out much hope for them and the one Welsummer egg that was under her looks like an early quitter. For some reason I cannot get more than 8 eggs to hatch out of the broodies I've had this year. I'm hoping that is because they are young and their hatch percentages will improve.

I'm moving them out of the nesting box this morning and into a bigger nursery pen where they will spend the next week or so. Then I have apples waiting for my attention but since I feel crappy I'll probably settle for making a dutch apple pie today.

Ick, being sick is just no fun - hope you are both able to get it kicked soon. Odd that 8 seems to be the limit on your hatches.

 

[Kusanar]

Quote: Tell me about it. There is a current issue in the horse world where because SOME bad people have walking horses and sore them, the animal rights people have decided that any boot, pad, or wedge shoe needs to be illegal (none of which have anything to do with soring BTW)... so, what about the mare that used to be at my barn that wore a slight wedge shoe to help her hoof grow correctly again? What about my horse who stepped on something in the field and had a big hole in his foot? We got the farrier out, cleaned it out, packed it with a antimicrobial packing and put a pad on it to keep the dirt out and the packing in for a shoeing period... What about my horse with a big chunk of proud flesh on his leg from cutting himself who wears boots when being ridden to keep him from clipping that scar with another hoof and bleeding everywhere... they don't think about these things...

 

[microchick]

I had this talk with my father once. He was a farrier and had done a lot of work on dressage horses. I remember him saying that there wasn't anything that you could get them to do that couldn't be accomplished with the right shoe or the right build up. My horse also was one of those magnets that could find every hidden nail in the paddock and ram it in her foot. She also developed some cracks and had to have special shoes. There are always exceptions to rules. The PETA people drive me nutz on a good day and the department of the interior is running a close second. I'm all for the humane treatment of animals, in fact I'm pretty much demand it. But the first group wouldn't know reality if it came up and bit them on the butt and the second is just a government screw up in action.

I read that article about the wild horses they are planning to euthanize, Burros also. I can barely think about it without becoming very upset. Such a waste. I told DH that if they made it available, I would give an older horse a home so fast it would make their heads swim.

SO gotta calm down here. I did eggtopsies on three eggs. One was infertile and two had died without internally pipping as I first though. Their positioning looked good. They just died. No bad odor so no idea what happened to them.

I'm giving the last egg till this evening but I am not holding out much hope.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I haven't worked with horses since I was growing up but we had several breeds. We didn't ride them very often and they roamed most of a 100 acre farm with hills, woods, pastures, rocky hills, etc..
We only had their hooves trimmed once in all the years we raised them. They never saw a vet. They were quite healthy. The only horses that had previously been on the property were a couple teams of draft horses that were stalled and worked.
I just went on the LongMeadow Ranch website this morning. It is a local rescue ranch operated by the Humane Society for all things not dogs, cats or cage birds.
They have sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, cattle, hogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, llamas, etc. However, the disturbingly vast majority of animals up for adoption are horses and donkeys. They probably have at least 50 horses available.

 

[perchie.girl]

I haven't worked with horses since I was growing up but we had several breeds. We didn't ride them very often and they roamed most of a 100 acre farm with hills, woods, pastures, rocky hills, etc..
We only had their hooves trimmed once in all the years we raised them. They never saw a vet. They were quite healthy. The only horses that had previously been on the property were a couple teams of draft horses that were stalled and worked.
I just went on the LongMeadow Ranch website this morning. It is a local rescue ranch operated by the Humane Society for all things not dogs, cats or cage birds.
They have sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, cattle, hogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, llamas, etc. However, the disturbingly vast majority of animals up for adoption are horses and donkeys. They probably have at least 50 horses available.

My mare has never been shod.... I was told by a trainer in no uncertain terms that ALL draft horses should be shod because they were too heavy for their feet.....

What she didnt see was the ONE inch thick walls on her hooves and the fact that she shed her sole at eight weeks exactly.... Chips and cracks were always cosmetic and were totally gone when she got her trim.

Her hoof walls were so hard I had one farrier burst into a string of curses AFTER he bent his new nippers..... LOL. At home she gets trimmed three times a year... IN the boarding stable it was once every eight weeks. If I can get her pasture figured out and built She will probably only need a clean up and rebalance once a year.

That being said there are horses that need help and vigilance for their comfort and long life. Easy boots and Hoof Wings are a god sent for those who can afford them ... Hoof Wings come from Mini To Draft and custom sizes.... http://www.hoofwings.com/index.html

Heaven forbid the powers that be see what they put Draft horses in for show.



The pix above is before the Putty to make it look like the hoof follows the shoe.

and yep some trainers use Bungies and chains

Though Action in most is bred in.


deb