Avalon1984-Chicken, horses, pigs, oh my!

[Avalon1984]

True delight is...seeing the semi transporting your new horsie coming down the road...

 

[ORChick]

Jenn, thank you for your story - and for the photos of your gorgeous horses!
My husband is from (former West) Germany, though his mother grew up in Thuringia (Erfurt). She was in the West when the wall went up, but most of her family were still in the East, so my husband and his siblings didn't see their grandparents or aunt very often at all. We get both sides of the West/East discussion from relatives - his sisters in the West have certain opinions, and his cousin in (former East) Berlin has others. It is very enlightening, though also rather sad, to hear their differences.

 

[Avalon1984]

Jenn, thank you for your story - and for the photos of your gorgeous horses!
My husband is from (former West) Germany, though his mother grew up in Thuringia (Erfurt). She was in the West when the wall went up, but most of her family were still in the East, so my husband and his siblings didn't see their grandparents or aunt very often at all. We get both sides of the West/East discussion from relatives - his sisters in the West have certain opinions, and his cousin in (former East) Berlin has others. It is very enlightening, though also rather sad, to hear their differences.

Hey ORChick, thank you for sharing your story as well! We had a similar thing going on with relatives in the West (Westphalia- Unna) and they would always end us "care packages" with coffee in ti and board games that we couldn't get here. Erfurt is a beautiful city and oh so full of culture. Then there is Weimar and the Wartburg, where Martin Luther was hiding. people are always amazed how many poets, composers and heros came from this small area!

 

[Avalon1984]

What a weekend! Aside from coming back to pure hell at work, things went very smooth. We had my husbands ex-girlfriends brother watch the place for Friday and Saturday and nothing exciting happened, which is a first. So we got to enjoy the Clydesdale Sale and all of the vendors and clinics. The auctions were crazy, I cannot fathom how people can speak so fast. There was lots of good tack up for auction but we arrived too late on Friday to participate and decided to look at all the sale horses. Two of the horses were half sisters to Nala whom we lost last Thanksgiving. I wish I would have the space at home to buy them but it was not the right time. Found out Nalas sire died, so those lines will slowly vanish. The filly I looked at went for $3500, and the mare went for $1,200.
In general there were some beautiful horses going for real cheap, others went for 15-20k and up. Budweiser had their rejects there for auction. Some beautiful stud colts with some blemishes, like the wrong coloring or a black leg. Beautiful conformation though. Those went for only $1200 each. Now I know where I will get me a nice riding gelding if I ever need one. I was taken aback a little when I saw how many lame and sick horses were auctioned off. One of the horses had scratches ( a type of dermatitis on the horses legs) that had been left untreated long enough to allow her leg to swell to double the normal size. She will have to be on antibiotics for months and undergo serious treatment if she is to survive. But she sold for 2,000 anyways. Seemed like a lot of people had waayy too much money on their hands. A Budweiser beer cooler with 24 cans of beer went for $1200. It was hideous. I wish people would just spend the money on getting their horses seen by a farrier and get their scratches treated, but apparently that didnt seem important. About 20% of the horses auctioned off were lame in one way or another. Some couldnt even trot. My favorite line was This horse is slightly lame, but there is nothing wrong with it.

My husband, who is a HUGE advocate for healthy horses almost got us expelled. They showed a horse which was favoring its hind leg and from the lameness it was obvious that it wasnt an abscess, looked more like navicular or possibly even a stifle injury. As we are talking about it, the auctioneer says that this horse comes from XYZ farms, who are known to always bring us healthy and sound horses. Hubby started to laugh hysterically and we had all eyes on us for a second. I loved every moment of it. We went there without telling people that we too, are breeders. Youd be amazed how much BS comes out of peoples mouth when they think they have a novice in front of them. My late husband used to do that a lot in martial arts. He was a black belt but would enroll as a white belt to learn (he never believed in belt colors anyways) and it was fun to see how different people would treat him. So we decided to do the same and it was a very enlightening experience. I dont know if I ever could send a horse to an auction like this. I prefer selling directly to customers so I know where the horses goes to. In the end, my customers are my marketing, and I want to make sure they use each horse for its intended purposes and are happy with it, otherwise it can damage my reputation as well.

We did attend the Anheuser Busch social hour with appetizers and beer. Turns out I am a cheap drunk when it comes to beer. No problems with wine or the occasional vodka, but I cant stomach beer. Once I got sick to my stomach after half a bottle, we quickly went home so that we would be fresh and alert for the Saturday auction. Hubby travels a lot so he got upgraded into a Jacuzzis room. What better could there be but to treat a headache and stomach ache in a Jacuzzi? On Saturday, hubby joked and said that we could have completely restocked the barn with livestock for under $5,000 if we wanted to and boy there were some beautiful horses I wish I could have gotten my hands on. So we watched 130 horses go through the auction for about 6hrs and went home to see how our farmstead was doing. It was nice coming home and realizing that we arent too far off in what our livestock is like, versus what the top breeders have. Gives you a sense of accomplishment.

To top off our weekend, Carmen, who was due to come back into heat this weekend, did not seem to be in heat at all, which can only mean one thing. Hopefully she isnt one of those mares that doesnt show any signs of heat; but I will have her ultrasounded next Monday to be sure. If she is indeed pregnant, she will carry a fullblood Clydesdale foal, hopefully a solid bay with perfect markings. Saw those go for 4,000 at the auction. One can always dream.

It also looks as though we may take in a rescue arab. It is my husbands ex girlfriends horse, a 20 some year old arab mare. She had a gelding with that mare who finally died of cancer last weekend (she should have put him down 3 years ago). She doesnt want anything to do with the horses anymore and I know this horses is deadbroke. Figured I can put 30 days of training on her and I already have 2 clients lined up for lessons at $25 a piece, or work off the lessons. Either way, I think I can make her pay for herself and then some while still providing her with a better home than she came from. Most of the Arabs I know are very hardy and dont need much food. She is a bit fat and needs some farrier work but otherwise very nice. Shed also be a good nanny for our foals next year. Her brother told us she would be interested in giving her up if the horse liked me. I still need to figure out if I can convince her to send the tack along with the horse. Well see. I have a paddock set aside for her whenever she comes.

Oh well, 50 more emails to work through at work and then I get to go home and load some hay. I have been buying up some good quality hay/alfalfa 2011 cutting for $2 a bale, when we usually pay $3.25. Since I will be needing approx. 1,600 + bales this year I can use any savings I can get. We did end up getting 120 bales, so 120* $1.25 savings is $150 savings. I can celebrate on that.

Have a good day yalls!

Jenn

 

[ORChick]

Jenn, thank you for your story - and for the photos of your gorgeous horses!
My husband is from (former West) Germany, though his mother grew up in Thuringia (Erfurt). She was in the West when the wall went up, but most of her family were still in the East, so my husband and his siblings didn't see their grandparents or aunt very often at all. We get both sides of the West/East discussion from relatives - his sisters in the West have certain opinions, and his cousin in (former East) Berlin has others. It is very enlightening, though also rather sad, to hear their differences.

Hey ORChick, thank you for sharing your story as well! We had a similar thing going on with relatives in the West (Westphalia- Unna) and they would always end us "care packages" with coffee in ti and board games that we couldn't get here. Erfurt is a beautiful city and oh so full of culture. Then there is Weimar and the Wartburg, where Martin Luther was hiding. people are always amazed how many poets, composers and heros came from this small area!

Funny about the "care packages" - DH told me that the first time he ever had bell peppers was from a jar sent to the family from his aunt in East Germany. They (the peppers) came from Hungary, which was also behind the Iron Curtain, and were relatively common in East Germany. But peppers were either not common then (1950's) in the West, or else his mother just didn't buy them, not knowing what they were. On a similar note, when I lived in Cologne (when we were first married, in the 1970's) broccoli and stalk celery were just beginning to be imported from Italy - when I first moved there they were unavailable; 3 years later, when we came back to N. America, they could be bought at some greengrocers.

 

[Avalon1984]

Jenn, thank you for your story - and for the photos of your gorgeous horses!
My husband is from (former West) Germany, though his mother grew up in Thuringia (Erfurt). She was in the West when the wall went up, but most of her family were still in the East, so my husband and his siblings didn't see their grandparents or aunt very often at all. We get both sides of the West/East discussion from relatives - his sisters in the West have certain opinions, and his cousin in (former East) Berlin has others. It is very enlightening, though also rather sad, to hear their differences.

Hey ORChick, thank you for sharing your story as well! We had a similar thing going on with relatives in the West (Westphalia- Unna) and they would always end us "care packages" with coffee in ti and board games that we couldn't get here. Erfurt is a beautiful city and oh so full of culture. Then there is Weimar and the Wartburg, where Martin Luther was hiding. people are always amazed how many poets, composers and heros came from this small area!

Funny about the "care packages" - DH told me that the first time he ever had bell peppers was from a jar sent to the family from his aunt in East Germany. They (the peppers) came from Hungary, which was also behind the Iron Curtain, and were relatively common in East Germany. But peppers were either not common then (1950's) in the West, or else his mother just didn't buy them, not knowing what they were. On a similar note, when I lived in Cologne (when we were first married, in the 1970's) broccoli and stalk celery were just beginning to be imported from Italy - when I first moved there they were unavailable; 3 years later, when we came back to N. America, they could be bought at some greengrocers.

You are so right! I basically grew up on bell peppers. We used them for goulasch and everything in between. I didn't get to eat water melon and banana and coconut until quite sometime after the wall came down. It is funny how each area experienced a similar food "revolution".

 

[Denim Deb]

Jenn, if you get the Arab, LMK. They're my favorite breed. And, while I can't prove it, I think Licky is part Arab. (I got her at auction as a Welsh cross) But, I watch how she moves, runs and how her ears look and really wonder.

 

[Avalon1984]

Jenn, if you get the Arab, LMK. They're my favorite breed. And, while I can't prove it, I think Licky is part Arab. (I got her at auction as a Welsh cross) But, I watch how she moves, runs and how her ears look and really wonder.

I hear you. Husband said she is very greedy snd might want money for her. He didn't reme,ber how he worded that we could "take her in" if needed. I will only take her if she is free. My money is tied up in breeding. I will see how the next few days go.

 

[Denim Deb]

If she wants money for her, she's nuts! Most people will not buy a horse that old-unless they can get them for dirt cheap. And in the meantime, the person is still paying all the costs. And if they're boarding, that adds up.

 

[Avalon1984]

Me and Mondays just don't get along. Seems like there is always "something" happening. As for now, I am the proud owner of a little wild bunny rabbit. I named him Elmer. Found him Sunday as the barn cats were trying to skin him alive. He had a huge injury to his back leg but walked fine on it. Some open gashes on his back too. He didn't seem like he wanted to die so I thought I'd give him a fighting chance and wrapped his leg and treated all wounds. Despite my worries he is actually doing great. He built a little nest out of the hay I gave him and is readily eating the grass I get for him. He pooped a ton. There are some 80+ little poop balls in his area already and he peed. So it looks like little Elmer might survive. I hate putting animals down unless I have to. There are enough deaths on this farm between all the animals as it is, no need to force the issue.

Then yesterday, one of my prized Salmon Faverolle roosters was acting a bit strange. His comb was pale and he was a bit lethargic. It was my plan to isolate him this morning if he was still acting sickish. Found him stiff as a board when I opened the chicken coop at 6. He was only 1.5 years old so I was going to do a necropsy to find out what's wrong but then I got busy picking up poop all day before the next rain shower hits. Nothing is worse than trying to pick poop from a mildy muddy paddock. So I buried the poor guy on my burial hill that hosts a horse, 6 or 7 chickens, a cat and a raccoon. I think I need to start finding me a new hill to use for some time.

Depending on how the week goes, I am planning on butchering 5-6 of my adult roos and make room for layers that can actually pay for themselves rather than having these PITA's running around. They are skinnier dual purpose birds so I will likely just breast them out and give the rest to teh forrest animals. I still have one that I plucked and cleaned in the freezer but since I am alone during the week I have littel desire to cook up a whole chicken for myself in the few spare minutes I have at night. This should cut down on my feed bill and amount of chores. I kind of admire the farmers that can send off their livestock when done growing and then they take a break during the winter and start all over again with baby animals. Our animals have to be fed throughout the winter which can be tricky.

Auf Wiedersehen,
Jenn