Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Cowboy jumped back in over a full-size stock panel with a barbless wire above it. It's a couple inches taller than my head and I'm 5'6'. Not sure that's where they went out. Found a spot on the other side of the pasture where the livestock wire looks pushed down. That's my focus for now. Will be a major PIA to get electric out that far. Sigh....

Been texting all morning with my DGD who got a new phone for Christmas. She's loving it!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
'

 

[tortoise]

Years ago, I had high jump stunt dog. He could clear a 58" hurdle, which was 2" shy of the world record at the time. The world record is up to 191.7 cm - just over 6' 3". Sounds like Cowboy is not far behind! Put him in a circus!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Wow! Okay - Cowboy's jumping record may be impressive, but not to me!! But, now I'm curious as to how high it actually is - gonna have to walk out there and measure it!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've been working allllllllllll day on completing the electric fence around the entire perimeter of the pasture. I'm 95 % done, but had to stop and feed before darkness fell. This better do it cuz I've got no patience for escaping dogs right now. Cowboy better get with the program!

The quail are doing well! I separated some of the females away from the male. He had 9 hens to service and that's too many for a single male quail. Hoping to collect enough eggs in a week to make it worthwhile to fire up the incubator. Gonna throw a few chicken eggs in there too.

I need to set up breeding pens for some of my chickens so I can get some pure bred chicks. I love my Lavender Orpingtons and would like to hatch some. Plan on putting a naked neck roo with a pardoned Cornish x hen. This hen didn't make the grade as a meat bird, but she's still much meatier then my laying breeds. So, gonna experiment a little bit. She's a pretty good layer of a nice large egg.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Whoop! Very pleased to say that the electric fence project is complete. Had a breath-holding moment of truth when I turned the switch back on. Major relief when the gauge popped up to full- charge!! Then I took Cowboy for a walk around the perimeter. I carried a light weight dog chain with me and about every 20 yards or so I'd drape the end of that chain over the electric and kind of drape the chain out away from the fence. I ignored Cowboy and eventually he would get restless and try to walk around. Bless his heart he would accidentally step on that chain and get zapped. That only happened a few times and then he really didn't want to get anywhere near the fence. I left him out there alone to see if he's really convinced or if the yard full of girls in heat will get the better of him and make him try to go over. I hope it holds him because I'm really weary of playing musical dogs, lol. Daytime, Cowboy would be in the kennel and I'd switch 'em around at night. Not a lot of fun for any of us. I know I keep threatening him about the whole neuter thing - but I'm just not convinced that it's the best thing health-wise for the dog.

This evening I'll be penning some chickens . Especially the ones that keep getting over the fence and into my raised beds. They've practically decimated the cabbage and some of the carrots too. Grrrrrr - stupid chickens. How dare they want to eat fresh greens in the winter, lol.

We've had such a mild and dry "winter" so far. I talked to my GS today and he wants to spend next week with us. He really doesn't want his sister to come though, lol. Too bad dude! But, I'm looking forward to having them around - they're so much fun. And, we do fun stuff while they're here! Of course, after being relatively dry for months it's threatening to rain almost all next week. GRRRRRR! Oh well, that's what movies and bowling alley's were made for, lol.

 

[farmerjan]

If you want fertile eggs from all the quail, switch the male back and forth to the 2 pens of females. I do it all the time with the purebred chickens that I am trying to save eggs from. 2 days in with one group, 2 days with the next. Then after about 2 weeks, you can put them back and forth every 3 days. The sperm from a rooster (chicken) is good for up to 10 days in a hen after fertilization,. That is why we have to make sure that a hen is not with a rooster for at least 2 weeks or to not save any eggs if she is with a different rooster for at least 2 weeks to make sure that the eggs are fertilized by the male we want to use. The males are more active when they get "new hens" to chase around and breed. So the switching works good.
I saved some eggs from a hen that the rooster had been killed, for about 2 weeks and most all were fertile so I did manage to get some more chicks out of him even though he was gone.
Never eaten or had quail but they say they are pretty good. But the eggs are so tiny......

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's a wonderful idea @farmerjan! Why didn't I think of that?

I've also hatched chicks from a dead rooster! I had the most gorgeous, huge, show quality, black Orpington roo that just fell over dead one day in the heat of the summer. He was given to me by a well known chicken show-er in the area because he just couldn't play nice with others. He was in a nice pen, with lots of shade but his undoing was that he never turned off the hormones. He would run the fence line threatening any other chicken that walked by....and I guess the heat got him. I had several Lavender and Black Orp hens with him and I collected eggs for a couple of weeks and had great fertility and a great hatch. Still have his descendants out there now. Thankfully they didn't inherit his personality!

 

[flowerbug]

If you want fertile eggs from all the quail, switch the male back and forth to the 2 pens of females. I do it all the time with the purebred chickens that I am trying to save eggs from. 2 days in with one group, 2 days with the next. Then after about 2 weeks, you can put them back and forth every 3 days. The sperm from a rooster (chicken) is good for up to 10 days in a hen after fertilization,. That is why we have to make sure that a hen is not with a rooster for at least 2 weeks or to not save any eggs if she is with a different rooster for at least 2 weeks to make sure that the eggs are fertilized by the male we want to use. The males are more active when they get "new hens" to chase around and breed. So the switching works good.
I saved some eggs from a hen that the rooster had been killed, for about 2 weeks and most all were fertile so I did manage to get some more chicks out of him even though he was gone.
Never eaten or had quail but they say they are pretty good. But the eggs are so tiny......

i heart this place. learn so much even when i have no plans to keep such animals. never know when it will help someone else. thanks!

 

[flowerbug]

...
Thankfully they didn't inherit his personality!

and i hope his one-time-bad-habit of falling over dead...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

and i hope his one-time-bad-habit of falling over dead...

Thank goodness - not! But, that summer was a VERY hot summer. I remember temps over 105 and I think we hit 107 that summer.

Had to look up the temps that summer and yep:

June - 107 degrees

The record high temperature in June in Houston is 107 degrees. That record hottest temperature occurred on June 29, 2013.

That was a very bad year... I remember coming home from work every day at lunch to give the animals fresh (cooler) water.