Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[AL]

You having trouble with the heat is like when I complain about it being cold..... no "weather wimp" thoughts here lol

I have heard you don't spray rabbits with water because of "fly strike" - not real familiar with it, and maybe it is a regional thing...?

 

[old fashioned]

Yay.....we finally get summer!!! :bun Isn't it wonderful? Maybe the garden can be salvaged after all. Come on corn & maters!!

Hey....a song comes to mind.....'Here comes the sun'. SD, wanna sing it for us?





oh crap...great weather & I have to work this weekend

 

[savingdogs]

Well a more likely song would be a rain dance, considering our local fires. They are nowhere near us, but still.......

Speaking of corn, yesterday we had some weird wind gusts, and they blew my corn right over, all of it, and blew a gutter off the house! It didn't even seem that windy.

I don't know if flystrike is a problem here, we don't seem to have a fly problem. I mean, there are flies but not by the rabbits. They were really hot, I mean panting, laying stretched out, looking ill, huddling near my ice containers. Misting them really helped. I hope it wasn't the wrong thing to do, but it could be why their coats are getting funky. The weird thing is the one with the best coat is Nana, who I believe is dying of uterine cancer. She has stayed status quo and is such a nice rabbit I can't "end" her time before her time. I realize feeding her is a waste, but it isn't her fault and I pledged to the person I bought these rabbits from that I would not eat the original four. She felt bad selling to a meat breeder so I made a promise. Plus, I let myself grow attached to Nana. Now that we have more cages I don't have to worry about it. She doesn't eat much.

Java, I'm breeding my goats two months apart this time if I can manage it. I have only one kidding stall and really don't want to add another. Also, last year, Molly tried to steal Ginger's baby, so I want Molly to go first, since Ginger still has Emilee. I have it all worked out with the stud's owner, so I hope I can get their breedings to "take" at the times I've chosen. I'd rather concentrate on one doe at a time this year.

 

[AL]

blew my corn right over, all of it, and blew a gutter off the house! It didn't even seem that windy.

I don't know if flystrike is a problem here, we don't seem to have a fly problem. I mean, there are flies but not by the rabbits. They were really hot, I mean panting, laying stretched out, looking ill, huddling near my ice containers. Misting them really helped. I hope it wasn't the wrong thing to do, but it could be why their coats are getting funky. The weird thing is the one with the best coat is Nana, who I believe is dying of uterine cancer. She has stayed status quo and is such a nice rabbit I can't "end" her time before her time. I realize feeding her is a waste, but it isn't her fault and I pledged to the person I bought these rabbits from that I would not eat the original four. She felt bad selling to a meat breeder so I made a promise. Plus, I let myself grow attached to Nana. Now that we have more cages I don't have to worry about it. She doesn't eat much.

I have stood corn back up and just piled the soil around the bottom of it, did fine. I 'm not really familiar enough with fly strike or rabbits to say... I just remember reading it somewhere.
My theory is if I am able to take care of an animal throughout its life after it has served me well (eggs, breeder, etc) then it isn't a waste, it is a thank you.

ETA - sometimes the service the animal provides is a mental health one

 

[savingdogs]

Very true, AL. In this case, this rabbit served a friend very well, not me, but that doesn't really matter, does it? She was a show bunny who won best in show for my friend Emilee, who sold me all my beautiful Cremes and who still mentors me with the rabbits, despite being young enough to be my daughter. I have so much respect for this particular young lady, I named my dear baby goat Emilee her name and spelled it the same in her honor.

I also did not have a vet diagnose Nana's issue, she just is acting like rabbits with uterine cancer act and it is supposed to happen to 85 percent of unspayed female rabbits over the age of five (as per my research), and Nana is unspayed and turning six. So it is a logical guess as to why she doesn't conceive and why she has an unusual and constant discharge. She eats poorly and is thin. For a while she was seeming to go downhill, but now she is looking really good so I'm a little confused, but it doesn't feel right to end her life yet. Maybe she will perk up when we move to the new area with the deep shade.

I have some arbor vitae right there too, in like a hedge, I need to find out if arbor vitae is poisonous to rabbits.

 

[Javamama]

Java, I'm breeding my goats two months apart this time if I can manage it. I have only one kidding stall and really don't want to add another. Also, last year, Molly tried to steal Ginger's baby, so I want Molly to go first, since Ginger still has Emilee. I have it all worked out with the stud's owner, so I hope I can get their breedings to "take" at the times I've chosen. I'd rather concentrate on one doe at a time this year.

That sounds like a good plan

I'm debating on buying a super cute buckling that I saw on craigslist. He's cheap, from champion lines but not registered, and we will only keep him for a while to breed. I'm selling my other doeling today to the family who bought the other one. I was going to keep her, but I just don't like her personality. So that leaves me with just the older does.

 

[savingdogs]

Well that is what Freemotion does, she uses bucklings. I forget what age they need to be, but she says she avoids the stink that way. I plan to do that next year. I'm only being charged $35.00 apiece to breed my does and I can't beat that price this year, especially when I sold the bucklings last year for 75.00 apiece. And I adore my little Emilee who was produced by this cross. I could have a whole herd of little Emilees and I'd be happy as a clam.

Are clams happy? That is an odd expression.....

 

[Javamama]

LoL I have no idea how a clam can be happy. It's a funny thought.

So tell me what you think. Isn't he cute? How could I not get him? http://limaohio.craigslist.org/grd/2547203280.html

 

[savingdogs]

That is similar to how Emilee looks. Won't your goats have EARS then? I'm just teasin', I think he is adorable and that you should get him. If they are going to be mini manchas crossed with a nigy, does it matter he isn't registered? The stud I'm using isn't registered either, but if you are talking about cross breed goats anyways, I don't really see why paying more for papers would help. They will still be unregisterable, right? When I bred my mini-nubians to a similar Nigerian (Sebastian is chocolate and white) I got three colorful kids, and the bucklings sold pretty easily because they had those cute markings. But I guess it would depend on your plan for the offspring. My goal was to keep the doelings to build my herd and sell the bucklings for as much as possible, while using a stud smaller than my does to make it safer for them.

I think this is the issue when we have minis....we pretty much have to breed back to a nigy if we can't find a mini of the same breed. I would rather have bred for nubian ears which I think are adorable (my goats all have airplane ears) but I could hardly breed my does to a big full sized nubian and the closest mini-nubian was in Tillamook (far, far away) and they wanted something like 200 dollars stud fee PLUS have a bunch of tests done on my does first.

I've found some others closer now, but I'm so happy with Emilee I don't really care about the ears so much anymore.

 

[Javamama]

I hope to get some ears on the next ones. I had a hard time selling them because of the ears. so yeah, they won't be register-able and that's fine by me. I think there's a market for the small home milker type and all out cute pets like your Emilee. I love the airplane ears.