SA Farm's journal

We will be kidding together! and yay for triplets don't care for quads though.
You have to get some Muck boots or Bogs! and some wool socks!
IT IS A MUST!

Why are family gatherings always on the nice days when you just know you can get a million things done? Oh well, it was a nice day and great food and fellowship, so well worth it!
Tonight we went out and caught all the chickens and turkeys that have been flying out of their coops and clipped them. Hopefully they'll stay put now! I don't mind them free-ranging at all, and often leave their gates open so they can, but not when we're going to be out. Can't risk a stray dog or several stopping by while we're gone and decimating my flocks. Yes, I sadly speak from experience. Besides, they have enormous runs to forage and play in!
A livestock guardian dog is on my list of things to get someday, but not yet.

So the turkeys fly over their 7-8 foot fence and they wander the yard and pal around with the chickens and goats like the brat birds they are! I love 'em!
This was them this morning while they waited for me to come out and give them some warm water and scratch. Red Bronze, Rusty Slate, and Bourbon Reds.

Since I was out there with my camera anyway, I took some pictures of my Ameraucanas. My rooster is just starting to crow and it's so squeaky and awkward that it makes me laugh every time I hear him!
My favorites:

The whole group: (Yes, there are a few EEs or Hatchery Style Ams in the group, but the majority are true.)

Both of my Nigerian Dwarf goats are looking big already too! They aren't due till February or March. This will be Little Girl's fourth kidding, as well. she's had trips twice and quads once; I really do wonder if she'll have quads again because she is so big with two-ish months to go! Even Alley Kat is bigger than she was when she had twins. Yikes! I'm excited y'all!

I have a really hard time working in the cold. It can be so hard to get motivated when you feel like you're freezing and have to feed and water-not fun!- the critters. And, somehow, I really like snow- kind of messed up, right? LOL

Pioneer Chicken said:

I have a really hard time working in the cold. It can be so hard to get motivated when you feel like you're freezing and have to feed and water-not fun!- the critters. And, somehow, I really like snow- kind of messed up, right? LOL

Click to expand...

I'm the same way! I have a hard time with the cold, but love the snow

Tragedy struck today. A couple of stray dogs came by this morning and decimated my flock of Ams. My heeler and I chased them off, but it was too late
I'm looking into finding a few replacements - at the least a rooster, but my heart isn't in it yet. My favorites survived, the two hens pictured above, but the rest of the flock is gone. I also lost a few Speckled Sussex hens. I had them up for sale since I was planning to down-size a bit anyway, but, sadly, they are no more
I have a few hens I was going to sell in the spring, but I'll be keeping them now. Nothing wrong with them, just down-sizing a bit. I wanted a little flock of 7. Guess if I find a rooster I'll have 5. Unfortunately Ams are really rare in my area, so finding a pure Am rooster isn't going to be easy. I may have to settle for an EE and have the EE/Ams again this year since I have a few pure hens left.
Thank God it wasn't worse!
I wish we didn't live where stray dogs are a constant threat.
I also wish we could afford to fence the property better and have a LGD.
But we can't yet. Working on it, but can't yet
So, crappy day. Trying very hard to look on the positive. It could have been worse, I could have lost more. My goats, rabbits, ducks, and turkeys were all unscathed and Gandalf is fine too.
Granny is still looking huge and her appetite has decreased slightly. Trying not to worry, but keeping an eye on her. She was running around and having a blast today, but wasn't as interested in her grain as she usually is.
DH and I got the hay barn finished and there are only a few last touches for the milk stand to be done. I think the birds are mostly going to be locked up until spring now.
Sigh.
Tomorrow will be better.

So sorry!
How awful.
I am a big fan of paintball guns... sends a message to the owners that "next" time it won't be coming home again!

Hoping for a better tomorrow. I think @Azriel may do Americaunas... I am not sure but it keeps ringing through that she is one of the breeders. You could get hatching eggs.

Thanks, Southern
Most of the dogs that wander around here aren't owned and the ones that are - all the owners around here know that if any dogs kill livestock they are as good as dead and I do have a gun around if I need it. They were too far away or they would have bit it today
There are a few breeders, but both are several hours away (where I got my hens and rooster from last year). If either has a rooster to spare, I may go for it.
I've considered hatching eggs and may go that way in the spring, but I will need a rooster for my Am/EEs for spring breeding season regardless. I have a spare Speckled sussex rooster which would make adorable chicks, but I'd prefer an Ameraucana rooster.
I'll see what I can find. I've got a few month anyway

oh man, I'm so sorry for your loss. i have had problems with stray dogs too and it is devastating. i lost 5 goats in one night to a pair of neighbors dogs. that's the night i started my search for lgd's and ended up with a pair of Anatolians. the good news is that since that night i have not lost an animal to predation. now i'll admit that i have lost a few hens to lgd puppys . i live in a rural area where people drop strays off and there are a lot of wild predators too. I'm glad i got the dogs when i did but also understand not being able to do that right now. be prepared, those dogs will probably be back so have your gun ready. and just do what you can co to keep everything safe

Thanks, Goatgurl Glad you understand - and I'm very sorry about your goats! It's never easy and the amount of time spent going over the what ifs and If I (or someone else) had onlys is best not spoken of
I do what I can, but I'm extra annoyed because I had just clipped them so they would stay safely in their enclosures, but DH didn't get their door fixed, so they were out ranging when the dogs came
Still bummed, but starting to put out some feelers for a new rooster. I could probably bring home a very nice EE rooster on the weekend, but I'm still holding out hope that I can find an Ameraucana
Today, I had to stay busy, so I built a new nest box/roost for the Ameraucana pen. I moved the remaining hens in with my Speckled Sussex for now - safer that way since Gandalf is there - and will move them back once the gate is fixed and we have our new rooster.
I made it mostly from scraps of wood leftover from the hay barn!

I'm starting to allow myself to get attached to one of the hens I've decided to keep now that I've lost the others. She was one of the ones I hatched out last year from my black Am rooster and a SS hen. She was broody raised, so not overly friendly, but I suspect she'll make for a good broody herself when the time comes
Turned out pretty cute, didn't she? Kind of looks like a mottled java.

Oh WOW, SA! So sorry to hear about your stray dog woes!

I'm with Southern about using a paint gun. Not only does it send a message to the owner, but if you are close enough to the dog, it smarts enough it could act as a deterant. Although, once a dog gets a taste of chicken blood, it's hard to break them from doing it again.

However, I understand that these are strays, so the owner warning doesn't apply. People who drop dogs off, and let they turn to strays, ought be shot themselves. A nice flourescent Orange paintball between the eyes should do the trick!

Your black SS/Am turned out darling! One of these days, I want to raise some pure bred Ameraucana's. According to the PB Am breeder list, there is a breeder not too far from the way we go from our farm to DD's, so I should be able to get some breeding stock when the time is right.