How To Make Hay Stretch

Finnie

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I didn't know that cats throwing up on a truck was a thing.
😂
Since we don’t have a barn, they are garage cats. Have had a lot of things get thrown up on over the years!
The water bucket mouse trap is pretty good also; you can find it on youtube. Sometimes people hook up recording devices on it.
This is in his repertoire. He also follows a Youtuber who showcases many types of traps. Shawn Woods, I think.
Am I understanding you right...that your cat was hunting baby rabbits? I didn't even know that was possible because of their size being so similar on a species level. Amazing.
My cats never went after grown up rabbits, but babies of all sizes were fair game. We have a huge bunny population. I expect it will explode now.
 

Finnie

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. I am pretty sure the landlord has poisoned some as in the last few years I had a spell where several came to the house and died at the house,
I just can’t fathom the stupidity of that landlord of yours!
. Had the females spayed, and one was killed on the road, and the other 2 disappeared
Back before we had a 12 year run of not needing to replace cats, we used to neuter the males at the low cost clinic in town, and leave the females unspayed. No point spending money on the surgery if they didn’t survive, and most years we needed new batches of kittens in the spring anyway. But the males needed to be fixed young to prevent spraying and fighting. I hope the ones you take to the new house do well there and avoid the roads.
 

Nao57

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I just can’t fathom the stupidity of that landlord of yours!
Back before we had a 12 year run of not needing to replace cats, we used to neuter the males at the low cost clinic in town, and leave the females unspayed. No point spending money on the surgery if they didn’t survive, and most years we needed new batches of kittens in the spring anyway. But the males needed to be fixed young to prevent spraying and fighting. I hope the ones you take to the new house do well there and avoid the roads.

Is it possible you think that he was trying to poison rats and mice, and got your rabbits instead?

I'm not excusing it. But it makes more sense if it was like this. I can't imagine rabbits upsetting anyone. Even my old dad who is very much very stubborn had his heart melt seeing my silver fox rabbits.
 

farmerjan

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Going to spay and not neuter. The males do too much wandering. I have 2 or 3 that show up around "cat heat season" that I never see any other time. My thing is, if you get along you can stay. If you constantly want to fight, then you will be disposed of. I need to get the population increases stopped. Maybe leave one not spayed, as she is my favorite... but spay the rest as I catch them. Have seen 2 very wild cats here at the new house, so they have been here in the past since they ran in and out of the current storage shed and knew right where the holes in the wall were. I expect that once I start feeding, they will be around more. Since the "nurse cow pasture" is diagonally across the road from my new house, I expect there will be traveling back and forth as this one female I have seen nearly a half mile up the road from the old house in the fields hunting. Wish I could find her kittens and try to tame a couple now.
 

farmerjan

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Is it possible you think that he was trying to poison rats and mice, and got your rabbits instead?

I'm not excusing it. But it makes more sense if it was like this. I can't imagine rabbits upsetting anyone. Even my old dad who is very much very stubborn had his heart melt seeing my silver fox rabbits.
He wasn't poisoning the rabbits, he was poisoning the cats. Found several that had basically crawled to the house and died here.....I found 2 trying to get to the house in the driveway part. I am pretty sure it was the antifreeze when he serviced his tractor.... and no it wasn't a mistake as he made sure it was not where his son's dog could get in it at the barn. He had the guy who used to mow my lawn, and would come and shoot the groundhogs.....to shoot the barn swallows because they built nests in the barn and it messed on his tractor...... I went beserk when William shot one at the house and he said the owner told him to. I said don't you dare shoot another barn swallow.... all the bugs, mosquitos and all that they eat..... Owner won't do anything about the ground hogs himself, but it's okay to have someone else shoot stuff.... and the barn swallows just sent me off into orbit..... I can't prove the cats getting poisoned... but there were next to no rats by the time the cats started getting sick as they had taken care of all the rats and mice. The best thing is I am getting out of there shortly.... and I imagine that in a few years that the landlord is going to give up farming and he will probably lease it out... but I won't be there to try to lease the farm too. DS tried to do a lease several years back, and they even talked a lease purchase, but landlord is too tight and thought he might get a better deal somewhere down the road. His son sure isn't going to keep it, and the daughter is married to a farmer but they are a fair distance away so not convenient to them to have cattle here.... would love for ds to get it and then I could get back in the house and do things right and make it a good place to be.... But I sure don't think that is going to happen, so I am getting out.
 
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thistlebloom

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I have two male barn cats, One was a feral kitten that Kid#1's GF found on the highway in Wyoming. I got the other to keep him company and they are inseperable buddies. I had them neutered at 4 months old. They don't spray, don't fight and are rodent killing machines. Neutering is less expensive than spaying most places. I hope they are here a very long while, not just because of their hunting abilities, but they are such friendly characters and give us a laugh.
 

Finnie

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. They don't spray,
That’s what I loved about my male cats that we had neutered as soon as they could leave their mother. Even though they did the tail lifting and twitching posture for spraying, nothing ever came out. Thistlebloom, I hope yours live a long time, too.
 

Anonymouse

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I live in the South. Usually have all my hay by Nov 1 but this year I neglected to get it. My normal hay guy was completely sold out. I got 60+ bales from his neighbor. It looks great...all green and no weeds....but it weighs half the weight of the bales I get from my normal hay guy. Not sure what to think about that....

I only have 2 horses and 2 goats to feed through the winter, but the pasture is already bare on grass. I'm going to try to seed some winter rye grass next year, but that won't help me through this winter.

I was wondering....will goats eat pine bark mulch? I have a couple of bags left over from some gardening that I was doing. I am constantly chasing my goats off of the oak trees when I let them free range. If they will eat the pine bark mulch, I figured I could use that in a pinch if needed.... However, I am going to try to pick up another 40 bales in a couple of weeks if the guy has any left.
 

rachels.haven

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No, they probably won't eat pine mulch. I'd do first cutting hay before mulch. Mulch usually equals partially decomposed, maybe even treated in some way, definitely low in nutrition.
 

Mini Horses

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@Anonymouse buy beet pulp. Both horses & goats can eat, usually like it. It can extend the hay by supplementing as a portion of the hay. Also pellets or cubes....you should moisten cubes as too hard most of the time. Just in case you haven't had time to read entire thread. ;)
 
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