Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Bad

We have had quite a warm-up.  It was 56° this morning at  3 AM.  We got about an hour of rain during the night.  I don't have the gauge up so won't be sure of the amount.

Remember I told you that there was always some bad with farm life.....well we had some bad this week.  Something got into the chickens and killed all but 5 of them!  We are sure we caught the guilty parties with the wildlife camera.

They look so cute but they can do so much damage ....




I think I see three.  We have a trap set but they are so smart that they may not go in.

Funny thing is my Sis just got 10 new pullets and we were talking about how I didn't need any more chickens since  we were getting between 3 and  7 eggs a day......that has now changed drastically! We got two yesterday.

We had a  so so week....we took Sugar to the vet for her surgery Friday.  She is doing well but still not her full bouncy self.  She weighed 54lbs and it is all muscle.  We need to take her in the truck more; she doesn't like getting in it and trembled for 20 minutes.

Two things we need to get for her are a very large cage to put in the back seat for her and another is a large dog house to put in the pen for when we are gone most of the day.

We really need a grown outdoor dog to keep the varmints at bay around here and Sugar isn't ready for that yet.

The other bad thing was I had a bout of something; maybe the poly myalgia rheumatica in my left shoulder that was so fierce that I resorted to some pain  pills I had from before and after just taking three of them had pains in my chest every time I moved...just below the hollow of my throat.  DH decided it was the pain pills so I stopped them and went back on my aspirin therapy.  By this morning the pain seems to be gone and I have no pains in my chest area...I think he was right; he  usually is when it comes to drugs and  medical issues.

We have decided if the pain returns by Monday I will call the doctor.  I  still have leftover prednisone but sure hate to start that again but I can't tolerate the pain so I will do  what  I have to do.

I  hated missing that beautiful Saturday working outside.  I wanted to till an area for the onions.

All in good time.

Random Pictures

DH is really enjoying his birthday camera.

This was taken on the old farm.







and some dogs which is worrisome




14 comments:

  1. Those nighttime critters really aggravate me. I am so sorry they got your chickens. That is just plain old awful and heart breaking.

    Lovely shots around the farm. Those 'dogs' would have me a bit worried though. Are there many of them?

    I do hope this week is filled with good there at the farm. I hope your pain does NOT come back.

    Love, hugs and prayers ~ FlowerLady

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    1. DH has seen these same two dogs before so I hope that is as big as the pack is. Packs get in more trouble than single dogs.

      I am feeling better so far and hope it stays that way.

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  2. Well, dang, Glenda, I'm sure sorry to hear about "the bad". And that you've not been feeling well. That constant pain wears a feller down in pretty short order. Pain makes me crabby. OK, crabbier.

    Those dogs are a worry. When Sugar becomes an outside dog will she be able to hold her own? Are those coyotes or wolves in the first pictures? We hear coyotes all the time out here and every now and then we see one slinking through the pasture behind us. So far it's been when the chickens are shut up. I've read that they can bust through chicken wire and dig under anything but I don't know if they could dig under here because of the rocks. We haven't had any trouble so far, hope that keeps up. You hang in there, girl, take care of yourself and I hope you feel better really soon. Hugs XOXOXO

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  3. Sugar will be strong enough but we don't know yet what her temperament will be. She needs to be outside more so that becomes her territory.l

    I am much better so far this morning!

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  4. Sorry you've been feeling poorly. It's hard to be in pain and still look outside at all the stuff that needs to be done, but can't!
    I LOVE the pictures of the critter cam. We need to get one of those one day. Too bad about the raccoons and losing your birds. We keep two live traps right by the chicken coop so it's "normal" to be there for the intruders, then when we think somebody's prowling around, we just stuff some cat food in there & usually get something.

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  5. Hope the pain has left you.

    Raccoon are a pain. If you want to know for sure, dust the area outside where they got in and you can tell from the tracks.

    It would take a big, bad dog to kill coons. I have heard of coons killing dogs so do be careful. Sometimes the bark will run them off. I have thought before of having a pen surrounding the chicken run with a dog patrolling. We have a good farm team.

    Packs of tame neighborhood dogs can be a problem. When I was young, I remember the group of farmers hunting a pack that was killing calves...just ordinary dogs.

    Fantastic pictures.

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  6. I enjoy your blog...and can relate to your "varmint issue"! Poor hens.

    I hope your physical ailments clear up...life is too short to feel miserable! Have you ever heard of the NutriBullet? It's a food grinder (much better than a juicer or processort) that breaks down everything, and supposedly releases all the nutrients easily. If you have a chance, check out their website and people that have had similar problems to you...I got one in December 2012 and still love it - and I just wanted it to help me get 8-10 servings of fruits/vegetable in daily, not for any specific health issue.... just a thought...

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  7. While I really enjoy reading about what's going on at your place, I sure hated hearing about the chickens. Dratted raccoons! Do you have a German Shepherd dog? They would be a good dog to help keep the varmints away and good guard dogs too.

    Hope you get to feeling better. The snow is melting here and the pond is overflowing. The warmer temps were nice, not sure we needed the extra rain right now since we had so much snow.

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  8. Hmmm. Wonder where my original comment went off to? I don't see it here. Darn blogger!

    Glenda, I'm sorry about your chest pains. I wonder if it was acid reflux due to the medication. I know that can happen. Good thing DH is on top of things and that you are feeling no pain now. Are you going to call the doctor?

    Those raccoons are so destructive. And all those poor chickens! What a loss. Hope you recoup your flock soon. Take care....

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  9. If you have a large live trap and a bag of marshmallows, you are more likely to trap them (the raccoons). A fellow in our area has almost 100% success! Coons are viscious killers, that is for sure. And twice as bad if they are cornered. Great picture of the turkeys! And I hope you are feeling back to normal by now. It's always a shame to miss good weather (there seems to be so little of it lately!)

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  10. We have a large enough trap but I am out of marshmallow. I have heard that before and have added them to my shopping list!

    I am better but not 100% over it.

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  11. Glenda,
    I hope you are feeling better. I'm sorry about your chickens. Larry can't keep fish in his big tub on the deck, because racoons find them and eat them. Even though we live in the city, there is a cemetery a block away, which is probably where they come from.

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  12. Blogger doesn't want me to talk about what a Great Post this is. Hope you are feeling; your husband is very astute and takes great pictures, too.

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  13. just discovered your blog. where is your farm? are you on facebook? my page is
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-Vintage-Roses/165578510220771?ref=tn_tnmn

    send me a message there.

    our neighbors have guard donkeys in with the cows, they say to keep away coyotes. lots of crazy wildlife in the ozarks!



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