AAaaahhhh, Breathing a sigh of relief the big holidays are over. I hope everyone had a fun, safe Christmas and New years. We all survived here, our wallets are a bit wounded but will heal with tender love and care and will gain weight after a few pay checks.
Uh, well I guess not all of us survived the holidays, we went ahead and invited one of the turkey toms inside for Thanksgiving dinner and the other tom for Christmas dinner. They were good company and made those dinner so much better, those boys each had their day to be our guest of honor.
For Christmas I decided to get my wonderful husband a new puppy. I hopped on
Craigslist and began my search. After a few days I found a family who's female Great Dane had pups with a Black Lab/German Shepherd mix male and I knew that this was the one. They were asking a real world price for a mutt not some high $ amount for what they had now deemed a designer breed with some stupid nonsense name of the combined breeds. Don't get me wrong I love all those dogs just as much as the pure breeds, but in no way dose it make sense to charge pure breed prices (witch includes shots, free first vet check, puppy packet, option to buy AKC papers for your dog, and an adoption contract with return clause and agreement not to breed said dog. If they are good breeders.) for a MUTT with no shots. Yes this includes Labradoodles, Yorkey Poos and many others.
Ok I am done ranting (maybe). Here is the adorable lil pup we brought home...
This is Ratchet at 6 weeks. As in the Transformer character, we have a thing for naming our dogs after Transformers and our cats after car dealers.
This is him a few DAYS later, not a week or two but days later. This boy is growing fast.
Here he is about 4 days later with his best bud Barricade our English Mastiff. These two are the picture of friendship. Jazz did not quite care for him much at this point as Jazz is a 4 year old Great Dane, which if you know Danes means he is an old man, and old men don't care for them damn young ins (they tend to go after your toes and he hates that).
And here he is now. This was taken the day before yesterday.
These were taken the same day. He has now won over Jazz but Barricade is still his number one bud. One of the first things I teach my pups (besides sit, stay, and where to potty) is how to pose for my obsession with taking pictures.
Speaking of my picture taking problem, the day those precious puppy pics were taken it was a beautiful sunny day (although very cold and icy). So I took advantage of the shimmering golden rays of warmth beaming down from the sky as blue as an ice burg and played paparazzi to my chickens. Get ready for a picture overload......
This is Bonnie and Effie they are
Exchequer Leghorns and lay small white eggs. They were brought here by a fellow BYCer whom had gone through a hard time, had to move and could no longer keep her 5 chickens. Sadly her Welsummer, Salma was killed before she could bring them to their new home.
In this one you see Sunny, my Buff Orpington and Gertrude (another of the 4 girls brought by the BYCer). This picture would have been better if one of the pigs had not come up and nudged my right arm. Damn pigs!
Again Beautiful Gertrude. She has not begun laying for me yet but seems to be thinking about it as her comb is becoming more and more red.
Handsome boy here. This is Seth ( I have wrongly called him Steve on occasion whoops). His prior family had bought what they were told were all pullets. One of the young girls in the family had dubbed this sweet lil chick hers. Well sadly it turned out to be a little cockerel who has turned into a great rooster.
Man, by the look on this Easter Egger's face you would think that life has just handed her such a bad hand. But she is sweet and lays some big beautiful blue eggs.
(Left to right; Motor Mouth a Brown Leghorn, Fancy a Silver Laced Cochin, and Blue a Blue Andilution sp?.)
Three old biddies (they are not really old 1.5yr old) standing out side of the run looking in. What are they staring at so intently and seem to be gossiping about? Non other than......
Big Daddy Red, my Road Island Red rooster. Why you ask are they swooning over him???????
Because he is just one big hunk-O-rooster!
Yet to be named and of unknown parentage, this up and coming rooster has amazing color. He came from yet another
BYC friend. I had bought several eggs from her to hatch for specific egg laying colors. I had a 99% hatch as they were hatched by two broodies at the time, Kristine a Black Cochin mix and Fancy. Sadly all but this boy and three pullets did not survive hawks, other predators or apparently drowning in the pig water at the age of 6 weeks old.
Here are two of the three pullets. Also unnamed but almost at POL (Point Of Lay)
Maggie, a Gold Laced Wyandotte. She is a hefty girl, the last of the 4 from another BYC home. Not yet laying but in good time she will.
Frolicking!
After I figure out how to make a page for ya'll to send in pictures I hope you will do just that. I love seeing happy chickens.
I really can't wait for spring and summer weather. Longer days brings not only more eggs but more warm time outside with camera in hand.
