A late post for a Monday night. I usually am in bed by now, especially with Keith gone, I need to be up early to get all chores done before leaving for work. I just felt I had some comments to make.
For those of you with goats... I have never seen so many goats advertised on Craigslist, include some absolutely beautiful goats named British Guernseys. I had not known there was a goat bred on Guernsey Island... though was familiar with the Guernsey cow. My Uncle Marcus milked a herd of Holsteins, but down the road from him was a pasture full of wonderful golden cows, Guernseys, very unusual for our area even in the 50's. The Guernsey goats, in Missouri, were advertised for 650.00, I suspect that is the buckling price. A little over my budget. There are goats of every hue and color though, currently available... milk goats and meat goats, Boer, Kiko, crosses, Nubians, Nigerians, and every dairy goat imaginable. Also, lots of fainters... the little goats I always feel so sorry for. I know we live in an area that still has a lot of agriculture, but just seems like there are so many goats now.
Horses... I have had horses off and on all my life, though currently without any. I have seen so many on Craig's that were priced so low that they would have gone to the killer buyer at the sales. I wonder why people are still breeding in this day and age, when there is no market. I asked a friend who now has six from the last two years in her lot at her house, and she said "I think the market will improve". In my in box at work I get "The Horse", and it features twice a week a rescue. One that came last week listed page after page of companion-only horses, many with severe medical problems. I know all these people mean well, but I have to question why we are expecting people to come forward and foster these poor animals, many with debilitating problems, when there are so many people out of work and in need of help. We ourselves took on Beau, the palomino pony, knowing he had Cushings, and we gave him and Lacey, also a Cushings sufferer, a good last several years, getting much joy from them. But the fact is, having a horse takes hundreds of dollars a year, and not everyone is able to do that. Dog breed rescues are the same, there are hundreds and hundreds of dogs in rescue right now, because their owners could not keep them. We have Abby, Hannah and Gertie because of this problem... and our sweet Addie Mae, for the same reason. Hannah, perhaps not as much as the others... she and her four companions were left at the vet when their owner went to the hospital, where instead of recuperating and returning home, she passed away. The vet in her goodness put Hannah and her daughter and three companions into a rescue, where we adopted her, already nearly blind. Our other girls were rescues; Lilly Ann, from the pound in Leavenworth, and Ranger was cast out on the road (our vet thinks thrown from a car) to fend for himself in the countryside. The cruelty of people to animals has always amazed and dismayed me. These are some of the most loyal, loving and brave dogs I have ever had.
And lastly, chickens... did you think I could get by without mentioning the chickens? Tonight I came home after a very hard day at work to find the new purebred white cochin out in the little henyard. I nearly didn't see her, there is still a bit of snow here and there, and she sort of blended in with the patches. She led me on a merry chase, let me tell you, in the mud that all but sucked me down in it. As she and the other new hens from last Monday have never been outside before, it is all new to them. We are keeping them separate from the big birds now, and the little henyard is closed off during the day. Keith and I decided over the weekend that the new henhouse will accomodate the "big flock", made up of those birds currently in the Big Henhouse.... and after doing some cleaning and making repairs, we will move the current "Little Flock" over into the Big Henhouse, and close the little henhouse for a while until we make some changes to it. Of course, this is all for good weather, in another month or so. In the meantime, the starlings invaded yesterday and today, and all the sodden bedding I shoveled out about 3 weeks ago in the Big Henhouse and replaced with new straw is all nasty from the starlings. I think they literally must be BATHING in the water, because it is splashed everywhere. Hopefully, with temps in the 50s tomorrow, they will leave the birds alone.
Hurrah for the 50's, but what a wild ride the weather has been in the last two weeks!
Here is how a rooster calls his hens to a treat:
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By the way, in case anyone wondered,
the cake was well-received at work, and gone by early afternoon. I'm definitely making it again next weekend so Keith can have some, it will be just to his taste, and will be a staple of gatherings to come, I think!
