After Max died we were out of a livestock guardian for a few weeks. The local raccoons heard tales of our misfortune and consequently the chickens and the lately acquired rabbits took a small hit. (Yep, we finally got rabbits! More about them below.)
Anyway, the main point is that WE GOT PUPPIES!!! Two of them-- two seems to be the way to go with pyrs. They will hopefully gain their instincts earlier together, they terrorize goats less often because they have each other to chew up, and they are generally happier in pairs. Their names are Ferdy and Coggs.
Anyway, the main point is that WE GOT PUPPIES!!! Two of them-- two seems to be the way to go with pyrs. They will hopefully gain their instincts earlier together, they terrorize goats less often because they have each other to chew up, and they are generally happier in pairs. Their names are Ferdy and Coggs.
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Suzie posted the sweetest video of the furry fluffies on the Green T youtube channel. (Oh yes. We now have a youtube channel dedicated to the homestead. Here it is.)
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Ferdy and Coggs are amazing when it comes to staying in the goat pen. They know they belong with the goats and they are by the side of the herd at all times. Their faithfulness to the goats came as quite a surprise actually, because Max much preferred protecting the front porch to protecting goats and would exit the pasture with the purpose of doing just that as a young dog.
In other news we have added a new doe to our collection! Introducing the sweet girl Dance:
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We have suddenly realized what remarkably sheltered goats Jenny and Honey are. It had been quite some time since they had encountered a goat that was their size other than each other—and they were appropriately shocked that Dance was less than the perfect submissive angel to them. Fortunately they have worked out most of their kinks and are now getting along decently.
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Oh yeah--we got meat rabbits! We had just acquired them when the raccoon-opolypse occurred so I currently only have two. That, however, will soon be remedied.
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Hog update: They are finally fenced in and staying put! We are no longer free range pig owners. Yeah, we ended up getting a whole new battery to power a whole new fence and ZAP they are behaving. My oh my they are going to be delicious—especially after all the trouble they have caused.
It has been a while since we have mentioned the bees on the blog. Well... that is because we are the proud owners of two dead hives and one not quite dead hive. Unfortunately a nest of those huge awful Asian hornet things have set up shop in one of them. Dad sealed the hive so hopefully they are currently dying a long slow painful death together. But guess what? We are going to pick ourselves up and try again. Three years ago we harvested several gallons of honey from our thriving hive. We are going to work towards that again.
Written by Jane
