fourfarmdogs – Page 57 – Canfield Farms

Livestock Advisor WSU Tour

Posted on November 2, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

For the last couple of months, I’ve been taking the Livestock Advisor course that’s sponsored by Washington State University. The concept of the course is to get a broad overview of training about all types of agricultural livestock; and then to give back to the community by sharing this information in a variety of volunteer opportunities. I’m enjoying the courses, though they are a bit more basic than I’d hoped. But, you always pick up something from a class, and I’ve learned a few new things.

Last week, we traveled to WSU to do a whirlwind tour of all of their agricultural facilities.

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Insulating the Innards of Antique Weighted Windows

Posted on October 27, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

The front of our house used to have three side-by-side wood-framed windows, as can be seen by this 1937 tax photo I found in the county Assessor records. In the eighties, a prior owner had them replaced with a bay window.

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Llama Taming

Posted on October 25, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

The llama is getting a little tamer these days. I think having lived here for about a year now, she’s adjusted more and gotten used to me, all the dogs, and the layout of the place. She is much less flighty.

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Dude Harnesses

Posted on October 23, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

This week is all about the boys, for once, on the farm! Usually boys play a bit part and the girls have a starring role on farms, but there are times when the men get their due. We do need them!

Yesterday was the start of breeding week for the sheep, so Tuesday, the rams got fitted with their breeding harnesses.

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New Roo

Posted on October 22, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

Out of the 21 Rhode Island Red hatchery pullets I bought last spring, I was hoping one might turn out to be a mistaken rooster. And these ladies are so assertive that more than once I thought I did have a rooster, with the way they spar, and mount each other! But, I finally decided it wasn’t the case- I have sixteen hens left, and no sire amongst them. So, I have been on a quest for a RIR roo!

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Candling Duck Eggs

Posted on October 21, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

After our small coyote duck massacre, I came to realize I have no drakes left. I had winnowed down to two drakes, because too many aggressive breeders are hard on the ladies. Both of them came up missing. I want to always have fertilized eggs so I can breed more ducks from time to time, so a new boy duck is needed. If necessary, I’ll buy one. But for now, I stuck some eggs in the incubator in hopes that I might hatch a male for free. It would be good to increase the flock a little too, I like to keep at least a dozen ducks for laying.

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Flushing Ewes Again This Year

Posted on October 20, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

I waffled again this year on whether or not to “flush” the ewes prior to breeding. Flushing is putting them on an increasing plane of nutrition as they come into heat, coaxing their bodies to release more eggs, to render a higher rate of twins and triplets. Last year I did it, and had a 200% lamb crop born, so I think I’m going to stick with the plan for another year or so; and then maybe experiment with dropping it and see how it compares.

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The Future of Katahdins and Meat Sheep

Posted on October 18, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

The last speaker I listened to at the KHSI Expo was Dr. Kreg Leymaster, a researcher from the USDA Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Nebraska. His talk was inspiring, he made me feel pretty fired up about our breed! 🙂 MARC is doing a lot of research on sheep breeds, trying to winnow down which ones are the best producers, the best tasting as lamb, and have the lowest maintenance requirements. I gather that the general vision at MARC is to help America develop the dreamiest sheep breed ever: one that consistently produces 200% or better lamb crops, with no help, thrives on the average forage offered by the open range (not grain feed lots!), and renders high quality, good-tasting lamb. The ultimate put-dinner-on-the-table sheep!

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Old Lady Udder

Posted on October 17, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

Udders have been on my mind the past few weeks. Our 7-month old ewe lambs were still nursing on their overly indulgent mothers. I will be separating the ewes in a few weeks, because the ewe lambs are going to pair with a different sire than the older ladies. I figured it would be good to get weaning out of the way before then; both so the mothers could start adding some condition (though none of them are thin!) and so the ewe lambs wouldn’t be stressing about weaning during the week they should be breeding. So, a few weeks ago, I split the hotwire enclosure into two halves.

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What Is Inside Gene’s Toe?

Posted on October 16, 2009 by fourfarmdogs

My Border Collie, Gene, has been battling some kind of leg or foot problem off and on for several months. It caused her to not use her right front leg at all. Though she gets around famously on three legs- she can really cruise! The issue didn’t seem to be causing her any distress or discomfort, she went about her business like she wasn’t even aware that she was only working with three legs!

At first I thought this was caused by a thorn or other sharp object in her foot, as originally I could see a little hole in her pad (or maybe even an insect bite or sting?). I could massage and palpate her whole leg and foot, and hyper-extend it in all directions, with no complaint from her- just a little sensitivity right on the pad was all I could find. I tried digging around in there with a needle and squeezing it, but could never produce anything large enough to explain the problem-just sand grains would come out of the hole (hmm). I tried a couple of different homeopathic remedies, and soaking in Epsom salts, thought the problem was gone, but then it came back. So, I finally sought the help of a vet to figure it out.

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