Archive for the ‘Farming’ Category

Beware of . . . Cow?

Walking the dog isn’t always a peaceful outing. Sometimes there’s actual danger out there, both for your dog and you. When thinking about this, you probably tend to worry most about other, more aggressive dogs. But if you live in farm country, there’s another aggressor species to avoid running into, at least at certain times of the year: cows. Yes, cows. In Britain, they’ve trampled four dog owners to death in the last two months, Reuters reports. Robert Sheasby of the National Farmers Union says  the cows are going after the dogs rather than deliberately attacking the humans, but, of course,...

Read More »

Crazy Kuegler Family Mini Farm

Well, as one of the Kuegler Mini Farm farmers, I have seen some of the girls more recent antics. . .and THEY'RE NUTTY CHICKENS!! First of all, there is now a very defensive mother in the coop.  She is one of the Black Wyandottes, and if you go near her when she is on her egg, she squawks loudly, flaps her wings, and attacks you.  Also, she is very nervous when around humans.  To get some pictures for this article, one of my sisters and my brother had to coax her out while I photographed.  Well, she is being a good...

Read More »

Local Wildlife

picA few minutes ago, literally, I was watching a deer ramble through my backyard.  In New Hampshire, the deer is on the pinnacle of our very interesting, and diverse, wildlife. Our yard has a variety of features that attract the local animal populace.  First off, we have a good-sized yard (one or more acres). We live along a river, so the back end of our yard meets the river.  The other feature is that we have a mini-farm of fifteen chickens (to read about their latest antics/cuteness, read Spring Is Here) that tend to attract many unwanted guests. We have many guests due...

Read More »

A Dog’s Life and License

picA letter to the editor in the morning paper got me thinking about dog licenses. (Also feeling sympathy for the letter writer, but I’d sympathize with anyone who’d lost their pet or been suspected unfairly, let alone both.)
Return home to find in the mailbox a notice from City of Toronto -- a pet license request. A warning that Big Brother "has reason to believe that you have an unlicensed pet ..." Our beloved 13-year-old German shepherd died two months ago. She was licensed. Toronto: broke, filthy, crumbling, violent. But the Pet Gestapo is looking out for our safety.
What’s the idea...

Read More »

Turkeys for Everyone

While thinking about the question of urban chickens (and the danger of urban coyotes), I came across an interesting book Starting Right with Turkeys by G.T. Klein. It was published in 1972, based on an earlier edition from 1946, and ultimately goes back to The “Have-More” Plan, a 1940s back-to-the-land manual by Ed and Carolyn Robinson. The Robinsons believed everybody could raise their own poultry, fruit, vegetables, and even goats, and this book says, “Yes, you can successfully raise turkeys in your backyard.” But if you think it’s just like raising chickens, G.T....

Read More »