patio in memory

Work started on the farm this weekend for my dad's memorial garden - before we can plant/garden, we had to tear up and start on the beautiful patio dad's friend, Pat, planned out. It's going to be amazing ... and there were some wonderful people that showed up to help out...

Donnie & Matt 

Matt, Pat and mom figuring out what rocks around the property we could incorporate

Donnie, Kris and Matt moving pavers over to use

ladies supervising: me, Ali and mom

A group shot of some of my favorite people

Last photo I took before Matt & I headed out on Sunday afternoon

Matt and I could only stay a bit both days between my work schedule, Matt's back (old car accident injury) and our dogs' bladders, but I loved being with everyone and seeing the work get done. I loved that after a long work week for most of those people and with it being such a nice weekend to do just about anything, that they turned out to work on this project. It was also nice to hear Pat bring up how the first design he and my dad every did together is still together and holding up well too... and at one point when they were putting down sand and evening it out, I was taken back to a memory of my dad doing the same thing - evening out the sand, tossing some loose dirt back on top and evening it out again - it was just a flash of a memory, but nice to get there in that moment with the guys working on this project in memory of dad.

auto correct

My phone just changed "ewww" to "ewes" ~ oh, auto correct, it's quite clear we're destined to be farm girls together :)

sproutrobot

Love this site, so I'm sharing it: http://sproutrobot.com/

Wordless Wednesday

Farm-life Fridays: In FL

Here's a special Farm-life Friday for you ... a Farm-life Friday post about the wonderful farm my friends have going on in Florida! This is where I'm actually at right now and I love it! Love the people here, love my time here and love whatever it is I end up doing here. Now, they have this wonderful farm going on as well, called Swallow Tail Farm.

Stolen right from their website: "Swallowtail Farm is located north of Alachua, along a fertile ridge of highland soil that crests the spine of Florida. We have crafted the farm as a model of sustainability and fine land stewardship, with a focus on appropriate scale, conservation of resources, and nature-produced fertility. No synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals will ever touch our fields or your food."

This post is brief because I'm busy, but I'm going to edit this entry and try to post some photos when I'm home to this.

Farm-life Fridays: Horse Killer

Ugh, for the life of me, I do not understand some people ... Valentine and the violence done to her is an excellent example. This story is also of a person who is just plain terrible.

Although you might think I'm misplacing this post about Marion Hulick, who's French bulldog recently made history at the Westminster Dog show, becoming the first of his breed to score top honors in the "Non-Sporting" Group - rest assured, I'm not. This woman's "positive" dog news pales in comparison to her awful, awful farm story - that of murder for money!

Hulick served six months in federal prison for her role in the murder of Charisma, a show horse, on Dec. 15, 1990. Witnesses at Hulick's trial for this awful crime said she met with the killer, offering him a $35,000 cut (for killing Charisma) of the $250,000 insurance money. This is gross, sorry, but I want to be as honest here as possible to convey exactly why I think this woman's actions are unforgivable - no matter how long ago it was. The horse's killer, after being led to the stall by Hulick one witness recalled, then attached a metal clip to the horse's ear and another to his hindquarters and plugged a wire from them to an outlet, electrocuting the poor horse.

20 years ago or two days ago, brainstorming this idea, condoning it, organizing it and, most importantly, being present for it is absolutely unacceptable and something you can never, ever make better or expect to be forgiven for, I feel. Not to mention, how can you treat one animal that way and yet claim to care for another? That is not some stupid mistake of "youth" - that's just awful, cruel and sickening!

Not to mention, with the way I love my "ponies", I can't imagine being able to do anything like that. I find a cut on the horses, I get concerned. They nip at each other, I get worked up. It gets a little cold and I'm sure my parents need to put their blankets on. You get the idea! They're huge, that's for sure, and they don't share my home or bed, but they're in my heart and there's the undeniable fact that horses, just like all other pets/animals, are dependent upon us for their care.


I can't believe you got a standing ovation Monday night, Marion Hulick, you scumbucket! You should have had horse manure thrown at you!!!

More info in these articles...
- Horse Killers Are Welcome at Westminster
- Terrible Person of the Day: Horse Killer and Canine Eugenicist, Marion Hulick

Farm-life Fridays: Pong

It was just recently that my family lost almost all of our beloved ducks to some mysterious dog or dog-like animal. I thought it only appropriate that this week I post this adorable little lady, Pong. I wish Best Friends were closer for us to learn how to better protect our babies and maybe adopt this pretty girl to keep our lone boy company now.

Here's what Pong's page says about her:

Breed: Pekin Duck
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
A pair of snowy white Pekin ducks who very much want to meet you.

Pong came from California to a Utah rescue group, which then had to close down. All these changes have been startling for Pong. She is very sweet - also young and healthy. We think if you met Pong, you would love her. She would love a home to call hers forever.

Good luck, Pong, in finding a new home ... or at least enjoy the rest of your time in Utah :)

Ferals...

I'm sure from reading this, you know my experience with feral cats - that's how I've gotten several of my own house kitties (socialized feral kittens) and, of course, my barn and garage cats. Then there was the post I added here about my shock over the gang of feral chickens that took up living on my parents' farm. Well, over the weekend, I came in contact with ferals of a different sort ... feral goats!

I kid (no pun intended) you not - feral goats!

In search of a disabled kitty that my friend spotted over the weekend, we found ourselves at a pig farm talking to a nice older man who worked there. He told me that there was an older man who bought a bunch of goats about 20 years ago. This man passed away a few years ago and since then, the goats he still had have just been roaming around the area. I'm not sure how many there originally was, but the man said several had died from age and the cold. There are 5 now.

Now, it's not very common knowledge, but goats freak me out. Don't ask me why because I'm honestly not sure, but it's a fact - goats = creeeepy!!! Not to mention, these goats are like the size of dogs too. Oh my goodness!!

I've been to the property several times now and these goats always seem to be there, curled up together next to one of the pig buildings or running off together as soon as I get within 15 or 20 feet of them. They're more skittish than the feral cats on the property! It's so weird. I guess this is better than them approaching me. I might have a heart attack.

Farm Fowl

I love my Golden girl, Sadie - LOVE her! There is nothing like having a Golden, in my opinion, and I have had them forever. My parents' first "baby" was a Golden, Sunshine, that I grew up with and we've had Goldens ever since. Well, my heart dropped the other day when I look out our beautiful front windows the morning after Christmas and see our Golden Sadie standing on our semi-frozen lake. I thought for sure I was about the watch her go through the ice. Now, why is this post entitled "Birds, birds, birds"?? Well, she wasn't just standing on the ice, no ... she was chasing our ducks who were desperately trying to get away from her, but not being too successful with it.

I'd gone to call my mom, but couldn't find my cell or the house cordless, so I'd wasted time looking for those and then finally having to use the house wall phone in the kitchen. I'd tried to find boots (we'd had sooo many pairs out with the snow we just had a week ago) and could not find a single pair. I tossed on the only shoes I had: rubberish, running shoes that slip on and don't come above the ankle. In the rain and the cold, I ran out with a leash. The only reason I caught up to Sadie was because one of the ducks was stuck in some reeds. I got her! ... I had seen at least two motionless, disheveled looking ducks and one was definitely bleeding.

I figured the bleeding one was the most crucial and when I got to the spot where I had found Sadie and left the one Peking (bleeding) duck, it was gone. I was so upset! I looked around and it was limping into the woods. Whether from my cooing of "It's just me. Easy now. It's just me," or just sheer exhaustion, the duck didn't wander too far away before laying down. Did I mention my parents pulled in the driveway right as I'd caught Sadie? Well, they had. I'd tossed Sadie in their car so they could drive her up to the house and after safely getting her in, they came back to see where I was concerned about the ducks, but me too - I was soaking wet and could hardly even see anymore from the rain on my glasses (yea, no time to find contacts and stick them in during this craziness). I handed off the bleeding duck to my mom and went in search of the two I had seen in a bush ... they were gone, wandering up for food, actually.

After changing, getting boots on (from wherever my mom had found them) and calling my aunt, we spent at least on hour repeatedly walking around the lake, in the woods, using a duck call and trying to find duck prints in the little snow left. Our baby black duck that we just got this summer, a favorite for her unique coloring and the fact she tried to stand up and walk like her Indian Runner "sisters", was never spotted (and to this day remains missing). The 3 other Peking (including the one with the broken/deformed wings) and 2 Indian Runners were all seen, fed and fine.

This whole ordeal obviously ruined my day and even a hot bath for a long time didn't remedy my mood. Below are some pictures of my shirt (and me) post wrangling Sadie and carrying the bleeding duck around. And, yes, that sticker on my mirror does indeed say "No Mutts With Nuts"


The farm bird stories aren't done yet, but this one was pretty long ... maybe I'll save the others for later.

Not Me Monday - Holiday/Fam/Farm Hecticness

Not Me Monday is a weekly therapy session where I can share with you the things that I would never admit to do. It was started by MckMama. Feel free to share what you haven't been doing too!

Who threw this post together and posted the link just to finally be in the top 50? Shameful! Not me...
What girl just stands around with her blood boiling as her crush seems to be loving some stripper girl hanging all over him? Not me, no. Not this girl.
Who found herself calf-deep in puddles in the freezing rain in her pj's and slip on shoes cursing at the top of her lungs the day after Christmas as her dog is standing on a semi-frozen lake trying to eat her ducks because her dad left the gate open and told no one? Not me, nope.
Who ordered gifts for herself post Christmas?? Oh, not me. Who does that?! Especially when broke and jobless!
Who split three bottles of wine with her cousin to survive family talk? Not me.
What girl would ditch her paternal family during the holiday weekend and the football they were watching to go watch hockey!? Not me, no way.
Who cried every night this holiday weekend from the stress, emotions, wine and knowledge that this is probably her dad's last Christmas? Not me.
Who romped around in all the rain and cold weather looking for hurt ducks and is amazed she didn't get deathly ill? Not me.

Head over to MckMama’s blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing (but really have!).

Defintely Winter

Yesterday morning after I woke up and started moving around I deemed it officially winter. Though it looked like any other morning from my bedroom window, the windows in our living room showed something else: there was ice on our lake! If you look closely at that picture that I took just yesterday morning, you'll notice only one white duck swimming ... the others are standing on the lake! Yes, yesterday (Friday) morning was chilly and my dad stayed inside most of the day because of it. Now, why is this fun fact of the silly ducks standing on the lake blogable? Well, you see, we live in New Jersey and little did I know that our "trusty" weather reporters were about to UNDERestimate their predictions for today...

This is the lake this lovely, snowy Saturday evening! Included in the picture is also my sister, Michelle, her boyfriend, Steve, and the Dobie pup, Tali, moments before she tried to run on to the ice to chase the ducks. Lets just say it ended up being more slush than ice, but the pup barely got her toe wet before changing her mind about the duck attack. Yes, were cursed gifted a large amount of snow ... much more than was anticipated, I believe. Friday night into Saturday morning they were estimating only about an inch with maybe 6 - 11 more falling throughout the day. By 9 AM this morning the weather was predicting more like 3 inches every hour ... and it's still snowing now! So you can imagine what the yard looks like...

the horses are covered in snow

the sheep are snowy even inside the one barn

and even the ducks were up all day begging for food instead of swimming around in the slushy lake! (note: that area they're in was shoveled clean moments before I took this photo)

Call me crazy, but I think it was a pretty nice day. I woke up early and went out to see if my mom needed help repairing the barn (I heard a very loud crash in the middle of the night and though my dad went out to make sure everything was ok, apparently a huge board had fallen down and needed to be put back up). After taking some pictures, we headed in where I made sure the fire in our wood stove kept burning and we waited for my little sister and her boyfriend to wake up. After that, it was lots of playing in the snow, clearing areas that needed to be cleared and having fun with some of the pups - only Tali at first since we weren't sure we could trust Sadie completely ... and for good reason! When we finally did let her out, after being adorable for so long, she definitely got more than just her toes wet when she decided to try to chase the ducks. Goofy dog! We took them inside to eat then while my sister and her boyfriend played in the snow.

There was also more picture taking outside, hot chocolate, hay being thrown around (for the horses), extra wet food for the ferals, good smells while my sister was making tomato sauce, finding & setting up the fake tree (since going out to buy a live one today was canceled thanks to mother nature), lots of movie watching, puzzle doing (not by me, I'm too impatient) and we did not lose the electric. I think overall today was a great day and definitely put me in the holiday spirit: the snow, the lights, the decorating and everyone together getting along (though, of course, my blood pressure surely spiked during meal time with my dad).

I hope this post finds you warm, loved and content like I was today. Happy holidays!

Caturday: Skyee & Garage Cats

This gorgeous girl is Skyee out at Best Friends Society in Utah.

Breed: Siamese
Gender: Female
Age: Mature
Size: Medium

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

Skyee can't help it! She's an old girl, but it hasn't toned down her beauty one bit. And she enjoys being gorgeous, because she loves chatting with people "meow, meow", and even gently playing.

Skyee used to be terribly standoffish, but age has made her much more friendly. And she's ready, at her ripe age, to find the home that's eluded her for so long. (She came to Best Friends long ago from a shelter in California that was closing down, and she's never been adopted!)

Skyee gets along beautifully with other cats. Children should be older just because she used to be so skittish - we wouldn't want those tendencies to return!

She's a lovely cat with a lovely personality. And it would be wonderful if she could find a happy ending at last in these golden years.

Wishing you luck and love this holiday season, Skyee.

~*~


I was going to post the simple fact I had finally set up the porch for the garage cats for the winter, but then I figured - why be simple? :) So, here's a little introduction to the garage kitties.

We have 6 cats that I know of on the farm who have hung around or shown up. The garage 3 are the more social group of cats we have here on the farm. Spring, summer and into the fall, they mostly live in the Conestoga building we have right by the house which has a lot furniture from our old home (the cat particularly like curling up in the upside down chairs), my dad's tools and some of my rescue stuff - a few cages and a trap or two. However, for the winter, I set up the side porch (which has a hole cut into the screen for them to come in through) with a heat lamp, some soft blankets and a bed that warms up a bit too. The screen door and window also get covered up with plexi-glass so the kitties can still see out, but there's no real breeze in there. This year, they'll have to deal with the unplugged, no longer being used refrigerator, but I think they'll manage - less room, which means more snuggling :)

Here's who will be on the porch this winter, the garage kitties one by one...

Meet Norman - a huge beast of a cat who also happens to be FIV+ and a real love bug - no fighting from him so far. Norman I brought on in a desperate attempt to get Wilson to eat - I'd had him for about 2 weeks and he rarely ate a thing I left for him. Thinking he was lonely, I brought Norman in ... this is how he got his name. Although Wilson was named for the volleyball in Castaway, I always thought of the neighbor from Home Improvement - "howdy ho, neighbor", which is also the cute phrase the old man, Norm, I grew up next to used to greet us all the time. So, Wilson and Norman, the cheery older neighbors. Norman remains pretty evasive, though sometimes he'll let me pet him. I don't think he'll ever be as affectionate as he was when his best friend for life was still around, Buddy. Looking at Norman makes me still ache for Buddy and the pals they were together. He's also the biggest wanderer out of the garage cats. I've seen him everywhere from back by the back barn (trying to steal food for the kitties back there) to in the woods to down near the front of the lake ... I promptly hollered at him for that - once passed the lake, it's only another say, 50 feet to the road.

This little lady is simply known as "Momma" or "Irish Momma". She came to me from my great uncle who was feeding a cat outside his home and one day she brought him kittens. I sat outside for hours until I caught them all - the whole litter consisted of 4 female kittens. I hate to think how many kittens there would have been if I hadn't caught them!!! All the little girls were given Irish names (my great uncle is VERY Irish) and adopted out in pairs. Irish Momma wasn't a friendly house cat though, so I set her up in the garage where she has never left. I pet her for the first time in, wow, maybe the 4 years I've had her just the other day while she was eating. She's always around, but won't let me approach her. She's endeared herself to me with how adorable she is though. Her favorite spot? The stairs leading up into the hot tub or on top of the cover. She's a smart girl! :) I don't know if it's because she came from a small town with busy roads, but she's the least likely to wander. She's always pretty much in the garage, by the hot tub or in the garden between the garage and the house, though sometimes she'll wander up to the front porch ... so, as far as I know, her life consists of mainly a, max, 75 foot radius.

The most recent addition to the garage crew is Champ. I had just lost Buddy recently when a new cat was coming into work. The business behind us, Champion Tire, was nice enough to feed and love up some ferals (all fixed), but someone had dropped off a cat recently and they were just maxed out. Work agreed to take the cat in and try to adopt it out ... however, while doing our intake exam, we found out the poor guy was FIV+ and our FIV Suite was already full. Fresh from the loss of Buddy and looking at this poor kitty who was FIV+ like Norman and now with an unknown future (the tire place didn't want him, that's why he came to us and we couldn't keep him because we were already too full), I took it all as a sign and agreed to take him. "Champ" came home with me and though he's not wrapped up with Norman like Buddy used to be, the two seem to hang out a bit and he's a nice addition. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but he's a real beast of a cat - huge! Long legs and a stomach that looks like he's swallowed a basket ball.

To say the kids were excited the side porch was set up is an understatement. As soon as I was out there, Irish Momma was walking in and out of the hole in the door, Norman was sitting at the bottom of the steps and even Champ wandered by as I set everything up for them. Below is a photo of the garage cats already settling into the side porch: Champ curled up under the heat lamp and Irish Momma eating. Norman's either off wandering or maybe tucked behind Champ. Nothing was more adorable than when Norman and Buddy used to both curl up in the heated bed together! Sometimes the only sign they were both in there was what looked like a fifth white paw on Norman - Buddy would be buried under him asleep with just his little foot sticking out from under Norm.

Sheep Rescue?

Ok, maybe not technically, but this definitely is a happy new home for one of our sheep, Bob.

Recently during a conversation with one of the wonderful vet techs, Kim, at Dr. Mac's it was discussed that she was looking for a goat to be a pasture pal for her horse. Now, obviously, Bob is no goat (goats creep me out!!!!!), but he's one awesome little buddy! With my mom considering condensing the farm to be more manageable for just her to handle (my dad is just going to continue to get worse), she suggested Bob. Our other sheep are all "marketable" for breeding, but Bob's been "cut" and aside from being a companion pet, most people would probably just consider him lamb chops (I can't even think of any of them like that!!!).

So, after some serious effort to wrangle him up, off Bob went to his new home for a "trial" run ... and they love him - of course!! He's one awesome little guy. Kim was nice enough to send me some photos on the first day they let Bob loose in their giant field. Look how happy he looks munching away! :)

Good luck, Bob. I love you!

All In A Day's Work

Today was going along fairly normal - me planted near the kitchen to keep my dad out, trying to manage his pacing, get him to do some minor projects, etc. It was not a good day though. Around 4 PM, my dad came in and told me there was a fawn outside ... and it was stuck in the horse pen.

I had a dozen bad images in my head of this thing panicking as we approached it! Would I be on my way to the wildlife rehabilitation emergency facility a couple hours away soon? How hurt was this poor thing? I mean, stuck in the fence sounds pretty serious ... especially when I saw my dad grab huge wire cutters. Was the fawn's mom still near by? Was I about to get kicked with those nasty hooves? Agh!

As if I wasn't worked up enough, the sight of this poor thing just made my heart sink even more ... he must have jumped over the fence (and made it) when something went wrong. He was hanging upside-down by one hind leg with his body resting on the ground, but twisted so his head was laying between the fence and his own side. To top it all off, I felt awful because I had no idea how long that poor fawn had been hanging there because my dad had been inside watching TV for hours (when normally he'd be outside or in the garage near the horse pen working on stuff) because he was so awful today (he can get really destructive when trying to "fix" things).

I had grabbed the wire cutters from my dad on the walk through the one pen for our horses and told him to go turn off the electric tape that runs along most of the fence and to maybe consider getting the neighbor ... basically, I just didn't want my dad over there and upsetting the poor fawn further.

I was terrified as the approached the fawn. With the way the fawn was hanging there, so still and for who knows how long, I was shocked he was still alive! No time to space, I cut the fence and he didn't move at all. However, it wasn't as simple as just cutting the one fence wire loop. The fawn had fought so hard to free himself, he'd wedged his little leg into one corner and really pulled the fencing tight around him. For the next part, I'm lucky he didn't freak out and hurt us both! I had to pull on the wire and then grab that little munchkin's hoof and pull it out and away from the fence. Injuries-wise, the fawn had a cut on this leg, maybe an inch long, not too thick and thankfully not too deep. His leg was straight hanging there (didn't look broken) and he got right up and dashed off into the woods, so I'm hoping he's ok.

It was just a few minutes, but what a crazy day that made for! I hope that little fawn is ok tonight and his cut doesn't get infected. It's just such a shame because that damn metal fence has never actually caught a deer or fawn like that before and it's only around maybe 1/3 of our entire pen.

On another note: what a game, what a game tonight for the Flyers. I wish I had been there and yet with the way it actually ended, maybe not.

chickens

Today was one of the first days I have not liked the results of living on a farm.

As I've mentioned before, we've got lots and LOTS of chickens right now - an absolutely ridiculous amount of chickens. In no way am I denying that! But my mom posted them on craigslist and some guy came to get them this afternoon and I just didn't like him.

For starters, he brought those teeny tiny chicken crates - you know, kinda like this. Four of those little things for his intended 40 chickens. He said he just bought his daughter a new farm and she wanted chickens, so he'd like to take all 40 chickens my mom mentioned. I'm sorry, but no way does someone want 40 freakin feral chickens!!!

On top of that, when he came to get the ones we had caught during the day, he just reached in and grabbed the chickens by their wings, by their legs ... by whatever and then he'd shove them into that little chicken crate/cage thing. It was awful. Ugh.

Thankfully, we'd only caught 17 when he got here and he took them, but I feel super bad for whereever those 17 went. I'm trying not to think about it...

::sigh::

I have a feeling this blog is going to turn into more of a journal about rescuing myself than it is about rescuing animals. The blows seem to just keep coming and I'm just completely heart broken right now...

I partially blogged about my dad and that situation. I strictly posted the email I sent out because, honestly, I'm not sure I can sit down and spill my guts out about that whole ordeal and my feelings about it without A) sounding super whiny or B) breaking down and crying while I type which is just awfully messy if you know the way I cry. The news alone has been a lot to deal with and then there's been all the reading to find out about FTD and what's to come as well.

And then, this passed week, I lost my job... stupid economy! Losing my job means losing my income when I have student loans, medical bills, my credit card (thank god I'm pretty good at controlling my spending with that!!) and the payments for the car I just bought as well. If that's not bad enough, my apartment that I've been settled into for about a year and a half is provided through work, so I've lost that as well! I've been given a week to pack up and head out. I don't want to pack up, I don't want to move back in with my parents and I feel so bad taking my cats there too when they've been pretty stress-free at my apartment for so long now.

I don't get to see Ruby adopted out or see Donny needs more surgery or see if Freda gets all better or what's going to happen with the possible mass in Nickey or see my love Molly anymore or if Polly is going to get surgery. I've just really invested myself here in a way I don't even think my co-workers know and so this is all very sad for me. I used to walk around here sometimes at night just checking to see what the kitties were doing and making sure they were ok.

I'm just forced to hope this is for the best. I've been here for some great, great things like my work's 5th Anniversary and all the publicity with Tashi - it was so nice seeing other people recognize and appreciate the work done here. At least I was let go because of the economy so I can collect unemployment instead of having to quit in several months or something because of my dad (or who knows what might else go wrong at this point!).

Now, I'm going back to my parents, the farm, sheep and chickens and horses and too many guinea hens. At least I'll have lots of time to read, write ... and blog, right? Ahh ::sigh:: Who knows, maybe I'll even start rescuing again ... doing fundraisers or working with kick ass people like my friend who likes the special babies, like Joa (who has since been adopted!).

too early

This is definitely an early morning for me since it's my day off ... my cats have the tendency to wake me up when they think it's breakfast time which, of course, is usually an hour (or 5) ahead of schedule - little boogerheads! Oh, but I looooooooooove them! :)

I've been busy trying to plot out new ways FFRV can be a help in the rescue world. I'm never sure what direction we should head in ... or how to keep things in check and reined in. Sometimes it all seems too out of control. Lots of animals need rescuing - that job is never done, but sometimes I feel like there's no concept of priorities, let a lone restraint to focus on priorities.

How cute is this little munchkin??? He's a little baby babyface sheep my parents are going to get, though he's still too young right now and we have to figure out a name for him still. My parents want to get into having some sheep because apparently these make great pets, graze well and they produce really nice wool. I think it's a pretty good idea ... though I'm not sure why they think they need to breed them. I can't deny I'm a bit disappointed in that. There's enough animals out there already and it's not like these sheep are going to run out of wool at some point in their lives - it keeps growing! How much wool do they want to "produce" exactly??

Chickens, ducklings, oh my!

A former rescue buddy of mine called up my house today to say that she'd driven past her local shelter this morning (at this time of year is so hot and dangerous for animals just abandoned outside shelters). What did she find? 3 chickens in a cage! This rescue friend took them to work with her in a make-shift covered pen in her truck bed. In calling me for info (we're both more of cat rescuers, but I have a farm so she hoped I had contacts), she got a hold of my mom who said we'd take the chickens. So, chickens are on the way. More animals ...

My family just got ducks as well - baby ducks. A local kindergarten class hatched and raised them and then just started giving them away as they started to get their feathers. Since we have a lake, my dad got in touch with them and we got 2 of the 8 (I don't even know where the other 6 went). It aggravates me that the education system still takes in eggs to hatch and raise ducklings/chicks with no idea what they'll be doing with these babies when they're too big to be any more "fun".

I remember being younger and thinking that whole deal was awesome, but now that I'm older, the lack of forethought of what to do with these animals is really aggravating. These animals shouldn't just be abandoned or given up after a period of time ... what kind of message is that?! I have no objection to classroom pets, but they should be taken care of by the teacher throughout the pet's lifetime and during the school year, whether in the class or taken home by students over the weekends to be cared for. I know not everyone will agree with me, but that's my opinion. I think animals in the classroom can be a wonderful experience and great way to teach responsibility, but only when that responsibility is actually honored!

“I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs... [They] are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no right to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty.” –James Herriot