Chicken Thief Strikes Again

"Hormone" pronounced with a lousy French accent.

At the moment we have about 35 chickens and one happy, happy Faverolle rooster, Hormone.  We did have a Transylvanian Naked Neck boy (Vlad) as well but a stray dog has taken him recently.  I was a picture of ladylike behaviour NOT as I ran, in my big gumboots, across paddock and through barbed wire fence chasing the mongrel thief .  If swearing could drop him he would be a desiccated shadow of his former self but alas no, it only made him run faster.  Sigh.  The big brown kelpie x has visited our free rangers about five times now and I have had it up to pussy's bow with him.

Fortunately this is a small community and I have been making enquiries of people in the area.  I have possibly traced him to a property I will check out tomorrow.  Someone told me that someone else saw a dog with a chook in its mouth crossing their paddock so I have a direction to head in at least. Short of putting a map of the local area up on the wall, sticking coloured pins in it and calling Tommy Lee Jones to come and co-ordinate a dog-hunt, I will take persistence, gossip and a lot of luck to find the culprit.  Wish me luck.

Elementary My Dear Watson

Meet Dr Watson, a new member of our furry family.  So named because he is always, always investigating.  He needed a home and we adopted him which our old girl Cous Cous the puss puss was not impressed with.  She doesn't give a toss that he is a blue smoke Devon Rex and that he just loves people, his affection is endless - to the point of annoyance sometimes.  Fair enough too.  Cats are naturally loners and our 15 year old moggy is no different.  But after months of having half the house each to themselves they are now co-habitating getting on quite well.  No cuddles and smooches between them but lots of chasing and playing just the same. 

Dr Watson has the new pup on the run and respects the old dog.  He has had to learn about the outside world as he was an exclusively indoor feline.  He has been rescued from a very tall tree top, from the roof top twice and if he is left outside when we leave the house during the day he gets a little anxious and lets us know his displeasure when we return.

Devon Rex cats are active and athletic, affectionate and vocal and they barely moult.  Love him.

She's Ba-a-a-ck!

Yes, it has happened.  After nearly a year off from blogging I will attempt to get back into it with more regularity, just like the proverbial high fibre diet, the blogging must continue.

Updates

We have lost our lovely Layla Greyhound to a nasty lesion on her spine that paralysed her within six days of her first symptoms.  What a special dog she was.  We were heartbroken and she has left a hole in our family that still hurts sometimes.  No surprise to me that if you look hard enough there will be something funny about the dire situation.  I am sitting on the floor of the vet surgery, crying, cradling my poor greyhound's head and saying my goodbyes.  The vet sat with me and we talked about what a treasure she was as a pet and a patient.  He rose to go get the euthanasia solution drawn up and our lovely Layla, ever ready for a meal, was able to raise her head (the only movement she had) and watch him leave and I knew in my heart her thought processes were "He is off to get my food.  How much?  Doesn't matter, any food is good food".  I was able to laugh about it much later.  Her pleasures were simple.  Affection, attention, playing with Roger staffy, a good zip around the paddock and most importantly of all FOOD.

I suspect Roger felt it worst of all.  He became depressed and lethargic.  We waited for two months before applying for another rescue greyhound but there was a waiting list.  We needed a cat friendly one but so did many others.  Roger did not improve and out of desperation I acquired a free Pound Puppy of sorts, a cross bread of beautiful brown eyes and black, shiny coat.  Apparently this little waif was a Border Collie x Rottweiler....hmm right.  It transpires she is a B/Collie x Kelpie x who knows what.  I have said all along I would not get a Kelpie/cross.  Too busy, too much stimulation but of course when you are in love with your pup you don't return her do you?

Megatron Destructopuppy is our newest member of the family.  She is now seven months old and a beautiful natured beast that sometimes tests my ability to keep patience, as puppies do.  More about her later.  Roger the Dodger, it turns out, has dementia which also accounted for his strange and quiet moods.  He is 11 years old and it seems he is ageing quickly.

Farewell Layla Greyhound.

Beautiful Snake

Freaky Fox and Keystone Canines

Picture it:

The Young Negotiator (now 19) and I watching a mangy but well fed fox lope across our backyard.  This fox is weird and strange in that the yard is home to TWO dogs, is fully fenced and well,  the fox has no brush tail.  In fact the fox appears to have minimal fur cover without actually being bald.

Roger the Dodger (staffy) at my feet now sees the fox and begins barking before he takes off out of the lounge room, down the stairs and across the backyard in pursuit of said fox.

Layla (greyhound) does not see the fox but knows there is trouble afoot and also leaves the lounge room at top speed, entirely clearing the back steps in one leap, barking aggressively.  She in fact overtakes the staffy, as one would expect from a greyhound, and gets to the back fence to continue her barking into an empty paddock.

Roger meanwhile has reached the end of the pool fence around which the fox has disappeared and takes the corner well only to trip on.....nothing and do an almighty chin/chest plant into the very wet grass and slide out of view behind the pool, front legs facing backwards (imagine a suckling pig on a Slip-n-Slide minus the apple) .

Layla has finally realised the action is not in the back paddock and turns to continue the chase behind the pool also.  Whether she has actually scented the fox or was just trying a new direction is anybody's guess.

The Young Negotiator and I are laughing at these Keystone Canines and their antics wishing we had a video camera set up and running.

The fox meantime, who incidentally has had time for a cup of tea and scone by this stage, has long gone leaving the dogs excited but somehow not fulfilled in their quest.  We later found a chicken carcass in our yard beyond the pool where the fox had been heading.

Questions I have to ask myself:

1.  Why is the fox so short in the hair and lacking a brush tail?

2.  Why would this fox bring a chicken carcass into our dog-infested back yard and so obviously returning to consume it?  (It has been suggested that it had met our dogs in the past and was feeling entirely safe).

3.  What on earth did that staffy trip on?

Weird things a-happening here yesterday, but highly amusing just the same, except for the loss of one of our laying hens of course.

Frizzle Naked Neck

 

Beauty and the Beast...err that would be Caterpillar