Chickens Join the Crew

We've added chickens to our animal kingdom!  We decided in  February (just before the Covid-19 pandemic) to raise chickens for fresh eggs. Our first crew arrived in March. When we ordered, they only had "straight runs" available. This is a mixture of male and female chicks. We ended up having 2 roosters. 

First day at home

While we've never had chickens before, we made sure we read up on them before taking this on. Already they showed us they had unique personalities. They had two favorite things to do while they were this little. First, they loved running and hopping around their container (brooder). Second, they loved climbing and sleeping on each other.

 I was worried at first because I've read they do this if they are cold. So we checked the brooder temperature, and it was right where it should be -- 95 degrees. Each week we lowered the temperature until they were ready to leave their brooder.

Yummy grass treats

A few months later, we chose to add to our flock. I was fascinated with this breed called Green Queens. Green Queens is a type of Easter Egger chickens (chickens that are not part of any other breed and lay blue, green, or olive-colored eggs).  In late June, our flock was complete. 

                  

With our first group of chickens, our two roosters quickly began the pecking order.  Phantom and Kass get along very well. Phantom is more laid back and Kass is a very strong-willed, stubborn, protective rooster. 

Phantom 

                    

Kass

We are definitely learning all about chickens. Stay tuned for more on our Green Queens.

  

The Dolly Parton Internet Challenge

   

I recently saw the #dollypartonchallenge and was inspired by my ever-photo-loving pets to put a unique spin on it. I also posted it on my Instagram.  In the last picture, I tried to think of a social media platform that would fit the image, but I couldn't come up with one. So, I improvised 😊

We have Luna, who is my writing partner. She keeps me company at my desk every day. She's sweet. but she also steals my seat when I get up. For anything. Next, we have Colt. He is just hanging out, making sure he isn't missing anything. Oreo, my black and white cat just happened to walk in my office during this photoshoot. She looks thrilled, doesn't she? And last is Leia. This is a pic I've had of her before. This is how she greeted me one day after a particularly long day of editing, but it totally matches her zany personality! 

Did you do a pet-themed Dolly Parton Challenge? Let's see them!

Colt and the Memorial Day Fireworks

We were just settling in after a long day this past Memorial Day. Colt kept us company as we did some yard work. We later grilled up some hot dogs and hamburgers. We only had a few people over and by evening we were ready for bed.

As we settled in, we heard it. There were the BOOMS and CRACKS of the fireworks. I wasn't aware of it until Colt squirmed from the bed to my lap. Then he started shaking. I knew making a big deal out of it would make things worse, so I just nonchalantly pet his back and continued reading my book. 

Unfortunately the fireworks kept coming and he jumped onto the floor. He was looking for a small space to curl up in. He finally decided to squeeze between my nightstand and under my bed. 

He calmed down shortly after that, but I hated to see the above look on his face. I did some reading about this. Aside from not making a big deal about it and to offer normal petting I discovered some products out there such as the Thunder Shirt. This wraps the dog tightly and gives him a sense of security. 

Other ways to help your pup:

• Act normal
• Distract them with a favorite toy
• Have a place they can go to  - lots of dogs like their crates
• Offer calming music
• Pull shades and curtains down and close the windows to help filter out the sounds

What are some ways you use to help your pet during anxious times? 

Leia and Peanut

Leia and Peanut fight. A lot. Peanut thinks it is his mission to go after Leia. I could see the toll it was taking on Leia. She was stressed. She was always on the look out. Ready for the next clash. She remained  in one area of our kitchen which became her "safe spot, but Peanut could access her. She started losing hair, which I'm sure was from the stress.

A few months ago, we decided to keep them in separate rooms. Leia's apartment now is in our room. The changes I'm seeing are wonderful.  You can see that she feels safe again. She hides less. She plays.

 He hair is growing back. She loves to be brushed.

She cuddles. She even purrs now. I was worried that confining her to one room would be cruel, but she seems to be very happy with it. She truly has a safe space where she doesn't have to always be on the alert for danger.

I would love to allow her to roam around the house freely, but right now it doesn't seem to be an option. As long as she is happy and feels safe now, I'm okay with the arrangements.

Feel free to comment below if you went through something similar in your pet's hierarchy. What were your tricks?

Colt's Anxiety

Colt's Great Escape

Over the year and a half we have had Colt, we noticed he is very clingy, to me in particular. One Saturday last March the day started out normal. I had to take my daughter back to her Dad since she had to work. I knew it would be a long ride and that Colt would get very anxious. Even with other people in the house, he will still bark every few minutes and sit by the door. So, since I didn't need to get out of the car, I let him come with me. He enjoyed that. He is very good in the car. He mostly sleeps, but he will also get up every now and then to look out the window.

Once we were home, my husband and I went to get some food shopping done. We were halfway to the store when we get a phone call from the Home Again microchip company. (I really love this company. I highly recommend them..) The said that they had found Colt.

We were thinking that it had to be a mistake because we just left Colt IN the house only a short time ago. My husband made some calls to our neighbors and it was confirmed. Somehow, he got our.

A bunch of horrible things were going through our heads. How did he get out? Was he OK? Did someone  get into our house and therefore let him out? Did the cats follow him?

We finally get home. Colt was over at our neighbor's house (Turns out he went to visit the horses across the street). The cats were all accounted for. One last question remained. HOW did he get out?

We had a hunch, but hoped we were wrong, that he went through a window. When we looked to the side of our house, we saw a gaping hold where Colt must have torn and jumped through.

At the Vet we discussed his anxiety and are trying some behavioral tips at home before we move to any supplements or medication.  We did try to crate train him in the past, but he couldn't stand being closed in and ended up chewing off the metal tabs to the doors of the cage. He still uses it though - on his own terms and with it wide open. His favorite thing to do is munch on his "chewy", which is one of those brushing chews.

If you have a pet anxiety story, tell me about it in the comments.

Luna

A strong personality is evident in this pet household. They each have their own way of interacting.

For instance, Luna will bat around antything that moves (except her toys, or course).  I put down a cap to  my water bottle and couldn't find it. A few minutes later I see her bolting across the floor...with my bottle cap.

My son, who had kidney disease, had to take alot of medications and we were always losing those mini measuring medicine cups. What happened to them? Luna. She must have pushed at least 6 of them under the dishwasher.

One time a whole medicine bottle went missing. The culprit? Yep. Luna

You might wonder how I know for sure it was her doing thise things. Well, I caught her red-pawed walking around with one of those medicine cups in her mouth.I have even wittnessed her walking off with our sponge!

 Even now, she is not shy about it. She will blatantly jump on the counter and attempt to run off with something. She knows I'm coming to retrieve the item and she makes a run for it. She is silly sometimes, but we love her!

What about your pets? Anything other than a toy they will play with? Tell me about it in the comments.

 

Happy National Pet Day

Wow, the move sure did  throw me off track!  All of our fur babies are doing great. We are battling a personality clash between two of our cats. Currently Peanut wants to let our newest addition Leia know he is boss.  We decided to try separating them into 2 adjacent rooms. This way they could sense eachother, but not interact. So we will see how that goes. If any readers out there have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. 

Im sharing some photos in honor of National Pet Day.

Peanut loves our wood burning stove!

Luna Loves to play with the stream of water...every time.

Leai and the Cat tree.

This one speaks for itself. Colt always is after the Guinnea pig! 

Happy National Pet Day! Give those guys extra pets today! 

Settling in

We officially moved from the city on August 6. It was quite a day. As soon as we returned from settlement, we began moving everything out.  Needless to say, the animals were wondering what was going on. Colt, was excited just to have more people in the house. That meant more attention. I decided to put his leash on so that he wouldn't be following everyone everywhere.  I brought him were ever I went to keep him occupied.

Our cats were curious as to what was going on, but because we were upsetting their environment they were, understandably, unsettled. As we removed household items, they scampered into a different room. When they felt they were at a safe distance, they would turn around and watch what was going on.  Leia was unphased.

Leia found an alternate use for moving boxes

After several trips moving items from our old house to the new one, we were ready for the final trip. We already brough Colt to the new house, so we brought everyone else in separate cars. The cats were very nervous at this time. Often a car ride and cage means Vet Visit. There were lots of meows , but we eventually made it home. The move was finished at 2:00 am. 

Immediately, the cats began sniffing out the house.  Oreo loves the bay window in the kitchen.

I'd like to say everything went perfectly, but in the chaos of everything, our dog got into the room where we keep the guinnea pigs. I rescued them and  both seemed fine. Unfortunately Chloe passed a few days later.  I felt terrible about that which I think it took me a while to post again. I felt I should have done more to protect her. Winnie is doing fine. We have her on top of the frindge ( strange spot , I know. But we can watch her carefully, she's out of reach of Colt and she is around people). She likes to squeak every time I open the refrigerator. She learned that if she squeaks , I  will usually give her a carrot. 

We are all just about settled in. I'm sure there will be many more adventures in the new home. 

Moving Day is Almost Here

This week has been pretty chaotic. We have been preparing for settling on a new home and for moving at the end of this week.  The cats have taken notice and carefully try to claim whatever they can. When they aren't doing that, they are quietly sitting aside, observing. I often wonder what goes through their minds. 

Earlier this week we had Oreo claiming a plastic box.

When that was used, we had a large cardboard box ready to use.  Yes, you guessed it.  She immediately jumped into it and sat down. She loves to jump into things. It's almost as if she can't resist.

Then, Peanut took notice of the box, and as soon as Oreo left,  Peanut jumped in.

However, I think the best happened this morning. Izzy snuck inside the pantry ( she has a whole routine that she uses in order to open to door)  and found the catnip I hid in there. At first I thought she was looking for the food container, which is not out of the realm of possibilities. She has been known to do that before.  Before we knew it she was rolling around and CHEWING the container. 

See how she made a perfect space to roll around in?

And there she goes, chewing it. She was one happy cat!

Finally, we cut her off. I don't think she minded though:

Spooked

Our newest cat Leia is quite the character.  She's complicated. She loves people and enjoys rubs and pets. However, she has a terrible time getting along with other cats. I think before we had her she was constantly fighting with a cat she lived with. When she joined our Animal Kingdom, she took on the role of agressor. (Much to Peanut's dismay. He is the alpha male in the house and he will not let this happen too easily).   Leia's favorite cat to keep in line is the youngest one, Luna. Luna will avoid Leia at all costs. 

Well, last night I was playing with Colt.  He likes to run around and chase things. Since it was raining, I humored him and jogged around the living room so he could burn off some of that Jack Russel energy. Leia, who was on top of the table and in clear view of the commotion, became spooked. I've never seen her that freaked out before.  She stood up on all four legs, arched her back slowly until she couldn't arch it anymore. The hair on her back stood up and her tail puffed out to about three times its size. Even now, we still are not sure what it was that spooked her so much. But we stopped immediately and calmed her down. 

I think over all, she is very nervous from her past experiences and is trying to compensate for that. We hope that as time goes on, things improve for her. I know the next few weeks are going to be rough for her as we are moving. Any major change is bound to stress the cats out, which will surely slow her progress.  

Colt and Luna's Adventerous Weekend

In a few weeks we will be moving out of the house I've been in for over 19 years. If everything goes as planned, we hope to close on a house out of the city early next month.  In preparation, we are going through our itens and held a Moving Sale.

Part of Colt's nature as a Jack Russel is that he prefers being around everyone all the time. What ever we are doing, he wants to be a part of. 

For example, I had to go to the bank on Friday. Colt, of course, wanted to tag along. Since I didn't need to leave the car, I let him come. The nice lady at the bank even gave him a treat! (Oh yes, looks like this will be a favorite for him.) 

During the Moving Sale, he wanted to be a part of the action. So I grabbed a water bowl and his leash and we set up. He was very good and even went off leash as we were cleaning up.

He had fun greeting everyone and loved the company and attention. You can tell it was quite a day for him.

Speaking of the move, our cat Luna is known for her curiosity. As we were going through items to start packing up for the move, we found a portable radio. She's never seen it before and this was her reaction:

Not too sure about this

What is that thing?

Umm....

You got to love these guys. They keep it interesting! 

Tiny Spaces

 When it comes to squeezing into tight spots, my cats can get pretty creative. Izzy, the calico cat, thinks she MUST sit inside anything that will allow her to. Anything at all.  As my husband says, "If she fits, she'll sit!"

A perfect example is when I was in the kitchen a few days ago. I was finishing up dinner, cleaning up and I turn around and see this:

Photo Credit: Caitlin Gladen

I think she was trying to tell me something. She's subtle like that.  

Izzy also has a habit of sneaking into the pantry. She knows we hide her food and treats in there and she has stolen the treat bag on several occasions. This morning I went into the pantry to grab some cereal and I was greeted by Izzy instead. 

She didn't get to any treats this time, but she sure looked comfortable.  What are some of the  funny spots your pets have claimed?

Updates

We have lots of updates on what I'm starting to call the "Imlay Farmland".  Between working, writing and training Colt, I've been pretty busy. We are also in the process of selling our current home and moving to a more agricultural area. Wish us luck. We're getting last minute drama. 

In the middle of all that, the animals have left us with no shortage of experiences. I wish I wrote them all down in a notepad so I would remember them all. I'll see what I can remember. 

Colt - Colt is our new Jack Russel Terrier we adopted in November shortly after Scooby passed. His story is on the previous blog post. Colt is very lovable and has a big personality.  He follows me everywhere and hates to be alone. He hates thunder and fireworks as well. He enjoys long walks and chasing the ball around. His favorite thing to do? He ADORES car rides. 

The new development for him is a cage. His anxiety was causing him to find and eat harmful things such as a half a bag of Hershey Kisses. We got him a large cage for when I am not home, so he can move around and change positions. He is adjusting well. Sometimes he goes in there on his own when he wants to rest or sleep. 

Luna - Luna had a trip to the vet about a week and a half ago. She started with a UTI and they also administered her vaccines. Her med for the UTI was a long lasting antibiotic shot. (Pet enthusiasts, what are your experiences and thoughts about this? I'm reading mixed reviews) 

Luna's latest adventure was to try and chase a yellow jacket that got into the house. She is one strong willed cat and refuses to accept a "No" from us pesky humans. I got rid of the bee, but not before snapping this pic:

Luna's now back to recovering from her illness, but starting to use the litter box inconsistently. We are hoping her spay surgery on Friday helps with this situation. I suspect this has something to do with our newest cat Leia.  

Leia - Who is Leia you ask? She is technically Luna's older sister. Yes, Leia and Luna are sisters...and they certainly fight like it. Leia's owner had to give her up and "Imlay Farmland" took her in 😉 This has been a difficult adjustment. Luna can be moody and egg on Leia. Leia had a rough time at her old home and can get aggressive to prevent other attacks. Leia is also due for her spaying this Friday, and we hope this will calm her down. 

Izzy, Oreo and Peanut have been sitting back and watching the show. 

What have you and your pets been up to lately?