Miller Farm Friday Archives - Page 33 of 47

15 01, 2016

Chew Toys

By judythemorgan|2016-01-14T10:14:57-06:00January 15th, 2016|Miller Farm Friday|4 Comments

Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

It has been 8 years since we have had a puppy on Miller Farm and now we have two.

One major issue I had forgotten was the chewing. They chew on everything. Rachel has provided them with multiple acceptable chew toys, but Max and Penny seem to prefer non-chew toys. These include but are not limited to:

Newspapers

towels

shoes – especially when on feet

I devised a new dance – the “puppy shuffle” which involves moving my feet in such a way as to avoid stepping on a puppy or having them grab my shoe.

I finally surrendered and gave them my socks. I figured it was better for them to chew on my socks when they were not on my feet.

It kept them occupied for quite a while. If only it would work until they outgrow the chewing – in about 6 months.

8 01, 2016

Tucker’s Disappearing Ball

By judythemorgan|2016-01-06T20:26:37-06:00January 8th, 2016|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

With the arrival of two dachshund puppies on Miller Farm came the arrival of 14,000 puppy toys. Well, maybe not that many but it seemed like that to Tucker, who was not allowed to chew up or play with any of them. In fact, Rachel put them all in her room behind a gate where Tucker could see them but not get to them. This was very distressing to Tucker. He was, after all, the first dachshund on Miller Farm and the father to the puppies.

Rachel bought Tucker his own toys including a spikey ball that squeaked. At least it squeaked until Coco chewed holes in it. Off to the pet store went Rachel once again. This time she bought a package of 3 spikey balls that squeaked. This gave us two BUBs (back-up balls).

Tucker’s favorite way to play with his ball is to have someone throw it so he can run and retrieve it so it can be thrown so he can run and retrieve it and so on and so on. This continues as long as the arm of the thrower holds out. This particular morning, I was the thrower.

I must confess, I was multi-tasking. I threw the ball as I was feeding the chickens so I wasn’t really paying close attention to where it went. It didn’t matter. Tucker would find it and bring it back to me.

One time I threw it behind me and I never heard it hit the ground. Tucker ran all around the yard and came back empty. I didn’t see it either so I looked in the neighbor’s yard. No ball. I looked between the fences (ours is chain link and the neighbor’s is wooden). Still no ball. I finally gave up and went inside. Rachel got out a BUB (back-up ball) and all was well.

Later that afternoon Beekeeper Brian called me into the kitchen where he was sitting at the table. “Sit down, look out the window and tell me what you see,” he said.

“I see the chickens, the chicken coop, the fence…”

“Look higher.”

There in the tree was Tucker’s ball. I could not have thrown it there if I tried. We got it down and now Tucker has two balls. At least until one of them disappears again.

18 12, 2015

Caroling Chickens

By judythemorgan|2015-12-17T20:42:12-06:00December 18th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A holiday blog from Chicken Wrangler Sara and her chickens

4 12, 2015

Two Weeks…

By judythemorgan|2015-12-02T15:48:29-06:00December 4th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

That is exactly how long it took Max to worm his way into the Miller household permanently. I should have known there was trouble the day Max was returned to Beekeeper Brian and spent the day at work with him. Brian sent this picture:Max would not stop whining so Brian held him in his shirt. From that point on they have been inseparable.

Max sleeps as close as possible – even if that means sleeping on Brian’s shoes:

He has given the term “facetime” a new meaning:

The other dogs have accepted him and Penny, his sister, is particularly glad to have someone her size to play with.

So now Miller Farm has 30 or so chickens and 6 long haired miniature dachshunds. I would say we are full up at the Inn but I’m not sure it would make any difference. :)

20 11, 2015

New Addition(s)

By judythemorgan|2015-11-19T20:38:45-06:00November 20th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

By Chicken Wrangler Sara

Tucker had a girlfriend come visit this summer. Her name is Olivia and she is an English cream long-haired dachshund.

It was a productive visit and 8 puppies were born on October 4.

This is a very large number of puppies for a dachshund.Unfortunately two of the puppies were very small and died within 24 hours.

That left 6 healthy puppies – 3 boys and 3 girls. We were promised pick of the litter as payment for Tucker’s services. It was not an easy decision.

We settled on a female named Penelope – Penny for short.One of Brian’s coworkers wanted a male and chose Max. The puppies were in another town so when Rachel went to get Penny, she also brought Max home so Brian could deliver him to work. Having two puppies in the house was fun for a couple of days, but Rachel was glad to see Max go as he is much more energetic and vocal than Penny.

Max’s new family owns three other dogs. Unfortunately, they did not check with these dogs before bringing Max home and one of the dogs was particularly unfriendly to Max.

So Max has come back to our house and we are looking for a good home for him. He does have an eye condition which will require minor surgery. The droopy eye just makes him look a little sad to me.

I’m trying not to get too attached. I’m afraid Max’s new home may be further than next door.

Know anyone who wants a long-haired mini dachshund?

6 11, 2015

New Bantams

By judythemorgan|2015-11-03T19:40:22-06:00November 6th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

After a decline in our bantam population, Rachel decided to buy some replacement chicks. She chose frizzles, partridge silkies, and birchen cochins. It was all the same to me until they started getting their adult feathers. Now I understand Rachel’s fascination with these particular breeds.

They are adorable! I also understand more about their names. Partridge and Birchen refer to the coloring. Cochin means they have feathered feet and frizzles have feathers that stick out everywhere.

We already have Frizz and Frizz 2, the black frizzles. Now we have blonde frizzles:I just hope they have the same sassy personality as Frizz.

Then we have the Partridge Silkies who look like they have fur rather than feathers:They also have the Dr. Seuss tuft on top of their heads.

Then we have the Birchen Cochin bantams:
They are all in the long cage on saw horses for now. We want to make sure all the critters living under the shed are gone. Then we will put the chicks in the bantam side of the coop.

Eventually Rachel wants to build breeding runs and breed the silky to the frizzle to get sizzles. I’ll make sure to post those pictures.

30 10, 2015

A Plethora of Cats

By judythemorgan|2015-10-29T17:53:57-05:00October 30th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

By Chicken Wrangler Sara

We caught another cat last week.

We set both live traps expecting another possum. We got a cat.

It chose the smaller of the two live traps and so was quite crowded. Not only that but it rained that night so the cat looked like a drowned rat. Rachel discovered it and moved it into the garage.

When I finished my Friday morning routine (early meeting, homeroom class, food pantry and piano lesson) I went outside to check on the cat. It looked very pitiful. I felt sorry for it.

I set up the extra dog kennel and proceeded to extract the cat from the very small live trap and put it in a dry, large kennel. It was not happy with the move. In fact it scratched me repeatedly. Then it jumped down and ran out into the back yard.

I wasn’t about to let it get back under the shed so I went after it and caught it trying to get through the chain link fence. More scratching and hissing ensued. I tossed it into the kennel and quickly shut the door.

Rachel took it to the animal shelter and told the whole story. Then she called me. It turns out that a person who is scratched by a stray cat, i.e. me, is at risk of contracting rabies.

The cat is put into quarantine for 10 days and I wait to hear from the animal control officer as to whether the cat lives or dies. If it dies, I must get a rabies vaccine. I will hear something early next week. It has been quite a learning experience.

Here is the lesson:
• If you catch a stray cat in a small live trap, do not move it to a larger kennel no matter how pitiful it looks.
• If you move it, it may scratch you.
• If it scratches you and draws blood, you will have to report to an animal control person. The animal control person will fill out paperwork and put the cat into quarantine for 10 days.
• If the cat dies, you will have to get a rabies vaccine.
• If the cat lives all is well

Unless the cat returns to your house then you may be tempted to strangle the cat which would probably result in more paperwork.

23 10, 2015

Turtles and Squirrels and Cats! Oh My! (Part 3)

By judythemorgan|2015-10-22T20:32:23-05:00October 23rd, 2015|Miller Farm Friday, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

You’ve read about the turtle that Sadie thought was a chew toy. You’ve also read the saga of Alex the squirrel who has been moved to a transition spot before being released into the wild.

You may have forgotten about the cat. Or you may have thought it was only there for dramatic affect. Well here’s the story of the cat.

To review, we had an uninvited guest living under the shed. The dogs were quick to discover the scent yet were unable to flush the critter out. So we began to set traps – live traps, that is. At first they remained empty.

Then one Sunday morning, Beekeeper Brian went outside to discover …. a cat in the trap. This was not what we expected.

We moved the cat out of the backyard so the dogs would not go crazy. It sat on the side of the house all day Sunday. I put some water in the trap and the neighbors gave it some food. The girls really wanted to keep it, but I wasn’t sure that the cat would stay next door. Our yard was so much more interesting.

I planned to take it to the animal shelter first thing on Monday. Only to discover our animal shelter is closed on Mondays.

I called animal control. They do not pick up animals unless they had set the trap. So I took the cat to a nearby Humane Society. They only took in animals from out in the county and the neighboring town.

I was not happy. Neither was the cat. It had been in the cage for more than 24 hours. I took it back home and put cage in the shade beside the house again.

The neighbor girls gave it more food and tried to convince their mom to let them keep it. The mom was convinced they had taken in enough animals from Miller Farm. Remember, they were the ones who adopted Annabel/Rosie – the stray dog we rescued.

Tuesdays I work from 7:30-3:30 then teach piano lessons until almost 7:00. I do have a 42 minute break after lunch and planned to take the cat to the animal shelter then.

This meant the cat went to work with me. I tried to place it in an inconspicuous spot so the kids would not be distracted. It didn’t work. In every class there was at least one child who wanted to adopt the cat.

To each one I gave the same response – the cat would be at the animal shelter. They were welcome to adopt it from there.
During my break I took the cat to the animal shelter. They did the paperwork, and I returned to work.

The next day one of my students announced they had a new cat. Fortunately, that student lives far enough away that the cat won’t find its way back to our shed.

16 10, 2015

The Continuing Saga of Alex the Squirrel

By judythemorgan|2015-10-12T22:05:38-05:00October 16th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

When we left Alex, she was becoming a little grumpy about her living quarters in a small dog kennel with small blankets and a water bottle. She growled at Rachel whenever she approached the kennel.

Rachel thought perhaps she was just being territorial and needed a larger cage with a “home” in it. So she called a friend who brought a rabbit cage with a small wooden box inside.

Rachel can open the door and feed Alex.

And Alex can climb and play.

She has teeth coming in (Alex not Rachel) and so chews on her box and the clothespins holding the cloth. This also means she is eating more solid food and squirrel formula. She is about ready to be moved outside and then set free.

I’ll miss her just as I miss my children who have moved on.

However, Alex will not come home, bringing laundry and a voracious appetite. She is actually going to her real home.

A home she is much better equipped to handle after time with Rachel on Miller Farm.

9 10, 2015

Turtles and Squirrels and Cats, Oh My! (Part 2)

By judythemorgan|2015-10-07T14:12:35-05:00October 9th, 2015|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

I recently found two baby squirrels under a tree in our backyard. One was no longer alive but one was.

I immediately called in animal rescuer Rachel. She had recently rescued a baby squirrel in a friend’s backyard making her the resident squirrel expert.She brought it inside and began the process of rehabilitation and posted on Facebook: What is it about my house that screams to animals, “An animal lover lives here!!!! You should stop by!!!”Today I found yet another baby squirrel, this time in my backyard. Thankfully, I got her before Bella did. Here’s to saving the world, one orphaned baby squirrel at a time!

Next she contacted her friend who had taken in the other baby squirrel. The friend was having to take care of an orphaned calf and was not able to take in another squirrel. So Rachel researched the best formula options and began feeding the squirrel with a syringe.

She named it Alexandra and it seemed to revive. Then it started wheezing and sneezing. Thus began the search for remedies for sick squirrels. She treated Alexandra and we hoped for the best.

It was touch and go for a couple of days then Alex seemed to turn the corner and began to improve. Before long she was holding her tail up and developing quite a personality.

She got comfortable with Beekeeper Brian and did what all babies do – fell asleep on his chest.

Alex needed a safe place to stay so Rachel got the extra dog kennel and put rags in it. Alex seemed happy – especially when she was getting her bottle.

Then one day she started growling at Rachel. I didn’t know squirrels could growl. Alexandra was apparently no long enamored with her life in captivity. Now what? She was still too little to set free.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story…