tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63906190323964903442024-03-05T20:38:42.736-05:00Razzberry CornerRazzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.comBlogger479125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-64792535591717557642019-02-18T20:10:00.002-05:002019-02-18T20:10:23.394-05:00Lucy, I'm home!Wow, it's been QUITE A WHILE since I wrote a blog post here. Years. I'm so very sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, but so very much happened in the past 4 years. Four years.<br />
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First of all, my very last post was about Muffin my rooster. Man, I realized I loved that rooster, and he died from frozen legs. Yes, his legs "died" after getting frostbit and the poor rooster had to be put down. It broke my heart and I couldn't bring myself to post about it. So I didn't. I just couldn't. And I quit posting to avoid talking about it. Then life simply got in the way, and I had stopped posting here at Razzberry Corner.<br />
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So very much happened since 2015, I can't even begin to catch anyone up and bring you up-to-date. In 2015 I admitted I was a high-tech gal living on a historic farm and working a high-tech job in Washington, DC. Well, the tech stuff caught up with me and consumed me, leaving the farm girl behind. I went back to school, got a master's degree in digital forensic science, immediately got a new job which was super demanding. My hubby and I ended up leaving the farm. Yes, we left the farm. It was too much work, it was too hard. I couldn't run the farm and school full time and work full time. The farm life was the hardest thing I've ever done.<br />
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Here's to all the farmer's out there! YOU ROCK and I love you!<br />
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We still own the farm and rent it out. We couldn't completely leave the farm now. And we took the farm cats with us to our new home. We couldn't leave them behind! The chickens & guineas preferred to stay at the farm, however.<br />
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I've thought about this blog for many years and here I am back again. "Lucy, I'm home!" It is home for me. So, hang tight, it's gonna get crazy! Razzberry Corner is ramping up. Stay tuned!!Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-23040102154489026952015-02-18T05:00:00.000-05:002015-02-18T05:00:04.949-05:00Rooster with Frostbitten Feet - Day 2 InsideMy rooster (Muffin) is still in the bathroom healing from frostbite. We found him on Monday afternoon, today is Wed morning, day 2 inside the house. I can't believe he stayed outside and let his feet freeze. Why didn't he go inside the coop with the rest of the chickens?<br />
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Yesterday we brought in a hen named Zoner. Muffin isn't particularly attached to Zoner. Zoner was our other rooster (named Leggy)'s fav hen. Leggy's been gone for quite a while. So after a few hours Zoner went back out to the coop, and after a few hours of sleeping alone, I brought in a hen named Singer. Goodness, Muffin got so excited to see Singer! He immediately stood up for her, and cackled his call for her to eat all the treats we had in front of him. She gobbled, and then he, too, gobbled the food! She drank, and then he drank water, too. I was happy to see him eating and drinking normally.<br />
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Singer (named so because when she was young she used to sing a song like a songbird) was excited to be inside. She immediately dumped the food bowl all over the floor and scratched it everywhere. She pooped about 30 times. She decided she wanted to pull up all the towels that were on the floor to see what was under them. She had to poop in the waterer. I left her alone for a minute and found her sleeping up against the hot radiator that heats the bathroom (she would have burnt herself!). She is a high maintenance hen. And Muffin loved her in there with him. I guess some men like high maintenance women. Singer spent all afternoon yesterday with Muffin. I put her back out in the coop at nighttime so he would sleep.<br />
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His legs and feet were definitely frostbitten. I did some research online. By yesterday afternoon blisters appeared on the feet and legs. I read the following on <a href="http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/415472/severe-frostbite-on-feet-early-stages-what-to-do" target="_blank">this website</a>:<br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">If your chicken has frostbitten feet then a longer time of healing is
ahead. Depending on the severity of the frost bite, your chicken may
lose some toes or at worst an entire foot. Keep the chicken inside out
of freezing temperatures on a soft bedding, like a towel, that won't
cling to the feet. If the feet turn completely black then there isn't
much you can do except wait for the blackened areas to fall off. Often
the chicken is able to survive this and continue on with life, though
they will be crippled. Some chickens can adapt well enough to hobble
around on legs without any feet!<br /><br />
It's possible for the feet to only be partially frost bitten. In this
case the tissue will try to heal itself by growing blisters. Do not pop
the blisters, even if they continue to swell and produce green or yellow
pus. Blisters filled with fluid are a natural band aid for the damaged
tissue underneath. They will rupture once the tissue below is healed
enough to be exposed.<br /><br />
Treat the feet by soaking them twice a day in a warm water mixture. Add
Epsom salt to the water. Be sure to not allow your chicken to drink this
water since salt in high doses is damaging to chickens. Grape fruit
seed extract is a semi-natural antibiotic that can be purchased at
health food stores. It makes an excellent addition to the foot bath
along with the Epsom salt. Also add hydrogen peroxide to the warm water.
Hydrogen peroxide helps to rid of dead skin cells and keep bacteria and
debris out of the healing feet.<br /><br />
After each soak dry the feet well and then coat them with Neosporin
(make sure not to use the kind with pain killer in it) or something
similar. On top of that, coat the feet with Bag Balm to form a
protective layer. Bag Balm contains menthol, which will improve
circulation to speed healing. Loose bandages or an old pair of socks
will help keep the feet as clean as possible while still allowing the
skin to breathe.<br /><br />
If your chicken's feet become infected to the point that the chicken is
no longer eating and drinking normally then you can administer
Penicillin G. This can be purchased at most feed stores, along with
syringes and needles. Full sized large breed chickens should get 0.5 mg injected once
a day in the drumstick area of the leg, into the muscle. Injecting a
chicken can seem a bit intimidating at first, but if you hang the
chicken upside down with the help of a partner, the bird will quickly go
limp and you can inject the Penicillin without too much trauma.<br /><br />
While your chicken is healing be sure to feed it plenty of high protein
treats along with normal amounts of food and water to help its body
recover. Chickens love scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and most table
scraps aside from raw potatoes and salty foods.<br /><br />
With careful treatment and plenty of time most chickens will be able to
recover from frostbite and go on to live out the rest of their lives!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /></span>
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Also, here's another website with helpful info: <a href="http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html" target="_blank">http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html </a><br />
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Good luck to anyone who's going through this. I hope my rooster makes it and doesn't lose his feet. His feet are still pink, have blisters, and are bleeding in spots. I'm putting neosporin on them, soaking them in epson salt and warm water, keeping him in the bathroom on soft old towels which get changed often because he poops a lot. He's eating and drinking well. His gallon waterer has had 5 aspirin dissolved in it for pain. He's alert and attentive, but doesn't want to stand for very long periods and doesn't hardly walk by himself. We'll see how this goes.Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-68083248096546246052015-02-17T11:17:00.001-05:002015-02-17T11:17:09.092-05:00Rooster with Frozen FeetHi there! It's been a long time since I've written anything. So long, in fact, that I'll start over, from the beginning. Don't worry, I'll make it short.<br />
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My name is Lynn, I have a farm I call Razzberry Corner, I'm not a farm girl, but instead have a high tech job in downtown Washington, DC. I have a big heart for animals and try my best with them. This farm thing is a learning experience, I learn as I go, I learn from looking things up online and I hope that my blog one day helps someone else online who's looking for help. I've experienced so many things when dealing with chickens and guineas that I think others can learn from, and I want to help others so they don't have to struggle the way I often do. My problem is that I don't have much time. Blogging takes time. Work takes time, and I often travel for work. Running a farm, dealing with animals, housework and cleaning, cooking and all the other aspects of life take time. <br />
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As I'm writing this I have a rooster in my bathroom and 2 barn cats in the guest room. (My husband is a saint to put up with me...) And at least a foot of snow outside. The rooster is my main concern right now.<br />
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His name is Muffin, he was one of my very first two roosters. Yeah, I didn't know it was a boy and I was new to chickens back then, I didn't think not to name them silly names until we figured out their gender. But the name Muffin always stuck, and the bird knew his name. He always answered when we called "Muffin!" My husband always liked Muffin, Muff sometimes wanted to fight with me, but I learned to live with him. All-in-all, he has been our best rooster, and has always been our lead roo.<br />
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Yesterday when it was snowing, my husband went out and found Muff standing in the snow out in the chicken pen. He picked up the bird and found his feet frozen! We put him in a cold bath and ever so slowly made the water warmer and warmer - we held him in the sink for about an hour, each of us taking turns holding him so only his legs were under water. The legs and feet got warm, he was able to move the legs up and down again, and he curled the toes just a little when we put our fingers in them. I think it's natural for a bird to curl their toes around something, simulating roosting.<br />
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We put Muff on a towel in front of the fireplace and let him totally warm up and dry off. He preferred to lay down on top of his legs/feet. No standing. The legs/feet looked normal.<br />
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Overnight last night we put Muffin in the bathroom on a towel that we rolled up so he was able to wrap his toes a little around the soft towel. We brought in a hen (named Zoner) to keep him company. He and Zoner both ate treats and Zoner drank water. Muff wanted nothing to do with drinking.<br />
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This morning he crowed 5 times. Zoner went back out to the coop. Muff is still laying there in the bathroom. He eats ok, but is not drinking. And not standing. I lifting him up and looked at the feet - they're all cracked and bleeding in the corners of the toes. I read online to put Vaseline on them, so I coated them with Vaseline and hope they heal. He's not moving around at all, just laying there, although he's alert and seems fine otherwise.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cracks between toes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I hope he gets better. We're going to give him a few days inside to let him heal. If he cannot walk the other birds will pick on him. He was the king of the coop. Now he will become the lowest in the pecking order and that alone will destroy this feisty rooster who's used to being in charge. Sadly, my husband will have to put him down if he cannot walk again.<br />
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Any assistance anyone can provide about chickens with frozen feet is appreciated!<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-19792680399697070412014-10-12T10:37:00.001-04:002014-10-12T10:37:52.985-04:00Guinea keets go free todayToday I released the "infant" guineas and their mama guinea from the pen. The infants are 6 weeks old today. I still call them the infants to keep track of them. They're not infants, they are the size of a bluejay. They can fly fine. We have so many guineas, it gets confusing.<br />
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We have 5 adult male guineas and 1 adult female. The female has 17 keets by her side. All babies from those 5 boys.<br />
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We also have 10 "teenage" guineas, raised earlier this year from guinea eggs we found out in the woods, all babies from those adult guineas. The teenagers were adopted out to chicken hens when they were still eggs, and chickens raised them until they were big enough to go free. The adult guineas don't accept the teenagers, and still chase them. The teens still think they are chickens and would love to be penned up in the chicken pen with the other chickens. I don't know why the adult guineas don't like the teen guineas. Next spring when the adult males are looking for mates they will forget that they don't like them, I bet.<br />
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We wondered if the 5 adult male guineas would accept the infants into their little flock. Sure enough, they did. They treat them just like their own babies. And the babies love the adults males, going to them, being fed by them, one big happy family. The mama guinea loves her 5 boyfriends and is happy to be free with them again. One of them was her mate, but I can't tell which right now, they are all hanging close to her and her keets. <br />
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So now the adult males are busy with their new family and have stopped chasing the teenage guineas. The teens are kinda bored and started chasing the outside cats for fun. I'm betting the cats will keep their distance from the infant guineas, and from all the guineas, in fact.<br />
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It's chaos here. We never expected to have this many guineas running free around our house! Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-18046149885971601072014-09-21T10:16:00.003-04:002014-09-21T10:16:54.994-04:00Guinea hen and keets leave the coop!<a href="http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2014/08/guinea-keets-born-in-woods.html" target="_blank">Three weeks ago we found our sole guinea hen hatched 17 guinea keets in the woods</a>. We captured them all and locked them up in our chick coop. Yeah, we had Brahma chicks and their adopted mama hen in there, they got pushed out to the general chicken population to make room for the infant keets!<br />
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And so we watched as the keets grew. The keets learned that humans brought food, the mama hen learned to hate humans less, but she still hated being cooped up. The private chick pen was reinforced around all sides with netting, as it was just chain link fencing, and the keets were tiny enough to walk right thru a chain link fence.<br />
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And then the big day came - it was time to let the keets out of the coop and into the chick pen.<br />
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The little sliding door has been closed the last 3 weeks.<br />
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The chickens are watching through the fence going into the big chicken pen. Everyone knows that something exciting is going to happen! <br />
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Here come the 6 adult male guineas along the right side of the fence. The adult guineas roam free, they're not penned at all. They know their friend and wife is locked up in that coop. The female guinea used to be a mate to a dark male guinea. <br />
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Here are the Brahma chicks watching through the fence - they are white with feathers on their feet and legs. They miss their private pen, but are doing fine mixed in with the other chickens. (By the way, so far I love Brahma's. They are very sweet chicks!)<br />
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Randy opens the little sliding door...</div>
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Mama guinea hen is cautious at first. </div>
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And then out she comes! </div>
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She tells the babies it's ok to come out. </div>
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They aren't too sure about this new big world. </div>
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And then the keets come flying out, all excited! They have been learning to fly inside the coop, and have been roosting in the coop rafters the past few days.</div>
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Yesterday the keets were scared of their new surroundings. They mostly stayed huddled in a group.</div>
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The Brahma chicks are checking out the keets through the fence.</div>
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The male guineas were very excited to see the female again. They stayed close to the guinea pen all afternoon. One of the males, the former mate, especially stayed near. The mama guinea was so happy to be able to put her head up close to his, and they made all sorts of squeaks. The male guineas all seem very supportive of the keets. I think they would take care of them in the wild.</div>
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Late in the evening the female guinea hen went into the coop to sleep. She squeaked a call to the babies to follow. They had a tough time figuring out the ramp to go into the coop, and the mama went in and out a few times to show them. Finally they all went inside except for 1 keet. The sole keet started screaming a panic cry. Mama did not come out for him, she was trying to get the other 16 situated inside. Then the guinea male mate, who was outside the fence, made a squeaky noise, and the keet ran across the pen to him, and huddled up close to the fence trying to get close to him. How amazing that he bonded with his mother's mate so quickly! Possibly it's his own father. I went in and picked up the keet, who started screaming bloody-murder, and put him in the door to be with the family. The mother came charging out, wings up in defensive mode, ready to kill me. When she saw the keet inside she turned to take care of him, and I closed up their door and turned out the light inside and let them sleep. The keets had a big day.<br />
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This morning the door was opened and the family is spending a second day out in the pen. They are happy birds. When the keets get bigger I'll let them free. I see the adult guineas will watch out for them, and the babies can fly just fine now, so they'll be able to sleep in the trees with the adults. Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-88437662539780690832014-08-31T11:37:00.001-04:002014-08-31T11:43:02.944-04:00Guinea keets born in the woods!Our guinea keets are about 2 months old now and ready to be set free. They live with the chickens in the chicken pen and roost at night in the trres in the chicken pen. One day 3 weeks ago we let them free outside, but that very day a fox attacked the guineas and killed one of the adult females. The young guineas were just a few yards away and they wouldn't know what to do if a fox attacked them, they'd be easy to kill. That day my husband wasn't home, I ran outside armed with my gun and chased the fox off and found the adult guinea he attacked. She was still alive but died soon from her injuries. I was mad and searched for the fox, but couldn't find him. I thought possibly the fox would return for food, it never got to eat the guinea it killed, and I didn't have all day to stay outside and protect the birds. So that day I herded the baby guineas back into the chicken pen to protect them. I didn't want one of them to die. I buried the dead guinea in our pet cemetery.<br />
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That left us with 6 adult male guineas. Just 6 left. One by one they've all been disappearing. We always search for the bodies when one disappears. Only once we didn't find a body - a female disappeared and we found no body, no feathers showing a kill site, nothing. We always wonder if a female goes broody. If they sit overnight on the nest in the woods there's a very good chance they'll be killed overnight by a fox or owl. Anyway, about a week ago Randy swore he saw the missing female guinea with the 6 males. He said he counted them many times, there was an extra bird. But later in the day she was gone. Just yesterday he and I went out hunting for a guinea nest, or for signs of a previous guinea nest. Nothing. He figured he must have miscounted the guineas that one day.<br />
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Today, the female showed up in the field------with 17 or 18 newborn guinea keets!!!! <br />
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The newborns evidently just hatched overnight and mama was walking around in the heat of an open field. The babies could hardly walk. Guineas are known to not be good mamas. We've always raised our guineas keets by chicken hens, because chickens are better protectors. We always take guinea eggs and place them under a broody chicken hen, the chicken never knows that the babies are guineas.<br />
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How very exciting - this is the first time one of our guineas has survived sitting 28 days to hatch a clutch of eggs. In the past females tried this and always were killed during the first few nights. Amazing. We found the nest, it was well hidden. We walked right by it yesterday and missed it!<br />
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And so, we have newborn baby keets again. It's not a good time of the year for keets - it will be cold soon. I think it will be too cold for them to spend nights outside in Oct. But who knows. First things first...<br />
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The keets were easy pickings for hawks, blackbirds, jays, any bird that would want a snack. There was a hawk nest not too far away from where they were standing when we found them. Plus, there's that fox. Just 2 days ago I saw the fox in the field, he was hunting the adult guineas. We didn't think the keets or their mama would make it through the day today, not to mention the night tonight. And so, for their own safety, the keets and mama were collected and placed in the chicken coop, in the chick/keet/infirmary side. We had a brood of chicks (chickens) and their mama hen in that coop/pen, and so they got pushed out into their own pen and are not allowed inside the coop right now, the little sliding coop door is closed locking them outside.<br />
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The mama guinea was not too happy about being caught and placed in a coop. We made it pitch black in there until she calms down. All the babies tucked themselves under her wings. They all needed to cool down, all the keets were overheated after being in the blazing heat of the field. The mama guinea hen needed to calm down.<br />
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Later today we'll put the mama hen and her chicks in the pen with the adult chickens. They'll have to manage with the adult chickens. A friend gave us some pure-bred Brahma eggs to hatch. We are going to split the babies with them after they're big enough to be on their own. I wasn't too keen on raising chicks to give away, and I'm not a big fan of the Brahma breed. They're large birds. But my husband made the deal when I was away on travel for work. The real problem with the Brahma chicks is their feathered feet - the other chickens peck the chicks' feathered feet. None of our other chickens have feathered feet, and I guess our chickens don't understand it. But the Brahma chicks are getting big now. And the guinea mama and newborn keets definitely need the protection of their own coop right now.<br />
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And so we now have teenage guineas living with the adult chickens, and newborn guineas with their mama guinea hen, and young Brahma chicks and their mama hen. Things are kinda hectic here at Razzberry Corner these days.<br />
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Happy Labor Day to all!<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-5679722046071571062014-06-28T19:10:00.000-04:002014-06-28T19:11:46.051-04:00Guinea keets raised by chickens - photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who doesn't love keets! Our keets are growing up. They still live with their chicken mama hens. The black hen is named Katie and has 5 keets. The red hen is named Doritos and has 7 keets. The keets are flying now, and roosting up high in the chicken coop.</div>
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Here are some pictures of the adult guineas, the birth parents of the keets. The photos are terrible quality, taken with my phone and emailed to myself- sorry! :(<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-41524445813186513612014-06-10T07:47:00.000-04:002014-06-10T07:47:20.406-04:00Little Deer is still HereThis morning around 5am I was walking through my house and I was shocked to see the thin face of a deer peering in my front window watching me!<br />
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No worries - it was just Little Deer, who comes up to my front porch every day. I'd prefer she didn't come up and eat my bushes and flowers, but alas, this is where she lives. <br />
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Good morning, Little Deer!Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-74295711655963630702014-06-07T12:43:00.000-04:002014-06-07T13:06:49.351-04:00Guinea Keets have HatchedI don't have any pictures ready for this post, but I'm not going to wait for pics. If I wait to take a photo, the post just wont get posted. Sorry. There will be pics in the future!<br />
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A little over 28 days ago I found a guinea nest in the woods. Our guineas free range and it's near impossible to find a nest. I collected 6 eggs the first day, and put 2 fake eggs in the nest in return. Then the next 2 days I collected 3 eggs each day, for a grand total of 12 eggs. I was so excited.<br />
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I wasn't thinking about guinea eggs for breakfast - - -NO! I was thinking about new guinea keets!!! Our guinea flock is always fighting foxes, hawks, owls, eagles, you name it. The guineas always lose. We do our best to fight along with the guineas, so I guess it's the guinea/human team against the fox/hawk/owl/eagle team. We've lost 2 guineas in 2014. Our beautiful pure white girl was recently killed by a bird, either a hawk, owl or eagle. She was the last pure white guinea. And a dark brown guinea girl was killed by a fox. We have 7 light grey colored ones and 3 dark brown guineas left. I like to get keets every year or two to keep the guinea flock going. <br />
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So - back to the eggs. I always, always have broody (chicken) hens. I don't know why my hens always go broody. So, 3 weeks ago, I had a red sex link named Doritos and a black Ameracauna mix named Katie that were broody, so I divided up the eggs between them. And in the last few days, the guinea keets have hatched! They are sooooo cute! Keets are much more active than chicks. They are running all over the coop already. <br />
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Katie has 5 keets - 4 grey and 1 pure white! :) Yeah, another pure white one!<br />
Doritos has 7 keets - 3 dark brown, 3 light grey and 1 that's pure white with brown spots/patches!! Of course I like the spotted one best, because it's unique. One egg didn't hatch, We broke it open and saw it was not developed at all, it was nasty rotten egg. I don't know what happened to that one.<br />
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We setup half the coop as a baby coop, and divided it in half again so each mama hen has her own private area with her own babies. The mama hens don't realize the babies aren't even chickens, they are both very happy with their babies. They worked hard sitting on those eggs for 28 days! <br />
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I will get some keet pics soon. <br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-47394233435762092592014-04-19T00:04:00.001-04:002014-04-19T00:04:21.013-04:00I Love Lucy and so did BonnieWell, I wanted to write a post either about the chickens or guineas and bring you to-to-date on their lives this past winter, but so much is happening, I just cannot slow down and talk about the past winter yet. I'll get back to it...<br />
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With life comes sad times. My favorite chicken of all times, ever, Lucy, died yesterday. Rest in peace, Sweet Lucy. My Lucy-Goosey.<br />
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Lucy was one of our original chicks - that makes her almost 5 years old. That's old for a bantam hen. Lucy was so tame. She loved to be pet and have her neck rubbed. She knew her name and always came when called. I would go out into the chicken pen, look for Lucy and call her name. She'd be thirty feet away, hear me calling her, stop her digging or whatever she was doing, and come running to me. She always came running when I called her. I'd always open the gate and let her out by herself. She never attempted to run away from me and always let me pick her up, so I knew it was safe to let her out of the pen. We don't let the chickens free-range without me around, too many foxes. So Lucy and I would go for a short walk, she always walked beside me very well, and then we'd stop to dig. I'd find a stick and she'd assist digging with her feet. We'd dig for worms, which she'd gobble up. She and I went for a walk and a dig right up to the end of her life when she could barely walk anymore. I carried her these last few months to the digging spot because she couldn't walk. Sometimes she'd almost fall over when we were digging, but she still tried to dig for worms. She didn't "lose her mind" when she got old. Her body got slow and frail, but she was still the same old Lucy. She still reacted just like she always did to me.<br />
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Lucy never really cared for other chickens, she did her own thing. She wasn't a follower. Doing what other chickens do is normal flock behavior, but Lucy was unique. The other chickens emulated her actions.<br />
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The last few months Lucy could barely walk. She couldn't navigate the ramp to the outside pen to leave the coop. We made sure she had food and water inside the coop. She couldn't jump up on the roost at night, instead she slept on the floor of the coop underneath the other chickens by herself. It was sad seeing her down on the floor by herself at night, but we knew she was a loner anyway, she probably didn't mind.<br />
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And then Bonnie started sleeping on the floor beside Lucy at night.<br />
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Big Bonnie, she is called. Bonnie is the opposite of Lucy in looks. Bonnie weighs about 20 pounds to Lucy's 2 pounds. Bonnie is huge, she's a meat breed of bird, one that normally is raised to butcher for meat. Bonnie was a shelter chicken - she rescued her from the local animal shelter. She was caged in someone's house and fed table scraps and kept for her eggs. She got very fat on table scraps. I think she also ate fast food, whatever, her diet was terrible. Then it seems she stopped laying eggs, probably because of her poor condition because of her bad diet, and whoever had her didn't want her anymore. I bet you they got another chicken to abuse. They didn't know what they were doing - they got a meat breed of bird instead of an egg-laying breed. They were city people who wanted fresh eggs. So Bonnie was tossed out into the city streets, left to wander on her own. I guess they didn't know how to butcher a chicken or they probably would have butchered her. Only Bonnie was so fat and because she was caged she had almost lost the ability to use her legs. She had no strength in her legs. And so animal control easily caught her, and the shelter called me, as I'm on the list of farms who will take chickens found in Washington DC. And since then she has lived a good life at Razzberry Corner. She learned how to walk again, lost quite a bit of weight, but still is one big bird. Big Bonnie. No one messes with Big Bonnie in our flock. They probably talk about Big Bonnie behind her back - "did you hear that Bonnie was in prison before?" they probably say.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Csc-2uth-4Y/U1HvlN0kxqI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/sghoqHoqN0s/s1600/Bonnie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Csc-2uth-4Y/U1HvlN0kxqI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/sghoqHoqN0s/s1600/Bonnie.jpg" height="572" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Big Bonnie</span></td></tr>
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Anyway, Big Bonnie, the bird that doesn't let other chickens push her around, moved to the floor beside Lucy. The two of them always sat their with their heads together, like they were talking. We assumed because of Bonnie's weight she couldn't get up on the roost anymore. During the days Bonnie stayed near Lucy on the coop floor. Sometimes Bonnie would go outside and leave Lucy alone for a while, then she'd come back to sit beside sweet Lucy. And Lucy, the chicken who really didn't like other chickens, liked Bonnie. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bonnie</span></td></tr>
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Lucy waddled around inside the coop as best as she could. She liked to eat, even though she was very thin at the end. In the winter during the snowy days none of the chickens went outside, so everyone stayed inside, including Bonnie and Lucy. I'd feed them inside the coop. Sometimes it got crazy with chickens running around at feeding time, but I noticed Bonnie always protected Lucy from the other chickens. Bonnie would physically block the other birds with her large body, making it so they wouldn't knock Lucy over, as Lucy was unsteady.<br />
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We recently raised some new roosters from chicks, and they started running around mating with all the hens. Bonnie always moved in front of Lucy when those roosters came in the coop scoping out mates. It truly seemed like Bonnie was protecting Lucy. Lucy went along with Bonnie's actions, standing behind her, letting herself be protected. Sometimes when the chickens were all cooped up for days on end in the snowy months they would all have cabin fever, walking around, pacing the coop floor non-stop. Lucy would go into one of the bottom nestboxes that was on the floor for protection from all the crazy chickens. Then of course if a chicken sees another in a nestbox, they want to go in there and lay an egg in that nestbox, even if there's a dozen empty nestboxes. (It's that crazy chicken behavior where they all need to follow what the other is doing.) But Bonnie starting sitting her large body right in front of Lucy's nestbox, blocking Lucy in, keeping everyone else away from Lucy. Bonnie was so big she totally shielded the nestbox. When Lucy wanted out of the nestbox she just stood up and Bonnie got up and immediately moved out of her way. It was so neat to see that Big Bonnie had become Lucy's guardian, her protector. They always had their heads together, appearing as if they were talking. They were best friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Big Bonnie is the big bird in the center</span></td></tr>
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My husband said it was because Bonnie was getting old, too. At this same time Bonnie stopped laying eggs. He said Bonnie probably couldn't get up on the roost anymore, she was too big and was probably loosing her balance, that's why she was on the floor all the time now. <br />
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So months went by like this. We knew Lucy wasn't going to live much longer, she was so frail. Lucy died Thur during the day while we were out at work. Her body lay on the coop floor near the waterer, with Bonnie sitting nearby, until we came home Thur night. Bonnie stayed on the floor in that same location Thur night. Another chicken, named Ruffles, slept down on the floor with Bonnie that night, with her head near Bonnie's. That was odd. Ruffles is a much younger bird and there's no reason she would be on the floor and not on the roost with the other chickens.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ruffles</span></td></tr>
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And then tonight, Friday night, Bonnie is back up on the roost sleeping with the other chickens.<br />
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It appears Bonnie was able to roost all along, but she chose to stay on the ground with Lucy all these months. Bonnie is one special bird. And Ruffles. And of course, Lucy was a special bird, my favorite chicken ever. My husband is speechless, now that he knows Bonnie can roost. He said she will probably start laying eggs again now, too.<br />
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We buried Lucy in the animal cemetery beside Tommy the cat and the other chickens that have died through the years. I will always miss sweet Lucy.<br />
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People that don't have chickens don't realize that chickens have personalities. They don't know what they're missing.<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-24769884787691748522014-04-14T04:30:00.000-04:002014-04-14T04:30:03.448-04:00Ben and Brindle UpdateYes, I'm back and writing again. It's been a long, cold, hard winter. I've wanted to write, to share the farm with everyone, but time was short. Days and nights flew by, weeks got jumbled together, and before I knew it, spring is here! And not soon enough!<br />
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The animals hated the long cold winter. It snowed so many times. Let me tell you right from the beginning, I'm not a cold-weather kind of gal. I like it hot and sunny. You can keep the snow! But this winter it certainly snowed a whole lot!<br />
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The two outside cats, Benjamin and Brindle, were C-O-L-D outside. Since we put up heatlamps for the chickens in the coop, we got the bright idea to setup a heatlamp for the outside cats. So the cats got a heatlamp. They sleep on a piece of rug which sits on a wooden bench on the front porch. We aimed the heatlamp on the bench, and they both cuddled up every night under the lamp.<br />
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After a few extremely cold and blustery snowy nights, we realized the heatlamp really wasn't helping much. The snow was blowing sideways up onto the cats and soaking their bed and the cats, too. And the thought occurred to me - we DO have an empty guestroom... And these stray cats ARE guests...<br />
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And so Ben and Brindle moved inside to the guestroom. I know, I'm a sucker for animals. My husband puts up with me... Just so you know, they both had already been taken to the vet, been dewormed, deflead, deticked, had all their shots, and were fixed. Also they were tested and found to be negative for all feline diseases. Yes, they used to be strays, Brindle even was feral - you can see she has a clipped ear. Any outside cat here has to go thru that routine, and even still, I dare to call them a stray cat. I should just call them an "outside cat", not a stray.<br />
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The two formerly "stray" cats absolutely LOVED the guest bed. They loved being inside. They both became extremely friendly, and love to be pet and hugged and held. We never thought that wild Brindle could become such a lovebug. They both even like their bellies rubbed! And most of all, they love stretching out to sleep on the soft guest bed.<br />
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Benjamin especially loves to be held on Randy's shoulder. Ben sits up on the bed and begs, stretching his front legs up in the air, waiting to be picked up. Brindle loves to cuddle and then lick us, which is quite annoying when you don't want to be licked, which is, well, always.<br />
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We kept Ben and Brindle separate from the inside cats. It was easier that way - no cat fights. The inside cats weren't too fond of the guest cats. So we kept the guestroom door closed at all times. Sometimes Jack, the Houdini cat who can open doors, snuck in to visit. Jack's very accepting and friendly. If only everyone could be as sweet as Jack... <br />
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When the cold winter nights passed, we opened the window (the guest room is on the first floor) and Ben and Brindle went back outside. They were so happy to be out again. But it seems they miss their bed. If we open the guest room window again they will come right back inside and curl up on the bed. Randy sometimes sleeps in the guest room during the day when he's working the crazy night shift. When he does, he opens the window, within minutes Ben and Brindle are cuddled up with him on the bed, and they all sleep the day away.<br />
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I guess they aren't outdoor cats anymore, they've become indoor-outdoor cats. They both are great farm cats - they love to help us with our outside chores. They always walk us to the barn, stand guard while we work in the chicken coop. Once a chicken escaped out the coop door and Ben stood and watched, helping me to catch it. The chicken was terrified of the cat and just froze, making it easy to catch. Brindle loves to run with the guineas. When I throw bread for the guineas she's right out there with them - she loves to catch pieces of bread and eat it, just like the guineas. Both cats, but especially Brindle, are always mouse and bird hunting. Any little bird that comes near her, and any mouse on the property, will meet it's end if Brindle has her way.<br />
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Recently a fox moved into our front yard, of all places, and before that a raccoon was acting very strange, falling over when standing, extremely friendly, etc. When those animals were around at nighttime we ushered Ben and Brindle into the house to keep them safe. I didn't want little Brindle to be fox food, nor did I want either cat to get rabies from a possible infected coon. The cats didn't know what was going on, all they knew was they had access to their beautiful guest bed again, and they loved it and slept soundly all night. <br />
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So that's the update on Ben and Brindle, the indoor-outdoor cats. It was a good winter for them. Next up I'll discuss either the chickens or the guineas, and will tell you how they made it thru the long cold winter months. <br />
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Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-75554412355817197372014-04-12T23:11:00.000-04:002014-04-12T23:11:26.984-04:00Razzberry Corner is back!!!Wow!!! A lot of time has passed since my last post! So much has been going on here at Razzberry Corner! ...Where to begin????<br />
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Let's start with the humans... What's going on with us?<br />
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Over the winter I joined an awesome online weight-loss group called Lose It! (www.loseit.com). It's a great support group that encourages you to eat less and exercise more, and teaches you how to count calories. They have workout challenges, groups where discussions take place, and endless possibilities to make friends with similar exercise and weight-loss goals. With this app I lost about 20 pounds. I highly recommend it to everyone! Best thing is, Lose It! is free. Costs nothing to join the basic service, and $39.95 for a year of premium membership. With the basic membership you can set only one weight loss goal, with the premium membership the number of goals you can set are almost endless, from weight goals to blood pressure, exercise minutes, steps taken, hydration (to encourage you to drink more water), nutritional goals are available, such as sodium, carbs, protein, fiber, you can even set a goal to sleep a certain number of hours every night. Anyway, it's a pretty cool group and has motivated me to be healthy and happier. Check it out if you want to lose weight.<br />
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I've been traveling a lot for my work, and am still putting in a lot of hours at work. What else is new?<br />
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My husband has been working shiftwork for his job, often working nights with days off. This means I have to take care of the animals most of the time, leaving me little to no free time to do things I enjoy, like write.<br />
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I have been very sick this year. It's crazy because I believe that I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life. I got the flu in January, then the Norovirus in March, and now have an upper respiratory infection in April. The Norovirus was no fun - I've never been that sick, ever. It seems everyone is catching it - very contagious. If someone you know has it - run away as fast as you can!<br />
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Next post I'll move on to the interesting stuff - we'll discuss the farm critters and tell you how they all survived the long cold winter. Lot's of craziness going on. Wasn't that winter just the worst ever?<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-90238526266749395782014-01-03T11:11:00.002-05:002014-01-03T11:11:43.039-05:00Snow and Chickens and GuineasWe got our first big snowstorm of 2014 already, as has much of the country! We only got maybe 3 - 4 inches of snow. It sure looks pretty, but with the wind it is cold outside!<br />
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This is the guinea roosting pine. It's a huge pine that sits above the chicken coop. The guineas will not come down out of the tree today. I was worried that they were frozen, but they don't appear to be. The song birds live through snowstorms, why wouldn't a guinea fowl? But I worry still. <br />
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I found the guineas up in the tree snuggled up and singing quietly. Do you see them in the below photo? <br />
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They light colored guineas stand out in the green of the pine.<br />
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Our chickens hate snow and cold and refuse to go out from their coop. We have heat lamps and heaters in the coop, and put the waterer in the coop, trying to keep it from freezing. This morning the water had ice in it but wasn't frozen solid. I tell you, it's cold out there! I don't blame the chickens for wanting to stay inside!<br />
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In the below photo is Doritos, the red sex link in upper left. Bottom left is Charlotte, who's a senior lady- she's one of the original chicks from 4 years ago. The big bird in the center front is Big Bonnie, the former shelter hen, and Muffin the lead rooster is behind her. The two white leghorns are named Pringles. We have four Pringles - I can't tell them apart so they all were named Pringles.<br />
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From left: Doritos, Ruffles, another Doritos, Zoner, Freckles, part of Little Muff (son of Muffin). Little Muff will step up and be our lead rooster when Muff Sr. passes away. Muff Sr. is getting older. The black bird you can barely see in the front is Holly, daughter of Muffin.<br />
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When chickens are all penned up in a coop bad things are sure to happen. They get bored and start picking on each other. The younger birds are usually lower in the pecking order, literally. This morning I went out to check on the birds and found one of the Pringles had a bloody head. Red blood splattered all over a white bird just asks for the others to continually peck at her.<br />
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I brought Pringles in and bathed her head. She didn't mind. She loved to look at herself in the mirror - she was amazed by her reflection. I washed her head then blowed dried her. I went over her whole body with the blow drier - my birds always LOVE to be blow dried. The problem was that her comb had been bitten and had bled all over her white feathers. The comb was fine, it had already stopped bleeding. But the other birds had pecked her bloody head and made bruises on the left side of her head near her ear. If I hadn't separated her they could have pecked her till she had a big open wound. The photos were taken post-bath.<br />
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Luckily I got to her in time and she was fine. I returned Pringles to the broody hen coop, where we have two broody hens sitting on eggs. Pringles needed a break from the other hens. She loved having a coop mostly to herself - the broody hens just sit ont heir nests and don't move much, leaving Pringles the run of the coop. Later today I'll return her to the regular chicken coop.<br />
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I hope everyone enjoys the snow and keeps an eye on their chickens in their coops! Stay warm!Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-69310575484069096402013-11-25T11:28:00.000-05:002013-11-25T11:28:20.345-05:00Yummm - Warm Water!Thanksgiving week is upon us! <br />
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Yesterday I went out to feed the birds their grains/feed. The guineas are starving now, I have to feed them since there's no bugs around for them to find on their own. As soon as I walk outside they come running to me. I give them chicken food, plus they love scratch grain. Their special treat is bread. They love them some bread. We buy cheap white bread for their bread treat.<br />
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As I was filling the chicken feeders I realized all the chicken waterers were frozen. It was about 11 degrees F out yesterday with the wind chill. It was bitter cold. Odd - because last Friday it was 64 degrees F. This weather... Anyway, it was about 8am, the chickens had not been without water for long. But they all told me they were going to DIE of thirst. When I looked at the waterer and kicked it (lightly!) with my boot to attempt to determine how deep the ice was, the chickens all attempted to peck it, too. They were telling me they might die of thirst since their waterer appeared to be not providing water when they demanded. Chickens can be very demanding. You don't know these things unless you have chickens.<br />
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I made sure the heat lamps were running inside the coops and lugged the 2 waterers inside the 2 coops and put them under the lamps. I can't open the waterers, Randy really closes them tight. If I could open them I would have lugged boiling water out in buckets and dumped it on top of the frozen water. Because I was paying attention to the waterers, the chickens were, too. They watch everything I do and have to be involved. Too involved. They always are under my feat, reaching into my pockets to see what I have in there, wanting to be sitting on my lap if I'm squatting down. <br />
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Muffin remembered his <a href="http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2013/11/yikes-time-flies-i-have-been-busy-with.html" target="_blank">fight with me from Saturday</a> - he's a smart bird. He immediately stood up to me and fluffed his neck. <br />
"Are you ready for this?" he asked. <br />
I ignored him, I was busy moving the frozen waterer.<br />
"I'm gonna kick your @#!" Muffin hollered at me. <br />
He attacked my calf with his spurs when my back was turned. Damn bird. I ignored him, luckily I had rubber boots on that went up to the knees. I swung the waterer around so it was between he and I. He realized I wasn't in the mood to fight and stopped with his fight. Hmmm, if I show no fear, but ignore him, he stops before he gets too worked up. I'll have to remember that.<br />
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Once I got the waterers inside the coop the chickens continually attempted to drink the frozen water. So I had to setup 2 additional waterers for them, inside the coop under the heat lamps. I lugged warm water out to the coop in buckets and dumped it into the new waterers in front of the chickens. Luckily we have extra waterers. You'd think the chickens had not had a drink in days - everyone gathered around the water gulping and holding their beaks in the air to swallow. Over and over they gulped. Muffin came and clucked his call for food to ensure all the hens knew to come and partake. Ahhh, warm water for the chickens. Steam was coming off the water since it was so cold out, although the water wasn't that hot. I should have put some tea in their water and we all could have had a tea break. I went inside and had some hot tea myself.<br />
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It's the simple things that we give thanks for here at Razzberry Corner. <br />
Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
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Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-39398444876719541332013-11-24T09:29:00.002-05:002013-11-24T09:41:29.858-05:00Fox AttackLast night there was yet another fox attack on the guineas. Normally it's a red fox which attacks the birds, but this time it was a grey fox.<br />
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The below pictures are of a grey fox and a red fox. They are not the same animals that attacked our guineas. Grey fox are larger than red fox - we were surprised to see one. We have so very many red fox - our guinea flock rarely survives a year with the red fox and hawks around here.<br />
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Just so you know, the fox in those photos look so much prettier than the fox around our house. Most of our fox appear to be sickly and have mange and look terrible. These photos actually make fox look cute.<br />
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Last night a sickly-looking, stinky grey fox came right up on our back porch, right where I sit on my chair out there. He nosed around, then went around the front of the house and started hunting the guineas which were in the front yard. We saw the fox on the back porch and watched as the fox picked out an unsuspecting guinea for his dinner. The guineas never even saw the fox - such stupid birds.<br />
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The fox didn't survive the hunt. We are allowed to kill a fox that is killing our livestock. All guineas lived to see another day. Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-44079261331770480802013-11-23T13:25:00.003-05:002013-11-23T13:28:55.561-05:00Chicken UpdateYikes - time flies! I have been busy with work, travel, family, etc. I come back here to the blog and realize it's been over a month since my last post! I'm sorry!<br />
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Things are crazy as usual here on the farm...<br />
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Randy loves chicks and chickens decided to hatch some eggs - yet again! Yes, it's Nov. I didn't want to have baies, but he really wanted to. And so, the chicks are due in Dec. We have the always-broody Charlotte sitting on the eggs. He wanted to hatch some full-blooded Americauna chicks. Muffin, the rooster, is Americauna. After the autumn molt one of the hens, Virginia, who's also Americauna, started laying again. It's been a while since she laid. Or so Randy believes it's Virginia who's laying. I get confused now-a-days, unless I actually watch the hen lay. All the new pullets which were hatched this year are now laying - we average a dozen eggs or more a day now! <br />
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Lucy was ill for a few weeks. She's my favorite little bantam hen. She's 4 years old now. Most of the bantams from her clutch have all passed away - those little hens just don't live very long. Lucy was getting a few drops of antibiotic water every day and was hand fed to ensure she ate every day for about a week. Now she's doing great. I'm happy she made a recovery - I wasn't ready for her to pass away. She hasn't laid in over a year. Only one of the hens from her clutch is still laying, Chloe. Chloe lays every day. It's just a tiny egg. Chloe is a sweetie.<br />
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I just gave the chickens some spaghetti mixed with frozen peas. I cook the spaghetti and throw in peas a min before I drain it. I try to give the birds treats when I can. I'm not home a lot - they haven't had a treat other than their regular chicken food since last weekend. The birds all got so excited while I was feeding them - almost too excited...<br />
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While I was giving the birds the treats I took Charlotte off her nest/eggs to force her to move about for a minute. She ran around screaming and flapping in the pen. She immediately got in a fight with her sister, Cheryl. Charlotte always loses the fights with Cheryl, who is very mean to Charlotte. Charlotte ended up with a torn and bleeding wattle. Poor girl. She's back on the nest again. I'll have to check on her to make sure the bleeding has stopped. I'll put sugar on it if it hasn't stopped.<br />
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Then Muffin got in a fight with one of the other young roosters. Muff wouldn't let the other roosters eat. I was a fool and got between the fighting roosters. The young cockerel ran away and took the opportunity to eat spaghetti. Muffin raised all his neck feathers at me. Stupidly, I raised my boot at him - which means I wanted to fight him. The thing about Muff is that he will not stop fighting until the other bird/person loses the fight and runs away. Then he crows announcing he's the winner. Showing Muffin the bottom of my boot is a fighting gesture to him, I have no idea why. To him I'm fluffing my neck feathers and standing up to fight. He attached my boot many many times with his spurs. He's strong and almost knocked me down, since I had to keep 1 foot up to fend him off me. I grabbed onto a support post in the middle of the chicken pen. I hopped on one foot, bumping into hens as they ran around eating, trying to shoo them out of my way so I could hop to the gate, all the while Muffin was attacking my raised foot. Finally a few hens got in between Muff and I and I took the opportunity to run for the gate. I heard him crowing as I got to the gate. Yes, I ran, you won, Muffin. Next time I will not get in the middle of a rooster fight. Or I will carry my broom.<br />
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Here's a pic of Muffin raising his neck feathers - it was taken back in early Oct. He's the black bird right in the center - it's not a clear photo.<br />
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As I mentioned, the pullets and cockerels that hatched this year are so big now. Pickles is a rooster, sadly. He's GORGEOUS and we're considering keeping him as the second rooster, with Muff being the first rooster. We'll see with Pickles, he has to show us he's smart. Big Bird is also a rooster, and is extremely smart. But he's too BIG. Having him as a rooster would be dangerous for the hens (during mating). The 2 black cuckoo maran/Americauna mixed pullets are still totally black with no comb. They are beautiful. I've never seen a jet black chicken with no comb before I saw them.<br />
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Little Red is a Rhode Island Red pullet - I love her to death. She's a talker and never stops chattering. I especially love her because she was a reject chick. Pickles was a reject chick, too. The 3rd bird from the reject chick group hasn't been named yet - she's a beautiful brown and red Americauna pullet who's VERY shy. I have to name her real soon.<br />
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Have a great weekend and a HAAPY THANKSGIVING!!!!</div>
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-73639496915210853932013-10-12T12:36:00.000-04:002013-11-23T13:29:34.092-05:00Rain<div style="text-align: center;">
It has been a rainy week here at Razzberry Corner!</div>
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Finally today it stopped raining, but everything is all muddy.</div>
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Benjamin and Brindle, the outside cats (they used to be called stray cats, now they are just "outside cats"), are in the process of putting on their winter coats. </div>
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The chicken pens are all muddy. Poor birds. I cleaned their coops so they have a clean dry place to go.</div>
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The guineas aren't too happy about all the rain, either. </div>
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Have a nice weekend!</div>
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-52192899493869785822013-10-08T06:00:00.000-04:002013-10-08T06:00:06.999-04:00Chicken Update - chicks, pullets, cockerels, and orbs!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here are some of the chickens. This is another "meet the chickens" post. </div>
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Our flock has grown by leaps and bounds this year. Its a lively place out there in the chicken pen. We actually have 2 pens now; the chickens can go thru the second coop to access the second pen. Yes, there's 2 coops available for everyone, too. The second coop and pen normally are used as an infirmary area or chick area, but right now there's no one sick and no babies that need to be separate.</div>
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In the below pic are: Front - gold laced wyandotte pullet named Ruffles, behind her is Doritos, a Red Sex Link pullet. To the left and behind is Little Red, a Rhode Island Red pullet (the Reject chick). Standing in the crowd with tall necks are 2 brothers - cockerels, sons of Muffin the rooster. The yellow boy is the son of Pennie, the shelter hen (or the house hen, as she prefers to be known), and the boy on the right is Big Bird, son of Big Bonnie the shelter hen. </div>
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Here's Big Bird below watching my camera. To his left is another one of the chicks - he's one of the ones I got from the farmer's market. I think it's a boy so I'm not going to name him. Sorry, buddy. Directly in the background is the rooster, Muffin, the baby daddy to 4 of the chicks (Big Bird, the 2 all-black girls, and the yellow son of Pennie).</div>
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Here's Doritos below. I'll let you in on a secret. I have 3 pullets named Doritos, 4 named Pringles, and 2 named Ruffles. I can't tell the birds apart so they were named based on their breed.<br />
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This photo below just shows how big Big Bird is compared to Little Red. They were walking side by side. Little Red was a reject as a chick but she fits in very well with the chicks now. <br />
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Look below at all the Pringle's tails in the air! The 3 white leghorns on the right are Pringles. They are some egg-laying machines. They are so hyper and scared. They are our least-friendly birds, always dashing here and there. But they lay large white eggs every day. We like them because of their eggs. <br />
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To their left are Dottie (left most white hen) and Zoner (another white hen). Zoner's pretty old, and is still as stupid as they come - she's one of our original chicks. Dottie is small and a tough little bird. Dottie is the daughter of Muffin the Americauna and a white leghorn hen. Muffin is there in the photo, too. You can't miss his big black and green tail.<br />
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Here's an upclose shot of the 2 Ruffles and a Pringles. Pringles is having a conversation with the Ruffles. The Ruffles are our prettiest birds, but they aren't our favs. They lay medium to small light brown eggs, and they don't lay every day like the Pringles and the Doritos. They are not friendly at all, and hate to be held. <br />
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Here's a Pringles cruising around with her white tail held high. The brown and grey pullet to her right is named Pickles, to honor <a href="http://gen-downeast.blogspot.com/2013/03/want-pickle-with-that.html" target="_blank">my friend Genny's bird named Pickle</a>. My Pickles is a beautiful pullet - I'll have to get better shots of her in the future. The picture below doesn't do her justice. She came from the farmer's market as a day old chick, and she sadly ended up being one of the Reject Chicks, which makes her one of my favorites. She is red and grey and is most likely an Americauna mix.<br />
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This blog post is ending on an eerie note. I was taking the below shot of Big Bonnie (and she looks terrible - she's molting!) - but notice all the circles in the photo. They are what people refer to as orbs. I often get orbs in my photos and have to work at cutting them out or not using the photos with orbs on the blog because they are distracting. Are orbs ghosts or just dust? I get orbs when I photograph outside or inside, in any weather. It's funny how many orbs are in the shot below. I must have a lot of ghosts or dust around here. It is a historic old farmhouse, I wouldn't be surprised if there's ghosts and I know there's dust. I just thought I'd throw in this photo to show you what I deal with when I'm setting up blog photos. I'm curious on your thoughts about the orbs, too!<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-34835408602942684262013-10-06T09:45:00.001-04:002013-10-06T09:45:06.914-04:00Chicken update - Big Bird and Unnamed Black and Blue ChickI know it's been quite a while since I've posted about my wonderful chickens. They are doing fine and the chicks have grown up. I'd like to introduce you to some of them in a few chicken posts.<br />
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<br />
Right in the center of this photo is Big Bonnie, one of the shelter hens. She's molting and looks rough. She's still huge. She's one fat hen. She's not the most athletic bird, but she walks around fine now. She lays a huge egg every day. If you've seen my blog you know Bonnie and her sad story and how she ended up in an animal shelter before we rescued her.<br />
<br />
Well, here's her biological son, Big Bird. <br />
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Big Bird is the son of Big Bonnie and Muffin, the only adult rooster we have now. Muffin is an Ameracauna rooster. Big Bird is very friendly and loves to "talk" and chatter. <br />
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He is going to be a large rooster. He seems to be very smart and attentive, like his father, but he gets beat up by all the chickens who are older than him. He's still a baby and prefers to hang out with the other babies from his clutch.<br />
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In the below photo is Candie, a Cuckoo Maran hen. She's the black spotted hen who's molting and looks terrible. To the right of her is a pure black pullet who is Candie's biological daughter. Candie's the mom, Muffin is dad. This pullet has a sister who is also from Candie and Muffin who looks similar but not exactly like her. This black pullet is beautiful because she has a blue sheen to her feathers, she has no "muff" (feathers around her face like Americauna's have), and she has no comb!!!<br />
<br />
Note: also in the below photo is a white leghorn pullet named Pringles (on the left) and Little Red, the Rhode Island Red pullet who was part of the Reject Chick group. Remember the Reject chicks? What a mess that ordeal was!<br />
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The below photo has a red sex link pullet (named Doritos), Pringles the white leghorn, Candie with her naked molting look, and the blue/black daughter pullet on the right who I need to name still. <br />
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Isn't the blue black pullet beautiful? It's hard to believe she's half Cuckoo Maran and half Americauna. <br />
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I have a secret to tell about her, too. When she was a chick inside the egg, she couldn't hatch. She tried and tried to peck out, she cracked the shell, but after a couple days she was too tired and gave up. In the beginning she was peeping, but after a few days she gave up and was quiet. I read everything online that said to let her be, let her die, she wasn't meant to survive, she was too weak to live, etc etc. However, I couldn't let a living creature just die, so I helped her out of her shell. I cracked little pieces off around where she started to crack it. She moved a little in the beginning, but after a few hours she stopped moving again. By the end of that day she appeared to be dead. So I opened up the remainder of the shell and let her loose. She just laid there like a dead baby for a few hours, but she was still alive. I put her under the mama hen's wings with the other chicks and checked on her often, and after a while she came around and started moving. She was weaker than the others for her first few days, but then she became healthy and active and was fine. She seems perfect now, you'd never know she had a rough start to life. <br />
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Her sister is pure black but with a bronze glow to the feathers, and the sister has a muff. The sister also has no comb!<br />
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I welcome recommendations for names!</div>
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Ok, that's it for today's post. I'll introduce more of the chicks and pullets in future posts. Everyone seems to have a story and I'll tell you about them all!</div>
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-22431063878643049692013-09-26T09:00:00.001-04:002013-09-26T09:00:03.412-04:00Losing it with Lose It!I've always struggled with 10 or 20 pounds. I'm not hugely
overweight, but not where I want to be, either. Most of the time I
don't think about my weight, until I don't fit into my clothes. I gain
10 pounds in a month or two without realizing it. Before I know it I'm
not fitting into my pants anymore. I always notice the pants first. If
I look at my shirts, I realized they don't fit as well as they used to,
either. Then I work very hard and lose a few pounds. It's always been
a constant roller coaster just for 10 or 20 pounds. But suddenly as
I'm getting older it seems it's harder to lose the weight. I used to
just simply change my eating habits and the weight would disappear.
Now, not so much.<br />
<br />
I recently gained another 10 pounds
on top of the 10 extra that I was already carrying. Hmmm. I changed my
eating habits, thinking it would drop off, instead I continued to gain a
pound or three, four, maybe lose a pound, then gain it right back. I
worked really hard, pulling out all my secrets, like quitting diet soda,
bread, drinking water when I'm hungry, eating grapefruits. But I
couldn't lose weight. What's up???? <br />
<br />
A 20-something
coworker told me she lost 10 pounds in a month by changing her diet. I
remembered back when I was 20-something and could easily shed pounds in
the blink of an eye like that. Now it seemed something was wrong with
me, I was stuck being heavier on the outside than I was in my mind. <br />
<br />
I
honestly think my metabolism changed. It slowed wayyyyyyyy down. I
started working out more, but that had no effect on my weight. I
believe my weight has a lot to do with my eating habits. I workout and
reward myself with some chips and salsa, thinking I deserve it. So I
started a food journal and I carried it around for months on end. But I
needed guidance, instruction, and encouragement. Finally I went online
and found a site called <a href="http://www.loseit.com/" target="_blank">Lose It!</a> I love it!<br />
<br />
I
put a Lose It! app on my tablet, but mostly I use it on the computer,
since I have access to computers at work and home. When I created a
login it asked for my age, sex, weight and goal. I said I wanted to
lose 20 pounds at a rate of 1.5 pounds/week. I thought that was
doable. It provided me with a daily calorie intake goal. If I stick to
the goal I can lose the 20 pounds by Thanksgiving! Yes! I log what I
eat and my exercise. The exercise subtracts from the daily calories
allowed, allowing me more food. I can eat whatever I want, as long as
my daily calories are below my goal. I've quickly learned what types of
foods are high in calories. Plus, all types of exercise counts, such as
"household walking". And you can create exercises and foods, of
course, based on what you actually do.<br />
<br />
It's an awesome
app. Since I've started it on Sep 2, 2013, I've lost 7 pounds. It
really just helps me to watch what I eat, exercise more, and provides me
with encouragement from hundreds, thousands, of others already using
the app. I joined Lose It! challenges to eat more veggies and burn so
many calories from exercise and compete with the others online. I am
tied in first place in a push up challenge where we are supposed to do
some type of push up every day, as many as each person can do. Simple
stuff! If I really get carried away I can do weekly reports showing how
much I lost a week, comparing it to the amount of calories I ate and my
exercise for that week. Lose It! allows members to become friends with
other members to
encourage each other. I encouraged my husband to join, so now I have a
friend on Lose It!.<br />
<br />
I'm just happy I'm finally losing
weight. I want to lose 1 more pound by the end of this week so I will
have lost a total of 8 pounds in Sep. Piece of cake!<br />
<br />
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-79846110995497725982013-09-25T08:27:00.000-04:002013-09-25T08:27:49.226-04:00My LASIK Experience - 2 weeks post surgery<a href="http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-lasik-experience-surgery-day-part-ii.html" target="_blank">This post is a continuation of the posts about my LASIK eye surgery experience. </a> I believe in sharing information to help others if they plan on doing LASIK.<br />
<br />
It's been 2 weeks since my surgery. The doc tells me my eyes are very dry. I didn't know what dry eyes felt like before this, I never had dry eyes before. Since surgery my eyes feel like they have sand in them. They're scratchy. I guess that means they're dry. I put drops in all the time, about every 30 min to every hour. The doc told me to use Refresh Plus or Refresh Optive and Refresh Celluvisc drops. They're all over the counter, no prescriptions needed. I finished the steroid drops and the antibiotic drops already. My eyes actually itch sometimes, they feel so gritty. I just want to scratch them with my fingernails, but of course I restrain.<br />
<br />
I went to my 1 week after LASIK appointment. The doc said my eyes were very dry and I needed Restasis drops twice a day. Restasis helps your eyes to start lubricating themselves. It takes about 3 weeks to start working, according to my doc. He gave me a sample and a prescription. I started using the sample. Immediately I noticed a constant twitching in my left eye. My eyes continued to itch and the scratchiness increased. The night I started Restasis I woke up 4 times to put eye drops in my eyes. For the next few days I continued to wake up on average of 4 times/night with severe eye scratchiness and pain. I was putting Refresh Celluvisc in at nighttime, per doc's instructions. Refresh Celluvisc has fibers that seal my eyelid closed and make my eyes feel like there are sticks sealed inside the eye. It was very uncomfortable and finally I stopped using Refresh Celluvisc. I continued the Restasis for almost a week. The insomnia was terrible, I started taking sleeping pills so I would sleep through the night and not continually wake to put eye drops in my eyes all night. The constant twitching in my left eye continued the entire time I used Restasis.<br />
<br />
I realized that Restasis is very expensive when I attempted to fill the prescription. I didn't fill it. Instead I stopped using Restasis. The first day Restasis-free, the twitching stopped in my left eye and never returned. I've been sleeping fine ever since I stopped Restasis. I'm not going to use it again. I'm going to manage without it.<br />
<br />
My eyes are still dry, but I think they are slowly getting better. They still itch most of the time. I still use Refresh Plus or Refresh Optive drops about every 30 minutes to hour.<br />
<br />
My distance vision is awesome. It's everything I was hoping for. I can see 20/20 for distances and I love it!<br />
<br />
However, I'm struggling with reading now! I used to be able to read without reading glasses. Now it's hard to read. It's blurry! I had no idea I'd lose the ability to see up close immediately after LASIK.<br />
<br />
Honestly, I think I need to retrain my eyes to focus up close. I try not to use reading glasses, I try to force my eyes to focus on up close reading. It strains the eyes, but eventually I can make the up close letters clear. The first day I didn't use reading glasses at all my eyes were exhausted by the end of the day. Most of my day is spent reading - computers, reports, etc. That evening as I drove home I could feel my eye muscles struggling to hold my eyes straight. It was scary, I felt like I was having a strabismus problem again. I decided to take it easy and use reading glasses for maybe 50% of the day and let my eyes learn to refocus on up close work the other 50% of the day. <br />
<br />
This whole LASIK process has been an experience for me. Honestly, I don't know if I'd do it over again, if given the opportunity. Maybe. I think the scratchiness will eventually go away. I do think I'll be stuck with reading glasses forever. I didn't mind using reading glasses before when my eyes were tired, but I didn't know I'd LOSE my up close vision on the day of LASIK surgery. It's hard to handle losing the ability to see up close so quickly. I used to be able to see so well up close, I miss it. It's a tradeoff.<br />
<br />
On a good note, reading glasses are a whole lot cheaper than distance glasses and contact lenses.<br />
<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-57443095453940132312013-09-14T14:04:00.000-04:002013-09-25T08:28:05.310-04:00My LASIK Experience - Surgery Day Part II<a href="http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-lasik-experience-surgery-day-part-i.html" target="_blank">This post is continued from the last post - it reviews my LASIK eye surgery that I had this week.</a><br />
<br />
The last post was getting very long, so I decided to break it up into 2 parts. Sorry for the delay!<br />
<br />
So, I was led into the LASIK surgery room. The room was bright. I was led to a bed with a bunch of equipment at the head of the bed. I was told to lie down with my head near the equipment. I knew that equipment consisted of a laser and I was scared. The doc was assisted by another man who's name I immediately forgot.<br />
<br />
As I settled into the bed the assistant handed me a teddy bear and told me to hug the bear when I needed. I loved that ugly worn little bear that moment, he was my only friend, facing the laser right along with me!<br />
<br />
My right eye was done first. The doc put a lot of tissues or something in front of my ears and said they were so eye drops didn't run into my ears. The bed had something that lightly held my head in place. Eye drops a plenty were put into my eyes, I was told they were numbing drops. I told the doc to apply liberally. He said if I felt any pain at all I should say something. Suddenly he put a tissue or something soft over my left eye and taped it in place, making it impossible to open that eye. <br />
<br />
Doctor Solomon put something which I later learned was called a "lid speculum" over my right eye to hold it open. It felt metallic and in my mind it looked like an egg separator - you know, that kitchen gadget that removes the egg yolk from the white. It was very uncomfortable but not painful. He was touching my eyeball a lot, checking it, but I didn't mind. I focused on not moving the eyeball to the left or right, staring straight ahead. <br />
<br />
My bed slid to the left and the equipment was positioned above my right eye. I squeezed the life out of the teddy bear. The equipment lowered itself onto my eye. The doc was explaining everything, talking to me. Some kind of suction cup came down and stuck to my eyeball and felt like it was lifting my eyeball a little. Again, uncomfortable but not painful. The was the most uncomfortable part of the procedure. Bright blue lights were then on my right eye. I was told to stare into the lights, don't move the eye. I don't think it could move with that suction cup stuck to it. The blue lights were so very bright, light, almost white blue in color. Lost in the blue I saw white dots going around in a circular shape. This was when the flap was getting cut in my cornea. It didn't hurt at all. It took maybe 5 or 10 seconds of white dots then that eye was done. The blue lights faded, but I was still seeing blue in my head, it was so very bright. The suction cup released my right eye. Ahhh, that felt so good, I hated that suction cup! The squeezing let up on teddy.<br />
<br />
In no time at all the bed was slid sideways, a cover was taped on the right eye preventing me from opening it, and the same procedure was done to the left eye. The suction seemed a whole let less on this eye and this part was done in no time. I felt like a pro, just look at the blue light, no problem!<br />
<br />
Tons of drops were put in both eyes and the doc was touching them both with what felt like tweezers. He was explaining how he had to open the flaps. I asked questions as he worked and he commented on my curiosity; I told him I liked to understand what was going on. The cornea flaps were opened on both my eyes, I think. Then the doc took off across the room and told me to come along with him. In my drug-induced state it seemed he moved quickly, but in reality my body was moving slowly. I had no idea where he went and so I just sat up and looked abound blindly. The assistant helped me to my feet. I couldn't see anything, everything was a white haze, extremely blurry. Basically I was blind. The assistant walked me to another bed on the other side of the room and told me to lay down. They acted as if I should be able to see the bed, I explained I was blind and didn't want to trip over anything. I looked down and saw I was gripping teddy close to my chest still.<br />
<br />
The assistant got me to lay down, my head felt like it was held in place again, although I really wasn't sure. The left eye was suddenly covered. The bed rolled under the equipment that was sitting beside it. I knew this was the laser that would reshape my eye. The doc was doing something with the equipment as he talked to me. We talked about a lot of things, about his job, about the types of surgeries he does, it seemed we chatted for a while as this process occurred. He was working the whole time and explained everything before it happened to my eyes.<br />
<br />
I was told to look into the light again. The machine came down onto my right eye. This time it was a bright red light - very red. It had many dots of red - it wasn't solid, but a million dots that created the red color. The red filled my eye with color. Somewhere in the depths of red a green blinking dot appeared. The green dot got larger and larger. It's blinking became a steady pulsing. I could smell the awful smell of what I thought was my eye being cut, but what the doc assured me was the smell of gases emitted by the laser machine. I stared straight into the green pulse, afraid that my eye would move somehow and mess up the surgery. The teddy was enduring a serious hugging again. Eventually the green pulsing became a small green dot and faded. Very quickly the machine and the red dots were pulled away. The procedure was repeated on the left eye. I felt like this whole process had already taken longer than what I read about and I was ready to have it over.<br />
<br />
Finally the left eye was done and both eyes were opened. Tons of liquid was doused into both eyes. Everything was blurry. Teddy was whisked from my hands. Goodbye, my friend!<br />
<br />
The doc then worked on the eyes with the tweezer thingy again to close the flaps. He explained the flaps hook into the cornea to hold them into place. He struggled getting the left eye flap closed, he said it was because my eye was shaped odd from the strabismus surgeries. When he got it closed he watched me blink a few times. He wasn't happy with the way my eyelid ran across the flap when I blinked, he was concerned the flap would open. So he put a clear contact lens on the left eye to hold it closed. There was no problem getting the right eye flap to close. My vision wasn't perfect but I could see pretty darn well. I wasn't tested right away, but was walked out and sent on my way. All in all, the procedure took about 45 minutes. Everyone said it would take 10 minutes or less! I liked the way the doc took his time with me, I didn't feel rushed at all. I thought<i> </i><a href="http://www.solomoneyeassociates.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Jonathan D. Solomon</a> <br />
was an excellent eye doctor; I agree that he's one of the best in the country and I'm happy that I chose him!<br />
<br />
While I was having the surgery Randy made an appointment for me to be seen the next day for a post surgery follow-up. On the way home we had to stop at a pharmacy to get more prescription eye drops. It took about an hour and a half to get home. In that time my right eye started hurting very badly. The eyeball itself hurt. I put a jacket over my face to keep out the light. It hurt so bad I was crying. As soon as I got home I put in the proper drops, took 800MG ibuprofen, and and went straight to bed. I awoke 3 hours later with no pain at all. And I could see perfectly!<br />
<br />
The following day I drove myself to my follow-up appointment. I had no pain in the eyes. The clear contact lens was removed. My eyes were tested - I have 20/15 in the right eye and 20/20 in the left eye! This is awesome! I'm putting drops in my eyes about every 30 minutes now, I have 4 different types of drops. It been 4 days since my LASIK surgery and I'm loving it. The first day my eyes felt weird, tired maybe? But now they feel better. I haven't applied any eye makeup since surgery, I'm afraid it will hurt them. Plus in order to remove eye makeup I rub the eyes. Maybe a week after surgery after my one week followup appointment I'll start wearing makeup again, who knows. People at work tell me I took younger without eye makeup, one person even asked if I had a "mini-lift" on my face! <br />
<br />
If you're considering LASIK surgery, I say GO FOR IT! It's expensive, but worth it! And the procedure isn't that bad. I hope this blog post helps people to understand what to expect if they decide to get LASIK.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-68979375803721172082013-09-12T05:28:00.000-04:002013-09-25T08:28:22.531-04:00My LASIK Experience - Surgery Day - Part IThis blog post is continued from my last post at <a href="http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-lasik-experience-pre-surgery.html" target="_blank">http://razzberrycorner.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-lasik-experience-pre-surgery.html. </a>It tells about my LASIK surgery experience.<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Before I get to the surgery, let me tell you about my doctor. I saw <span style="font-weight: normal;">Jonathan D. Solomon, M.D., from <a href="http://www.solomoneyeassociates.com/" target="_blank">Solomon Eye Associates Physicians and Surgeons</a> in Maryland. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">From their webpage:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.solomoneyeassociates.com/blog/2013/04/dr-solomon-among-the-top-doctors-in-america/" target="_blank">Dr. Jonathan D. Solomon has been named one of the Top Doctors in America. ‘Peer-nominated and selected by the nation’s leading providers of information on top doctors’, Dr. Solomon has been featured in the April edition as a top doctor for the Washington, DC area for Vision Correction Surgery.</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">I saw a magazine article listing Dr Solomon as one of the top doctors in the US and I was sold. I wanted a good doctor to do my LASIK because maybe he'd understand my past strabismus problems.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">My surgery was scheduled for Sep 12, 2013, which is today. I had started on the OTC eye drops and ointment, but as of Mon Sep 9. 2013 the doctor's office had not successfully called in the prescription for the </span>Zymaxid and Bromday. I had called the doctor's office multiple times and was frustrated. I also had to pay for the surgery still, so I called on Sep 9th, Monday, to make sure the person who received payment would be available that afternoon so I could stop by.<br />
<br />
To my surprise the doctor's office told me I was rescheduled for surgery on Sep 10 2013, Tues, as the doctor had an emergency and wouldn't be available on Thur. So it was Tues or reschedule for a month down the line. I quickly shuffled around all my work responsibilities so I could take Tues and Wed off vice Thur and Fri, the doctor's office finally called in the Zymaxid and Bromday prescriptions to my pharmacy, and I was ready for surgery. However, the change in dates really stressed me out.<br />
<br />
The afternoon before surgery Randy went to three different pharmacies to find one that carried the Zymaxid and Bromday when I was finishing up last minute things at work. I couldn't have managed without Randy. Who knew that pharmacies don't carry these meds? I recommend getting them early to avoid this last minute dash if you are planning LASIK. I started on the Zymaxid and Bromday drops the night before surgery.<br />
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The day of surgery I was told to arrive at 3pm at the TLC Laser Eye Surgery Center where Dr Solomon was working. I guess the doctor rents TLC equipment. I was retested at 3pm and had all these pretty pictures of my eyes printed, the eye tests took about 10 minutes and I was sent back to the waiting room to wait till 4pm. I was called at about 3:30 for surgery. I asked the woman if I was the last patient of the day and she said yes. I was told to put on a cap and booties. Randy was allowed to join me in the room. The assistant asked me if I wanted something to calm my nerves prior to surgery and I said yes, remembering a friend of mine said her doctor gave her a Valium before surgery and it helped to calm her. The woman brought 2 Aleve and a Xanax .5 mg. I have never had Xanax and it kinda concerned me. I'm not into drugs, and heard that Xanax is strong and addictive. Just the idea of taking a Xanax freaked me out even more. Now I was scared of surgery and concerned about taking Xanax.<br />
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I closed my eyes and took the Xanax and Aleve. The Xanax didn't start affecting me right away, it took about 30 minutes or so. It was weird, eventually it made my body slow, but my mind was still normal, I was thinking just as fast as before. But my speech became slow and my physical movements became slow, as if I was drunk. But inside my brain was still normal! This wasn't a fun drug! I'm sure everyone is different, but I wont be taking Xanax again!<br />
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Dr Solomon tested my eyes yet again right before surgery. He explained monovision to me, which I did NOT want. Monovision is when one eye is used for distances and one for close up sight, it makes it so the patient doesn't need reading glasses. Previously my optometrist had me try monovision using contacts and I hated it! It made me dizzy and gave me headaches. I wore monovision contacts for a week and it was just plain miserable, my brain couldn't handle it. I don't mind reading glasses, although right now I don't really need reading glasses unless my eyes are tired. I was told by the surgeon who did my strabismus surgeries, Dr. Birdsong, that reading glasses help to relieve stress on the eyes and I should use them if my eyes are tired.<br />
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I told Dr Solomon No to monovision. He explained he was going to make my right eye dominant because strabismus patients need one eye to be dominant or the eyes fight each other and strabismus can occur again. I was concerned about losing the ability to read immediately after LASIK and he explained that LASIK wouldn't affect my reading vision. He went over the details of the surgery, and then I was walked into the surgery room. I was terrified! Here we go!<br />
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Randy was allowed to watch my surgery through a window into the surgery room and up close over a TV screen displayed through that window. <br />
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Stay tuned for the surgery itself in my next post.<br />
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<br />Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-59682679379189442412013-09-11T18:07:00.001-04:002013-09-25T08:28:35.482-04:00My LASIK Experience - Pre-SurgeryI had LASIK eye surgery yesterday! I was nearsighted and I hated glasses, so I mainly wore contacts. My contacts had a prescription of -3.75 in the right eye and -4.00 in the left eye. Yes, that's pretty strong! I had always wanted LASIK surgery, but waited for my budget to allow it.<br />
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Then in my 30's suddenly I started seeing double. Not all the time, just when my eyes were stressed. I look at computer screens most of the day for my day job, when I'm not here on the farm doing farm duty. My opthamologist said I had a strabismus problem, which involves the eye muscles. Both eyes were fighting with each other, causing double vision and causing my eyes to turn. He said my eye muscles were very tight, which caused this issue. I think the eyes visibly turned outward, but I don't know, I never looked in the mirror when it happened. I just knew it was terrible and scared me to see double. It also affected my depth perception. When your vision starts messing up, that's serious business!<br />
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Anyway, I ended up having 2 strabismus surgeries in one and a half years. After the first surgery I was so happy, but a few months later the double vision returned, eventually making me have another surgery. Strabismus surgery is serious stuff. First of all, I was the only adult in the eye hospital on both occasions; most strabismus patients are children. I figured if the kids could go through it, so could I! The patient is knocked out, the eye muscles, which are located behind the white of the eye, are cut and tightened, and the patient is left with stitches in the whites of their eyes. After surgery the eyes feel like a piece of hard plastic is left behind, because it is (the stitches), and it hurts very much to move the eyes. Recovery takes up to a week. I had to go back and have the stitches cut out each time after surgery. It wasn't that bad because I was so happy to be able to see straight after the surgeries, and I forgot about the pain, as is normal. I still needed glasses, but I didn't see double and the depth perception was perfect again.<br />
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If I can go through that TWICE I can do a simple LASIK procedure. I waited about 5 years after my last strabismus to make sure I had no more muscle issues and then signed up for LASIK. Finally, no more contacts! Finally I will be able to wake up and see. Finally I can swim and shower without worrying. I wont have to spend time every morning and evening messing with contacts. Ahhh, eye freedom.<br />
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I was very nervous the day before surgery. I Googled LASIK eye surgery and attempted to watch a video on YouTube of an actual surgery. If you haven't had the surgery and plan on it, don't watch the YouTube LASIK videos, it's too gory. When they started pressing down on the eyeball and it left indentations in the eyeball I had to stop it. Ugh, that would be my eye soon enough. I didn't ever finish watching it.<br />
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I stopped wearing contacts 2 weeks prior to surgery, as the eye doc requested. My miserable glasses were dusted off. The week before surgery I started on an eye drop regime. Refresh Plus was put in my eyes 4 times a day and Muro 5% ointment was put in the eyes at bedtime. The Refresh Plus felt refreshing, it's just an over the counter eye drop. The Muro 5%, also OTC, was a heavy ointment which was squeezed into the lower lids at bedtime and was like putting Vaseline into the eyes. It was kinda nasty, but really lubricated the eyes. In the mornings my eyes were all greasy.<br />
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One day prior to surgery I added Zymaxid, an antibiotic drop, and Bromday, an anti-inflammatory. Zymaxid was four times a day and Bromday twice a day. Both were prescription drops. I made up a spreadsheet to organize my eye drop regime. And after surgery there were more drops!<br />
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My next post will go over the surgery so those of you considering it will know what's going to happen. I think it helps to read about LASIK surgery prior to having it to understand what to expect. I know I read some other people's accounts and it helped me to be less nervous. My biggest fear was being awake through the procedure, plus I was afraid my eyes were going to have a strabismus issue during the surgery and suddenly turn one way or the other when the laser was on them. I didn't have strabismus issues anymore, but the concern was in my mind since I had that problem before.Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6390619032396490344.post-51520884658623924612013-08-24T08:11:00.000-04:002013-08-24T08:11:13.826-04:00Jerry's back!For a while this summer Jerry the stray cat stopped coming to eat at our house. We wondered if he was still alive. But now he's back about three times a week for breakfast! Possibly someone else was feeding him and now they stopped, who knows. He hangs out in the housing community about a mile away from us. We see him walking down our dirt drive to the houses, so we figured he secretly had another home that also gave him handouts. Otherwise he would be here more often. The other outside cats live here, outside our house.<br />
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While I was feeding the outside cats this morning, the guineas attempted to steal the cats' food. They always steal the catfood unless I sit out on the porch guarding the bowls. Here Casper, the while male guinea, is leading a sneak attack around the pillar. Casper has 2 wives who he was trying to impress, plus the rest of the flock was tagging along.<br />
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I had to chase the guineas away so the cats could eat in peace.</div>
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Happy Saturday!</div>
Razzberry Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17644607616585345473noreply@blogger.com6