We were treated to a sunny day...
at last!!
Yesterday was beautiful, sunny, highs in the upper 60's.
Needless to say, I spent the entire day outside working.

Here is the list of yesterday's completed chores:
  • normal AM animal chores
  • cleaned 3 chicken houses
  • cleaned the goat maternity ward
  • cleaned 6 Nigerian Dwarf goat houses, on my hands and knees, I might add
  • trimmed 4 of 5 Nigerian Dwarf goat hooves...Stella just wouldn't be caught
  • took delivery on a back hoe (oh, what a great piece of equipment) sadly, it is just a loaner!
  • used backhoe to dig up gator load of stones for entrance to chicken pen (battling mud)
  • scrubbed all animals water tubs and replaced water
  • grazed the Bigs and Littles in unoccupied goat pens (story below)
  • removed winterizing wrap from bee hives
  • filled organic fly traps with the smelliest stuff ever!
  • moved 10 bales of hay from run in shed to barn feed room
  • swept out barn
  • rounded up two escaped horses (Becky's)
  • got lawn tractor out and mowed between pasture fences
  • turned manure piles with tractor
I have to tell you, I am exhausted just thinking about it!
Now back to the story about the horses grazing off the goat pens.

It is soon time to move goats around a bit.
The Nigerians will move to another pen and
 the new Fainting goat babies and moms will move back down 
to their summer quarters near the Nigerians.


Before we do that, however, we have to work
on getting rid of parasites.
One of the best ways to do that is to allow a different species
to graze the area.


So, the Bigs and the Littles had a wonderful treat...
they spent three hours on lush green grass,
eating their hearts out.

With the rain, lately, their pasture time has been severely deficient.
So, spending a few hours in the goat pen was wonderful.

Wonderful, all except for those crazy turkeys.
For the first time, ever, the Bigs were terrified.
Turkeys!
The Bigs ran circles, snorting, and then retreated to the furthest corner of the pen
as far away from those menacing turkeys as possible.



It took about a half hour before Moonbeam, Donnie, and Scarlet
were convinced that they were not going to be eaten by those turkeys!

I often wonder if horses have no sense of size....
their own as compared to others.
Ollie and Red, the minis, act as if they were as big as full sized horses...
they don't seem to know they are tiny.
And Moonbeam sure acted like he thought those turkeys were
enormous!



Tom Tom sought refuge in one of the goat houses.
He had no desire to get in the middle of all this horse/turkey mayhem.


And Sammy thought he would follow suit and graze a little himself.


Ok, so I have a question.
Why do dogs eat grass?
Do they eat grass because they feel sick and want to vomit?
Or do they just like grass, and oh, by the way it makes them vomit?
If anyone could please give me the answer to this question
that has plagued me forever,
I would be eternally grateful!!


PS...have a wonderful weekend.
If you are in the midst of a drought....I hope it rains!
If you are in monsoon season, like us....I hope the sun shines on you, too!!

Comments

There are lots of theories on this behavior - and although the common thought is "The dog must not be feeling well and so it's eating grass to make itself throw up"... that apparently isn't the truth most of the time. Various medical journals say it can be a random reason - a natural behavior to ad fiber to a diet if the dogs body is in need of fiber, or lacking in certain nutrients. Sometimes it's out of bordeom. Others says it's just a behavior, as dogs are not totally carnivorous. In most things I've read, it's not a behavior to be concerned about unless the dog is eating it constantly and vomiting several times daily due to the habit.
Anke said…
I'm so happy you finally had a sunny day and were able to get a lot done. And boy did you ever get a lot done ! I'm tired just reading your list...
I don't know why dogs eat grass either, but my real question is this: why do they always throw up where it's hardest to clean up after them?? Our dog never ever throws up on the tiled floor, nope it's gotta be carpet for her.
Severe storms are heading our way today, so I guess it's going to be wet and kind of scary here today...
Oh, I wanted to say thank you for the sweet card you sent me. It arrived here yesterday and it really brightened my day.
Carla said…
WOW!! Big list of things accomplished! Congratulations.
Horses irrational fears have always befuddled me. My horse even went so far as to be afraid of jackrabbits when he saw them with his left eye, but not his right. Geez!
Lisa said…
Our IW eats grass every chance he gets. I don't think in his case it has to do with an upset stomach-or he would have an upset stomach every day for months on end! Grass must have some type of "attractive flavor" to it as it is the primary diet for many animals!
Chris said…
Wow! If I could get that much work done in a week I would be happy as Tom Tom looks in the goat house.
Unknown said…
Whew! I am exhausted just listening to you! No wonder you are so slim! That is a real workout, and I bet you do a lot of that everyday! Hope you are not to sore or tired today to enjoy those wonderful critters!
Melissa Plank said…
I absolutely love your blog! What an amazing amount of work! About the grass, I think they eat it because they love it! I have a cat (indoor) who is a huge fan, I bring her bits of young, sweet grass and she devours it purring all the while!
Junebug said…
Lady you exhaust me! Now horses scared of turkeys? They must have turned into big chickens, hee-hee! I always love the pictures of the farm and all the animals. Take care and don't work so hard!
countrynmore said…
Wow! You made me tired, just reading your long list of things that you accomplished. I am tired just from doing my weekly activities.
This N That said…
It's eye opening when you actually sit down and make a list of all the YOU do in a day...You really need to pace yourself or you'll wear yourself out before your time...I know..It's there so you have to do it!!! The farm looks as though someone really loves it..guess you're the reason why !!
Teresa said…
What a productive day! I'm so glad you've finally had some dry weather. We're actually getting the rain we need-just wish it wasn't such a cold windy rain. I love your method for helping cut down on parasites.
Pony and Petey said…
I've also heard the "fiber" reason and I agree with the "taste" reason. My Dingo eats grass all the time, eats the same food as the other 2 dogs...gets plenty of fiber. He just really seems to enjoy the taste of it.

Thanks for sharing your days with us!!!