Thursday, July 17, 2008

I think I cut my finger nail too short (??)

Yesterday was quite the exciting day...

I was helping my daughter cut out some fabric for a helmet bag she is making as a fair project. I was using my quilting cutting wheel (it looks like a pizza cutter, but smaller and sharp as hell!) and mat to cut a single layer of cotton.

Cutter in my left hand, holding the wheel guide down with my right hand... When the cutter up and decided cutting fabric wasn't good enough for it any longer- It jumped the guide and ran over the outside tip of my right hand pointer finger (um, yes- it hurts like a bitch to type).

I looked down and thought "this is going to be bad". Na.. It wasn't too bad. But I did manage to cut it clear off! I grabbed some paper towel so I didn't bleed all over my floor. I must have been lightning quick because my daughter didn't even know what happened. Or it could be the fact I didn't make any kind of big deal out of it- so it didn't draw her attention.

But my sick minded teenage daughter did enjoy looking at the remaining part of my finger caught in the cutting wheel! I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! :) Given that when I got back from the ER I had to pry it out of the cutter! I could see my finger print and everything! It was kinda cool!

Anyway back to the story, called the husband at work- He knows it's always something BAD if I am calling him off his machine at work~ I asked him if he would drive me in because I couldn't hold the pressure and drive a stick at the same time! Or else I would have just drove myself :)

My husband teased me about how I will probably be spending hundreds of $$ just for a Band Aid. And sure enough... He was correct!!! But I did learn something new- If you cut it completely off, there isn't anything to stitch! :)

Enjoy the gross photos... See... It's not THAT bad.
But I guess my career as a hand model is over :)




Monday, July 14, 2008

Some days I just want to say: "I give"

There are some days I just want to toss in the towel. I often ponder where my drive comes from. What truly keeps me going? Is it my passion for learning? My passion for animals? Is it because I'm finally living my dream?

I wonder why I don't give up. Just about everyone I meet wonders how I do it. Even though I don't work outside the home anymore, I do have my hands full with an always on the go 2 year old, a demanding (expected) teenage girl, and the mid size zoo I seem to run here.

My motto around here seems to be "it's always something".

If it is not for my pride and joy of a horse injuring itself on fence that I should have taken down years ago. (now there is a learning curve)

Or the other horse escaping non stop (3 times now in the past week).

Or the Clydesdale's fat ass wrecking the chain link fencing we just bought and put up.

Or the winged rats (AKA: DAMN CHICKENS!) that keep ruining my landscaping on a daily basis.

Or how bout the 2 month old kitten that took a leak on my new couch (at which I happened to sit in).

Or the pig that developed a infectious illness a week before the fair (which is actually transmittable to humans too).

Or my best cat that got run over by a car (all because I was mad at it for peeing in the house so I tossed it outside).

Or my daughter's best show chickens that suddenly kick off overnight without reason.

Or finally purchasing my first ram lamb for my breeding program. Only to learn that it was never weaned off the ewe and didn't know how to eat solid foods. Only to have starve to death and die - no matter what I tried.

Or it's brother that was just as nice looking that became my daughter's market lamb- Wishing every day that we didn't "whack the nuts off it" making it non breed able.

Or like yesterday, I look out the back door only to see one of my ewes wearing its water bucket around its neck. (just another thing that I have to stop what I am doing to go deal with)

Or the ever rising cost of feed that prevents me from my own personal luxuries so my animals can eat.

All in all, like I said... It's always something. Kind of like if I didn't have BAD luck, I wouldn't have ANY luck at all!

Yes, there are MANY days I just want to say "THE HELL WITH THIS!" thinking I could be on a vacation (um, what's that???) or living the easy life in the city- where my only focus would be yard work and housework...

But I just keep plugging along. Enjoying the small thrills when I have them.

Like a beautiful sunset (man!!! we get great sunsets here!).

Or a hummingbird on my feeder.

Or the horses running and playing at dusk, rearing in the air, and listening to their running hooves that sound like thunder on the earth.

Or having sheep that run up to you instead of run away from you.

Or hearing my boy say "pig" or "farm" or "cows" and know what each one is.

Or catching Monarch Caterpillars to hatch out into butterflies for my children.

Or teaching my little one what a toad is, and laughing when he yelled "MONSTER!!!" and ran the other way!

Or watching the wild turkeys graze in my pasture.

Or seeing the deer that cross almost daily.

Or seeing an animal recover from an illness because you used your skill to treat it.

Or hearing the first cry of a newborn lamb on a cold January night. Knowing because of your planning, that lamb was created. And because of your watchful eye, that new life was born without incident.

And lastly, sharing all of my experiences with my family and friends (even if they don't understand WHY I do it).

Those are the things that keep me going. Those instances are what make life feel the fullest.

I better stop rambling... It's time to go outside and inject the pig with more Penicillin....

"It's always something".

When things turn very serious...




So there I was, plodding along in life... No major happenings. Our family was getting ready for our county fair that will take place in less than 2 weeks. Life is good. Until this...

3 days ago while doing our normal routine of letting the two pigs out into our paddock so that they can stretch their legs and enjoy the fresh air, I noticed a bruise the size of a golf ball on Good Charlotte's back. I felt so bad for her. I figured for SURE the other more dominant pig had been too rough on our meek little Good Charlotte (Good Charlotte is the pig I am "riding" in the other post). I thought for sure it was a pig bite. I thought that it had happened during feeding time. After we put them away, we decided to keep our eye on her.

A couple hours later when I went to check on her in the stall. I had noticed another bruise on her back. This one was smaller in size, roughly the size of a nickel. I couldn't believe that the other pig was "attacking" her! I immediately took Good Charlotte out and isolated her into her own pen.

Life went on, I figured that will just be how it has to be. One pig in the big stall, the other in the small pen.

The next day came, and early in the morning we decided to let the pigs out separately for their time outdoors. While Good Charlotte was outside we noticed that she was not her bright upbeat self. I told my husband she looks "depressed". As we were checking her over we noticed that she had more bruises. At that time I counted around 5. We were dumb-founded! Where were they coming from?? Are they from flys? Is it from internal parasites? Given that swine are pretty new to us. I know that they oink, are big, grow fast and eat just about anything- Other than that, I don't know a great deal about illness / diseases.

Even though I have a few books on raising pigs, none of them seem to have any information on what we are experiencing. Her symptoms are listlessness and raised large lumps on the skin that have purple centers with a red ring around the purple center. And she gone off her feed. She won't eat or drink. To test that theory, I tried giving her a piece of bread and a pancake- neither of which she would eat.

I was frantic for a resolution. What on earth could be wrong with her? Whatever this is- it came on like a fire storm, healthy happy pig to next to dead the next. If I don't find an answer to this, she surely will die.

I spent the entire day surfing the information highway (aka: internet!) looking for my answer. I finally found it, and this is what it is....

Erysipelas in pigsDR Webster, Animal & Plant Health Service, DPI&F Queenslandand M J Moore, Pig & Poultry Production Institute, South Australia

Erysipelas is a common pig disease sometimes called diamond skin disease. Affected pigs often have a fever, sudden deaths may occur and sows may abort, skin may redden and suffering from arthritis or heart disease may develop. Although the bacteria responsible are widespread, outbreaks of generalised illness are relatively rare. It is more likely to surface as chronic lameness or joint condemnations at slaughter, and protective vaccination is strongly recommended.

The disease
The disease is caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (formerly E insidiosa) a bacteria which is commonly present in an estimated 30-50% of tonsils in healthy pigs. Rodents and birds can introduce and maintain the organism within a piggery, and it can survive temporarily in soil, bedding and water. The bacterium is spread through faeces, saliva and nasal secretions.
Erysipelas can be an acute (rapidly developing), subacute (with mild and sometimes unnoticed symptoms) or chronic (slowly developing and long lasting) disease, and usually causes illness in pigs between 3 months and 3 years of age. Infected pigs may suffer from one or more of the five forms of the disease below.

Acute-FeverAn acute form which may affect pigs of all ages. In older pigs sporadic cases can occur but with younger animals whole litters may be affected. Pigs may be fevered and ill for several days with temperatures exceeding 40°C. They may be reluctant to stand or walk, and if forced to do so, may squeal and move with a stiff, stilted gait, and will soon lie down again. They are often depressed but remain alert, and may partly or completely lose interest in their feed.
Death can occur at any stage of the illness and will often occur in untreated pigs within 24-48 hours of onset. Young pigs generally die earlier than others. Prompt treatment with an appropriate antibiotic will speed recovery and reduce the likelihood of later complications.
Pregnant sows may abort when affected by the fever rather than from a specific action of the bacteria on the uterus, placenta or unborn piglets (by comparison Leptospirosis does attack the pregnant uterus).

Acute-Skin formAn acute form of the disease which may occur in fevered pigs, or as a mild form of the disease which only damages skin. Some affected pigs have red, diamond-shaped swellings appearing on the skin within 24-48 hours. The diamonds may be 100 mm or more across and can be felt by touch. Many photographs of these swellings have been published, but only a very small proportion of cases show such dramatic lesions, with most affected pigs more likely to develop welt-like red skin blotches, especially on the ears. On casual inspection, cases could be missed as the swellings are not always distinct.
If the skin lesions are light-pink to light purplish-red, they will usually slough off and disappear within 4-7 days unless they become infected. However, dark purplish-red lesions usually precede death.

SubacuteSubacute disease does not produce as much illness as acute disease, but may still lead to chronic disease. The pigs are less likely to suffer fever or skin lesions, and appetite may be unaffected. Signs may be so mild that they are unnoticed.

Chronic -Arthritis
A chronic form of the disease caused by infection localising in the joint. The signs of arthritis in affected pigs range from nil to very severe. Stiffness, swelling or heating of joints may become noticeable as early as three weeks after infection.
Severely affected pigs are reluctant or unable to move, and may not feed. Such pigs should be moved from concrete or slatted floors onto dirt or straw, and should be kept in a small group or alone where they are more likely to feed. Injections of an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory agent may help recovery, but for pigs that are not especially valuable breeders, there is no practical treatment for chronic arthritis. As carcasses or parts of apparently recovered animals are frequently condemned it is better to send affected animals to slaughter early. This also avoids further injury or wasting. Severely affected pigs may have to be killed on the property. Erysipelas is not the only cause of arthritis in pigs; similar advice applies to all lamenesses. Some pigs with arthritis die of pneumonia because they are unable to stand and bacteria attack their lungs.

Arthritis is an important reason for condemnation of pigs in Australia. While the overall level of arthritis condemnation is low, individual properties may have large numbers of condemnations. In 1998, of over 71,000 pigs observed by state pig health monitoring services, 1.9% were totally or partially (one or more legs) condemned because of arthritis.
Chronic-Heart disease

This is another chronic form of the disease caused by infection on the valves of the heart. Affected pigs lose weight, become distressed after exercise or moving, and may die suddenly from heart failure. This may follow weeks or months after the fever form of the disease, but it is not always preceded by noticeable fever. This form of the disease is quite rare.

DiagnosisDiagnosis is based on the symptoms observed, post-mortem findings and laboratory isolation of the causative organisms from blood or organs of dead pigs. Many other diseases can be confused with the various forms of erysipelas and diagnosis is not always easy. Tests on blood samples taken from a pig at the time of illness and again a few weeks later may help diagnosis.

Typical clinical symptoms may include:

A history of a few sudden deaths without evidence of illness.
Sick pigs with joint stiffness and temperatures above 40°C.
Diamond shaped skin lesions or red blotching of skin.
Pigs are alert but reluctant to stand or move.
Death or recovery within a few days of onset.
Constipation and dry, firm feces.
Abortion of pregnancies
Rapid response to penicillin.

----------------------------------------------------

As soon as I figured out what was wrong with her I immediately put her on Penicillin. I am hoping that by my ignorance (immediately isolating her from the other pig- thinking it was a pig bite) that this will not spread to the other gilt. We are currently practicing a high level of bio-security. We watch where we walk, as to not track anything on our shoes. We also limit who is allowed to touch Good Charlotte. And of course never feed /h20 Charlotte before the other pig- to not contaminate.

So far the other pig is healthy and happy- Let's keep our fingers crossed. The financial loss we would incur would be devastating. Not only would we lose both pigs, and all the money we have invested in them would be lost. But the market pig would not be sold at the sale- which would we would lose hundreds of dollars.

Now don't think I'm all about the almighty dollar... If the other hog shows any signs of this condition- It will not be going to the fair. I have learned that almost 50% of pigs carry this condition and just aren't symptomatic.

Overnight, Good Charlotte seems to be responding well to her high dose of Pen. She was looking brighter, drinking water, grunting, and she ate a little bit. Only time will tell I guess...

I have enclosed 2 pictures- The first picture is the typical "sitting dog" stance pigs take with this illness. The second picture is of one of her spots. You can see the typical "diamond" pattern. A tell tale sign of this illness.



Thursday, July 10, 2008

Here we go again! The numbers game... Cost of raising livestock as food.

Hello Gang!
I just thought I would give you an update as to what it really costs to raise your own food.. (no particular reason other than it is interesting!)

Let's start with the Beef!

In less than 1 year, Stew has eaten:
50 lbs of Milk Replacer (formula)
450 lbs of Calf Starter (pelleted feed)
1630 lbs of Cracked Corn
That is a total of 2130 lbs of feed stuff!

If we guess Stew to weigh roughly 550 lbs., that means it took 3.87 lbs of feed to create 1 pound of steer.
To date, the total investment for this 9 month old steer is $657.70. That translates to $1.20 lb (live weight) Or $657.70.

(His total cost does not include the cost of hay (he eats $1.25 / day in hay), bedding, water, electricity, time, tax, butchering/wrapping, etc.)

Now let's talk about swine...

These two glorious "Gilts" (girl pigs) have eaten a total of 1825 lbs of feed.

The total cost of raising these two pigs is: $503.44 (or $251.72 for each pig) This too does not reflect the cost of hay (yes they eat hay :), bedding material, water, electricity, time, household food, tax, butchering/wrapping/smoking, etc...

Let's guess that these two piggies have a combined weight of 500lbs. That means it took 3.65 lbs of feed to make one pound of oink. And they cost roughly $1.00 / lb (live weight)

Let's cross our fingers on our market swine! According to the 2007 Outagamie Co. Livestock Sale report, the average price paid out to the kids per swine was $3.13/pound- Making the average price per animal $851.06. $529. being the lowest priced swine from last year. And $1411.00 being the highest priced swine. 101 swine were sold at the sale last year.

We chose the swine project this year to help us recover ($$) from the expense of raising show lambs / goats.

The lambs are still doing wonderful! Here is the breakdown on them:

Of the 3 lambs heading to show, 1 currently weighs 124lbs, one weighs 122lbs, and one weighs 117lbs!

These 3 lambs have eaten 1250lbs of grain stuff. That's over 1/2 a ton!!!!

It took 3.72lbs of grain stuff to create 1lb of lamb.
These 3 lambs cost $1.92 per pound (live weight)
Just an "FYI" these figures were calculated prior to the lamb's last weigh in. (in case you were wondering why the math doesn't jive!)

Have a great day!

The 1 A.M Knock...

There I was... Sleeping. Lol! OK Let's try this again.

It was the middle of the night. I was hard asleep on the couch, when I heard a faint sounding knock on my front door. The dog started barking- I mean BARKING like he was ready for blood. Which is kind of humorous because during the day he has been wearing his anti bark collar. And because I don't think he would know what to do with a stranger other than lick them to death. But it was sounding quite impressive! It was one moment in time that I was absolutely grateful he wasn't wearing that no bark collar!

Waking up in the pitch black of night, living out in the stix, husband not home...baby sleeping... I didn't answer the door. I was hoping that whomever was knocking in the middle of the night would just go away! I have lived in this house for almost 8 years- and have NEVER had anyone come calling this time of the night (well, technically- "Morning", given that it was after midnight!)

So I left it... Only to hear "knock, knock" "BARK!" "BARK!" "growl..."

This time I figured I better deal with whatever it is on the other side of the exterior wall that was repeatedly wanting my attention. I crept through the black living room and tried to find the peep hole on my door (That little tiny speck of a hole is hard to find in the dark!). I finally found it! And long behold what do I see?!?!?...

An officer from the Sheriff's department!

I was actually relieved! Even though I had no idea WHY the deputy was here, I figured it was a WAY better option than the idea my mind came up with all on its own! That one wasn't pretty!

And so I answered the door. Here I was, hiding behind the steel entry door, one hand on the dog's collar, the other trying to open the storm door to greet him.

The officer asked me if I owned a black horse, and proceeded to tell me that it was "out" (aka: loose)

I told him to just give me a minute and I will meet him outside. So I closed the door, came in got dressed - UM, YES- DRESSED. Now that I look back on things, I was SO groggy (sleeping pills don't allow for middle of the night clear thinking) that I completely forgot I wasn't wearing PANTS / UNDERWEAR!!! As I look back on things, I thought that when I answered the door I had on my "night gown"! Oh the horror he must have witnessed!!! I bet that I burned a not so pretty image in his head! And to think I was scared to answer the door- If he would have known ahead of time what he was about to see- HE would have been scared to knock! lol!

So... Long story short- Someone saw my BLACK horse running around in the BLACK of night and called the Sheriff's department. I was very grateful that she didn't play "whack a car" on our road out front. I don't think my homeowners insurance man would have liked that! Plus it would have left an awful mess on my road that the town has been painstakingly prepping for resurfacing.

I go outside, see the horse standing in my backyard wanting nothing more than to be back with her "lover" my Clydesdale. I rip off my freshly put on sweatshirt (yes, I have clothes on underneath!- I wasn't about to shock the poor officer again!) wrap it around the horses neck and lead her back to the paddock. We call that maneuver a "Redneck Lead Rope". lol.

THAT'S when I looked down and realized I WASN'T wearing Jammie's under my freshly put on sweatshirt and shorts- That it was just a t-shirt (and a short one at that!) I was silently mortified! Hoping that I really DID stay behind the door when I opened it!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Who would have THUNK it!?







Did you know Pigs absolutely LOVE water??? I swear, watching those two pigs play in a $10.00 pool filled with water- Is just PRICELESS!
Enjoy the pics!! :)











Sunday, July 6, 2008

Because Fuel Prices have Sky Rocketed...


So now that the cost of gas is $4.00 / gallon, I have found that I do not drive to as many places as I had used to. In order to not go stir crazy from being housebound, we have started to create our own entertainment around here!


Here's my new ride! LOL! It must be pretty fuel efficient and environmentally friendly- Given that it DOES run on corn~! LOL! I wonder how she does in traffic? Or how long it would take me to go to the mall? LOL! I don't quite know where to put the blinkers though... Or how to register it with the DMV!

And one little p.s- No, I am not REALLY sitting on it... It only looks that way :) No pigs were injured in this photo -= LOL!~