Growing Food and Animal Husbandry, Including Pics!

['thul]

That fence sounds very good... The fence 'thul have been around was much more improvised.

By "bulls" these beings assume you do not mean the male form of a bovine animal?

The considerable lack of wild rabbits in the region of 'thul (coincidence?) makes the need for buried boundaries unnecessary, but it sounds good for permanent installations...

'thul do wonder why there are no migrating zombie herds down under...

['thul]

These beings have talked to those that know that old dog best, and there has not been any history of any particular situation that caused the hip problem, and it has been there for many, many years... Most probably born with it... but it was never visible on any of the various medical checks...

[Farseer]

By "bulls" these beings assume you do not mean the male form of a bovine animal?

Actually, I do mean the male form of a bovine animal, 'thul. We had about twenty-five head in our homestead compound (though not actually in our house yard) the last time one decided to trample his way over my vegetable garden fence!

That's interesting re your dog's condition but there are just so many different bone/hip problems out there, it would be difficult to know for sure if there'd been something or not. While Perthes is often undetectable via x-ray in the beginning, it can be diagnosed from bone scan imaging or later from x-ray as the condition progresses (at least in the case of humans!).

My son was first diagnosed at age ten after he just woke up one morning and couldn't stand or walk. There had been no trauma eg an accident etc leading up to the onset of his pain but he spent the next three months completely bed-ridden and the following four to five years often in bed or getting around using crutches and/or in a wheelchair. It was only last year that I could say he began to fully immerse himself back in his life. His local doctor had diagnosed it immediately, through a bone scan, but his orthopaedic surgeon in Townsville had refused to even ackowledge he'd had it for another twelve months, when it finally showed up clearly on x-ray.

My daughter, on the other hand, has it in both of her hips and has experienced pain since she was around two years old....though the symptoms and pain levels seemed to have accelerated quite dramatically around age five. Nearing her tenth birthday, I hope it will begin to decrease soon.

I also have a problem with my left hip and had that pain present as a child but, after having broken my coxic playing netball on a concrete court and falling straight on my bottom, all pain was later attributed to that...as it turns out, I may also have had Perthes that was wrongly diagnosed/undiagnosed.

All very interesting given my previous comment that Perthes in humans is supposedly not passed down but it is in dogs...and yet two-thirds of my children seem to have acquired it from me...!

Whatever it is with your dog, he has done well to have had such a long life it seems.

Being an island contintent, and thus a home 'girt by sea', I imagine it is somewhat difficult for zombies to make landfall here, at least without superior swimming skills...and, even then, our waters are well patrolled by toothed sea dogs such as the great white...

['thul]

That might be one reason for the lack of those herds. the natural fortifications (like the great barrier reef) might also be a reason...

[Nuytsia]

Thanks for the tip on chook manure Farseer, yep I am stockpiling it and have used it a bit. I haven't made liquid manure yet but that's on the agenda too!
At the moment there's not a lot of call for fertilising as the weather's too cold for much growth. About the only thing I have doing anything interesting at the moment is garlic which has been up for about a month.

Argh bulls yes, when we first moved here there was a nice crop of corn coming along from the previous owner...... enter one bull (or I think it was a steer actually) from next door and there goes the corn!

INdoors I am about to make my micro harvest of capsicums! (and am still getting tomatoes)

[Farseer]

I have been away for a few days but during my travels I picked up another five female chicks...I couldn't get any Rhode Island Reds but these are apparently RIR crossed with...something (I wasn't listening when this part was disclosed to me, but I guess I will discover what it was once they grow! ). They were the last five in the shop and our other old dears will soon need replacing, though we will look at getting another dozen RIR not too far away...

Fantastic to hear that your hard work has paid off with your tomato production! Our pumpkins are coming along nicely and that's just what we need for this cooler weather...lots of extra pumpkin for soups and stews (and the obligatory pumpkin scones, of course)!!

['thul]

might that something be a pterodactyl?

[Nuytsia]

I hope your new chooks aren't as naughty as ours are turning out to be!
Everything I read said Australorps are a nice docile breed, but lately ours have taken to flying over the fence of their pen and getting into things they shouldn't!

['thul]

These beings have now had to deal with the family dog, which has liking for the licking of feet...

[Farseer]

My chickens have died.

While we were off, gallivanting around the state supporting our sons in their various activities this past week, the jackeroos "forgot" to feed and water them.



The upside is that they at least remembered the chooks (the chickens were in a chicken cage in the chook house so don't ask me how they could have forgotten the chickens which chirp like mad things!) and all other pets, and plants etc. Very frustrating though...especially when they are being paid to remember!

EDIT: Seeing as I am the one who cooks for and feeds them, I am certain that they would quickly object if I "forgot" to bake them a cake today or "forgot" to prepare their dinner tonight after a long day out in the paddock!