About Me

My photo
Animation, Animals, Comics, Cartoons, Scripts, Screenplays, Musicals, Children's Books, Music, and more!!!!!!....... My dog is big....REAL BIG.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

New Jersey Giant Chickens

Ok...so I never gave an update on our New Jersey Giants.




(This is what the chickens look like)

The New Jersey Giants are beautiful birds. The have a green sheen on their feathers and beautful brown eyes. I actually liked the hens a lot. They were very sweet.

Not only do these chickens eat a TON.....they are huge. I had 25 of them and was buying at least one 50 bag of feed each week. (Probably more like 1.5 bags.)
They eat so much. The eggs are actually really small. I was really surprised considering how big these chickens are. Anyway, I noticed that after I started putting them outside that the rooster was awesome at protecting them. It was cool to watch. At night he would corral all his lady hens in, and he would stand guard. Nothing....and I mean...NOTHING...scrared that rooster. Not even Sophie. His lady hens were very safe under his watchful eye.

Soon, the rooster got bigger...and bigger....in fact, we named him, "The Black Knight". We called his brood, "The Harem of Hens". The ladies were big, but he was twice as big. He always stood guard like a junkyard dog.

...and then he got mean. I am not kidding when I say that I feared for my life with that bad boy. I kept trying to remind him, that I was his friend and that I took care of him and his lovely harem....but he didn't care. He wanted no part of my nice-ness.
He wanted to kill me.

Once, when I went out to feed, he came after me....I realized that I was wearing a bright red shirt. Duh. He must have thought I was trying to be a matador..and he was the raging bull.
Man, I ran. I probably screamed like a girl. I barely escaped.

I started to rethink these chickens. They weren't worth having a mean rooster around. Do I butcher him and keep his lovely hens?..It didn't seem right. I think we had the chickens for almost 2 years before I had enough of his mean-ness.

So, the meaner he got by the day, the more determined I was to have him gone. My kids wouldn't even go near him. We would walk friends out and stand by the fence to prove that he was a maniac killer rooster. And yes, it only took a second for them to believe me.

Its funny, cuz I have had lots of roosters, but never had one this crazy. And it didn't matter that I was so dang nice to that basta...I mean fellow. Once, we had a Red rooster that got mean. He jumped up on my son's shirt, clawed into his chest and kept his claws dug in while he grabbed his face and was pecking him. I immediatleg grabbed that pecker neck by his scrawny neck and walked him over to a cardboard box. That was the last we saw of him. I took him out to an old field and let him go. I let the foxes take care of him.

When Black Knight's spurs reached about 4 inches, I knew his time had come. He was either dinner, or he was going to terrorize someone elses backyard. I actually found a farmer, who wanted the whole bunch. I warned him over and over that his life was at stake, but he still wanted that mean ol' rooster and his harem of hens.....so I gave them to him. We had to use a fishing net (fabric net..not plastic netting) to catch him...We were scared to death.
I knew I could't miss.
I shoulda got it on film. It was epic.
Someone was looking out for me cuz I got him at my first try.

We were in awe as we studied up close those deadly spurs. Ooooooooooo.
They would look awesome mounted on the wall next to some deer antlers.

So, that was the end of The Black Knight and His Harem Of Hens. We'll surely never forget them.

That same week, I went out and got some sebrights (those roosters are pretty mean for a small bird too), and I got a few Leghorns. They are as sweet as can be.

yee haw.

Yee Haw

Howdy.

Sophie and I have been trying a few new things lately. I am trying to teach her when not to bark, and when to bark. It's not very easy. I wish that I had a cat or two while she was growing up because they seem to make her bark the most. I get cats and stray/ unleashed dogs wandering in my yard all the time.
Anyway, I am pretty sure that Sophie knows what a cat is. I just have to convince her that they aren't a threat. I'll keep working with her.

One thing that she does that I love, is that when we walk, I am always on alert noticing who is around me. Joggers, walkers, dogs, dog walkers, etc. Since Sophie is so busy sniffing around, if I see someone approaching, I basically say, "Sophie, no bark". She will always look up to see what I am referring to. She just stays calm as the jogger runs by, or the walker walks by. It is really cool.

We have been loving the weather. We have only seen about 1 snow storm...it snowed 10 inches, but other than that, its been low 60's and 50's. We can't complain about that.

I bought a new tether for Sophie. It's 30 feet. It's actually a plastic coated wire. I've never used one. I guess I'll find out if I like it.

We had a neighbor's dog that we watched for 7 or 8 days. It was a small sheltie. Sophie loved having her around. It was fun to watch them play and chase each other. Sophie gets along with nearly every dog I introduce her to. One time, there was a german weimaraner that came by...that was the only dog I 'ver ever seen Sophie not like. I'm not sure what bugged her, but it wasn't good. Our neighbor's daughter brings her german shepherd around and Sophie likes him alot too. We also have a tea cup yorkie, and Sophie likes to hang out with her. I have to be careful though because Sophie is so big, but she actually does awesome with her.

Sophie needs a bath this week. I better get it done while the weather is good. I love it when Sophie gets a bath. Her coat is all grizzly and rough looking like a bear and she looks so cool.
I will be posting some pics...and probably some videos soon.

yee haw.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Sophie

I have had Sophie nearly 5 years (in april). She has been such an awesome dog. If I could change something about her, it might be her super loud bark...but it's not her fault. We live in a neighborhood where most have large lots (an acre or two), and people walk by more than I would like. Sophie barks at them as she is supposed to. She also will bark at cats who decide to wander into my yard.

We have received a few complaints over the years and try hard to minimize her barking....but how can you keep an anatolian from doing what she is meant to do. Guard and Bark (alarm).
It is very frustrating. So much so that we are planning to move, but it is going slower than we had hoped....which leads us to our recent complaint of excessive barking. If I get another, I will be in court with a very large fine. We are so frustrated. We try to minimize her barking, but I work during the day which makes it impossible to stop. ....It doesn't help when other dogs enjoy coming into my yard, and those pesky cats. Arggghhhhhhh. It makes us crazy.

Well, today, I got another complaint. (same person) Yesterday, Sophie was barking a lot due to some loose dogs. Sure enough, I got a note again about her excessive barking. (at least it wasn't a ticket). Now I am forced to sell Sophie. There are no other options at this point. We would love for her to go to a farm somewhere.

Most inquiries I have had are in southern Utah. I also had some interested parties in Idaho and Washington. One guy even wanted her to be his house dog where there is no yard. I told him no.

Its painful to have to let her go, but its better to let her go, then to see her go to the kennel where they would most likely put her down since she has a record (the firework incident). Arghhhh.

Howdy

Well, I thought I'd give a Sophie update. Everything ended up working out with our firework incident. We had a visit from animal control and we explained our side. The officer did have to report the incident, but the couple that Sophie was barking at didn't want to press charges. They said that they were more scared and started than anything...and maybe they even over-reacted a bit. I don't blame them. Sophie is a big dog with a big bark. She could easily take on a wolf or mountain lion if she had to.

Sophie has been so playful lately. She loves the cooler fall weather and wants to be more active. Tonight as we walked, I saw a woman riding a bike towards us. I told Sophie that is was okay and not to bark. (she hadn't noticed her just yet) The lady got closer, Sophie looked up and wanted to woof, but didn't. I love when she listens.

She broke through her teather a couple months ago. I haven't bought a replacement. I can tell she misses hanging out while I worked the garden. Sorry Soph....not til I get another teather.

The weather has been warm all week. High 70's. We should get in the 50's by the weekend.

I hope for a loooong fall...but it looks like it will be cold....and some are predicting a cold, white, snowy, winter. Yuck.


Monday, July 2, 2012

sad sad sad

well..its been a while since I posted. Life has just been busy.
Sophie has grown alot and continues to be an amazing guard-dog...
However...
Last night something went terribly went wrong outside our back door.

Being near the 4th of July, there are alot of fireworks going off at night. Sophie doesn't really like the noise and whimpers a little because she gets scared. I usually bring Sophie in around 8 pm or so each night...but since it is so hot, and it doesn't get dark until 9:30pm, I have been waiting a little longer.

Last night, around 9:45pm, as I was laying down, I was thinking that I need to bring Sophie inside. Around 10 pm I heard a bark and a scream. I immediately ran to the backyard within seconds thinking that another dog must be in my yard and Sophie is barking at it....but I suddenly realized that she was on the other side of our house and she was somehow outside of her kennel. I came running to her on one side of the street as she barked at a male and female couple across the street. I was being cussed at and yelled at by the couple who were apparently on a late night walk. They were yelling and claimed that Sophie attacked them.

First of all, Sophie was outside her kennel and on the street. Yes...that was an apparent problem off the bat. Second, I couldn't figure how she got out because she is never out unless she is with me on a leash. But here I was getting cussed at by a frantic couple claiming that Sophie bit and attacked them. I was very startled because Sophie has never bit anyone...ever. She may bark a loud bark, but she has never bit anything but a beef bone. I was trying to make sense of everything. "She attacked and bit you?" I asked in disbelief.

Sure enough, the man did have a small puncture wound on his knee, and there was a little blood. They were scared and quite shaken up ...as they should be. Sophie is big, and if I encountered a big dog and a loud bark, I would take defense against her too. But he did say, "she got what she deserved", and that he "got her real good". So apparently he got a few good licks in.

I tried to talk to them and ask what happened. I couldn't understand and tried to get specifics. In between cussing me and the dog out in front of all my kids, they just said that Sophie attacked and bit him...but I have no specifics...where, how, what exactly happened????I apologized profusely and asked to exchange information. I said that this has never happened before, and that Sophie is never out of her kennel without me. They wouldn't even talk to me they were so upset. I don't blame them.
I didn't get names, or any info. He just said he would be reporting it. Then they left.

We were stunned and horrified. How did Sophie get out? We had some neighbor kids playing by her kennel earlier and I assumed that maybe they unlatched her kennel somehow. We were all sick to our stomach as we walked back to the house. Sophie was even limping a bit.

I put her away and went to the kennel to investigate just how she got out. The door was latched. I checked all sides of the kennel and found a small 10x 10 hole that she peeled back from the chain link. I couldn't even believe that she managed to squeeze that enormous body through that small hole...but how else could you explain it? Wow.....if only I brought her in earlier.

We checked Sophie out. She seemed a bit shaken too. She seemed a little hurt too. I looked at her teeth and claws but couldn't see much. Boy, I wish she could talk so I could get some answers. Did she really attack him? Did she really come across the street and aggressively bite him? Did she bark and he was in fear so he made the first move and then she bit? Was it her paw that punctured him or her tooth? I have no clue. All these questions and more kept going through my mind.
The whole thing lasted about 45 seconds. Sophie wasn't even barking when we came out trying to talk to the couple. I have so many unanswered questions.

I figured that she was spooked by the neighbors fireworks and managed to peel the chain link and came out of the kennel an was probably sniffing around the house (as she usually does when I am walking her.)  Then she must have encountered the couple as they walked down the street.

I didn't go in to work today and mended the fence. Sophie seemed sad and far away. She didn't bark hardly at all. I wondered if she is hurt too? I waited all day to hear from the animal control but never did. I have no idea what will happen. We are extremely sorry that this even happened and would like to work it out...but we don't know what the couple will do. We don't even know where they live. Will this get ugly and go to court? Will they pursue other avenues to have the dog destroyed? We have no idea what to expect.

I wish our world was one where we could talk and work things out without lawyers and insurance companies. We are extremely responsible dog owners....but it doesn't matter. It only needs to happen once....and something like this could happen to anyone.

I guess we'll have to wait and see....

sad sad sad