Weekly Report 3-30-08 to 4-5-08

It was a good
week all in all. Benjaman got all his school work done. That was a feat since
Spring is shaping up so nicely here. It's been in the 70s all week with only a
little wind. The great outdoors was a huge temptation this week! We took lots
of breaks!

 

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href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YC3soxAJCmPs5HcGUaIWQceUfiCnYoOdq8QHNx09u0i3eQ3dusMuuqGdSjeZ504ucxbMSsV5Kfk3NNRArNv4aEKu1AMWgvCh_kBmeaL9F2VibbQ0D0srdBiUY1NU96aEsSdsiHcZfsA/s1600-h/Pipe+fence+4-2-08+resized.JPG">Pipe
Fence

Bo's going to Carrizozo to
get our trailer, now we can haul a ton of hay at a time (literally, 1 ton!).
It's been hard to take a weekend day to go get it since he's been working on
the fence every weekend. This is section of the pipe/wire fence along the horse
lane. The horses now have about a 500 foot stretch that's 20' wide. This is
called a Pasture Paradise. Bo went to a hoof clinic in Utah and the guy said
that healthy horse feet come from alot of walking. So...our horses will now
have to walk through a que to get to their food. You put the food on one end
and water at the other so they have no choice but to walk the cue. Not only
will it help their feet, it will keep them in better shape than just standing
at the food and water all day.

 

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Chicken

Poor Gimpy
chicken.  She's 4 years old and one of
the chickens that my mom kept for me while we were gone.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  We call her gimpy because when she was a
chick she dislocated her hip.  Jeremy
said we needed to kill her, but I just couldn't.  We had the vet look at her when he gave the horses their shots
that year.  He said a new hip socket
might grow in so we left her alone. 
Sure enough, a hip socket grew, but she still limps.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Gimpy is famous for very long brown eggs
which are often double yolks.  Well,
she's been a bit lethargic since she got home and hasn't laid in the 3 months
we've been back.  Last week she started
sitting in the nest box for hours a day. 
I thought maybe she was going broody, but usually they sit for 22 hours
a day right off the bat when they go broody. 
I happened to lift her feathers to see if she had an egg stuck.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  I saw the nastiest thing, Lice!style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Well, off I go to the feed store for a
de-louse powder for the chickens.  This
stuff is so caustic that I can't get it in their eyes or let them breathe
it.  I have to wear a mask, glasses,
long sleeves just to avoid exposure to me! 
There are 2 ways to de-louse a chicken. 
1. put the chicken in a trash with it's head sticking out and some of
the powder and shake.  (yeah, right! Not
my chickies!) 2.  Hold the chicken
upside down by it's feet so the feathers lay open and shake the powder onto
them.  I chose option 2.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Then I had to treat all 3 chickens even
though 2 of them didn't have any lice or lice eggs.  It's been a week since treatments and I'm happy to report that
all lice and eggs are gone.  Apparently,
lice and mites are common in chickens. 
We've had them for 4 years and haven't had any; I guess we were due.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Gimpy started laying eggs this week, but
broke it every time.  I finally got one
that was whole, but it didn't feel like the right weight so I decided to check
it.  To check if an egg is good you fill
a bowl with water and put the eggs in. 
The bad ones will float right on the top.  Well, her egg was good, but I broke it taking
it out of the bowl DOH!  The shell was
thinner than the other eggs.  So
hopefully, we'll have Gimpy eggs this week as she continues to feel better and
eats her lay pellets.

 

My neighbor,
Peggy, and I walked 3 times this week. 
We've been walking as much as our schedule and the wind allows, this was
a good week.  We walk about 2 1/4 miles
round trip.  We just added the 1/4
mile.  Belle loves the walk.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  I'm so glad I trained her on a leash when
she was young!  Bo doesn't believe in
leashes.  He teaches his dogs to stay by
his side.  But he was working so much
when we got Belle that he couldn't teach her that.  Bo's dog, JT, always stayed by his side.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  JT even stopped at intersections and checked
for traffic before crossing!

Benjaman had 4 baseball practices for a total of 7 hours
this week and only made it to 1 Jiu Jitsu class.  He also rode his bike on every walk.  He jumps on the trampoline every day.  He is not what people think of when they think
"homeschooler".  You know, the
skin is green because they spend all day inside in front of the comptuer, game
system or tv!  He is very active!style="mso-spacerun: yes">  We only made it to one park day this week
though.  Too much schoolwork to make the
2nd park day.  Baseball season opens for
him next weekend.  His team will play 2
games a week until the beginning of June.