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Muddy Valley Farm

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Muddy Valley Farm

Category Archives: Chance

Mink in the Barnyard!

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Jodi in Chance, Chickens, Wildlife

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TL;DR Mink chases chickens, dogs chase mink, no one catches anyone.

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Sunny Saturday morning. Sipping my coffee and hanging around the barnyard, chickens breakfasting and softly conversing amongst themselves, when an ungodly yowling and snarling shatters our peace. What the heck?!?

In reply to my unasked question, a bolt of dark chocolate lightning erupts from under the Silkies’ coop and shoots towards the creek, triggering a wave of explosive chicken panic as it flashes down the line of coops.

Mink!!! Must have got pinched by the wire as it tried to force his way up into the Silkie pen.

I yell for dogs and K sends Liza. Then she runs for the big house, to get Chance. We all like to laugh at poor inept Chance, he usually just can’t compete. But there is one thing he is way better at than Liza, and that is rooting out little furry critters. It’s his proud ratter dog heritage.

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Over the next half hour, stealth alternates with panic as the cursed mink tries again; not once, not twice, but THREE MORE TIMES. We spend each few quiet minutes hunting, me in observation mode, piggybacking on Chance’s senses as he reconnoiters. He dashes here and there, sampling the breeze with his quivery nose, and then stopping stock still and listening so intently that his hunting flag of a tail gets forgotten and slowly subsides down.

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Every time he catches a fresh whiff or hears a minky slither his tail snaps back up, signalling both its direction and his progress.

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In these intervals Liza loses interest quickly, preferring to stand and stare hypnotically at the Silkies while Chance terriers up and down the creekside, busy at his work.

Then we catch another glimpse of manic furry plushness, twitching and flipping under a ledge, around a corner, through a pallet, behind the feed cans; feverish red eyes searching for a way in; so desperate to sink sharp fangs into hot, tasty chicken that it keeps coming back, even with human and dog defenders right there!

At each sighting Chance and Liza hurl themselves after the mink; growling, barking, furious hell hounds at first, simmering down to stereotypical bumblers as they get blocked by dense bush; outsmarted again by this crafty wild thing throwing them effortlessly off its trail.

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After a tumultuous half hour that leaves the flocks terrified but intact, and me weak-kneed and needing more coffee, the mink finally gives up and departs, perhaps to try its luck at the next coop on down the valley. As its scent fades away, Chance relaxes with satisfaction.

Everyone has their special talent, and loves the chance to excel, right Chance? Good job ratter dog!!!

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Mocha in the Barnyard

09 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by Jodi in Chance, Chickens, Farm Life

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We are puppy sitting this week while C and R are away at his sister’s wedding. So what better time to get young Mocha used to chickens?!

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If I can desensitize her now, it might save us some heart ache later. So we go hang out in the barnyard in the evenings. Mocha isn’t too interested in the birds but she does whine and shake when the barn cat stalks by.

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Chance spends his time stealing watermelon from the chickens.

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They try to steal it back, with no luck. Chance does love his watermelon.

Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie

23 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by Jodi in Chance

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When Chance first came to us, I noticed he slept a LOT. Some days it seemed he snoozed all day long, and it never seemed to disturb his night’s sleep like it would you or me.

A little concerned, I turned to Google to find out if his sleep habit was within normal ranges. I learned that dogs sleep 12-14 hours a day, and puppies and certain breeds even more, up to 20 hours a day. He is definitely on the high end of that spectrum.

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Chance often sleeps with his tongue sticking out, and that, combined with his large head, short legs and “big-dog-in-a-little-dog’s-body” attitude, makes us wonder if he might have Osteochrondrodysplasia…dog dwarfism.

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He sits on one haunch, as if his back is too long and front legs too short to sit normally, and he often sleeps with his head twisted awkwardly. But he seems to cope with his unusually shaped body, and the vet is unconcerned, so we will just let that sleeping dog lie too.

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He loves his solar powered naps, and I often think when I see him sleeping that he is leading a pretty nice dog’s life. Not bad for a little guy who was on death row down in San Bernadino before his mug shot got him a truck ride up to Canada.

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Chance the Amazing Telekinetic Dog

15 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by Jodi in Chance, Farm Life

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I picked up a couple new dog bones Thursday night, and from the moment they entered the house, Chance knew. They sat on the mantel between the kitchen and living room at first, but I knew he was pining for them, so I moved them to the sewing table in my office. Out of sight, out of mind, I thought.

I wanted to wait until he really needed distracting. Like when he got left behind on the next bush hike, which happens a lot, because his physique can’t handle the terrain. Poor little guy, he tries hard to stay right on the big dogs’ heels, but he high centres on logs, just about drowns in deep puddles, etc.

Tonight, relaxing in my chair reading, I heard a thump from my office, so I went to check it out. And there was Chance, standing at attention, focussing intently on the smaller bone. And it had moved! No longer next to the bigger bone, it was now hanging off the edge of the table!

 

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What an amazing dog! Of course he hadn’t TOUCHED the bone, not the best dog on earth! Chance would never stoop so low. He had simply wished hard, and the bone had begun to come to him!

Well that was that. I couldn’t force him to suffer any longer, I unwrapped it, and handed it over. After all, I don’t want him getting too good at telekinesis, he is already a handful!

 

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