Wacky Weather!

What is up with this weather! It is February but feels like April! WE have a saying in this neck of the woods that if there is no snow on black butte, then it is clear for planting. But what if it's February? Are we able to plant this early? What about the winter freezings? Are we going to get any more cold or snow? Some people are noticing their garlic shoots already coming up as well as onion shoots and other fall plantings! I have even heard that the bears of Yellow Stone are emerging from their short winter slumber!

I have been hearing a lot of crazy things about the predictions of the weather and how it is going to pan out for our Central Oregon area. Well, I tend to follow the Old Farmer's Almanac. According to them, we are going to see a little bit more of precipitation but it looks like when that is due that we are going to be in warmer temps so it may come as rain and not snow. As far as down off the mountains, it looks like we are done with snow. Now, because I work at the ,now famous, Alfalfa Market Store, I kind of have an inside scoop. I had a customer that said that there is still snow on the mountain! He went snowmobiling and said that him and his buddies were the only ones out there because everyone thinks that there is not enough snow to do anything. Hoodoo, i think was only open for one whole day this whole winter season but Bachelor has a 34-36" base.

I am no weather woman or meteorologist by any means, nor do I claim to be, but I see a hot dry season ahead of us. Back to the almanac, It predicts a below average precipitation for us CO folks from here on out. Hopefully it will not cause a shortage on the irrigation. If you are itching to plant because of this springlike weather, I suggest root crops and cold hardy crops only with some coverings to put over them in case of overnight lows getting even close to freezing.

It's Chick Season!

I am so excited to have a new batch of chicks this year to rotate out my old flock. To stay in my boundaries of being cost efficient and sustainable, I decided to choose the Buff Orphington breed of chicken. Here are some of the reasons that I chose this breed.

1. This breed is very docile and a "family friendly" bird. They, in my opinion, have one of the best temperaments as far as chickens go. They are even known as one of the most docile breeds as far as pecking order within the flock.

2. They are very loyal to their coop. This means that when they are let to free range, they do not stray very far from the coop.

3. These birds are one of the best breeds for raising your own flock. Orphington's are one of the best mother hens of all chickens. They take great care of their babies.

4. When it is time to rotate out your flock again, these birds grow to an average of 8-10 lbs so that means that these birds are perfect for the freezer when they are done laying for you!

**When the chicken is over one year old, they are not tender enough for a typical oven roasted chicken. The meat would be good for recipes that call for cooked cubed/shredded chicken like chicken pot pies or chicken enchiladas. You can also use the chicken to make and can chicken stock for future use, and don't forget about chicken noodle soup! (Just to name a few) For recipes, check out my other blog Mymy's Kitchen!

2015 Buff Orphington Chicks @ Bamer's Acres

A mama Buff and her chicks

Moon Blindness

I had my vet come out the other day to look at my horse, Harley,'s eyes. He seemed to be blind in his right eye and I wanted to know if it was a degenerative eye condition or an old injury. After a thorough look over, the vet concluded that he has Moon Blindness. This can be a potentially dangerous thing and the horse could lose his eye from it. Luckily, Harley is not to that point. 

According to my further research, this type of eye problem is called 'equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). 

This may be one of the first documented veterinary diseases dating back to possibly 4,500 years ago! It was dubbed the term Moon blindness because in the 1600's, it was believed that the recurring attacks were linked to the phases of the moon. 

There could be many causes for moon blindness. Some include trauma to the eye and a bacterial infection such as brucellosis, but one of the most common causes is an infection with Leptospora. Leptospira is a spiral shaped bacteria that is found in areas with standing, stagnant water. The blindness is not caused by the bacteria, but by the immune response of the horse when infected with Leptospira. There can be flair-ups of this disease even after years of dormancy. These flair-ups can occur in times of stress such as vaccination, deworming, and long trips in the trailer.

My vet said to use Banamine to treat Harley when there are signs of a flair-up. Banamine is a non steroidal anti inflammatory. He told me that flair ups can be detected when the horse's eyes are weepy, swollen and or inflamed. It looks like the horse has pink eye. I have been told by other horse owners that I should invest in a fly mask to keep the flies and the sun out of his eyes to discourage flair-ups. Have you ever dealt with ERU? What was your experience? What did you do?

*For more information on Moon Blindness in Horses, please visit this website that I found that has a great explanation on the disease. Out of all my research, this has the best information. 

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/18087/moon-blindness

**This article is not meant to diagnose or treat moon blindness in horses. If you feel that your horse has this disease, please contact your local vet.