Tons to update

Zeke and I went to sheepdog clinic the previous weekend and had an absolute ball. We are really starting to click as a team. I came home well pleased with our progress and a few items I need to work on. It's a beautiful thing to see the border collie work, they are an incredibly talented canine. Below are a few shots of Zekie at work.

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On the fowl front

You might remember Jessica. The above picture is her at 1 week old, last year

Jessica now at 1 year with a whole bunch of her own babies!

My mom went out to look at our critters and found Jessica doing her best to cover up the little cuties. Our plans changed a little for the day as I needed to secure the ducklings so they didn't wander into the yard and become something other than ducklings. My mom thought it was the best mother's day gift ever! Good job Jessica!

I can't forget to highlight my other two mommas here at the Jackson Corral

Maran momma and her 4 chicks - one is under her to keep warm.
Keep your fingers crossed they are all pullets!!!

And last but not least Freeloader and her beautiful baby


Enjoy the pictures and thank you for joining me...I truly believe life is best savoured when shared with the ones you love.

Pictures, pictures and more pictures

Yesterday was a fabulous day and I captured a few of the critters having fun!

Freeloader and her 1 week old chick - she is a very good mom....and a wee bit protective. I filled the feeder and waterer and then she decided she would whack me with all she had. Such a thankful chicken...

Wylie, Zeke and Tweed - just waiting for me to kick the ball

duckling 5 weeks grey mallard

Tweed 4 1/2 months

"did you say cookies?"

Look at me...I'm a sheepdog!

how long do I have to sit here?????

Spike 13 yrs - just after a bath

Zeke - 4 yrs - chillin' after a game ball

Yet another surprise at the Jackson Corral.

Saturday morning I stepped out onto my deck to do my chores and what do I hear right underneath me???? A very loud peep, peep, peep, peep. I thought oh dear, which one of my critters has made a nest under my deck. I was trying to recall which duck or chicken I hadn’t seen in awhile, approximately 28 days. I couldn’t think of any that had “gone missing”. I certainly had and still have some acting very broody, ‘tis the season I say. I quickly popped back into the house to find a bright flashlight to peek through the deck slats. A funny sight for sure, I am quite certain my husband got a laugh at me peering through the slats. Sure enough I could see a little fuzzy chick not much bigger than a golf ball peeping it’s little heart out. This will give me my opportunity to find out whom the momma is. There she was, all puffed up and was very chatty when anyone went close to the deck. Of all the chickens I have, I would not have guessed that Free Loader would have been the mom. She ran back under the deck to be with her baby. So I wait, and wait, and wait to see if she would come out. No deal. She waited until the next day to bring out her little fuzzy chick.

Making your nest under my deck is not safe from predators nor does it make me happy, not that Free Loader cares, as now I have to go fish out the eggs that didn’t hatch. I can tell you, it doesn’t smell great.

Intro to Free Loader
For the record this wasn’t a chicken I purchased. She just showed up and adopted us 5 years ago. She was hanging out with a band of feral turkeys that roam around Talbot. Apparently the Jackson Corral offered accommodations that better suited her, and so she stayed. She has only laid eggs in our yard a handful of times. Usually my neighbors have called and informed me they found her clutch of eggs in various spots, like the ducting to my neighbors wood shop, in behind the hedge or in my husband work bench. That was my favorite. She was sitting there on the second shelf of a tall work bench looking like she belonged there. Oh she is a silly bird. There is no containing her, she is crafty (for a chicken), very light bodied and can fly up and over my 5 foot fence that keeps the fowl in and the dogs out.

It will be another 3 weeks until my Blue Splash Maran hopefully hatches out her first brood. Fingers crossed!

Zekie's Sheepdog Cam

Doug and I fitted Zeke with a camera in the hopes that we could see what Zeke sees when he is herding. This short clip is working ducks, i will admit not the best footage..... I think we were all getting a little tired, minus Zeke of course, by the time we got some acceptable footage. I lost track how many times we had to film until getting just the right angle for the camera on his head. We used felt, foam, a head strap, velcro, tape.....and the list goes on. Don't worry, all of what we used weighed less than 2 oz. Zeke didn't even know it was on his head once I sent him to work ducks.

Now that we have this, I can assure you there will be more Zekes' eye view videos

The waiting is over!

The waiting is finally over.....Bonnie, my mallard call duck hatched 4 cutie pies. The whole family of law breaking ducks, Bonnie, Clyde and the ducklings had slipped under the kennel door and were found swimming in a large puddle in our yard.


The babies are just a little bigger than ping pong balls. So very sweet!

On to the Marans, my Blue Splash Maran hen is now only sitting on 2, count 'em 2 eggs. Smarts do NOT run in this line of chickens.

What do yo get when a hen makes her nest at the edge a top of hay bales and likes to actively scoot her eggs around her nest.

Answer: All your eggs fall to the ground and only a few are left in your nest.

I rearranged the once dog kennel, now chicken jail, to have two nesting spots where the hens cannot accidently shove their eggs over the edge of a hay bale. Silly chickens!

After all that, I come back later in the day to see how the hens are liking their somewhat new digs and whom do I spy in the nesting area, the one, the only, Dumpling, my rooster. Oh heavens! Are you going to lay eggs now ?

It's now my favorite saying....there is never a dull moment at the Jacksons'!

Tweed and His Bed

We up loaded a different file type this time, hopefully it will play for all. If the video doesn't, try refreshing the view.

Enjoy the video, we had a ball taping and editing this clip.

The Great Waiting Game and One Tired Pup!

Look who I found sittin' on eggs this morning in my rabbit barn! The infamous Bonnie! She didn't seem to mind me feeding the rabbits this morning around her....and yes, that is a rabbit carry cage she has claimed as her nest. Not the best place for her to do this, but we will work around her. Hopefully in about 28 days, give or take a few, we will have ducklings! Last year all Bonnie gave me was rotten eggs...Ick! Thank heavens the dogs didn't find them first!

That is Dirty SnowBall off to the left munching her morning treats and Peanut, my one legged duck under her cage. They seem to be happy living together so who am I to say different?































Now on to the tired pup

We all went out this morning to stretch legs, run in the sun and I, to do my chores. It was a sniff fest. Wylie found a stick and did her usual bounce around and growl, not sure why she thinks thats a great game but she has done this forever. Tweed thought it might be fun so he found a stick then promptly dropped it and found a bone, that had to be a tastier choice! Zeke was off to find a ball for the neighbors to throw for him. Spike laid in the grass and soaked up the sun.

Once chores were done and the dogs looked like they could use a nap we headed for the house. I also need to take it easy as I am getting over a nasty cold.

Tweed loves his raised side dog bed, it's perfect for holding up the head of one tired pup! Hopefully my next post will be more video of Tweed showing his bed who is boss. It's hilarious what this puppy will come up with to amuse himself and us. It's good to be Tweed!