Heel low:
I would like to welcome you to my family...to my life living here in paradise.
I would like to welcome you to my family...to my life living here in paradise.
Pear-A-Dice
I am a retired accountant that drives school bus (to buy bird seeds!) and my husband Rick is a grader operator and cabinet maker.
Latest photo of Glorph & my "Boy!" - July 26, 2014
My spouse and I run Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Central Alberta, Canada. We are a biosecure hobby farm with no expectations of profit...happiness is not normally found on any Income Statement but we see that all the more reason to continue to pursue it with ZEST!
We love what we do and hope to be able to share that feeling through photos and my words about daily life living the dream.
We are intense and dead serious about our FUN! Not a day goes by where we sit idle (idleness is the holiday of fools!). Every day is precious and every day is a brand new start to the future fun. Something to look forward to and enjoy to the fullest. Bring her on!
I'm a truck gal thru and thru...lift that load, tote that bale...get her done so we can have dinner, eh!
Tractor for lifting, moving, tilling, snow removal...
Life has been made SO much easier here with equipment to use. My Hero takes care of so many tasks to help run this place.
Speaking of which...better intro the live things since they are the whole reason for the existence of the Ranch!
Our family has had poultry, dogs, and livestock since we were children (my spouse and I have a combined 90+ years of experience in having tons of FUN!). The happiness we seek is right behind our eyes and enjoyed here every single day.
We raise poultry (heritage chickens, heritage turkeys, pheasants, ducks, geese, Ruddy Shels, and swans), Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, and Australian Cattle Dogs. We blame the dogs for all the troubles they have herded us into...yes, bad stock dogs...BAD DOGS!
Anyone just has to see the facilities and resources (some 30 buildings--go see "My Coop" for more on those) we extend to our animals to realize we are in this for the sheer love of the hobby. Our animals are raised as naturally as is sensible; we do not raise our waterfowl on wire (like many people do!) and have a zero predation record since Earth Day 2007.
We practise many biosecure protocols and will use chemicals as per our vet's advice to keep parasites under control.
Have done fecal floats here at home to determine worm loads and use labs to do DNA testing for gender in our swans and DNA colour genetics in our dogs (taught 450+ Biology 30 students canine colour presentations over the years with ACDogs Makins and HyBlade).
Never used antibiotics on any of the poultry but would in an instant (have some on hand for emergencies which I often have to replace because they have expired--sigh!) as per our vet's instructions.
We are devoted poultry "Fanciers" and take great pride in our birds. I use to show waterfowl but quit due to biosecure concerns--my vet's preaching of "Do you want what everyone ELSE has?," finally sunk in! Our first entry at a sanctioned poultry show was in 2006 and our entry of Rosy was the very first Blue Fawn Call duck hen to ever go Reserve in Breed here in North America...at the time this variety was unrecognized (fully recognized now), so her win was totally against APA and ABA SOP rules. Was a neat way to start showing poultry, eh? Having our birds breaking the rules right from the very start!
I get asked what we have critter wise, so let's get that part over with so we can get down to the daily grinding of living the good life.
As of today...we have the following creatures!
Waterfowl:
DUCKS: Calls (24 varieties), East Indies, Mandarins (Wild & White), Crested Ducks (White, Grey, Black, & Black Bibbed), Australian Spotted (3 varieties), Dutch Hookbills (crested and non), & Appleyards (crested and non).
GEESE: Buff, Buff Tufted, & Buff Pied American.
Ruddy Shelduck/Shelgoose.
SWANS: Australian Black.
Landfowl:
BANTAM Chickens: Brahmas (Dark, Light, Buff, & Partridge), Wyandottes (White, Blue Dilutions, Laced, Barred, & Crele), Booteds (MDF & White), & Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff & White).
STANDARD Chickens: Chanteclers (Partridge, Buff, Red, & White).
Heritage TURKEYS: Wishard Bronze, Red Bronze, Blue Bronze (Red/Bronze Slate/Fawn), Red Blue Bronze, Blue Slate, Rusty Black, Dilute Rusty Black, Narragansett, Jersey Buff, JB Grey downed, Bourbon Red, Lilac, White & Sweetgrass/Ronquière (Black, Red & White (Desert Palm/Sweetgrass tricolour/Yellow-shouldered Ronquière), Black & White (Royal Palm BLACK patterned Ronquière Jaspee), Red & White (Royal Palm RED patterned Ronquière Fauve), & Rich red/chocolate patterned (Ronquière Perdrix).
PHEASANTS: Red Golden & Silver.
Registered: Australian Cattle Dogs, Jacob Sheep, Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, & Llamas.
Pond Fish.
I wouldn't trade it for anything
We do some pretty funky things now and again...this is the covered wagon Rick built for me...I braided up the harnesses, trained the rams, and Voila...
As with the birds, I use to show the Jacobs but for biosecure reasons, have now kept a closed flock since 2003.
I love the buildings Rick designs and builds for the ranch...he builds 'em and I fill 'em up! LOL
Rick even comes up with some rather nifty economical & useful inventions...such a smart man that one!
Oh, how I love my dogs & ducks (Fear The Duck!)
and my Hero, well he ALSO loves his trucks...
http://www.stovebolt.com/gallery/higgins_mapleleaf.html
Being a ranch, we are also working on restoring some big rig vintage farm trucks (six 1936 Chevrolet Maple Leafs, two 1928 Chev one-tons, 1989 Chev 4x4 one-ton, and our regular ride, a 1984 Chev 4x4).
Because I often get asked about the names and phrases we use...
The Ranch is named after the first initials of our all our names RAT; R for Rick, A for Alexander and T for Tara and my name backwards "a raT" and no, we do not raise RATS! We just think it is cute to call the place this as Alberta is touted to be rat free--'cept for us that is!
My salutation for each post begins with the greeting of Heel low to pay homage to the Heeler Dog's scissor grip and I will sign off each post with Doggone as that is where I am headed...to be with them dawgs out and about. Chicken UP! is a saying designed by Rick...for our youth exhibition poultry club. Round here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, you will often hear the cowboys/girls say "Cowboy up," well we just simply "Chicken UP" here!
For 30 years, I apprenticed in chooks with a bunch of barnyard mutts...Oh the MANY things those birds taught me...lots of beaky bitey pecks and wing slaps to the tete...proves even the dull and dumb can make progress given enough time and incentives!
We've slowly progressed somewhat from the backyard flocks over the years!
May as well talk about some of the last additions, first since a lot of the in-betweens will show up here on a day to day basis summarized when I find a moment to post on this thread about our ongoing family life.
What a summer we had last year...summer of the swans!
It was a life long dream for us to acquire Australian Black Swans.
In 2009, we brought in Stove Pipe (Holland import) and Smoke Stack (Alberta/Ontario cross).
We completed the dream last year on our Ranch's 15th year anniversary by importing two unrelated pens from the Southern States to complete the uniting of the two cobs with their mates...life long mates. And yeh, Black Swans have a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years...no light undertaking that commitment!
This May 7th, Pearl gave us five beautiful swan eggs (see my hand trembling below?)...Piper was moulting and not so interested in the next generation of Black Swans...but it does give us something promising to look forward to (nice to have that pending, eh?)...a future with cygnets!
Veg Garden - July 7, 2014
Because of so many weather factors living here, Rick built me a lovely greenhouse...now if I was not ever so busy hatching birds at that time of year...might see a bit more production plant wise!
We hatch birds here late compared to most (June to September) but then I get to enjoy putting them outside on the lawns as Day Olds! No worries either that there is not at minimum 14 hours of natural sunshine to ensure good quality egg shells and fertility is at its peak. The wild Wood Ducks in our area hatch ducklings for the end of June...why fight good sensible Nature? So we mimic her and enjoy the benefits of that.
We natural hatched all our poultry up until 2007 when we purchased Buster the Bator. We still natural hatch in the winter months, but do most of the other hatching using him.
Bantam & Standard sized chicks - July 14, 2014
Red standard Chantecler doing "face plant" in chick starter
After a bit of learning how to prune fruit trees, this Dolgo crabapple survived my attentions and sure makes a spectacular show every June.
I am a colour breeder and study colour genetics. I often find White birds terribly boring once they replicate truly. Our first attentions go to vigour and natural disease resistance, fertility & production, temperament and longevity....all BEFORE we care about "what the birds look like" as in phenotype!
I enjoy taking good quality, well shaped birds (breed) and instilling that into different varieties (colour patterns). My thoughts are that all the varieties within the breed should have the same positive attributes no matter what colour patterns they possess. I like the challenge there is in producing a rainbow of colours and patterns and then investing the years of fun & creative work it takes to make them pure breeding predictable varieties once again.
I have nine years invested already in making real blooded BANTAM Chanteclers from Standards.
I hope to have Partridge, Buff, and Whites in bantam chickens by doing what we have always done, retain the top three percent for breeding prospects and repeating that season after season after season.
Glenn Drowns wrote the latest edition of Storey's Guide to Poultry which has a farm profile on us in it...I figure it is a good short like summary of what we do here. I'll post that now to give you a general idea of some of the concepts regarding what we do here.
Storey's Guide to Poultry, by Glenn Drowns, 2012; Pages 318 & 319:
Production in our poultry is most important...you won't find me touting the virtues of heritage poultry that don't put good tasty firm meats and great delicious good-for-all eggs on our plates to be enjoyed.
For us, poultry = production or why would one bother raising birds without these BENEFITS to enjoy?
Bantam Duck Eggs
Left: 3 Indie eggs (note that the first eggs they will lay are dark!)
Middle: Circle of Call Duck eggs
Right: 3 Australian Spotted Duck eggs
Waterfowl Eggs
Top: 2 American Buff Goose eggs
Middle: 3 Silver Appleyard Duck eggs
Bottom: Left; 2 Production Rouen Duck eggs AND Right; 3 Dutch Hookbill Duck eggs
Whilst raising up heritage poultry costs MORE in time, efforts, and resources (feed & water well; your inputs = your outputs!) to do compared to the factory farm mush meats and grocery store swill eggs...the pay back in quality and taste <<a premium quality happiness product>> more than makes up for the added monetary expenditures! There is no price to be put upon the love that is created and shared when you choose to keep heritage poultry.
So let me close this beginning post with some of the lyrics from a great song that I adore and have used in the title of this new thread of ours.
A song all about...JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!
Just Another Day in Paradise
Phil Vassar:
The kids screaming, phone ringing
Dog barking at the mailman bringing
That stack of bills - overdue
Good morning baby, how are you?
Got a half hour, quick shower
Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour
My funny face makes you laugh
Twist the top on and I put it back
There goes the washing machine
Baby, don't kick it.
I promise I'll fix it
Long about a million other things
Well, it's OK. It's so nice
It's just another day in paradise
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be
Well, it's two hearts
And one dream
I wouldn't trade it for anything
And I ask the Lord every night
For just another day in paradise
Hope y'all enjoy these posts...posts from the Great White Northern Pear-A-Dice living the happy family life.
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada