vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
|
Post by vkp23 on Jan 31, 2011 0:09:49 GMT -5
I never did introduce myself when I joined (even have a mentor  ) so I figured I'd do that now. My name is Virginia and I'm 27 years old. I've been married to a wonderful man named Thomas for 8 years. We were one of those sappy love stories.  We only dated two months. We have 2 daughters. (Lizzy will be 6 next month and Marlee is 2) We are animal loves for sure. After our cat died Lizzy began begging for a pet. We raise chickens but they don't really fit the bill as something cute and cuddly and they usually are not interested in playing. So I went on a pet finding crusade. My husband already said no way to dogs or anymore cats. I had raised pet rats as a youth and looked into them. the problem is NONE of the shelters around here ever had rats, and the ones you find in the pet store are not friendly because they were not hand raised. I thought of guinea pigs, but they get sick or hurt WAY to easy for my train wrecks for kids. I looked into everything from hedge hogs to chinchillas to even pet foxes. Nothing fit due to how delicate they were to what would need to be done legally to own one. My husband said he had always wanted a ferret and so I went on weeks worth of research. Fell in love with them and here we are three ferrets later. And I feel this "ferret math" creeping up on me again. I feel like My three need another little buddy. I have one little boy and two girls. My first girl, Miko, I got from the pet store. I had intended on a rescue but couldn't find any. After I got Miko I FINALLY found a couple rescues, but I had issues with them because I would call and call and e-mail and e-mail and no one would answer me. Finally I had a woman with her own small rescue contact me and said she had a woman sending her ferrets to find new homes. She told me she would forgo the adoption fee if I could pick them up the next day after they got to her. I agreed and went to pick them up that Sunday. They are Timmy and Zip. They were is HORRIBLE shape! Skinny, dirty and sick. Timmy had a bladder infection. And they were scared of being left in the cage for all eternity. They would freak out at bed time. After a few days some TLC and a trip to the vet they are MUCH better. I've had the two of them for about 3 weeks now. Miko loves her new buddies. They are doing well on the switch to raw. And Zip has decided Lizzy is her fav person. Any way, that's my story. Here is a vid I made of our fuzzes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNH1HNDwtMw |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Jan 31, 2011 0:47:30 GMT -5
Glad to "meet" you, Virginia Those pics are adorable, and that video of Lizzy and Zip is too precious for words  They've bonded really strongly. |
|
|
|
Post by rarnold18 on Jan 31, 2011 2:25:28 GMT -5
LOL!!! We're going to go see Colt Ford on the 12th!!! AWESOME!!! there aint nooo trash...in my trailer.... O.O
|
|
candiceboggs
Going Natural
Ferrets are nature's anti-depressant.
Posts: 187
|
Post by candiceboggs on Jan 31, 2011 3:33:07 GMT -5
I didn't know your name is Virginia, now I do! ^_^ It seems like we have a lot in common. You married your hubby at one year older in age than I did mine, and our story's very sappy too!  And we're both big animal lovers. So true about the chickens not being all that cuddly or fun to play with necessarily...we want to get some, or at least some quail, when we move and have a backyard soon for fresh organic eggs for our cats and dog(s) and future ferret. Did you check to see if there were any reputable ratty breeders in your area? Where are you in Georgia, anyway? OMGOODNESS - Do you have a Piggly-Wiggly where you're at?! I lived with my grandparents for a few months when I was 9 and we would go there all the time and get King's Hawaiian Bread, I LOVE Georgia...except for all the flies and mud. XD Hahaha. |
|
vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
|
Post by vkp23 on Jan 31, 2011 4:45:28 GMT -5
Glad to "meet" you, Virginia Those pics are adorable, and that video of Lizzy and Zip is too precious for words They've bonded really strongly. I should have done this when I first joined, but I'm the type of person who just jumps on in and joins the fun. Just "POP" and there I am! |
|
vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
|
Post by vkp23 on Jan 31, 2011 5:04:28 GMT -5
I didn't know your name is Virginia, now I do! ^_^ It seems like we have a lot in common. You married your hubby at one year older in age than I did mine, and our story's very sappy too! And we're both big animal lovers. Yeah one of these days I should tell you guys the story of how he asked me out the first time. It was HILARIOUS! So true about the chickens not being all that cuddly or fun to play with necessarily...we want to get some, or at least some quail, when we move and have a backyard soon for fresh organic eggs for our cats and dog(s) and future ferret. Raising chickens is ADDICTIVE! Worse than ferret math! We started with 30 and weeded them down to 5 we wanted to keep. Ordered more weeded out. Hatched some out. weeded out. Soon we had 80! TONS of eggs! I started selling hatching eggs online. But over the past few months we've had SEVERAL other animals eating our chickens! We are now down to 1 hen and 5 roos!  All of our fav hens are gone! We are currently working on a new enclosure for them and are going to order some more. We did have about an acre of our property fenced off for them to roam but it apparently wasn't good enough.  But (IDK if you eat meat or not) but raising your own meaties is addictive too! You know the chickens had a good life. Fed well, plenty of room to roam and eat bugs and just get to do what chickens do.. And you know they are butchered in a humane way. And the meat taste SO much better. Not to mention it can help a lot with feeding your ferrets raw as well.  And unless you're willing to order 100 quail at a time, don't bother! All the hatcheries have minimum orders at for quail it usually 100. The hatcheries that do smaller orders, charge out the wazoo to do it! If you have any questions on poultry feel free to ask. If I don't have the answers for you I know where to find the answers. Did you check to see if there were any reputable ratty breeders in your area? Where are you in Georgia, anyway? I can find information like no ones business, but asking me to find breeders, FORGET IT! I look all over and can NEVER find breeders for ANYTHING I'm looking for! I live in the Athens area. OMGOODNESS - Do you have a Piggly-Wiggly where you're at?! I lived with my grandparents for a few months when I was 9 and we would go there all the time and get King's Hawaiian Bread, I LOVE Georgia...except for all the flies and mud. XD Hahaha. We had a Bi-LO that was turned to a Piggly-Wiggly. I never shop there. I usually go to Kroger, Publix, Ingles and Wal-Mart to do most of my shopping. We have the King's Hawaiian rolls here at just about every store. My husband eat then like there's no tomorrow! He'll eat a whole 4 pk. by himself! You would HATE my property. LOL Our house was built 2 years ago and they never planted grass in the yard. So yeah, we live in a mud pit! When we got all the snow a few weeks ago all three of our cars were STUCK in the snow and mud. And even after the snow melted we had trouble with our cars getting stuck in the mud. But it's home. I just wish we had the money to fix it up like we want to. It's a work in progress but we'll get there a little at a time. |
|
|
|
Post by Jackie on Jan 31, 2011 10:08:49 GMT -5
Nice to formally "meet" you. I don't think I ever formally introduced myself either |
|
candiceboggs
Going Natural
Ferrets are nature's anti-depressant.
Posts: 187
|
Post by candiceboggs on Jan 31, 2011 20:07:30 GMT -5
I didn't know your name is Virginia, now I do! ^_^ It seems like we have a lot in common. You married your hubby at one year older in age than I did mine, and our story's very sappy too! And we're both big animal lovers. Yeah one of these days I should tell you guys the story of how he asked me out the first time. It was HILARIOUS! So true about the chickens not being all that cuddly or fun to play with necessarily...we want to get some, or at least some quail, when we move and have a backyard soon for fresh organic eggs for our cats and dog(s) and future ferret. Raising chickens is ADDICTIVE! Worse than ferret math! We started with 30 and weeded them down to 5 we wanted to keep. Ordered more weeded out. Hatched some out. weeded out. Soon we had 80! TONS of eggs! I started selling hatching eggs online. But over the past few months we've had SEVERAL other animals eating our chickens! We are now down to 1 hen and 5 roos! All of our fav hens are gone! We are currently working on a new enclosure for them and are going to order some more. We did have about an acre of our property fenced off for them to roam but it apparently wasn't good enough. But (IDK if you eat meat or not) but raising your own meaties is addictive too! You know the chickens had a good life. Fed well, plenty of room to roam and eat bugs and just get to do what chickens do.. And you know they are butchered in a humane way. And the meat taste SO much better. Not to mention it can help a lot with feeding your ferrets raw as well. And unless you're willing to order 100 quail at a time, don't bother! All the hatcheries have minimum orders at for quail it usually 100. The hatcheries that do smaller orders, charge out the wazoo to do it! If you have any questions on poultry feel free to ask. If I don't have the answers for you I know where to find the answers. Did you check to see if there were any reputable ratty breeders in your area? Where are you in Georgia, anyway? I can find information like no ones business, but asking me to find breeders, FORGET IT! I look all over and can NEVER find breeders for ANYTHING I'm looking for! I live in the Athens area. OMGOODNESS - Do you have a Piggly-Wiggly where you're at?! I lived with my grandparents for a few months when I was 9 and we would go there all the time and get King's Hawaiian Bread, I LOVE Georgia...except for all the flies and mud. XD Hahaha. We had a Bi-LO that was turned to a Piggly-Wiggly. I never shop there. I usually go to Kroger, Publix, Ingles and Wal-Mart to do most of my shopping. We have the King's Hawaiian rolls here at just about every store. My husband eat then like there's no tomorrow! He'll eat a whole 4 pk. by himself! You would HATE my property. LOL Our house was built 2 years ago and they never planted grass in the yard. So yeah, we live in a mud pit! When we got all the snow a few weeks ago all three of our cars were STUCK in the snow and mud. And even after the snow melted we had trouble with our cars getting stuck in the mud. But it's home. I just wish we had the money to fix it up like we want to. It's a work in progress but we'll get there a little at a time. Found this on the Ratster breeder directory for you - Georgia Atlanta Rattery Atlanta Rats, breeder Rattery dedicated to breeding rats for health, temperament and lastly physical characteristics. Shipping-No , may drive half way Mark Anderson-atlantarattery@petlover.com Phoenix Gate Rattery (Px) Norcross Rats, breeder Home based breeder of fancy rats. Focusing on temperament, longevity, health and type. Specializing in Russian blue, chocolate, dalmatian and burmese. Shipping-No Member of NARR, RMCA Amy Epperley- daratter@hotmail.com Legends of Rock Rattery (LORR) Augusta Rats, breeder Georgia's Place For Beautiful Healthy Rats With Wonderful Temperaments. Specializing in Dove,Mink,Siamese,Blue. Dumbo and standard ears, Rex,Double Rex, Hairless, and standard coats. Shipping-No , may drive half way Member of NARR Lauren-paint_pastel_princess24@yahoo.com I don't know how far of a drive any of those would be but if you can go through a breeder I'd drive a good state away if I had to. Luckily there are at least 4 good breeders within OR-WA where I'm at. I'll definitely ask you about fowl when it gets closer. I wouldn't order quail, would buy them locally if we chose to do that...we will have 4-6 backyard chickens if we get poultry, though we're vegetarians ourselves so we won't eat them or butcher them for our pets - we get our pet meat through a Landfill Diversion Program and some grocery stores. Organic, free-range eggs DO taste way better. Another reason we want them is so that they will eat the fleas and ticks here, our apartment has a lot of problems with that, we've had to use DE to control it, nothing else will work. But we'll have a house so hopefully it won't be so bad. I won't mind having bug-eating fertilizers and composters for our organic garden though! I'm so sorry to hear about the demolition of your flock. Sounds like you put a lot of hard work into getting a fantastic one. Have you been on the backyard chickens website? They have a lot of good info on protecting against predators, and the Chickens or Backyard Chickens for Dummies book is great too, I got a lot of chicken books from my library. |
|
vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
|
Post by vkp23 on Jan 31, 2011 21:05:32 GMT -5
|
|
