Independance

Here's a little American cheer for you.

In other news...

This is what my dogs got for Independence Day.

Chicken, ground beef, (beef) liver and heart, eggs, veggie mix (various lettuces, spinach, squash, raddishes, oats), and goat milk! Sasha also got a strawberry top since she likes those.

Money spent in June

Here is the bill for June.

June 2013

• Food:$66
• Toys: $20 
• Vet/Medical:$68

Total: $152


Food
I bought a lot of chicken this month, since my craigslist stock has run out so I must purchase bone-in items for bone content. I got several 10 pound bags of chicken quarters and two whole chickens, varying from $0.70 - $0.88 a pound. I got a few packages of turkey backs/misc. for $0.70 a pound. A big chunk of the cost came from the local butcher. I stop in every now and then to get beef liver (theirs is the highest quality, and lowest price) and they happened to have beef heart and wild sockeye salmon scraps for $1.50 a pound! So, naturally I buy several pounds of the stuff for the dogs. I got some odd looks...

Toys
I visited a pet boutique-style shop "in the city" and bought two Planet Dog balls.

Vet/Medical
I got three types of dewormers, since I had none on-hand and wanted to try the fenbendazole to see if it would fix Conker's issues (it seems to have, which is a bit alarming, actually...) I got some ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate as well. I dewormed all the dogs with the fenbendazole then the pyrantel pamoate a few days later just to be sure, and will be starting up the ivermectin (heartworm prevention) this month since it's unusually hot and humid right now.

Happy Birthday Emperor of Badass!

Today is Conker's birthday. He is now 3 years old. Like the past two years, I got him a cornish hen for his birthday feast.

He ate the whole thing and greatly enjoyed doing so!

So, I dewormed Conker with fenbendazole (liquid Safe-Guard) since his symptoms matched those of some possible worm infection. He got the 5 day regime, the Girls got the 3 day. So far, it seems to have worked. He is not obsessively licking his butt, standing around whining, walking quickly in that odd fashion, and the blood has disappeared from his poop.
Hmm.
Anywho, if that shows up again I will take him to the vet.


Here's some dog food.

Berries!

Dogs got homemade kefir in this meal.

Ugh

Conker is having digestive issues again. Right when I was settling into him having a regular(ish) system it goes all whack on me again. This time though, he's not only got nastyass mucus shit, but there was blood in it. That is a first for Conker, and it worries me greatly to have seen that.

Anywho...

This is also new.

Conker walks (quickly) around with his head and tail low, back hunched, and will stop to lick his butt often and intensely. It's a bit inflamed looking, but I have not seen any signs of bites or parasites. Sometimes he will stand around with his tail low and looks quite uncomfortable. He occasionally whines. When he's resting, he does not look very happy, and will frequently lick his butt or get up and walk quickly around like he does in the video. He goes outside a lot and walks around.

Other than the bloody mucus shit, he is not having problems pooping.

I don't know what the fuck is going on this time.

Kombucha brew

First, a slug.

I found this slug while weeding on the farm. I dubbed it the Ocelot Slug. Then I fed (the renamed) Sir Slugelot to the chickens.
(I do not know the slug's species. If you do, tell me!)

Now, some kombucha.

I have been "brewing" some kombucha for something like 2 - 3 weeks now (can't remember exactly). It was my first batch and I grew the scoby from scratch, hence why it took so long. I used oolong tea and raw (summer thistle) honey as a sweetener.
It's amazing! So much better than the storebought kombucha I used as a starter.

Kombucha is fermented tea that is made using a thing called a SCOBY which stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. Basically, you put a scoby into sweetened tea and the scoby will eat the sweets and ferment it into a vinegary tea-like drink. Sounds nasty but it tastes great!
So, how do you make kombucha? You either need an established scoby, or you need to grow one from "scratch".

How to grow a scoby and brew some kombucha.

Go to a healthfood store and buy some kombucha. Get a brand that is raw and unfiltered, preferably non flavored as well. If there is "sediment" in the bottom that is good, you want that.
Next, brew yourself a large (1/2 - 1 gallon) batch of (green or black) tea and sweeten it. Use real sugar (or honey) not that shitty artificial crap since the scoby can't eat that. Be generous with the sugar (but not overly generous), there is no set amount but it needs to be enough that the scoby can munch happily away.
After your tea has cooled (It needs to be cooler than something like 98 degrees cause if it's any warmer the temperature might harm or kill the scoby that will try to grow.) dump it into a glass (not metal or plastic) jar and leave a bit of room for the starter.
Add the storebought kombucha, including the sediment in the bottom.
Cover the jar with a tightly woven cloth or paper towel. Tie, rubber band, or use a mason lid to hold it in place. You don't want to seal it since it needs air, hence the cloth. But it needs to be covered to avoid contamination or fruit flies.
Put the jar in a warm and dark (not required to be dark but it's better at first) place and leave it alone for a while.
Check on it every now and then but don't disturb it. If you see some sediment collecting in the bottom, that is good! It you see a bizzarre whiteish thing beginning to grow on the top, that is even better! That strange opaqueish white shit is your scoby. The scoby can be anything from milky white to a darkish brown, but opaque white is most common.
(The scoby can be on top, on the bottom, in the middle, etc. The top is the most likely place for it to be, but it can be wherever the fuck it wants to.)

Mine scoby

After a few weeks, your kombucha should be ready. Taste it every few days to be sure it is to your liking. Shorter for sweeter, longer for a more tart vinegaresque taste. Now it's time to bottle it!
Carefully scoop your new baby scoby out of the jar and onto a plate (after thoroughly sanitizing your hands and plate, you don't want to contaminate it!) then pour the kombucha into some bottles or jars.
Leave a little bit of kombucha leftover and cafrefully slide your scoby back into the jar. This will be your starter for the next batch.
Cap the bottles/jars and either refridgerate or store in a cool dark place for 1-3 days so it will carbonate. Fill it as full as possible and store for longer for a more fizzy drink. Be sure to "burp" it every once in a while or the jars may explode from carbonation buildup.
After you have carbonated your kombucha to your liking, store it in the fridge to stop the process.

Time to brew another batch! But instead of using storebought kombucha as a starter, you can put your new scoby in instead and it'll brew up a lot quicker. Once your scoby is mature, you can peel off a layer and make more than one batch at a time, or give one to someone else so they can make their own kombucha.
If you won't be brewing for a while, store your scoby in a warm dark place. Be sure to feed it some sweetened tea every week or so though, you don't want it to die!

Note: Occasionally the scoby can get infected with mold or whatever. If at any time you think it looks off, smells off, or has fuzz growing on it, GET RID OF IT! A moldy scoby or brew is no good and can harm or kill you if you drink it, so err on the side of caution and start anew if your scoby gets sick. (This is why it's a good idea to have more than one scoby.)
Brownish stringy stuff hanging off the bottom of the scoby is fine though, that's the yeast. Don't worry about that even though it looks disgusting.


Here's some dog related content.

Chicken boobs for the Girls, eggs, liver, minced veggies, and goat milk for everybody, turkey neck, gizzard, and heart for the dork.

Chicken legs and pork for the Girls, chicken neck and beef for Conker, eggs, minced veggies, goat milk, and liver for everybody.

One more thing...

My sister (and her friend) and I decided to go out into the woods and shoot some paper, boxes, and cans with an assortment of firearms yesterday. We had a lot of fun.

We took my youngest brother along. It was his first time ever shooting a gun, and he was a pro! The little lefty hit a cherry off a stick at 30 feet (with my scoped .22) which is pretty damned good for a kid who's never shot a gun before!

June - 12

Today the dogs got:

Big bowls: Chicken leg hunks, beef meat and liver, eggs, minced veggies, goat milk.
Little bowl: Turkey neck hunk, beef meat and liver, egg, minced veggies, goat milk.
Conker is eating whole foods again (again). I will keep the mince I made ready for when he decides to once again (again) not eat whole foods or be choosy with what he'll eat.

Here's some pictures of the dogs eating their meals.

This picture is cruddy but shows that, despite her coat being thin and dull right now, it's still real shiny.

I like how when Conker eats his eyes look kinda primal.

Time for Food

Conker announces the readiness of the food.

This display was not as obnoxious as it usually is.

This is what they got:

Yurmmeh.

Goodies

Raw + whole foods.

They wait patiently for their food to be delivered. After Conker goes into a hysteric barkfest, of course.

In other news...

 

I got a Bark Box from My Rotten Dogs the other day! They dogs each got a turn chewing on that roasted bone (I don't give these normally) and each got to try the vegan veggie and barbecue treats. Obviously they liked the grill treats better, but I left them outside last night and something (raccoon) got into them. Oops. The toy is an eggplant from Planet Dog. I got excited about this since I was thinking of ordering a few toys from them. Juneau loves it and has claimed it as her new favorite toy. 

Hike!

Today, all the dogs joined me on a hike. It's been warm lately, warm meaning 90+ but it didn't get above 86 while we were out on the trails. Still, the dogs thought it was pretty hot, but thoroughly enjoyed their hike.

Conker on his favorite log.

Since there were ocassionally horses present, Juneau had to be leashed a few times.

Some Southern Oregon mountains.

Obligatory.

Hur dur Derp Dog.

Now the dogs are all sleeping.