Work Them Till They Whelp .......

[socks 32,253]

I had to clear a few large wood piles of rabbits this week and noticed that Tilly's pups have dropped down in her belly ... Hasn't stopped her working and she danced around on that wood just fine ........

[Maximus Ferret 2,061]

They say pregnant mothers listening to and getting pleasure from music makes the unborn baby more likely to enjoy music and be musical. Maybe something similar might happen here. Experiencing the controlled excitement of hunting before they're even born via their mothers bloodstream/hormones/adrenaline. Shouldn't do any harm anyway. I'm sure you'll know when she's too far gone for it.

[socks 32,253]

They say pregnant mothers listening to and getting pleasure from music makes the unborn baby more likely to enjoy music and be musical. Maybe something similar might happen here. Experiencing the controlled excitement of hunting before they're even born via their mothers bloodstream/hormones/adrenaline. Shouldn't do any harm anyway. I'm sure you'll know when she's too far gone for it.

That will be the day before she drops lol .....

[socks 32,253]

When she due now Ken?

8th of May mate .......

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

They will be ruined already working this early, await confirmation from the masses ?

[blackmaggie 3,375]

what dog did you put over her socks

[socks 32,253]

[socks 32,253]

Had her scanned and they reckoned only five pups ... They are either big old fukcing pups or there are more than five in there ........

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Had her scanned and they reckoned only five pups ... They are either big old fukcing pups or there are more than five in there ........

Hopefully 5 bruisers then Ken? All the best with them, look forward to seeing the one you keep back.

[socks 32,253]

 

Had her scanned and they reckoned only five pups ... They are either big old fukcing pups or there are more than five in there ........

Hopefully 5 bruisers then Ken? All the best with them, look forward to seeing the one you keep back.

Just hope of them is a bitch .......

[Sirius 1,358]

My bets on 8.

I always think 6 or so is a nice number for a litter.

[breeze 1,232]

Socks.... You still got the fawn bitch with the black mask ?

[socks 32,253]

No she couldn't handle more than two days work in a row her mind wandered and her patience ran out ... My hunting partner has her ... He is mainly a lamper and the bitch is suiting him very well ......

[toblue 149]

This topic reminds me of a time I went to do some ferreting on a farm where I had once worked some 5 or 6 years earlier (it was around 1980). I went into an old stone out building to shelter when it started to rain and heard some squeaking behind a load of fencing posts stacked on end so decided to investigate. I found some old blue fertiliser bags torn to shreds and 6 lovely fat collie pups around 3 weeks old with a half eaten dead rabbit next to them. I called the farmer over who told me he hadn't known the pups were there but said his old collie bitch had taken to sleeping behind the posts. He was more surprised that the bitch had caught a rabbit as she had never even looked at one before in her life.

 

The mother of the pups had been worked every day and he had not noticed any difference in her before or after she gave birth to them. The farmer had bought the bitch at 2 years old very cheaply because she couldn't be handled. She would jump in the back of a car boot but would go berserk if anyone tried to touch her. I can remember the first day he brought her to the farm. He reversed his car up to a shed door and we held tin sheets either side. we managed to prod her out of the car boot with sticks, the poor creature was terrified and so were we, she was attacking the sticks like a wildcat. We kept her locked up for 2 weeks and just put food in then one day just left the door open. She never left the farm from that day and if ever we had to take her to work on a different part of the farm he would just open his car boot and shout of her she would jump right in. She was a wild shaggy thing as rough as the roads and a real ankle biter, even after she knew you she would just make a run at you out of the blue. By the time you had turned around to take a swipe at her she was ten yards away crouched and staring wild eyes at you.

 

The bitch must have been 8-10 years old when she had the pups. She had never been to the vets, or had any kind of other care. I doubt she had ever been wormed. No one had ever touched her all of those years since the day she first came. All of the farm dogs were fed the same diet once each day: Uveca (flaked maize) soaked in beast milk (the first few milkings of bloody milk after a cow has given birth) or normal milk. They would also eat any after birth from the cows or sheep. Nothing more.

 

When we had finished ferreting I asked what he was going to do with the pups and the old farmer (himself in his late 70s) said you can take them all home with you now if you want because they won't be there in the morning (I didn't take them). I am afraid there wasn't much room for sentiment on the hill farms of Cumbria.

Edited April 22, 2016 by toblue

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Cracking post Toblue...

Sounds just about right for Hill Farmers...

 

I once borrowed an ex-track greyhound,...my aim was to try and breed/create a lurcher to suit my requirements at the time...I had sourced an Australian Cattle Dog , seen him work,.was well satisfied and duly paid a stud fee, then put him over my Greyhound....At the time,..such a hybrid was uncommon,...and for me, the project to breed such an animal, had become a wee bit obsessional....So,..it was a mystery to those close to me, as to why I had been so dumb as to allow this heavily pregnant brood bitch,.free reign to gallop around on the stubble... It was an accident waiting to happen....and as the bloated gazehound waddled, comicly around the field, up rose a fine Brown Hare..

Oh my days !

The bitch seemed to just tuck up her belly, and draw in the mass of pups that were weighing her down,.and proceeded to course the hare. She was really going for it and to be honest, she was doing pretty darn well... A passing tractor driver halted his machine and stood, high in the saddle whooping like a madman and urging the brindled flyer onwards....She struck her hare several times and totaly ignorged my pleas to 'Come back,.Stop,..Heel',..etc, etc...

For her, there was no stopping....Mercifully, the hare made it out of the field, across the farm track and into the nearby copse...I retrieved the panting Greyhound and to the cries of my young Sisters,.."Well,.thats fecked that ain't it, you dopey C**t"....we slowly marched back home

For the next few days I lived in fear that she might abort...

I knew that I had done a stupid thing,.but, there was no going back..

 

However,..nothing came of it,.she was in superb health,..and history recalls I won my prize,..ten good strong, beautiful pups.....Just goes to show how tough they are, eh.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Phil Lloyd