1/20/11

  Well let me start out today with a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter, Sara, she turns 24 today!  She is expecting her third child and has been worried about not gaining any weight but she went to the doctor Monday and gained 11 pounds the doctor was happy and Sara was shocked.  The baby is doing well and it won't be long before I have another granddaughter.  And yesterday sould have been my sister Susie's 61st birthday I sure miss her.

                                      
                                                              Me and my daughter, Sara

January 19, 1950
November 4, 2005

I love and miss you Susie

  I was going to use today to reflect on the past hunting season but things have happened and I will save that for later. 

  As you all know we had a litter of puppies this last week and it has been a real struggle.  We had 6 puppies and one was still born.  Lost another the first night this one I think she laid on and suffocated.  And the rest were doing well until yesterday.  We lost one yesterday afternoon and lost another last night.
  The one we lost last night was struggling when I got home from work yesterday we brought it is and wrapped it in a heating pad and used a feeding tube and put some warm milk in its little belly and as it warmed it became more active and seemed fine.  I got up in the middle of the night and everything was fine but when I got up to go to work this morning it was in bad shape again.  I brought it in again and gave it some warm milk but it did not make it.  So we are down to 2.  I have lost a few pups over the years and have even lost entire litters but it sure doesn't make any easier.
  I been in the breeding business for 15 years and have learned a lot and make a lot of mistakes but as I grew I learned.  I thought I had a nice place to have puppies, it is a 8 X 16 building with 2 whelping boxes on the inside and 2 raised kennels on the outside.  I bought heated whelping mats for the boxes and they work fine but the box is so big Momma wants to lay on the heat and if the babies can't next to her they are in the cold so some rethinking and redoing is going to be required.  It is very frustrating to think you work your butt off for 15 years and you still lose puppies.  So I think I will divide the box in half and make an opening so she can get in put the mat down, and hang a heat lamp above that way all the heat is confined to smaller space and will be easier to keep warm.  I will make the divider removable so I can take it out when puppies get bigger and need the room.  I have looked on line for radinent floor heat and have found some I think will work it goes under lamenant floor.  So I can put the heating coils down and buy a cheap box of laminant flooring and put it in and with a good thermostat I can keep the floor at 103 degrees and keep the heat lamps on to keep the air temp warm and I hope that cures my problems.  Sorry to bitch on my blog but like I said I am really frustrated and this is a good place for me to blow a little steam off.