Looking Back at Our Building Year

Away, 2023--Onward, 2024!

So, last year was a building year. More accurately, it was a REbuilding year. In 2023, Kathleen and I found ourselves bottlenecked with our dogs. I only had one goat left and he was a male, which is fine unless you have dairy goats for milk! Dan and I had become dissatisfied with buying our laying hens from other people, and so embarked on creating our own landrace. He and I also re-evaluated what we were doing, gardening-wise, now that he's recovering and feeling more like himself. And, finally, I decided to make another attempt at raising quail for meat and for eggs. Phew! We were busy, even though we didn't seem to be doing much!

LoupGarou Conri Dogs

Toy Fox Terriers: Last year we added three new females to our breeding program. All three are tricolor (darn it!) and have very nice pedigrees. Two of them have a Russian import as a sire--and both carry the gene for chocolate coloration, which is not something I ever thought we'd invest in. We try to keep all of our dogs dual registered with AKC and UKC. While AKC accepts the chocolate coloration for registration, UKC does not. We'll have to see down what path this choice leads us.

We did very limited showing last year. Other than one AKC sanctioned Open Show, for Miscellaneous and Foundation Stock Service dogs, we only entered two conformation shows. The UKC show in May brought us a new obedience title for Badger, a Best of Breed for Goth, and a leg toward Johnny's grand champion title. The AKC show in November brought us one championship point for Goth, one championship point for The Rowan, and one championship point for Kathleen's female, Tez. Unlike the other two, Tez has already got championship points. All she needs is her two majors to "finish;" that is, earn her champion title.

Teddy Roosevelt Terriers: Some of you might remember that I said a littler was being born last May, which might bring us a female for our breeding program. We are still looking for our new female, but we did end up with a very nice male from that litter! LoupGarou Holley Girl Remington Steele (Steele) is a blue tuxedo with brindle points. He has a white marking on his chest and white toes on all his feet--a very dapper little pup. I think he will be about the same size as Yaddle, topping out at about 15 pounds. He was just two weeks old by the show in May--no UKC points there!--but he also showed at Marshall in November. Like Goth, he earned his first point there. However, Steele walked away with two points and two Best of Breed wins over Artoo and Diva. Way to go, Steele! We have high hopes for him this year.

Not 1040 Farm

Goats: I'm still in a transition with my goats. I originally had a mixed herd of Lamanchas and Nigerian Dwarfs, with an eye to eventually making "Mini Lamanchas." I love the look of the Lamancha, but as I get older, they are getting harder for me to handle. I like the Nigerians, but they don't give enough milk to keep me happy, unless I have a really large herd. I currently have one Nigerian Dwarf doe in milk, her kid, and the two bucks. I am crossing my fingers and hoping to add a Lamancha doeling this spring.

Garden: I added a new plot to my garden last year and let my original plot lay fallow, with the exceptions of the permanent spaces for horseradish, Creole garlic, and a variety of green onion types. This year, in addition to the potatoes, tomatoes, and peas, I'll be adding a small permanent section for asparagus and maybe some herbs, melons, summer squash, and pumpkins. I'm also experimenting with some new heritage tomatoes, so cross your fingers for me!

Chickens: All of my current chickens are free range. When Dan's laying hens stop laying consistently, they come to me for "retirement." They live the free-range life, keeping pests under control and giving me the occasional egg. Having free-range chickens is like living in a perpetual Easter egg hunt--you never know where an egg will turn up! I might be adding a small flock of Danish Browns or blue egg-layers, if I can get a covered yard built for them in a timely fashion. Right now, I'm happy being a chicken retirement home and benefitting greatly from the reduction of ticks and other unwanted insects.

Quail: I currently have a mere 13 jumbo brown coturnix quail, hatched at home from eggs purchased last year at Sandy Soil Farms. I've hatched quail from other places before, but these are the least flighty, most pleasant birds I've ever had. All of them are a consistent size and most of my hens started laying in January, after a light was introduced to their hutch. I highly recommend them. In the future, I'll be hatching my own eggs, introducing some yellow jumbos, and getting another clutch of eggs from SSF. I have the idea that I will be keeping about 100 birds on hand, as I raise them for meat and for eggs.

Moving On

We've already had one dog show this year, which I've posted about previously. We've got three more planned, just for spring. Both Kathleen and I will be attending one in April, while in early April, she will be going to a Texas show by herself. In early May, I will be going by myself to one in Mississippi. After that, things calm down a bit until August, unless we're ushering a litter of puppies into the world.

As to the rest? I have a clutch of 36 quail eggs getting ready to go into the incubator, the first of, I think, three hatches this year. The ink is barely dry on the contract for the Teddy girl that I promised myself last year. I'm very excited about her, as she's from a kennel I have long admired. Sometime around June, I hope to be bringing home a doeling. The potatoes, onions, and radishes are going into the garden this weekend. The jury is still out on the rabbits and the training ring.

We have an exciting year planned here at LoupGarou/Conri Terriers and Not 1040 Farm. If you'd like to keep up with our posts, please subscribe. As usual, constructive comments (and tips!) are always welcome.