Happy Halloween!

It's all treats and no tricks around here!  Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Explorers

We knew it was inevitable that our newest additions would soon be large enough and curious enough to start exploring outside of the barn.  

The first sign that there was no keeping these guys in was the day that Chibs managed to climb out of the feed room while we were on a trail ride.  He had no trouble getting up that high, but I did have to help him get down :)

Their favorite destination outside of the barn is definitely the little tractor!

It makes us a little nervous that these guys are now free to roam, but we have them well trained that if they come when we call there is usually some tuna waiting for them.

Chibs is definitely more adventurous outside, Tig often doesn't make it past the horse stalls!  He loves hanging out with Dolly while she's eating.

These kitties have no fear of the horses and the horses seem to enjoy their company.  Rowdy typically isn't the most popular with the other animals because he's a little too unpredictable, but he and Chibs get along great!

Being the "homebody" cat, we recently discovered that Tig is a big fan of our saddles, with or without the horse!

Luckily these two seem to stick pretty close to home, hopefully that continues, especially until they have grown a bit more!

"All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl"

Yesterday our animals were lucky enough to get loved on by two little girls when Stephanie and her girls came to visit!

Dolly is always a big hit with the kiddos.   

Oscar and Chloe love the extra attention, Chloe was especially fond of Steph and the feeling was mutual!

As fun as Dolly is, she's not the smoothest ride so we let them have a turn on Sadie.  The girls did great and just wanted to go faster and faster!  

The kitties were definitely the biggest hit!  The girls were so good with them and Tig and Chibs were so patient.

There is something special about kids and animals when they interact.  

We get so much joy in sharing Sadie Acres with the little ones, come back and see us again soon girls! 

Dropping in to say hello!

Just like all of our animals, Tig and Chibs definitely have their own personality.

Tig, who is ironically the smaller kitten, has absolutely no fear whatsoever.  He tries to climb everything, fearlessly jumps off of anything he successfully climbs and spends most mornings cleaning the dirt and mud off of himself after getting licked and rolled around in the dirt by Denali.  Any by the way, there are fewer things cuter than watching those two play!

Chibs on the other hand is much more reserved, he loves to play and run around like any kitten, but does it in a much more "mature" manner.

It didn't take them long to claim the top of the chicken coop as their own.  This was a perfect place to climb because it has multiple levels.  

Tig ready to grab Chibs tail and Chibs sitting calmly.

As much as they love hanging out on top of the coop, they were determined to conquer the rabbit hutch.  Especially Tig!

Most of their early attempts they would only get about halfway up.

Finally this week, Tig's persistence paid off!

I think the bunnies love it when their little visitor drops by, especially Chloe, she's always quick to greet him.

It's now his morning routine to drop in and say hello.

Chibs hasn't braved climbing up to check things out yet, so I put him up there this morning to see what all the fuss was about. In true Chibs fashion, he was content keeping a little distance.  

And of course their "Nana" was right there to make sure that all was okay.

Nana and Mrs. Kluck

My sister and I grew up watching the classic Disney movies, I'm pretty sure we can still quote a few of them word for word!  

Like most little girls, we watched all of the princess themed movies, but our favorites were Robin Hood and Sword in the Stone.  

Considering these movies were on repeat for a big chunk of our childhood it's not surprising that my Mom and I instantly noticed that Mrs. Patmore reminded us of someone...

I'm fairly certain whoever created Mrs. Kluck from Robin Hood based her off of a Light Brahma.  Especially when she runs, Mrs. Patmore is only missing the blue dress!

Our other similarity has just recently emerged since the kitties joined us.  We now have our very own Nana from Peter Pan in the barn.  

Denali definitely thinks she's in charge of taking care of the kittens!

Her morning routine has completely changed since their arrival, she would typically go to the barn with me and then run around and explore while I cleaned the stalls and runs.  She'd check in with me periodically, but for the most part this is when she got her morning exercise.  Not anymore!  Once she's in that barn she will not leave the cats for even a second.  

Tig is starting to play with her now, and it amazes me how gentle she is.

Chibs is still a bit cautious, but he is definitely warming up to her.

At first I thought she was just fascinated by them and excited to have two potential new playmates, but yesterday I saw her full on "Nana" side.  I put them in the yard to get a little bit of sun and Denali watched over them the entire time!

I had to actually move Schumi to another part of the yard because she would growl at him if he came near their cage.  

I think they were equally happy to have her nearby.

I guess life around here does sometimes feel a bit like a Disney movie...

but I never saw even one of those Princesses shovel horse poop!

The Happening Spot!

Not surprising, the favorite room in the barn for all of the animals is the feed room.  Not only are there bags of great smelling feed, but that's where the treats are! 

All of our animals are very spoiled when it comes to treats, the chickens aren't the most obedient animals in the barn, but throw them some mealworm & corn party mix and they come running!

Tig and Chibs also have a party mix, but they prefer Beachside Crunch.   These two learned about treats in record time and are big fans!

The horses don't realize that their treats are actually good for them, but we swear by Probios for healthy digestion. Denali also gets one of these a day, in addition to her many treats in the house :) 

The horses are also extra spoiled and often get apple treats from my Mom and mints from my Dad.   All of our horses are "wrapper trained" and can hear a mint being opened from across the pasture.

Being such a popular place, I always have a lot of help when I'm scooping feed.  Tonight was especially crowded!  

Tig was very interested in what I was doing and had to check out each bucket that was scooped.

Chibs decided to sample a bit of Dolly's mini feed.

Chibs moved on to check Sadie's bucket while Tig checked out the feed ball.

Denali waited patiently for her treat in between her "who gets to stay in the feed room" game with Lady Mary. 

Mary won this round, such a tough little bird!  

Mary standing her ground after victory.

After sampling all of the feed, the cats decided the senior feed was their favorite.

There's also lots of good spots to take a little "cat nap" when you have a full belly. 

Getting all the animals out of the feed room is always tricky, but that's where the treats come in!  

They're all tucked in for the night, but they'll be waiting patiently in the morning to do it all again.  

I finished up feeding just in time to catch this beautiful sunset tonight

Purrfect Additions

I'm a big fan of pretty much all creatures big and small, but there's one critter that I much prefer in cartoon form...the mouse!  

Not only are these critters a health hazard, they can also be very destructive. Mice burrow and can cause structural damage as well as gnaw on electrical wires creating a fire hazard.  Mice are pretty much inevitable when you have a barn, and Sadie Acres is no exception!  

With all the other critters in the barn D-Con is not an option, I've also read too much about the damage these poisonings are doing to our birds of prey.  We love watching the hawks and owls around our property and don't want to cause them any harm.  Instead of poisoning we opted for mousetraps, while this is effective one mouse at a time, I was constantly worried about Denali or the chickens messing with them and getting snapped.  And,  I must admit as much as I don't want mice in the barn, it was very hard for me to see their little necks snapped in the traps :(  

Our solution...

  

We added two little mousers to our barn, Tig and Chibs!  While these guys are still a bit small to do any serious mouse hunting they are already in training attacking bugs and keeping watch on anything that moves!  Luckily, they seem to be getting along fine with the chickens.  

These little guys have been a perfect addition to the barn, even though they are barn cats they are extremely friendly and affectionate.  At just 11 weeks old they come when you call them and love to snuggle up on your lap and take a nap.  

In just one week they have made themselves right at home.  They love their little "cat house", but venture out to explore every inch of the barn. 

Denali absolutely loves these two!  They like her, most of the time, but she still doesn't quite know her size and she's just a bit too much for them sometimes!

They may look harmless and cuddly, but the mice better start packing up and moving out!