Pam Hartley

----------
>From: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1688
>Date: Sat, Dec 15, 2001, 2:39 AM
>

> we live now out in the country, we could use about 2 dozen cats to keep up
> with the mouse population. Our two do the best they can, but cannot keep up
> with the mice. I have almost resigned myself to living with mice as it has
> been so hard to get rid of them.


Get more cats, they're out there for free or cheap on other farms or in the
newspaper (harder to find at this time of year since most cats start coming
into season in the early spring, but wait until May through August and any
community is swimming with free kittens). A few of them won't kill (no
instinct) but most will, or will learn. And a terrier wouldn't be a bad bet,
either. Jack Russells are fantastic rat/mouse killers, and tireless, and
they kill for sport so they'll kill a lot. Staffordshire Bull Terriers (the
smallest of the so-called Pit Bull breeds) are great, too. Any of the
terriers, and many other breeds (one of the best rat and gopher killing dogs
I had was a female Border Collie).

You'll always have mice in the country, it's a fact of life :) but you can
up the predator population for controlling them, and you don't have to breed
your own to do it, you can save some lives by adopting in others.

Pam

kayb85

Something else I've learned from experience...As a general rule, if yo
want a good mousing cat, find a litter whose mama was an
indoor/outdoor cat. Sadly, a lot of strictly indoor cats lose their
natural instincts.
Sheila

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Pam Hartley <pamhartley@m...> wrote:
> ----------
> >From: Unschooling-dotcom@y...
> >To: Unschooling-dotcom@y...
> >Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 1688
> >Date: Sat, Dec 15, 2001, 2:39 AM
> >
>
> > we live now out in the country, we could use about 2 dozen cats to
keep up
> > with the mouse population. Our two do the best they can, but
cannot keep up
> > with the mice. I have almost resigned myself to living with mice
as it has
> > been so hard to get rid of them.
>
>
> Get more cats, they're out there for free or cheap on other farms or
in the
> newspaper (harder to find at this time of year since most cats start
coming
> into season in the early spring, but wait until May through August
and any
> community is swimming with free kittens). A few of them won't kill
(no
> instinct) but most will, or will learn. And a terrier wouldn't be a
bad bet,
> either. Jack Russells are fantastic rat/mouse killers, and tireless,
and
> they kill for sport so they'll kill a lot. Staffordshire Bull
Terriers (the
> smallest of the so-called Pit Bull breeds) are great, too. Any of
the
> terriers, and many other breeds (one of the best rat and gopher
killing dogs
> I had was a female Border Collie).
>
> You'll always have mice in the country, it's a fact of life :) but
you can
> up the predator population for controlling them, and you don't have
to breed
> your own to do it, you can save some lives by adopting in others.
>
> Pam

Kolleen

>I had hospital births with all 4 of my kids (3 different hospitals). Only
>the
>one where I had my two oldest --Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco--offered
>to give me my placenta. Incidentally, they had one of the very first
>Alternative Birth Centers in Northern California.
>Nancy


This is wonderful! I miss living in CA everyday I am here.

All the great paradigm shifts in the states seem to start there.


kolleen

[email protected]

>But its the exception to the rule. And I am very apalled that hospitals
>are allowed to sell it to cosmetic companys and not allowed to give it
>back to the mother to do as she wishes.

I had hospital births with all 4 of my kids (3 different hospitals). Only the
one where I had my two oldest --Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco--offered
to give me my placenta. Incidentally, they had one of the very first
Alternative Birth Centers in Northern California.
Nancy