Naylz Ranch

01/10/2023

This just made me smile to see on the barn camera over night. Wreck It Ralph and Donkey Kong are becoming friends. I haven't introduced Metroid to everyone yet. He's the big guy watching and learning the ropes from confinement. He's got 10 more days before he's released. Just because a cat doesn't wish to interact with humans, doesn't mean they don't deserve a good life. These guys have just as good a life as my inside cats do but in their own preferred way. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to give them a place to be comfortable and to be left alone.

01/01/2023

The goats are spending their new years eating their Christmas tree. It’s their favorite treat of the year. 🎄

12/18/2022

In the different Facebook groups I'm in, there are always questions about whether people can house goats and chickens together. I never really thought about it. They all do extremely well together. We also have tortoises housed with the chickens and goats. The main thing is to keep the goats out of the chicken feed so they don't get sick. We keep their feed in their coop and the extra feed in a trash can in the coop as well. It's always worked extremely well to keep the goats out and allow everyone to be together. You can see by these photos, having them all together works out beautifully.

12/18/2022

Watching the transformation of my barn cats from when I first bring them home, to when they're released, to when they come out of the barn and start "working" is always fascinating to me. Crash was particular terrified of humans and meant business if you tried to get too close to him in his enclosure. It made feeding, watering and cleaning the litterbox a difficult task. These photos show the difference in a cat that's finally gotten what he's wanted and that is to be left alone. It always makes me smile to see them become comfortable in their environment.

12/17/2022

We have added a new barn kitty to the colony. Everyone meet Donkey Kong! He was rescued from an unsafe situation and couldn't be released where he was trapped so he was brought to me. He is not supposed to be loose in the barn but he had other plans and broke out of his enclosure. So far, he's stayed in. They have to navigate a cat door to get outside. Hopefully he stays put long enough to know where he's fed and housed. So far, so good. He seems much more comfortable now.

12/05/2022

Recently I posted that I released Crash from his enclosure to be free. My hope is always that I've given them enough time to decompress and that I've provided enough care that they stick around when released. It took him about 20 minutes to leave his enclosure and about 2 hours to leave the barn. After that, I hadn't seen him the rest of the day. Later that night, he did return and he's continued to return. These are stills I pulled off the barn camera from over night and it made me laugh. Clearly he knows where the food is and where he's safe and he's enjoying exploring his surroundings. :)

12/02/2022

Crash has been released from his lock down. When I pick a cat to protect our barn and the livestock food, this is what I'm looking for. He has zero desire to interact with humans and this is what happens when we go in to feed him. I'm currently watching him on video rather than stressing him out by being in his space since he is free to roam now. He's already exploring and looking much happier to be free. Now comes the delicate task of getting in and out at feeding time. He'll have a good life here where he doesn't have to interact with anyone other than the other barn cats who he doesn't seem to mind.

11/01/2022

We have recently added two new barn cats. Neither of these two have left the barn yet. The panther, Wreck It Ralph has been released but the tabby, Crash Bandicoot is still on his lock down time so he knows where he gets fed. Neither one of these cats want anything to do with humans. We’re happy to give them a place to call home where they can be left alone.

10/31/2022

We had some excitement on the ranch. This is why we’re ready for some colder weather. This guy was right in our carport at the bottom of the stairs to the house. Macee alerted but stayed back.

07/23/2022

We've been waiting for 3 years to catch a mountain lion on our trail cameras. That day finally came this week! Of course we worry about our livestock but this guy was on the outskirts and probably just looking for water and easy prey. They are still so amazing to see and it's the first time we've got to witness it first hand!

We've been waiting to see one of these guys on the camera! So incredibly awesome!

07/16/2022

Colorado River Toads are a real issue around here. They can kill a dog in no time. We just took the 3rd one off the property. With the recent rains, they are all starting to show up. Thankfully they’re big enough to see on our security cameras and we can get them out of here. Thankfully we know what to do if one of the dogs comes into contact with them but we’d rather just avoid them altogether.