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Friday, September 9, 2016

The rescue


When you have animals and live on a teeny tiny farm like ours, you never know what to expect when you walk out the door every morning, like the morning a while back, that a pig came to visit...



But what I did this morning, no real farmer would have ever done. Do I regret doing it? Absolutely not!

Here's the story.


(guinea lot behind the chicken house)


(door going from chicken lot into guinea lot)

Last night, after dark, when everything was quiet and the hens were sleeping on the roost above the chicken house floor, the mice came out. Scurrying about, they discovered that their little entryway into the guinea lot had been wired shut. Now who would have done such a thing!

"We'll simply dig a new tunnel", said a mouse, and they did. 

The mice climbed and played and filled their tummies with cracked corn, birdseed, and crumbles; the feed that baby guineas eat. Tired of playing and swinging on the twine that held up the crumbles feeder, one mouse chewed the twine completely into, causing the feeder to fall to the ground and spill the feed.


(feeder with string missing)

Full, and tired of playing...and daylight just around the corner, the mice scurried back home through their new hole...that is, except for one little mouse who decided to go home through a tiny half inch square in the wire and got stuck. 


(the clipped wire on the end is where I cut the square out with the mouse caught in the center)

Friends, when I found that tiny mouse this morning, afraid and stuck in the wire, my heart felt like it would break. I tried pulling the wire loose, but any movement and the little mouse squealed like I was hurting him. His fat little tummy was way too full and he was stuck tight.

Running to the house, I grabbed the needle nose pliers and the regular pliers. Neither worked. I ran inside again and got the wire clippers, but could not get the point of the clippers between the mouse and the wire to clip it loose. My hands were shaking as I clipped a square of wire all the way around the mouse, causing the square to fall out with the little mouse still stuck in the center.

With the needle nose pilers I picked up the little square of wire with the mouse stuck in the center and straightened up, easing my aching back, then moved out into the sunlight. After several tries, I managed to clip one tiny wire  and with both pliers pulled the wire apart, freeing the little mouse. He didn't run at first, he just looked at me with those tiny little black eyes, then I shooed him into the safety of some sticks and leaves that had fallen on the ground.  

Poppy has gone down home today to visit his nephews, Joey and Josh.  When he gets home, I bet he will be real proud of me for saving that little mouse, don't you?

Better get busy again. It is simply too hot to work outside so I've shampooed the living room carpet. Got some ironing to do and another load of clothes to fold. Thank you, if you are still here after all this! 

Love,
Henny  

27 comments:

  1. Oh my Henny, you are such a good lady! I would have done the same thing. Dratted things eat you out of house and home but how could you let one suffer? Wonderful post!

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  2. I understand that you are an animal-lover, like myself, if it has a soul I will help it.
    I would never be able to farm and raise my own food, except for vegetables, I think that one day, when we are all reunited in the big sky, I will see those animals I saved from suffering....
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  3. Henny, you are proof it takes all kinds to make this wonderful world. My daughters had small rats when they were in grade school and we use to hold them and let them go inside our shirts, etc. Despite that, I don't think I could've stayed calm enough to free that little piggy mouse. Hope you'll tell us what you are going to do to try to keep them from partying with the guineas later on tonight!

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  4. So happy you could save that little mouse. Oh my goodness, Poppy will be very proud of you. Bless you.
    I have ironing too. Bought some new curtains that were folded in a million folds!!! lol
    Have a terrific weekend.

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  5. Good for you, Henny! Poor little frightened mouse. I'm glad you were able to get him free. Do you think the mice learned their lesson? Probably not. Have a good day.

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  6. I enjoyed this post, Henny. We are kindred spirits when it comes to little critters. We are saving birds around here more often than we want.I know what you mean when you see the fear...you just want to help. I think it is tongue in cheek about Poppy being proud but at least he should have a laugh. You are just one of the sweetest ladies ever. :)

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  7. Good for you. Kindness wins every time!
    Park City, UT

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  8. What a wonderful rescue story! You have a story to tell Poppy when he comes home but imagine the one that little mouse has to tell about the giant in the hen house and the Jaws of Life that freed him!

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  9. I am not at all surprised that you felt obligated to save that mouse with the full tummy. Maybe next time he will remember and not eat so much. I know though that tonight he is extremely grateful that he happened to break into a really good person's guinea hen's sanctuary when he got himself in such a terrible bind.

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  10. Hugs. You have a truly good heart

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  11. The fat little mouse is like Winnie the Pooh when he ate all Rabbit's honey!

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  12. You have such a big heart. My husband would have rescued him too, poor baby

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  13. If I were an animal I would want to live on your farm . . . your animals are treated with so much love.

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  14. Well Henny, you have the greatest blog! I laughed when I saw that big pig...then the story about the little mouse. You DO have a heart of gold. I enjoy your stories so much, and am so glad when your story isn't about a darned snake, cause I hate those things sooooo much. Thanks for being so entertaining!

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  15. I would have done the same but I doubt it would have come to that. My barn kitties probably would have taken care of that, themselves. I once had a neighbor pig come to visit. In fact, he came to visit often. Carlos was his name and he was just a big ole pet but wouldn't stay in his pen. For whatever reason, all animals end up on our place, when they break free from their pens at home.

    Grace & Peace,
    Pam

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  16. Well, I don't like mice around as they may get in the house. I'll say no more.

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  17. Oh my! What a predicament that fat little mouse got himself in to! You really went to a lot of effort to rescue him so I hope he feels bad now that he was part of all that mischief and damage to the chicken pen! Farm animals...what are you gonna do with 'em?! Cute post!

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  18. What a coincidence here today. I just visited Karen at Wyndson Farm and she had a story of a mink and I told her my story of a possum that we cornered years ago when we kept a few backyard hens. I think you'd really enjoy Karen's blog. Anyway, what we're dealing with here these days are rats. My sympathy does not extend to rats. Somehow they manage to eat the cheese off the trap without getting caught. Well, mostly. We did get 2 this week.

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  19. Aww that is a huge pig! Was it one of the neighbors? The mice look like they had a good time. You have a wonderful heart! Love you bunches!!

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  20. Funny story! I would be the same. One day there was a kerfuffle in the chicken field, and I find a coyote that had been in the field, and when he tried to leave he got one back foot caught in the fence. Even though we don't like coyotes because they kill our hens, my first thought was how was I going to get that foot unstuck from the fence. Fortunately as I watched, it struggled some more and finally got free. We made the fence higher!

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  21. I had mice get stuck on a glue trap that was meant for spiders. I felt so bad for them but I didn't want to get near them either. I don't like unpredictable animals.

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  22. Awww, you and I are so much a like. I would have done the same.
    You did a great job sharing this story.
    Carla

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  23. That may be exhibiting kindness to a fault. But, hey, it's your mouse and your hen house.

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  24. That is some story!
    Wow you are a lot nicer that I would have been. : )

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  25. I wouldve done the same thing! Cant stand to see animals suffer!

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  26. You have such kindness, it makes my heart swell.

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  27. I had to read this and the other mouse rescue story...I so wish I had pics of mice my girls had. They actually bought from pet store. And then had babies...

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