|
"... one of the most dangerous things I know, has blue eyes and a heartbeat"-Unknown  Our beautiful aussie Allie Meet Our Blue Eyed GirlsAllie, Blu, and Cassie all have a special place on the ranch and share a common trait, blue eyes. Allie was purchased two years ago as an addition to the Aussie breeding program, and has the sweetest most loyal heart. Allie is one of the best babysitters and has the biggest heart shown through her two piercing blue eyes. Allie is considered a “BET.” Blu, was one of the original breeding bitches of the ranch and comes from a kernel based out of Arizona with great herding instinct. Blu loves to be on the go and have something to do. Blu is the hardest worker and when she looks up with her bright blue eyes you can’t help but fall in love. Cassie is one of the new girls on the block with one amber eye and one baby blue. Cassie is a 10-Bar-Y ranch bred through and through out of our foundation bitch, Jadis by our foundation stud, Spur. Cassie is a pleaser, with great conformation and a bright future with success.  10-Bar-Y Castin' Kisses "Cassie" Blue Eyes BackgroundHaving blue eyed Aussies in both the merle and tri colors has sparked our interest in learning more about the blue eyed gene. In recent years the popularity of dogs with blue eyes has increased dramatically. Blue eyes among Australian Shepherds is not a new concept, in fact there is a Native American legend that refers to the breed of Aussies with blue eyes as the “Ghost Eye Dog” and thought them to be sacred. Other breeds outside the Aussie breed have also been known to have blue eyes in either both eyes or in at least one. The most popular of these breeds being the Siberian Husky with the Australian Shepherd in second. So what is the reason for this Blue Eyed gene?  10-Bar-Y Hardts Blu Thunder "Blu" Blue Eyed GeneFor years many people have thought that blue eyes in dogs is a sure sign of blindness, however blue eyes are not. Blue eyes in dogs have three ways they are most commonly seen or portrayed. The first is the merle gene which we see in Blu and Cassie. The Second is a genetic and rare blue eye gene present in some breeds like the Australian Shepherd and the Siberian Husky, which is what Allie has. The last reason we see blue eyes is a lack of pigment in the dog’s eye. There is also a possibility for an albino dog to have blue eyes but is a much rarer occurrence.  Jackie Aussies Allie "Allie" Blue Eyed Tri (BET)“BET” stands for Blue Eyed Tri, which is what our female Allie is. In 2018 Paw Print Genetics released a statement regarding BET Lined Aussies. In a concentrated testing effort, Paw Print was looked into 38 different BET dogs to see if their blue eyes had the same mutation as a merle colored dog. They found that it depended on the dog, some had a merle gene and in fact others had their own gene. Siberian Huskies are some of the only dogs known to have blue eyes without a merle mutation, so this study opened up some new possibilities. Faithwalk Aussies did a post about the BET lines fad, one of the most important things, in my opinion, touched on was to do your research and look at the overall dog, not just the blue eye. We love our blue eyed dogs and hope this information was helpful.  Past Merle puppy with the amber and blue eyes We are on a journey to bridge the gap between producer and consumer by sharing our dream, knowledge and experience with the world. Hold on tight the ride is only 8 seconds long.
1 Comment
Sometimes it takes a painful experience for us to change our ways, and in that moment God is giving us an awakening- Kyle Idleman  The animal known as a "Rooster" Table ConversationFamily Dinners are a big deal among the 10-Bar-Y Family. With so many members it is a rare treat to have everyone from the youngest to the oldest present. For years the best stories and updates have come from around the dinner table. Stories from the ranch, whatever sporting events or activities have happened that week and of course an update from what you learned on Sunday. Sunday dinners growing up were the most memorable. They were a time when the best stories and memories made their debut and some retold for new listeners. One of the most famous stories retold around the dinner table, is the time the ranch rooster went rogue on an unsuspecting family member.  Casual Sunday Outing with the Family Lou and the RoosterLou is the second oldest child of the 10-Bar-Y Family. For the last 15 years or so her famous rooster story makes it's round in the family dinner conversations. Currently, Lou is living in South Carolina teaching people about Jesus Christ full time. To accurately tell this story we asked if she would help us, and include some of the lessons this experience taught her. When Lou was in about 2nd grade or so, it was her task around the ranch to care for the chickens. At the time we had close to 40 hens and two big roosters. One of the roosters would chase after you if you didn't collect the eggs fast enough, but he always seemed to be more bluff than anything else. This particular rooster was sort of a pet for little Lou, and she was convinced it was her best friend. You see our journey to chickens wasn't like most folks, our journey started with two baby chicks.  Baby Chicks similar to our first two Started in a ClassroomWhen I (Lou) was in 2nd grade my class hatched baby chicks. I was so excited! At the end of our experiment my teacher started giving the chicks away. Many kids couldn't take one home, because they lived in the city. So imagine my delight when I got to take home 2 adorable little chickens. The one was yellow and the other one was black. Well 10-Bar Mama decided we couldn't have just 2 chickens and not long after that we had close to 40. At first I loved spending time with the chickens but as they got older the fun kind of wore off for my 8 year old self. My black chicken would always be my favorite, however he had turned into a beautiful rooster with a multicolored tail. I was convinced that he was truly my best friend.  Multi-colored tail The Morning Friends became EnemiesOne morning, I don't remember the time of year or even the events that happened, but I got in trouble. As part of my punishment, I was given the assignment of feeding the chickens before school. I was a very stubborn child and I decided I would not feed the chickens if I didn't want to. I mopped and prodded around all morning. Finally it was time to leave for school and I had still not fed the chickens. Now by this point everyone was getting frustrated with me, and rightly so, I mean it was me who was making them late. My dad nicely reminded me, that no one was going anywhere until I fed those dang chickens! My dad kindly walked me out to the chicken coop, where I sat on a hay bale and defiantly looked at him. I knew my siblings were watching at the window and I was not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me give in. Daddy 10-Bar called for me to stand up and feed the chickens but that only aggravated me more, so I kept on sitting in the coop. I continued to sulk there, and Daddy 10-Bar continued to wait.  Grain bucket and some alfalfa hay Surprise Encounter Suddenly, out of nowhere, something interrupted my sulking thoughts. I was attacked! My dear rooster had jumped atop my head and began pecking me vigorously. I'm sure I looked a sight, as I sat there for a minute before a pure adrenaline rush took over. I stood up and has quickly as I could began waving my arms. Every time I reached up to push that pesky rooster off, he would reach over and peck my hand! So there I was running around the whole yard, screaming and waving my arms with a rooster on my head. It took everyone a minute to stop laughing before they rushed over to help me. To be honest I don't remember the rest of that day. I do remember my dad's workers received a bonus that month... they said he was delicious! You can bet for the next couple months if there was a way to get out of feeding those chickens, I took it after that.  Rooster preparing for attack Lessons By a RoosterFor many years after this experience my pride and stubbornness would flare up and I would again become defiant. However, as time went on I would remember I realized there were some important lessons to be learned from the rooster. 1: We often bring challenges on ourselves by playing the victim. If I hadn't let my pride get in the way I could have avoided that particular outcome. 2. Sometimes we need to stop being a sissy, pick up our petticoats and get over it. A lot of crappy work needs to be done in life and we'll all have to do some of it. 3: Do what mama and Pops ask, they wont change their minds just cause ya pout. 4. Never trust a rooster. Y'all may disagree but I'm sticking with this one!  Lou with her Puppy 2019 Lou's ClosingWe don't always see the big picture. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guide for our lives, but oftentimes we, like that little girl, refuse to listen. We think we know best and often ignore the gentle pleadings of the Spirit warning us of danger. Pride, anger, stubbornness, all of these bring about pain. They are a poison in our lives, but if we can learn and become a little bit better every day we will become happier. I have come a long way from that time but I will always be grateful for the lessons I learned that day. I am happier now then I would be if I had stayed that angry, defensive girl. Thanks Dad for loving me enough to teach me, it may have taken a few years but I'm better for it.  We are on a journey to bridge the gap between producer and consumer by sharing our dream, knowledge and experience with the world. Hold on tight the ride is only 8 seconds long.
|
AuthorSisters of the 10-Bar-Y Brand sharing stories and updates from the ranch. Categories
All
Archives
April 2021
|
RSS Feed