so who has totally worthless (to the homestead) pets?

We have a Pug for the indoor dog and a Conure for our bird pet.

Love them both and they fill a great niche in our family.

I have a big (abt 15 lbs) cat that is from the pound, but have been told she is at least majority Main Coon Cat.

She sheds, eats, sleeps, shed, sheds, and sheds and hold my covers down when I'm in bed, especially on cooler nights.



PS: I like that tiny dog in the first photo, it looks like some of the stuff animals left over from my girls' growing up.

Angie

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Snuggling with a sweet lil' Shih Tzu as I type........... Just finished telling him how much I love him....... He and the girl Shih Tzu came from the dog warden on the day they were to be put down. They only keep them 5 days here. I've had them for 5 years now. Lily and Buddy, I call them.

Then there's Daisy and Jasmine. Both came from the Humane Society. Both unwanted pitbulls, and we've lived together for close to ten years. Never once bothered any of the outside critters.

And 5 cats, the youngest of them is just over 6 years old. I stole him from a neighbor when I still lived in the city. First laid eyes on him when I had three paper routes (on top of a fulltime job), he came running out one morning with his eyes all glommy, blowing snot-bubbles, and the worst case of fleas I've seen in my entire life. Annie was an abandoned kitten from the city, too. Found her in a gutter when I was delivering papers, her eyes weren't even open yet. I bottle fed her til she was old enough to drink from a bowl. One of the most wonderful things in my life is to see all my cats asleep on my bed.

Then there are two sheep who are lawn ornaments, along with 5 turkeys, a male duck, two male guineas, an indoor rabbit, and lots of chickens.

I would never consider them as worthless.

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I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.

My 4 cats keep down the mice. My Coonhound will follow a blood trail to find a lost deer and protects the yard from inturders. My 3 Maremmas all guard sheep, and my 24 sheep bring in money and meat. The 17 chickens provide meat and eggs. I guess none of mine qualify as "worthless" LOL

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Two indoor cats, a BLM mustang, and a couple of pound puppy dogs. Oh, wait, the pound puppies tell me they're homeland security (uh...if anyone is afraid of Mr. Fluffy pants and his shadow, that is.)

Angie, the new kitten I brought home this summer looks like she's part Maine Coon. She's getting very big, and talk about shedding! Oye...all I do is go around dusing long white cat hair off tables all day. (No, she's not allowed on tables...but does she listen?)

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Mustang Diaries

"It's called a lance...hellooo!"

OK...I'll play too. We have:

Sterling (should've named him "Guido" - he's Da Boss)
Buddy (not the sharpest knife in the drawer...but a sweetie, devoted to my DD)
Daisy (Sterling's girlfriend, no joke)
Angelica a/k/a "Stink" (deserves that nickname on oh, so many levels)
Rocky (Lab-mix mutt, a/k/a "the tongue")
Maverick (Ain't he handsome? Don't he know it, too? )

All pretty useless for practical purposes...but we love 'em.

Please, I gotta hear about this one!

Let's see...there is Goldie the doggy who is friends with everyone and useless as a watch dog. He is neurotic about any changes in his life but is so kind and gentle that the UPS driver sometimes stips just to say hello to him.

Then there is Tippy who is an old kitty now who spends most of his time sleeping. We had baby mice in the kitchen, running around the floor and he laid down to watch them.

Then thare is Brat the Cat, named for obvious reasons. Now, he hunts mice-the ones that in the walls.

Yep, guilty here.... seven dogs ranging from 60 to 120 lbs (five adopted rescues and two foster doggies) , a blind rooster, and two crippled male guineas. Not to mention the deer and the 25 wild turkeys that show up every morning staring into my living room window looking for a treat. What can I say, I'm a sucker!
Steph

Fearless Security Cats. When I Come Home I Peek In The Window And See They Are All Sleeping-i Bang On The Window And You Never Saw So Many Animals Come To Life So Fast....

Yea, Steph, we must have one of those signs (Suckers Live Here) at the end of our road, also.

LOL So far, all of my chickens are useless! I have
7 polish
4 silkies
I couldn't tell you how many bantam cochins (lost count last time we went to the auction!
and 5 marans (who are molting so that's okay! )

Mind you none of these are really useless as they have taught my kids responsibilty and they are mostly pets, but I can't tell you the last time I got an egg. Hopefully by next Spring we'll be able to sell hatching eggs, but I am beginning to think I am doing everything wrong so I have my doubts!

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HA Try opening a can. At one point we had the 27 cats in the house. Now, they are in an enclosed structure on the second floor of the barn, complete with toys and lots of hay for snuggling. Their area is bigger than some people's apartments. All of my cats are rescues; many are special-needs. I brought quite a few home "to die" because they were beyond hope but they rallied.

As for whoever asked about the goat: Gordon is a wether that I saved from death. He was literally on his last legs in the shed the guy kept him in. His only companions were the sheep carcasses in the pen beside him of the sheep the farmer had forgotten to feed. Did I mention this farmer lived in the city and only came out once a week to water and feed his horses/cows? Anyway, Gordon, ironically, was being raised for meat and yet you could see every bone in his body. A girlfriend and I half-dragged, half-carried him to her pick-up. He is now fluffy and round and gentle as a lamb. He follows me everywhere and even managed to get into the kitchen once or twice by following the dogs. He bleats his heart out when he sees me or hears my voice. I can do anything to him and he loves getting goat kisses on his soft little nose. Oh, and he's not a pygmy. He must weigh about 150 lbs.

All of the dogs (spayed females) are rescues from either horrible abuse or from death row. I have a pure GSD, a GSD/monster mix, a GSD/Collie/everything mix, a Lab/Husky and my newest is a purebred Pitbull.

The chickens too are a hard-luck case. They were free because the woman didn't want them anymore. They were in the worst shape I've ever seen, complete with feces encrusted into their toes. Now, they are shiny and beautiful. They don't lay well though. The one that broke her leg is in a huge pen in my basement. After splinting her leg, she can use it a bit but manages just fine. She mothers the chicks I have in there with her.

The ducks are my newest acquistion and they have severe angel wing so are unable to fly. I think it's too late to try to splint the wings as they are full grown.

Glad to see that I'm not the only sucker/softie around!

I needed this thread!
Lisa.

Angie..maine coon cats r so cool..I had "mamacat" for 20 yrs.she traveled across canada with me 3 times.Finally had to put her to sleep after she woke up one morning and couldn,t walk.Her baby is still here.she,ll be 20 this yr also.These cats stayed waaay longer than any woman I ever had>oops..did I say that out load?

I have a tailless Maine Coon. He sits when we tell the dogs to sit.

The one sitting in my lap helping me type...

If this works out you may see Pisker...



She's watching squirrels on the front porch. I put out seeds for them so she'll have something to watch (sorta like cat tv).

Angie

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Good thread! Ok, here are my contributions:

Our Guinea Pigs

My three wethers

My 2 JRT's (Well, Jake, the guy on the left does hunt mice and snakes, so he is not totally useless)
Sorry about the HUGE pics, I couldn't resize them.
In all seriousness, I really don't think any of my pets are useless as they provide me and my family with years of love and affection.

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The more people I meet, the more I like my chickens

I guess the only animals that are COMPLETELY useless are the two pygmy wethers...they really are just pets. And we've decided not to breed their mom again, so she's a freeloader too.

The rabbits are incredibly spoiled, but at least their poo is gold in the garden, and those obnoxious geese are decent guardians.

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Bailey Boo -- Ferocious Bunny Hunter!!
She's the best dog EVER!!!