Busy Spring

First of all, I would like to introduce you to Bernie. He will be a very important sheep here in the coming years. He is going to be my new ram (aka daddy). As soon as he was born, I knew that he would make a terrific ram for us here at ODF. He is half Romney and half Polypay. His mom is Daisy the Polypay and his dad is Bo, my favorite sheep in the world. I was thrilled to get so many Bo babies this year. Last year, we did not get even one. You see, Bo only has one testicle. When he was born, it was decided that he would be castrated and eventually go to the slaughter house. When we were castrating him, only one testicle was “dropped”. The vet deduced that he was monorchism and removed that testicle and we thought that was the end of that. But, thank God! Bo’s life took a different turn. His other testicle eventually dropped, his phenomenal personality developed, and we all fell in love with him. He was not leaving ODF. And we crossed our fingers hoping that the one testicle might one day produce a heir.

Bo and his babies will be with us for a very long time!

Maura KellyMarch 17, 2020

Introducing Princess Party Pants. Ok, her real name is Lily. She comes all the way from British Columbia and she is a future mommy here at ODF. While we have kittens regularly to love on and enjoy. We realized that we haven’t had one of “our own” in quite sometime. So…Lily is now officially the most spoiled creature at Open Door Farm. She prefers sleeping with her body under the covers and her head ON TOP of my cheek! No joke. And she is the boss of everyone else. The dogs are terrified of her and the other cats are shaking in their shoes, if they had shoes. Needless to say, she has a HUGE personality! And we adore her!

Maura KellyNovember 5, 2019

Kittens leaving

Well, it’s kitten pickup weekend. And many people ask am I sad to see them go. I have to be honest and say “no, I am not”.

There are a few reasons that I answer this way. The first is that I will get my house back…at least for a while. Having the kittens is a great joy and has me laughing everyday. But it is also a lot of work. While they are learning to use the litter box, I have to clean up messes all over several times a day. And it is imperative that their box is ALWAYS clean or they won’t use it. So, that means scooping 4-5 times a day. They also make the litter fly all over the room. That means that my Roomba’s are going at least twice a day. On top of all this, there is the regular feeding, watering, worrying, vet visits and chasing that goes along with a dozen or so little monsters being in your house.

But the main reason that I am not sad, is the joy that these little, precious creatures bring to their new homes. I know the peace that I feel when one of the animals snuggles me in the night. I know the loving look of an animal that trusts you with their whole heart. I know the emotions that are expressed by an animal when he/she loves you unconditionally. I know the healing that an animal can facilitate just with his/her presence in my life. And. let’s face it…we are all a little (or a lot) broken and in need of healing.

So, no…I am not sad. Though I will miss them, I am overjoyed that I am able to share these awesome, incredible, beautiful, loving, affectionate, funny, entertaining, and adorable creatures with others. God speed, kittens!

Maura KellySeptember 28, 2019

Sisters....

These two….that’s what I want to talk about today. As many of you know, Zuzu had 6 kittens last Friday, July 12th. Rose had 5 kittens on Thursday night, July 18th. All are doing well. The bond that these two share, especially when pregnant and rearing their little ones is a magical thing. While Zuzu was in labor, Rose kept coming in and checking on her. And same happened when Rose had hers. But what really blew my mind, happened when all were born and everything was settled down. I put Rose in a crate next to Zuzu’s crate with a soft blanket and a heating pad underneath. Kind of the Four Seasons of cat postpartum. But, she wasn’t having it!! She immediately began “stealing” any kittens of Zuzu’s that made the slightest peep. I kept putting the little ones back with the correct mother. How stupid was I?? Nature always gets its way….finally, I stopped fighting it. I put all of Rose’s kittens and Rose into the big crate. The kittens immediately began co-mingling. And Rose and Zuzu…well, they take turns feeding, cleaning, and snuggling whomever might need it. And, when not too busy with a baby, they care for each other too. The picture is Zuzu lovingly licking Rose…kind of a “You did a great job, way to go, I’’m so proud of you”!

Maura KellyJuly 20, 2019