Ooh, bantams are so cute! Ours are all regular sized, and very friendly. If you feed them out of your hand they might catch your skin a bit when they peck, buut that's the closest I've ever seen them get to being aggressive. We have 4 hens, all different breeds: Buff Orpington, Light Brahma, Rhode Island Red, and Ameraucana (she lays greenish blue eggs!).

I would like to have a chihuahua but my little guys are a Shih Tzu and a Rat Terrier. I have to watch the Rat Terrier around all my animals because his hunting instincts are so strong. The breeder we got him from was breeding for hunting dogs and he sure is one. He catches wild rabbits when I take him for walks, while on the leash. They are setting just out of sight but not out of smelling range. I make him let go but it always shocks me. He chases our goat, rabbits (if out), horses, house bird, chickens, as long as it will run or fly he is after it. The Shih Tzu could care less, true lap dog.

Shy ~ I have owned my own petting zoo for the most part. Horses, rabbits, chickens, pigs, calves, goats, dwarf hamsters, golden hamsters, guinea pig, rats, fish, birds, iguana, green anole, turtles, cats and dogs. Can you tell I am an animal person and passed the love of them onto one of my kids and now my grandson. My oldest DD hates animals, the youngest loves them. The only things not allowed are snakes and spiders. I really want a water frog.

I just got a chuckle because my youngest loves frogs. We have lots of tree frogs around our place and she had been trying to get me to let her keep one. I told her no. Well the stinker waited until I went to bed a couple of years ago and brought one in and put it in an empty tank she had, no lid. Well it got out and I got up and I was sitting looking at the frog on the window when I realized it was on the inside. I said, wow a tree frog got into the house some how. Not thinking that the stinker brought it in I put it back out. A few days later it dawned on me she brought it in and tried putting it in the tank and it got out.

Coldbrightday ~ I think DH wants Rhode Island Reds because they are good layers and are noted for their pleasant personality. I just like the variety of plumage bantams have. DH wants eggs, I am looking for style. LOL! Its just a hobby and I don't care how big the eggs are. I really want some Cochen's, Silkie or even Polish. I think he would be happy if all three hens would start laying because we would have enough eggs for us. I did start buying organic eggs from the store because they also have nice yolks.

I feel so much better today. Must be my system is cleaning up and I am making efforts to get some extra sleep. Jose and I fell asleep watching cartoons last night and took an hours snooze. The dogs woke us up barking at something. I am sure it was the wild rabbits were in the yard eating what green grass we have.

The scale is rewarding my efforts faster than normal and I don't know why because I am not exercising as much as I normally do. I should say I am getting exercise its just not organized. I think a 2 yr old is enough of a workout. LOL! I used to always say I wish I had that much energy but lately I am expending more and more carrying him all over. He has forgotten how to walk.

Well I better get going for now and I will talk to you all later.

I forgot again. Someone asked what type of Almond Milk I bought that came in individual containers, it is Pacifica. I got it in the health food section of Kroger.

GrammyL~ Our little Chi/Terrier mix is a hunter too! We aren't sure what kind of terrier he is mixed with, but he likes to dig and he points too. When we still lived in CA he actually killed a gopher by scaring it to death. Seriously, he barked at it so much it fell over dead! Lol. I had DH hit it over the head with a shovel to make sure, but it was definately dead by the time we disposed of it.

Grammy
I really do like animals but this darn dwarf hamster is driving me to drink lol. He got out, I have no idea how and I still haven't found him. I have water and food all over the place for him hoping to see him out. When my 2 year olds forgot how to walk they learned how to sit and just stay there lol. That is so cute about the frog. That is the same way the duck ended up in my bath. It of course, never got in the house by itself and yet he always ended up in my bath lol.

Terriers are definitely a hunting dog.

We had a Husky and he loved opossums. Twice he got them and played with them. The first one wandered in his pen and was a young one. Of course he did what opossums do, played dead. Well the silly dog would pounce on it and when he would come down it would squeak so the dog kept doing it over and over. He got an older one the following year and was dragging it around and throwing it in the air when we got home. DH put them both down because they carry rabies and diseases. If they pee on the hay for my horses it can actually kill my horses so we are always on the look out for them.

I am not sure what type of home you have for him but I found fish tanks, with something to sleep in, water bottle, food dish, wheel and a lid that can handle weights to be the best. Hamsters are escape artists and very strong for their size so you have to make sure that the lid is weighted and all possible exits are secured by tape or weights. I had one that had a plastic hamster house with the tubes and everything. He learned how to slid doors open, chewed on the tubes until the could get them off easily and even chewed so he could separate the top and bottom to get out.

I found the dwarfs to be more irritable than the larger hamsters. Ours was a bitter and the bigger ones as long as you use a tube to get them out and are careful when handling them normally don't bite. Those dwarfs are unpredictable.

My daughter had a gerbil and that was a cool little thing. They are much easier to keep caged and they like to chew up cardboard. We always gave it the corr from the toilet paper rolls and paper towels. He was cute and friendly.

Tinky ~ You posted a picture so we can put a face with the name. I am just a little envious, you are beautiful. I always wanted beautiful black hair but it wouldn't match my skin color. The Ethiopian food must be popular and I never even thought of it as a cuisine until you all mentioned it. I so like eating without silverware. I think that is why I like Mexican food, most everything can be eating with a tortilla. LOL!

Hey all.... I love animals too but I don't have any right now the only big animal we are allowed is cats but we have no place to put the litter box that the cat can get to and the baby can't. I REALLY want a dog but it isn't allowed in my apartment so I will be getting one as soon as we move to a house. I have owned ALOT of animals...horse, dogs, cats, rats, gerbils, hamsters, degu, bird, rabbit, guinea pig, snake, fish. My favourite small animal was my rats!!! I love rats they make amzing pets very smart, very few of them bite, good with children. I used to bring mine to school everyday and he would sit in my desks during class. then my bus driver found out and kicke dme off the bus...so I had to call my mom to pick me up and my school was 1/2 hour drive from my house boy was my mom MAD lol.

irish
lol I wonder why the buss driver didn't want a rat on her buss lol.

Laura
These are terrific. Very friendly and they like to nuzzle your ear. I think what happened is their cages have little houses on top and someone didn't close the house lid properly. We still haven't found the little thing but we can tell the food has been eaten. He is around somewhere lol. This one happens to be my favorite. He likes to sit on my shoulder while I do things around the house. The cat found the one and brought him to me. I wish he would find the other one. Just brought him to me and dropped him at my feet. Didn't even muss his fur lol.

Ok, so I seem to have had something of an attitude shift. My weight is going to be up at weigh in tomorrow, possibly by a lot. And you know what? I'm okay with it.

I was doing okayish this week, averaging a little higher than usual on the calories, but exercising a lot -- I was up a pound or so due to TOM, though. Then last night we had a potluck party to celebrate the end of finals and the beginning of spring, and I ate and drank all night. Not completely insane portions, and mostly very healthy food (well besides the whiskey :)), but definitely more than I needed to feel satisfied.

So I'll gain this week. But I realized that we all talk about making this a lifestyle we can live for the rest of our lives, and... well, I'm not going to go the rest of my life without getting drunk and eating two plates of tasty food now and then. It's just not realistic for me, because I genuinely enjoy it. What I'm learning, though, is how important it is for it to be an occasional thing. I'm right back on track today and I ran 2.2 miles this morning. :) (No hangover! How did that happen???)

Irish ~ My DD was very close with her first rat and even paid to have her put down when she developed a large tumor. She now has two but she doesn't mess with the one much because he is temper mental but the other is friendly. I can see the bus drivers point because I don't really care for them. I will pet them but I won't hold them.

Shy ~ To funny about the cat. Someone might of not shut it tight or they figured it out. Mine had one of those houses on top and he would lay on his back, brace his legs in a corner and then pull with all his might and even teeth in one of the vents and open it. We watched him do it. I found ours in the bath tub once because it wanted water and fell in. It made for a good trap and the hamster was fine.

Geez, I have been reading my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being Vegetarian" and I just finished the pro's and con's section of meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. I don't know. I am going Lacto-ovo vegetarian but even the lacto-ovo would frown because I don't read my cheese labels to make sure rennet isn't in my cheese. Anyway, I can see the benefits of cutting it out but I think I am going to stay lacto-ovo and just make sure I buy organic/low fat and fat free products.

Coldbrightday ~ It was all the yummy food you ate. Even healthy, skinny, happy people have ups and downs in their weights. The difference is they are not trying to lose so we can't get to hung up when we have fluctuations. You did great getting right back on plan and it will come right back off. There will never be a holiday that I don't indulge, that is just a fact but I won't continue to indulge day after day. GOOD ATTITUDE!