I fell down twice today while doing critter chores. I'm in my mid-30's, if I haven't outgrown my clumsiness yet, I think it's safe to consider myself officially, permanently gravitationally-challenged. Maybe my next move is to take preventative measures like wearing a helmet at all times, or sewing a hemorrhoid donut pillow into my chore pants?
All I know right now is this - two wipeouts in the mud and all of the animals tucked in for the night means that pajama/cocktail hour has arrived and that soon, all shall be right with the world again. :)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Los Bebés
These little fuzzles are now about 4 days old. Most of these pics were taken on days #2 & 3. We ended up with 27 chicks, 10 of whom (by Livy's count) are "naked necks" - potenial frizzled polish-naked neck crosses. :)
A black Australorp chick. These little babies are as hardy as the day is long!
A wider shot of the gang of peepers.
I want to name this bird Liza Minnelli so bad. Seriously - do you see the resemblance too or have I been spending WAY TOO MUCH time around chickens?
Livydoo & "Liza" :)
Mixing two funny looking breeds to make a new and different funny looking breed is pure bird-nerd nirvana. Behold our first Fall hatch of babies, the Americauna/White-crested Black Frizzled Polish crosses -
This little frizzled dude reminds me of what a crow/stellar's jay cross might look like.
I am IN LOVE with this girl's wacky crest. It reminds me of a peahen or a quail of some sort, maybe? I dunno, but I do think she's durn fancy!
The heap o'babies. Suddenly, they are camera-shy.
Mixing two funny looking breeds to make a new and different funny looking breed is pure bird-nerd nirvana. Behold our first Fall hatch of babies, the Americauna/White-crested Black Frizzled Polish crosses -
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Chicken & Egg Trivia
On the eve of yet another, possibly our biggest ever, hatch of baby chicks, I find myself so wound up by the whole process that I have made the executive decision to fly my geek flag and fling some baby chicken trivia your way. Enjoy! ;)
*Chicks start to peep before they even hatch!
Mine have just begun doing so, with less than 24 hours to go in their gestation.
*Hatchlings do not need to eat or drink for as many as 2-3 days after hatching.
The yolk that fueled their development within the egg continues to provide the baby with sustenance until the babes learn to find and consume food and water, with the help of their Mama.
We never wait that long. They get food and water just as soon as they make the move from the incubator to the brooder.
*Baby chickens (and turkeys too) need to be taught how to drink.
The babies are born with a particular attraction to "shiny" things, which helps them seek out water. However, a Mama bird or surrogate Mama like me needs to actually show them how to dip to get a beak full of water, then extend their neck up and back to let the water run down their throat. They don't so much gulp liquid as they do scoop it and "knock it back". ;)
*The nearness of voices (chicken or human) encourage a chick to hatch.
The babies, if sat upon by their Mama hen, would have been listening for her clucks and bocks, as well as those of their fellow nestmates, as a sort of "all's well" sign that encourages them to hatch. In the case of my babies, since they've been hearing human voices for the past three weeks, will go from dead silent to a peeping frenzy upon hearing my greeting - even while still in the egg!
This is also one of the reasons that we leave the hatched babies in the incubator alongside the unhatched eggs for about 24 hours. All eggs that are going to hatch, should do so within that period, and the encouraging peeps of their siblings, as well as the occasional helpful peck, improve the hatch rate of a given clutch, in my experience.
*Chicks start to peep before they even hatch!
Mine have just begun doing so, with less than 24 hours to go in their gestation.
*Hatchlings do not need to eat or drink for as many as 2-3 days after hatching.
The yolk that fueled their development within the egg continues to provide the baby with sustenance until the babes learn to find and consume food and water, with the help of their Mama.
We never wait that long. They get food and water just as soon as they make the move from the incubator to the brooder.
*Baby chickens (and turkeys too) need to be taught how to drink.
The babies are born with a particular attraction to "shiny" things, which helps them seek out water. However, a Mama bird or surrogate Mama like me needs to actually show them how to dip to get a beak full of water, then extend their neck up and back to let the water run down their throat. They don't so much gulp liquid as they do scoop it and "knock it back". ;)
*The nearness of voices (chicken or human) encourage a chick to hatch.
The babies, if sat upon by their Mama hen, would have been listening for her clucks and bocks, as well as those of their fellow nestmates, as a sort of "all's well" sign that encourages them to hatch. In the case of my babies, since they've been hearing human voices for the past three weeks, will go from dead silent to a peeping frenzy upon hearing my greeting - even while still in the egg!
This is also one of the reasons that we leave the hatched babies in the incubator alongside the unhatched eggs for about 24 hours. All eggs that are going to hatch, should do so within that period, and the encouraging peeps of their siblings, as well as the occasional helpful peck, improve the hatch rate of a given clutch, in my experience.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
We have a Farrrmerrr doon! (Again)
Last time there was a Farrrrmerrrr doon it was because a single bite of undercooked chicken had it's revenge on me.
This time, it's muh back.
Apparently osteoarthritis wasn't content simply destroying my knees, and so set it's sights on L5-S1 and went to town. And it SUCKS!
Certainly not helping anything is the fact that, while collecting eggs yesterday, I full-on wiped out on the rain-slick clay, jarring my already cranky back and breaking half a dozen eggs in one fell swoop.
So, just the noo, this farrrm lass is a wee bit poorly. And she hasna held back on the pain killers, and may have been reading a wee bit tae much o' the Outlander Series while layin' aboot. Maybeh.
This time, it's muh back.
Apparently osteoarthritis wasn't content simply destroying my knees, and so set it's sights on L5-S1 and went to town. And it SUCKS!
Certainly not helping anything is the fact that, while collecting eggs yesterday, I full-on wiped out on the rain-slick clay, jarring my already cranky back and breaking half a dozen eggs in one fell swoop.
So, just the noo, this farrrm lass is a wee bit poorly. And she hasna held back on the pain killers, and may have been reading a wee bit tae much o' the Outlander Series while layin' aboot. Maybeh.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Food For All!
"Food for All" was the mantra of a conference on food quality and equity that I attended this past weekend, the Sustainable South Sound Food Summit.
It was primarily a brainstorming session on the six topics that comprise the "Whole Measures Food Systems" concept. The six core ideas that comprise a Whole Food System are-
*Justice and Fairness
*Thriving Local Economies
*Vibrant Farms
*Healthy People
*Strong Communities
*Sustainable Ecosystems
Before breaking into groups to discuss the specific topics within the whole measures food system, we were provided some statistics about the current state of our county and state as related to family and individuals' access to wholesome food (farmers markets, grocery stores, food banks, meals on wheels, etc.), SNAP benefits (food stamps) and the WIC program. I was surprised and saddened to hear that in my wonderful, progressive community, that 1 in 10 people are still "food insecure", meaning that at any given time, they do not know where their next meal is coming from.
How can this be, in the land of plenty?
The other stat that literally sent gasps up in the room was that more than 50% of SNAP benefits are redeemed at convenience stores. I find that heartbreaking.
It would be a gross oversimplification, and indeed simply unfair to say that these convenience store shoppers are all frittering away their food budget on junk foods. The fact of the matter is, that many of the citizens that qualify for these benefits also face challenges with transportation, and therefore utilize convenience stores more often, simply because of their convenient location and 24/7 accessibility.
It can't be ignored though, that some do choose to use their food dollars on non-nutritive choices like soda, sports drinks and snack foods (as do an alarming number of non-food stamp users), and are thereby really not taking the best advantage of their food dollar.
So the challenge on this particular front is multi-faceted.
1 - How do we make better choices more accessible to everyone - our elderly, shut-ins, latchkey kids, homeless, working parents, students, etc.? Everyone.
2 - How can we make wholesome foods competitive with pre-packaged, ready-to-eat convenience foods like chips, hot dogs, lunchables, candy, etc., as far as ease of preparation, portability, price point and so forth?
3 - How do we cultivate a taste for good food in populations that have grown used to eating substandard, highly processed "foods"?
4 - (And this is one of my major pet peeves) How do we remove the stigma that organic and whole foods are upscale or unattainable luxuries?
Keep in mind that this is just one of many aspects of the emerging food crisis. If Fritos and Twinkies weren't made with federally subsidized GMO crops, they wouldn't be cheaper than their wholesome counterparts. So without going too crazy-political on you, I'd encourage you to think about, and learn more about our country's highly flawed farm bill, and how it has, after starting out with the best of intentions, become one of the smaller-scale, non-"big Ag" farmer's greatest enemies. Boiling it down to bare bones, our tax dollars are helping "Big Ag" turn out soulless, nutritionally inferior, cloned food. :(
I could probably go on forever about my feelings and ideas surrounding farming, food and food policy, but in the interest of getting this post up, after laboring over and pecking at it for nearly a week now, I'm going to hit publish post now, with the promise that I will be back to finish this thought/tirade another time. :)
It was primarily a brainstorming session on the six topics that comprise the "Whole Measures Food Systems" concept. The six core ideas that comprise a Whole Food System are-
*Justice and Fairness
*Thriving Local Economies
*Vibrant Farms
*Healthy People
*Strong Communities
*Sustainable Ecosystems
Before breaking into groups to discuss the specific topics within the whole measures food system, we were provided some statistics about the current state of our county and state as related to family and individuals' access to wholesome food (farmers markets, grocery stores, food banks, meals on wheels, etc.), SNAP benefits (food stamps) and the WIC program. I was surprised and saddened to hear that in my wonderful, progressive community, that 1 in 10 people are still "food insecure", meaning that at any given time, they do not know where their next meal is coming from.
How can this be, in the land of plenty?
The other stat that literally sent gasps up in the room was that more than 50% of SNAP benefits are redeemed at convenience stores. I find that heartbreaking.
It would be a gross oversimplification, and indeed simply unfair to say that these convenience store shoppers are all frittering away their food budget on junk foods. The fact of the matter is, that many of the citizens that qualify for these benefits also face challenges with transportation, and therefore utilize convenience stores more often, simply because of their convenient location and 24/7 accessibility.
It can't be ignored though, that some do choose to use their food dollars on non-nutritive choices like soda, sports drinks and snack foods (as do an alarming number of non-food stamp users), and are thereby really not taking the best advantage of their food dollar.
So the challenge on this particular front is multi-faceted.
1 - How do we make better choices more accessible to everyone - our elderly, shut-ins, latchkey kids, homeless, working parents, students, etc.? Everyone.
2 - How can we make wholesome foods competitive with pre-packaged, ready-to-eat convenience foods like chips, hot dogs, lunchables, candy, etc., as far as ease of preparation, portability, price point and so forth?
3 - How do we cultivate a taste for good food in populations that have grown used to eating substandard, highly processed "foods"?
4 - (And this is one of my major pet peeves) How do we remove the stigma that organic and whole foods are upscale or unattainable luxuries?
Keep in mind that this is just one of many aspects of the emerging food crisis. If Fritos and Twinkies weren't made with federally subsidized GMO crops, they wouldn't be cheaper than their wholesome counterparts. So without going too crazy-political on you, I'd encourage you to think about, and learn more about our country's highly flawed farm bill, and how it has, after starting out with the best of intentions, become one of the smaller-scale, non-"big Ag" farmer's greatest enemies. Boiling it down to bare bones, our tax dollars are helping "Big Ag" turn out soulless, nutritionally inferior, cloned food. :(
I could probably go on forever about my feelings and ideas surrounding farming, food and food policy, but in the interest of getting this post up, after laboring over and pecking at it for nearly a week now, I'm going to hit publish post now, with the promise that I will be back to finish this thought/tirade another time. :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Knitting Project: Decreasing Rib Capelet (part deux!)
It isn't hard to tell when I like a pattern, because I make one for everybody and their cousin, whether they like it or not. This ribbed capelet definitely falls into the category of "knit now, figure out who it's going to later" projects. ;)
The first of these capelets was made for my friend, Mrs. P, last winter, and was modeled by my Livy-doo.
My most recent capelet was for young Miss. HB, who was gracious enough to model it for me. :)
I sort of inadvertently made two capelets in my attempt to make Miss. HB's one. Effort #1 was waaaaay to small, but by the time I realized that not even the give of ribbing would make it work, I was already halfway done. So I went ahead and finished it, and gave it to another lil' buddy of mine. Now she & HB are a matched set. :)
I have this project up on Ravelry, if you'd like to read more of my rambling notes or follow the link to the original pattern, check it out here.
Next up is a modified version of this capelet, more of a cape, really, for Miss HB's little brother.
The first of these capelets was made for my friend, Mrs. P, last winter, and was modeled by my Livy-doo.
My most recent capelet was for young Miss. HB, who was gracious enough to model it for me. :)
I sort of inadvertently made two capelets in my attempt to make Miss. HB's one. Effort #1 was waaaaay to small, but by the time I realized that not even the give of ribbing would make it work, I was already halfway done. So I went ahead and finished it, and gave it to another lil' buddy of mine. Now she & HB are a matched set. :)
I have this project up on Ravelry, if you'd like to read more of my rambling notes or follow the link to the original pattern, check it out here.
Next up is a modified version of this capelet, more of a cape, really, for Miss HB's little brother.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Another Odd Egg
We've seen a few of these lately. I'm not sure what causes it, but we call these "water balloons".
Looks like a relatively normal egg, right?
Except...
No shell at all, only membrane!
I'm going to have to research this phenomenon further, but I suspect that it is just a fluke that occurs now and then, especially with newer layers. Our girls get plenty of calcium in the form of crushed oyster shell and a very complete diet of organic, locally milled pellets, a loaf of bread per day, and all of the fresh grass, plants and bugs that they can eat, so we're not really worried that it's dietary, but can't rule it out altogether either.
To play it safe, we always compost these, though it might be fascinating to try and incubate one one of these times. Hmmm...
I'm going to have to research this phenomenon further, but I suspect that it is just a fluke that occurs now and then, especially with newer layers. Our girls get plenty of calcium in the form of crushed oyster shell and a very complete diet of organic, locally milled pellets, a loaf of bread per day, and all of the fresh grass, plants and bugs that they can eat, so we're not really worried that it's dietary, but can't rule it out altogether either.
To play it safe, we always compost these, though it might be fascinating to try and incubate one one of these times. Hmmm...
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