CHICKENS: BUILD A BROODER

Our Plymouth Barred Rock chicks arrive tomorrow morning, so it was time to get my brooder in gear.



I've never used a brooder before, mostly because I didn't know they existed. I just used our old system of keeping them in a box with a heat lamp overhead. The problem with this has always been that they aren't warm enough. The bulb shines down on them, but being hot air, rises up and away. I don't think I've ever lost a chick from cold, but it was inefficient.

So along comes the brooder. I found this very cheap and easy idea on a chicken site that I can't recall, so my apologies to the inventor!



Basically you need one heat lamp with a bulb, a cardboard box at least twice as wide as the lamp, four wooden stakes, and a staple gun. Using scraps, my only actual cost was about $15 for the lamp cover and a bit for the bulb.

I cut the wooden stakes about 5" higher than the box. Then I took a knife and cut out one side of the box. This is the bottom. On the top side of the box I cut a small hole to fit the base of the heat lamp in.



With my cutting accomplished, it was quick work to drive three staples through the outside of the box and into each stake. For more stability, I was sure to staple each side that touches the box. As you can see, this paid off when one side of my box came loose. The extra side of staples kept the box off the ground until I could tape up the loose edge.

Our new brooder will allow the chicks to cuddle up underneath to be warm, and when they need to cool off they simply step out and scratch around until they're ready for another warm, cozy nap.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

FOOD-GRASS VERSUS GRAIN VALUES

This post is for my own reference as much as anything. Anytime I bring up the advantages of grass-fed meats and organically raised foods, I wish I had a list of how much difference there is in terms of nutrition. At the store, everyone sees the higher price tag. What you don't see is what that higher price gives you in nutrition.

Did you know that grass fed beef has LESS fat than grain-fed, dark-meat chicken? And only a little more fat than grain-fed, white-meat chicken? Start eating pasture-fed chicken as well, and we're really talking. To top that off, the fat is also the healthier fat, full of Omega 3 and other good-for-you things.

You can buy and eat three times more grain-fed beef or spend your money on all these vitamin supplements. Or you can just make the effort to get some grass-fed beef and your body will thank you. And get this! The average American eats 66-pounds of beef a year. If you switched to eating grass-fed instead, you'd lose six pounds without changing anything else! How's that for incentive? :-)

BEEF
From 2009 study by Clemson University, NC

Nutrient .......Grass-fed........Grain-fed
Saturated Fat/3 oz serving.......2+ oz.......8+ oz
Omega 3 fat %/serving.......3% .......0%
Vitamin E, mcg/gram beef.......6.9.......1.5
Total Fat.....49% Lower
Tocopherol .....288% Higher
Beta-carotene.....54% higher
B-vitamin Thiamin..... Higher
B-vitamin Riboflavin..... Higher
Calcium ..... Higher
Magnesium ..... Higher
Potassium ..... Higher
Omega 6 to 3 ratio..... 1.65..... 4.84
---(a 1-to-1 ratio is ideal for good health and is close in grass-fed beef)
CLA-cancer fighter.............................117% Higher
Vaccenic Acid/CLA precursor.............90% Higher

MILK
from "Super Natural Milk"

Nutrient.......................Grass-Fed Cows......Grain-Fed Cows
CLA...............................................5x higher
---(conjugated linoic acid)
Omega 3/Omega 6 ratio..............16.5/16.6..........................8.2/47.2
---(a 1-to-1 ratio is ideal for good health and is in grass-fed milk)
Beta-carotene..................................Higher
Vitamin A........................................Higher
Vitamin E........................................Higher

EGGS
from Mother Earth News reports

Nutrient.........................Grass-Fed Hens......Grain-Fed Hens
Vitamin D..........................102-204 IU/100g.............34 IU/100g
---eggs are one of a very small group of natural foods that provide vitamin D
Beta-carotene...................................79.03 mcg.........................10 mcg
Vitamin A.........................................791.86 IU..........................487 IU
Vitamin E...........................................3.73 mg.............................97 mg
Omega 3............................................ .66 g................................ .22g
Cholesterol....................................277 mg...............................423 mg
Saturated Fat.....................................2.4 g.................................3.1g

KITCHEN SHELF ORGANIZER

I've been threatening to do this all winter, but last weekend I actually did it.

I build an anti-avalanche rack.

This may sound impressive, and it is! It's also blissfully simple to make. I think the whole thing, start to finish, took one hour.

All I needed were six lengths of 1" x 2" boards cut to length, and six 1/2" dowels, also cut to length. Add 12 screws, about 1-1/2" each, and you're in business. My cost was about $18.

BEFORE


Cookie sheets, kettle lids, pans, and cutting boards vie to be the first thing to start the avalanche. I love to cook. I hate to reach for tools in my cupboard...



Here's my arsenal. Six boards cut to fit the depth of the shelf (you can do this with saws supplied at Home Depot if you are tool-less at home), and six 1/2" wooden dowels, also cut to the height of the shelf.



Using my handy-dandy drill and a 1/2" spade bit (also available at Home Depot or Canadian Tire or wherever) I augered out holes for the dowels to fit into.



With bits and pieces in hand, I emptied the horrible mess out of the cupboard.



Then I positioned my bottom boards evenly in the space I was working with. I actually DID use a ruler to make sure they were equal distance from each other. You could even go so far as drawing a little line on the shelf to mark where each board should sit (snicker). When everything is ready, put one 1-1/2" screw in the end of each board to attach to the shelf.



Now comes the really, really hard part. You slide a dowel through each hole in the loose board. And then you slip the ends into the board you just screwed down. Push the dowels so they are upright, slide the board up until it touches the top of the cupboard, and... ready for this?... you use TAPE to hold it in place! Not permanently of course. Just long enough to put two screws in to anchor it. Chances are two people can't fit into your cupboard, so the tape works pretty grand.

Be sure to measure the distance from wall to board on the bottom and match it to the distance on to top, to make sure everything is straight and nearly square. Also, speaking from experience here, be REALLY sure the screws are short enough that they won't pop through your cheap linoleum counter top. Oops.

ALL DONE



This was so worth the effort! Now I actually like to pull pans out AND put them away when I'm done. It's finally fun! Now we just need to see about getting that soapstone countertop we keep putting off doing. Can't have the ugly speck of chipped counter top showing from a bad screw job....

FOOD- WHY IS GRASS FED BETTER?

I'm a convert.

While the meat we buy is relatively inexpensive historically, it's not the stuff I ate as a kid.

The corn-fed beef living in manure-bog feedlots; corn-fed chicken cramed in airless barns full of dust and feces; pigs crammed into similarly cramped conditions and never exposed to sun or fresh air; and eggs from chickens crunched into one-foot square "battery cages" just don't taste like my brain and body tell me they should.

Two weeks ago I got some pork chops and bacon from grass fed pigs. They live in a big pasture 20 minutes north of us, eating and digging for the food they were designed to find. Their bodies are in the sun all day, making the Vitamin D that makes their immune systems work to keep them healthy. As a result they never need to be fed antibiotic-filled feed.

And my was that good meat! The taste wasn't wild or gamey, just a proper "pork" flavor I haven't had in decades actually. After boycotting super-market, factory-produced pork several years ago, it was a welcome addition to our diet!
Firm, I won't say "textured," because it wasn't fiberous or tough, but you could sink your teeth into it and feel like you were eating something significant.

Based on the numbers, you ARE eating something significant. The meat is denser, being filled with the minerals and vitamins that belong there and are sadly missing from the factory-farm meat. You can actually eat less of it and feel more satisfied, as the things your body needs are there, getting processed into healthy cells, bone and muscle.

We ordered up a half hog to be delivered in April. It cost me $3/pound versus $2 for the stuff I get in the store. When it's finished being butchered and sliced I'll be out about $4 per pound. The fifty pounds of pork I'll have in our freezer will keep twice as long as anything from a factory farm, partly because it hasn't been soaked in salt water to increase the weight. And because it is healthy meat.

Not interested yet? Good!

Read on to find out why the factory farm meat is killing us and the good old grass-fed stuff our grandparents savored keeps us healthy. It's not just taste you are paying for, it's nutrition.

When we add our own home-raised chickens to the freezer this fall, and pasture-based eggs later this summer, I like to think that now we're going to be feeding our bodies and not just filling our bellies.

CALORIES

The average North American eats 66.5 pounds of beef a year.

Grassfed beef is leaner and therefore lower in calories per pound. A 6-ounce grass-fed beef burger has 100 less calories than a feedlot-fed beef burger. That's 17,733 fewer calories a year for the same amount of beef. If you don't change anything else in your diet, other than eating grass-fed beef, you would lose six pounds without trying.

HEALTHY FAT

Meat from all grass-fed animals has two to four times more Omega 3 fatty acids than grain-fed animals. Each day an animal spends on a grass-free diet reduces the Omega 3acids in the meat.

People with good levels of Omega 3 in their diets are far less likely to have high blood pressure or suffer heart attacks. (1) They are also less likely to suffer depression, ADD, Ahlzeimer's, and schizophrenia. (2)

VITAMIN E

The meat from the pastured cattle is four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and almost twice as high as the meat from the feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplements.

In humans, vitamin E is linked with a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have anti-aging properties. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin E.

GRASS FED BEEF BEATS GRAIN FED

Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:

Lower in total fat

Higher in beta-carotene

Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)

Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin

Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium

Higher in total omega-3s

A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)

Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter

Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)

Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

ON TO EGGS

Eggs from hens raised outdoors on pasture have from three to six times more vitamin D than eggs from factory hens. Pastured hens are exposed to direct sunlight, which their bodies convert to vitamin D and then pass on to the eggs.

Vitamin D is best known for its role in building strong bones. New research shows that it can also enhance the immune system, improve mood, reduce blood pressure, combat cancer, and reduce the risk of some autoimmune disorders.

This latest good news about eggs comes from a study just released by Mother Earth News, a magazine that plays a leading role in promoting health-enhancing, natural foods. The editors found that eating just two eggs will give you from 63-126% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin D.

Note that this benefit comes only from hens that are free to graze fresh greens, eat bugs, and bask in the sun. Most of the eggs sold in the supermarket do not meet this criterion. Even though the label says that the eggs are “certified organic” or come from “uncaged” or “free-range” hens or from hens fed an “all-vegetarian” diet, this is no guarantee that the hens had access to the outdoors or pasture.

Look for eggs from “pastured” hens. You are most likely to find these superior eggs at farmer’s markets or natural food stores. Better yet, purchase them directly from your local farmer.

BUTTER VERSUS MARJARINE

I am guilty. I still refust to change over to a vegetable-based butter spread. Give me butter or, well, I guess butter is death eh?

But wait! No idea where you're going to find it, but butter from grass-fed cows is good for you! And you can evaluate it by how your butter spreads.

Take a cube of butter from your refrigerator, slice it with a knife, and spread it on a slice of bread. Did it coat the bread evenly or did it remain in hard lumps? Researchers have determined that the easier butter spreads, the better it is for your health.

Why? The firmness of butter depends on its ratio of saturated and unsaturated fat. At refrigerator temperatures, saturated fat is hard and unsaturated fat is soft, or even liquid. Therefore, butter that is relatively easy to spread has less saturated, artery-clogging fat and more (healthier) unsaturated fat.

In addition, a 2006 study shows that the softer the butter, the more fresh pasture in the cow’s diet. Cows that get all their nutrients from grass have the softest butterfat of all. Butter from grass-fed cows also has more cancer-fighting CLA, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids than butter from cows raised in factory farms or that have limited access to pasture.

SUPER NATURAL MILK

If the butter's better, how about the milk?

85-95% of the cows in the US are raised in confinement, not pasture. Their grass comes from hay. Cows in feedlots on hay and grain produce more milk. On average, they produce more than three times as much milk as the family cow of days gone by.

With emphasis on quantity, the nutritional content of milk has suffered. CLA has been the biggest loss, as grass fed cows have up to five times more in the milk.

Milk from pastured cows also contains an idea ratio fo essential fatty acids, Omega-6 and omega-3. Studies show that if your diet has fairly equal amounts of each, you will have lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, diabetes, dementia, and various mental disorders.

I grew up around dairy farmers. They confine their cows and feed the way they do to try and maintain their family farm. Pay a fair price for grass-fed milk and give them a reason to turn those cows back out on grass and they will, gladly I'd say!

The best part of grass-fed? TASTE! Milk, cheese and butter from grass-fed cows has a rich, yellow color that is a visible proof of their bonus supply of carotenes and teste delicious. Don't even think of what it will do for your favorite baking recipes!


1-Siscovick, D. S., T. E. Raghunathan, et al. (1995). "Dietary Intake and Cell Membrane Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest." JAMA 274(17): 1363-1367.

2-Simopolous, A. P. and Jo Robinson (1999). The Omega Diet. New York, HarperCollins. My previous book, a collaboration with Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos, devotes an entire chapter to the vital role that omega-3s play in brain function.

3-Data from: Smith, G.C. "Dietary supplementation of vitamin E to cattle to improve shelf life and case life of beef for domestic and international markets." Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1171

GARDENS-MAKE A NO-DIG GARDEN

Want a garden that grows like a weed?



Live on lousy dirt, desert, or just don't want to dig up that compacted soil out back?

In 2009 I wanted to convert an 18' x 25' dog run into a greenhouse. It had to be mowed with a push-weedwhacker because of the nasty stuff that grows there. Only two dogs have ever had access to it, and never did use it, so I wasn't too worried about contaminated dirt. However, I was bewildered how to overcome the years of weed seeds that were in the dirt. The answer came to me from an article in the L.A. Times. It worked great for my friend Katie in arid California, and it worked just as well for me and two friends up here.

All you need is access to a few bales of hay and straw, a pile of newspapers, a pile of compost or good dirt, and a box or more of blood mean and another of bone meal.

Start by putting at least four layers of newspaper on the ground where your garden will be. The newspaper is a natural weed-blocker that will keep any nasties in your dirt from erupting through the new garden bed. If it's a breezy day, spray the newspaper to wet it down and keep in place.

Next take a flake of nice green hay and lay it on top of the newspaper. Hopefully you have decided how big your garden bed will be, and can now lay hay flakes to fit. Try to mash the edges together so you won't have little gaps.

If you plan to plant your garden the same day, saturate the hay with a garden hose.

Now liberally sprinkle blood and bone meal on the hay. Wetting the hay will help reduce the dust. If you're nervous about mad cow in the meal, wear a mask. But both are pretty thoroughly sterilized in the manufacturing process. If you have access to dried seaweed or kelp, this would be an awesome supplement to put on as well.

Now put a layer of straw flakes on top. Wet this down and sprinkle again, liberally, with the bone and blood meals.

Now pile on at least two-inches of compost or, if necessary, dirt. Mist with the garden hose enough to make it moist.

You are ready to plant a beautiful garden!



Newspaper provides a mulch to block weeds in the soil. Hay provides a source of nitrogen and other minerals. Straw creates air space to make a loamy texture and to hold moisture. Compost is of course the stuff dirt is made of. Bone and Blood meal provide the essential minerals plants need to grow well. Put them all together and you have a lasagna bed to make plants very, very happy.

At the end of the growing season, add a bit of compost or dry manure and chopped up leaves to help enhance your garden bed over the winter.

I would recommend this style of planting most for people who live in the country, have access to a truck to haul the messy hay and straw bales, and want at least 16-square feet of garden. Bales can be found through a local Feed Store in the Yellow Pages, through the classifieds in the paper and on the internet, or through friends.

Blood and bone meal is readily available at any garden store. Your best prices will be places like Walmart, Home Depot, etc.

We don't take a newspaper, but the local convenience store has a whole garbage pail full of them for the recycle truck each week. I just asked at the counter and the owner helped me load up! I used newspaper EVERYWHERE last year, and only had weeds where I didn't put them. Time to go back to the convenience store this spring!

With all the towns collecting green bins, you can usually get access to free compost now at their recycling sights. Go to your town's webpage and do a search for "compost" to see what's available. Another perfect option is to network with friends and find out who has cows, sheep, horses or other livestock and keeps a manure pile out back. It WILL be a bit weedy, but is the richest stuff you can find! When our pile is in existence, we're always happy to share the *hit!

Finally, a lot of people ask if you need to build a border around the raised bed. The answer? "No." I did not, and it worked great. My friend Pam did, and it worked great too. A wooden border around the garden bed really does look nice, so if this is a part of your yard and landscaping, consider buying some nice 2"x 6" untreated boards and building a nice border.

If you Google "no-dig garden" you'll get pages of information, most without photos. I found this No-Dig-Garden link most helpful because it has a wonderful diagram. Didn't notice what country it is from, as I've never heard of Lucerne Hay. But any nice grassy hay will do, alfalfa being the richest route you could go. Just a tip for those who don't know: hay is green, straw is the yellow stem left after they harvest wheat and oats. BIG difference!

CHICKENS-USEFUL LINKS

Here are some of the best reference links I have found that go into detail on a variety of things...

BACKYARD CHICKEN
Wonderful photos of chicken coops, tractors and how-to build details. Excellent list of breeds with their characteristics. Great general purpose site.

PASTURED POULTRY
Sort of a barebones introduction to pastured poultry by the originator of the concept, Joel Salatin.

BACKYARD POULTRY
A magazine, it has articles online from the printed magazine with lots of great insights.

FEATHERSITE
A longtime website loaded with helpful info on breeds, hatching your own, raising chicks, and a lot of odds and ends.

HENDERSON'S HANDY-DANDY CHICKEN CHART
Great list of breeds and what you need to know about them.

URBAN CHICKENS
Group dedicated to helping people raise chickens in restrictive urban zoning. Ideas on how to get chickens in your yard legally and how to maintain them.

SQUIDOO DOOR OPENER
Ideas for automatic door openers and closers for your coop. Chickens come in RIGHT at sunfall, and that means a minute or two different every night. A light-sensitive opener keeps them safe from critters and lets you go off and do your own thing.

WOLF CREEK RANCH
Details on how to use Diatomaceous Earth to prevent parasites in chickens, pets, livestock, housing and pretty much everywhere.

HOOPING IT UP

Do you want your heat-loving veggies to look like this?

We built a hoophouse last year (2009) based on information from Eliot Coleman's "Four Season Harvest" and videos from the University of Utah.

Using scrap obtained from construction, some free plastic from a friend who does contracting, and $160 in plastic pipes, I spent a whopping $200 for this huge hoophouse. It withstood gale-force winds, driving rainstorms, and the ravages of two kittens and two kids romping around in it.

By August, I was harvesting the only ripe tomatoes of anyone I have talked to (it was a wicked cold summer to get ripe tomatoes!). The peppers I grow in the garden are usually 12" high with one stunted pepper. This year? They were nearly three FEET high and averaged 16 peppers a plant! I was able to make my mother-in-law's incredible Ivar, a succulent roasted red pepper spread, that lasted until Christmas. Okay, little admission of guilt. I hid one jar so we could have it at Christmas. The Ivar freaks cleaned the rest out by November!

I am sorry I did not take more detailed photos as we built the house. But if you would like to try something on a smaller or similar scale, here was my progress.

Our hoophouse was 18' wide by 25' long. An old fenced-in dog run that's never been used was a perpetual weed-bed since the lawnmower didn't fit through the gate. I was more than pleased that this solution was so incredibly productive and delectable!

A standard hoophouse is about 4' wide and as long as you want to make it. Your materials will include 24" rebar spikes, about 1/2" diameter, 10' PVC pipes, 1-1/2" diameter or whatever you can bend easily; and either construction or greenhouse grade plastic. You will also need long lengths of water resistant string, some lumber and screws.



Hoophouse Base
A simple base of 2"x6" boards, dug into the ground a few inches, gives some shape to your foundation. On the outside of the boards, pound the 24" rebar stakes into the ground so that 8-10" sticks out. Slip your PVC pipe onto the the rebar, flex it, and slip onto the spike on the opposite side. Do spikes every four feet. Because our house was unusually high, we did it every three feet for more stability.



Hoophouse Frame
Here is the finished frame. To keep the ribs stable, a pipe is run along the top and lashed in place with strips of inner tube. We got that free from our local mechanic.



Hoophouse Tarp
For the first time out, I used our free poly-tarp and fastened the eight-foot wide strips together with Tuck Tape. It actually held up for two whole months of wind and heat before the tape started a slow slide and left me with open gaps in mid-July. This year we spend a little money and buy a full-size tarp from the local farm co-op.



Frame with plastic secured on top.
How do you keep that plastic from billowing in the wind like a giant sail? Tie a lenght of twine to the rebar at the base. Throw it over the rib and plastic, and tie it off on the opposite rib. Works like a charm! We used plastic twine left over from the horses' winter hay.



End of hoophouse Frame
This was the most work involved, because two holes had to be dug to anchor the posts. For a smaller hoophouse, you can actually just bind the plastic together like you would a trash bag, but we needed a stable anchor for our strong winds.



End of frame showing how plastic wraps around to be secured.
This was VERY frustrating, because I could not find details on what to do ANYWHERE! I wound up bringing the plastic around the top of the rib and down to my 2" x 4" support. Then I pulled it under the bottom of the 2" x 4" and anchored it by using a thin strip of wood. The end of the plastic was wrapped around the wood strip until it was even with the support board, and screwed into the support board. We actually got the plastic TOO tight and warped the end rib a bit, but it sprang back to position when the plastic was loosened up a bit.



Raised beds, filled with peppers, tomatoes, watermelon and luffa. These beds came from an article in the L.A. Times courtesy Morgan friend Katie Black. They worked great for her artichokes in California, and I'm singing their praises up here in Ontario! Those are another post though...



Mmmm mmmm, Ancho Chili Peppers for all!



One day's harvest. There were many like this, every five days or so as more veggies got ripe.

For some action insights, check out this video from the University of Utah, which has used simple hoophouses in a variety of weather extremes. UofUtah

CHICKENS-WHERE DO I FIND STUFF?

Once you've picked your chicken breed, it is time to figure out where to buy them and where to buy their supplies.

Start by finding Hatchery outlets in your area. The Yellow Pages are a good start by looking under "Feed Companies". These will receive regular deliveries of chicks, usually every two weeks, during the spring and summer. The survival rates of day old chicks are better if they are shipped in large groups rather than in small batches via the post.

An ideal place to buy your chicks or chickens is from local breeders. Finding these can be tricky. Look for Poultry clubs for your state on the internet, and see if they have listings of members you can contact. A responsible breeder will be careful about allowing you into the chicken area though to prevent the spread of diseases.

There may also be poultry meetings or auctions you can attend to buy your birds. These can be found through the nearest poultry club.

In the Barrie, Ontario area, these are the best contacts.
Edwards Farm Store-Gets shipments from Freys Hatchery every two weeks, spring and early summer.
1574 9th Line, Innsifil, 705-436-2749. They are one line south of Stroud, right off Yonge St.

Performance Poultry-best local source for heritage breeds (anything but leghorns and rock cornish production birds). Internet order form sucks, and they sell out by March 1 for most shipment dates. Order early, call for their prices.

Huronia Fur & Feather-serves Simcoe County and beyond with meetings, buy & trade day (first Saturday in May), and membership list. Not a good internet contact, but the Hawkins are very friendly via phone and in person about answering questions and helping you find what you need.

SUPPLIES
Edwards Farm Store has feed and feeders as well as heat lamps.
Hewitt Creek Elevator, south of Stroud, pretty informal, call before you go. Source of large bags of feed.
Neighbours Country Depot, 5423 hwy 89E Alliston, 435-5573. Feed and feeders, heat lamps and bulbs, cage wire.
Bradford Co-operative Storage, Ltd., 61 Bridge St, Bradford, L3Z 3H3, (905) 775-3317

CHICKENS: WHAT BREED TO CHOOSE?

Selecting a breed of chicken for either laying hens or meat deserves more than a momentary selection of what's cute.

What will you use your chickens for? Do you want egg production, meat production, or both? Remember that specialists rarely do many things well, and generalists rarely do anything great.

What type of weather will your chickens be exposed to? Are you selecting a jungle breed for tundra weather, or a cold weather chicken in super-hot conditions?

How long do you want to wait before your chickens become marketable, either for eggs or meat?

How much do you want to feed your chickens?

Each of these questions needs to be addressed when choosing your chickens.

Listed below are lists of which chickens excel in each of the areas above. When you are ready to dive in deeper, visit these two sites for more detail, and then do a goodle for broader descriptions of a few breeds you are leaning towards. Selecting the right breed for your needs will help ensure a productive experience and fewer tragedies as you go.

Henderson's Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart is the most comprehensive list on the net and the quickest read. It is also loaded with links to help you learn more. Start here once you have identified what qualities you need in your chickens.

Feathersite is loaded with photos and first-hand experience with all the different breeds. A good place to finish selling yourself on one breed or figuring out which one to go with.

From the Henderson's site, here is a quick run-down of breeds that meet certain qualities.

BEST EGG PRODUCERS-produce 160 eggs or more a year.
Ameraucana, Ancona, Australorps, Catalana, Deleware, Faverolles, Fayoumi, Hamburg, LEGHORN, Minorca, New Hampshire, Penedesenca, RHODE ISLAND, Sussex

BEST MEAT PRODUCERS-Will dress out to 4-6 pounds
Australorp, Barnevelder, Brahma, Buckeye, Catalana, Chantecler, Cochin, CORNISH, Delaware, Dorking, Faverolles, Holland, Houdan, Java, Jersey Giant, Lamona, Langshan, Malay, Minorca, New Hampshire, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island, Sumatra, Sussex, Wyandotte

BEST DUAL PURPOSE
Australorps, Catalana, Chantecler, Deleware, Faverolles, Minorca, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Sussex

BEST COLD WEATHER-upper case also lay well in winter.
Ameraucana, Ancona (combs can freeze), Appenzeller, Araucana, Aseel, Australorp, Buckeye, CHANTECLER, Cochin, Cornish, Deleware, Dominique, FAVEROLLES, Hamburg, Holland, Java, Jersey Giant, Langshan, New Hampshire, ORPINGTON, PLYMOUTH ROCK, RHODE ISLAND, Rosecomb, Sumatra, SUSSEX, Welsumer, WYANDOTTE

BEST HOT WEATHER
Andalusian, Aseel, Buttercup, Catalana, Cubalaya, Deleware, Fayoumi, Leghorn, Malay, Minorca, Penedesenca, Rhode Island, Rosecomb

FASTEST MATURERS
Ameraucana, Ancona, Andalusian, Appenzeller, Araucana, Australorp, Buttercup, Catalana, Chantecler, Cornish, Delaware, Dominique, Faverolles, Fayoumi, Hamburg, Houdan, La Fleche, Lakenvelder, Leghorn, Minorca, New Hampshire, Old English, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Redcap, Rhode Island, Sumatra, Sussex, Welsumer, Wyandotte

MOST EFFICIENT CONVERTING FOOD TO PRODUCT
Leghorn, Cornish

VITAMIN D & AUTISM

Final one for me right now!

This one blew my socks off, as I've been wrestling with the mercury vaccine/autism issue. Vaccines are made to beef up our immune systems, so if the immune system is not working well (thanks to a deficiency of D), why does this not make perfect sense?

Vitamin D Theory of Autism

In addition to the current epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, say another epidemic—an epidemic of autism—was upon our children? What if the autism epidemic began at the same time the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency began? What if both epidemics had worsened in unison? What if one theory explained all the unexplained facts about autism? What if both epidemics had the same root cause: sun avoidance? What if both were iatrogenic, that is, medical advice to avoid the sun had caused both epidemics?

Be warned, what follows is not light reading—autism is not a light disease.

DOES THE VITAMIN D THEORY BEST EXPLAIN AUTISM?

The theory that vitamin D deficiency, during pregnancy or childhood, causes autism is just a theory. However, the theory has a plausible mechanism of action, explains all the unexplained facts about autism, subsumes several other theories, implies simple prevention, and is easily disprovable—all components of a useful theory.

A genetic lesion (abnormality) in some component of the vitamin D system—a lesion vitamin D's unique pharmacology could overcome—would explain why monozygotic (identical) twins are highly affected while fraternal twins are not. Varying brain levels of activated vitamin D during later life would explain why some identical twins get severe disease while others are barely affected.

Falling vitamin D levels over the last 20 years due to sun-avoidance explain autism's rapid increase in incidence during that same time. The very different effects estrogen and testosterone have on vitamin D metabolism may explain why boys are much more likely to get it than girls are. Lower vitamin D levels in blacks may explain their higher rates of autism. The vitamin D theory has tenable explanations for all the epidemiological features of autism.

For the complete 11-page report, please click the title link above.

VITAMIN D & CANCER

I'll admit, I was sceptical.

Since D supports the immune system, how could it be involved in cancer of all things. Isn't that caused by carcinogenic things in our life?

Well the evidence is rolling in! It's no answer to a lifetime of smoking, exposure to chemicals, or too much sun. But for the many, many people who develop cancer for no apparent reason, like my incredibly strong kid sister Katy, maybe this starts to provide some answers.

Study shines more light on benefit of vitamin D in fighting cancer

600,000 cases a year of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year by adequate intake of vitamin D, according to researcher

A new study looking at the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and the risk of colon and breast cancer across the globe has estimated the number of cases of cancer that could be prevented each year if vitamin D3 levels met the target proposed by researchers.

Cedric F. Garland, Dr.P.H., cancer prevention specialist at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and colleagues estimate that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D3, particularly in countries north of the equator. Vitamin D3 is available through diet, supplements and exposure of the skin to sunlight.

“For the first time, we are saying that 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year worldwide, including nearly 150,000 in the United States alone,” said study co-author Garland. The paper, which looks at the dose-response relationship between vitamin D and cancer, will be published in the August edition of the journal Nutrition Reviews.

The study combined data from surveys of serum vitamin D levels during winter from 15 countries. It is the first such study to look at satellite measurements of sunshine and cloud cover in countries where actual blood serum levels of vitamin D3 had also been determined. The data were then applied to 177 countries to estimate the average serum level of a vitamin D metabolite of people living there.

The data revealed an inverse association of serum vitamin D with risk of colorectal and breast cancer. The protective effect began at levels ranging from 24 to 32 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in the serum. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is the main indicator of vitamin D status. The late winter average 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the US is about 15-18 ng/ml. The researchers maintain that increasing vitamin D levels in populations, particularly those in northern climates, has the potential to both prevent and possibly serve as an adjunct to existing treatments for cancer.

The work builds on previous studies by Garland and colleagues (Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular, February 2007) which found that raising the serum 25(OH)D levels to 55 ng/mL was optimal for cancer prevention. This is the first study to recommend optimal vitamin D serum levels which, Garland said, are high enough to provide the needed benefit but which have been found by other scientists to be low enough to avoid health risks.

“This could be best achieved with a combination of diet, supplements and short intervals – 10 or 15 minutes a day – in the sun,” said Garland. It could be less for very fair-skinned individuals. He went on to say that “the appropriate dose of vitamin D in order to reach this level, could be very little in a lifeguard in Southern California… or quite a lot for someone in Northern Europe who tends to remain indoors most of the year.”

The serum level recommended by the study would correspond to intake of 2000 International Units per day of vitamin D3 for a meaningful reduction in colorectal cancer. The researchers recommend 2000 IU/day, plus, when weather allows, a few minutes in the sun with at least 40% of the skin exposed, for a meaningful reduction in breast cancer incidence, unless the individual has a history of skin cancer or a photosensitivity disease.

Garland also recommends moderate sun exposure and use of clothing and a hat when in the sun longer than 15 minutes.

This paper used worldwide data only recently available through a new tool called GLOBOCAN, developed by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. GLOBOCAN is a database of cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence for 177 countries. Previous studies from this core group have shown an association between higher levels of vitamin D3 or markers of vitamin D status and lower risk of cancers of the breast, colon, ovary and kidney. The researchers underscore their call for prompt public health action to increase intake of vitamin D3 as an inexpensive tool for prevention of diseases that claim nearly one million lives each year world wide.

“The message is, depending on where you live, you may need to consider taking in considerably higher levels of vitamin D3 than those currently recommended,” said Garland. “I’d recommend discussing vitamin D needs with a health care professional, who may order and interpret a simple blood test for a vitamin D metabolite [25(OH)D], and provide a dosage recommendation that’s appropriate for the individual’s needs.”

Still with me? Take an hour and listen to this link from the University of San Diego.
http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=16940

VITAMIN D & DIABETES

This concept is a biggie for me.

I developed type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes when I was 11 months old. It was January, I came down with strep throat, and lo and behold, after the hospital put me into a coma they realized I really was diabetic.

It's become pretty well established that Vitamin D keeps our immune systems running. So it's not a big leap for me to think that we are deficient in the winter, develop illness as a result, and then have our body go overboard and attack the pancreas. The result? Diabetes.

The evidence is especially convincing when you look at how high the rates are of diabetes in the northern latitudes and are going higher as children stay inside all day on video games. Kinda makes a person sceptical of any need for the Diabetes vaccine they are promising in the next few years!

Vitamin D Lowers Risk of Type 1 Diabetes
Posted by Dr. Mercola | November 17 2001

Infants who receive the recommended daily dose of vitamin D may have a lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Babies who received at least 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily were nearly 80% less likely to develop type 1 diabetes over the next three decades compared with infants who had lower intakes of the vitamin.

It is not clear how vitamin D may lower the risk of type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the body's own immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. However, vitamin D has been shown to suppress certain cells of the immune system that may play a role in the development of the disorder.

As type 1 diabetes is considered to be an autoimmune disease, it seems likely that vitamin D would be needed in enabling the optimal function of the immune system and in preventing too aggressive attacks against the body's own tissues.
Current guidelines recommend that infants receive 7.5 to 10 micrograms (mcg), or about 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily.

Research on animals has shown an association between vitamin D and a reduced risk of type 1 diabetes. To investigate the relationship in humans, the researchers followed more than 10,000 women who were due to give birth in 1966 in northern Finland.

New mothers recorded whether they gave vitamin D supplements to their children and how much they provided, during the first year of life. Researchers tracked the number of children who developed type 1 diabetes over 31 years.
Nearly 12% of children were given vitamin D supplements occasionally during their first year of life, 88% received regular vitamin D supplements and less than 1% were not given vitamin D. Overall, 81 children were diagnosed with diabetes during the study.

"These findings bring hope that something can be done in order to prevent the disease," Hypponen, from the Institute of Child Health in London, UK, told Reuters Health in an interview.

But while the study may be good news for families with a history of type 1 diabetes, the results may not apply to children in countries that receive more natural sunlight. In northern Finland, there are just 2 hours of sun daily during the month of December.

Ultraviolet light triggers a reaction in the skin that helps the body synthesize its own vitamin D. People with darker skin need more sunlight than their paler counterparts.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Jill M. Norris from the University of Colorado in Denver adds that children who receive infant formula instead of breast milk, which contains inadequate amounts of vitamin D, may also be less likely suffer from a deficiency of vitamin D.

The Lancet November 3, 2001;358:1476-1478, 1500-1503

Still with me? Take an hour and listen to this video from the University of San Diego:
http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15771

Vitamin D & Asthma

Have friends or family with asthma?

Check out these findings. Then ask yourself if you are resorting to inhalers more in the winter, when you don't get sunlight on your skin, or in the summer, when you should have very high natural levels of D thanks to sunlight. Of course, if you hide from the sun all day, you do not qualify!


Exposure to sunlight could reduce asthma

Perth medical research team sheds new light on chronic health condition

Australian researchers have found that exposure to measured doses of ultraviolet light, such as sunlight, could reduce asthma.

The research team at Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, through funding provided by the Asthma Foundation of WA, studied the effect of ultraviolet light on the development of asthma-like symptoms in mice, such as inflamed airways and lungs.

The study found:

Exposure to ultraviolet light for 15 to 30 minutes before allergen exposure significantly reduces the development of asthma-like symptoms

This UV exposure produces a cell type that, when transferred into other mice before they're sensitised to an allergen, can prevent the development of some of the asthma-like symptoms.

Associate Professor Prue Hart, leader of the research team, which includes Dr Debra Turner, Dr Shelley Gorman and PhD student Jacqueline McGlade, is excited by the ground-breaking results and possible future applications.

"This research clearly shows that controlled exposure to ultraviolet light markedly limits the development, incidence and severity of asthma symptoms in mice," said Associate Professor Hart.

"It appears that sunlight can suppress specific immune reactions, so we are now working to better understand that mechanism with the aim of generating new ways to prevent and treat this chronic disease.

"Given that overexposure to sunlight can cause skin cancer, it is important that we isolate and separate out the beneficial elements of ultraviolet light if we are to develop a safe and effective asthma therapy."

The Asthma Foundation of WA is committed to finding a cure for the condition and annually provides over $200,000 in research grants. Since 1968 the Foundation has donated more than $3m, helping establish Western Australia as an internationally recognised leader in this field.

John Shave, CEO of the Asthma Foundation of WA, comments: "The Asthma Foundation and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research have a long and close association, and we are both very proud of what researchers in this State have achieved over the years.

"This research, together with other research funded by the Asthma Foundation of WA, has the potential to significantly improve the lives of people with asthma not only in Australia, but around the world."

The Asthma Foundation of WA and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research expect that the asthma and ultraviolet light study will take several years to complete.

VITAMIND D-MY HERO

Last winter, in 2009, I started taking massive doses of Vitamin D.

Why?

Thanks to my Mom, I had joined an international study on Vitamin D deficiency and discovered I was indeed deficient.

And I'm not alone! The study, available at www.grassrootshealth.org is rapidly revealing that most people in the northern hemisphere are deficient, especially during the winter months when we do not have easy access to direct sunlight.

This fall I put my whole family on large doses of D, and we have had our healthiest winter in my life! No more rib-racking bronchial coughs, endlessly runny noses, and horrible flus. We have had deep coughs but they passed quickly instead of a month later. And we have had some high fevers, but not as bad as classmate's at Mason's school. We are D converts!

The news just keeps coming out on how powerful Vitamin D is, and I'll post a number of those here. For now, how much do we take? The federal recommendations of 400 IU/day are ridiculous. We are on 35 I.U. per pound of weight. That is based on testing our levels and seeing what got us above 50 points, which is where D experts believe your body can begin to store it and use it to strengthen the immune system.

Been working for us!

CHICKENS: WHY KEEP CHICKENS?

I had an exciting meeting at MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) this morning because, a) it was another great meeting, and b) I discovered one of my table-members wants to raise her own chickens!

Promising to e-mail her my resources, I decided it was a good time to start blogging about them too. Keeping pets in our homes is considered a ritual of growing up and being happy. Guess what? Keeping chickens is even more so!

Anyone with a small yard can keep 2-4 hens with no problem. Unless your city has restrictive regulations, a few hens are quiet and certainly cleaner than that cat that likes to dirty up your gardens. If they are allowed to scratch around your yard they are clean. Many breeds are friendly enough to become pets. And best of all, they will provide your family (and probably neighbors) with super fresh, healthy, nutrient-rich eggs!

Need a selling point for the spouse? Check out this chart from Mother Earth News below. As you can see, a hen that is allowed to run around your yard will gift you with way more nutrition than anything you can buy at the store. Similar quality eggs can be found at some stores and the farmer's market for $4 and up ($5 is standard around here). That in itself lets your hens earn their keep quickly.

Because this is a lengthy subject to do right, I will brush across the basics here, and then expand on the specific topics in seperate posts.

GETTING STARTED

A full-grown hen, ready to lay eggs, will cost you $10-$20.

A better, and more enjoyable route to take is to get day-old chicks from the local feed store and raise them yourself. Depending on how exotic you want to go, chick prices range from $2-$5 per chick.

I'll cover breed choices in a second post, but you want to consider your weather ranges, space, and expectations.

Chickens have been domesticated for thousands of years, and have been bred for specific purposes. Most breeds quit laying in the winter, but others will keep going all year. Originally a tropical animal, chickens don't fare well in cold climates unless you choose a breed that has been bred to survive in colder, northern conditions. And the best layers are light-weight birds, while the meat-type birds don't produce as well. However, thrifty European and American farmers have developed several "heritage" breeds that can both produce substantial eggs and have enough meat on their bones to fill your plate as well when their time comes.

SUPPLIES

You will need to give a lot of thought to your housing for egg-laying chickens. Unless your yard is fenced with 10' high chain-link with the fence going below the ground, consider building or buying a Chicken Tractor to keep them safe. You might not see them, but you probably know if you have neighborhood cats, dogs, raccoons, and other meat-eating critters wandering through your yard. A chicken tractor is a light-weight pen that can be easily slid across the yard, keeping your chickens safe while bringing them to fresh turf each day.

Laying hens will also need a boxed-pen to do their work, otherwise you'll be finding eggs under your shrubs, flowerbeds, and any other cozy, secluded places your hens find to lay eggs!

Even the richest lawns will need some supplementation, so identify sources for grain to feed your hens when they run out bugs, slugs and snails. A feeder can be made or purchased. And of course a water container needs to be near them at all times for clean, fresh water during the day.

At night, hens will roost. Your chicken tractor will fill this need, but if they are on the loose, either provide them with a coop to run to as the sun sets, or plan on having hens in the trees at night. And raccoons and oppossums will find them there!

Finally, notice where you walk outside. Hens on the loose WILL leave frequent desposits to step in, especially on the patio, porch, steps and lawn furniture. If you don't want to hose these down periodically, you might enjoy keeping hens more with a chicken tractor to contain them (big smile).

WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS

Just like people, chickens love temperate weather. If you live where the temperatures get horribly hot or cold, give thought to what breed you want to buy and how you will protect them from the extremes.

Cold winter hens will appreciate a heat lamp or simple light bulb in their coop to take the edge off. Breeds like Buff Orpingtons and Plymouth Rocks were developed to handle the cold and will probably be found out in the snow during the daytime. Hot weather calls for birds with finer plumage that won't hold the heat in, along with a cool source of shade during the days.

PRODUCTION

Hens start laying when they are about four months old. They will be most productive in their first year. The top-laying breeds will lay 6-7 eggs per week at this time, and the dual-purpose breeds will average 3-6 eggs per week. As they get older, production will taper off a bit. When buying your chicks, try not to go overboard getting lots of the cute little things, and give some thought to how many dozen eggs you can store in your fridge as you try to use them and give them away! A family of four will eat very well on 2-3 hens. If you want enough to give as gifts or even sell, 4-6 is manageble.

READY?

If you have found a source of chicks, feed, and are ready to make or buy the necessary accessories, let's get going!

FOOD: WHAT'S IN YOUR EGGS?

We buy fresh food at the supermarket, cook it up for our families, and feel good that we're giving them the best nutrition. But is the food we are buying truly nutritious?

In my last two or so years or researching why we should raise our own chickens (John really doesn't want to go through THAT again, but I win!), I wish I could post a billboard in front of every grocery store, telling people what they are getting for their dollar.

Take eggs for example.

All supermarket eggs are a product of a poultry factory. Hens are kept in cramped "battery cages" where there is only one foot of space per bird. They never see the sun, the fumes are so toxic that if a power outage happens, they'll suffocate, and they are fed a rich mix of corn, soybeans, cottonseeds, a cocktail of antibiotics to keep them alive in something only comparable to the bowels of a slave ship, and when they're luck, a dead neighbor.

This is a recent phenomenon. In the past, chickens spent most of the day scratching for bugs in their enclosed coop (because nature LOVES to send predators along to wipe them out!) and eating whatever the farmer tossed to them. The liberated ones had free run of the farm and hopefully a good predator system to keep them safe.

That's all well and good, but what does that mean to you and your diet?

Here is the breakdown of what pasture-raised eggs versus factory raised eggs provide. These results are from tests done by Mother Earth News in 2007.

NUTRIENT ........ FACTORY....PASTURED..... DIFFERENCE
Beta Carotene... 10 mcg vs. 79.03 mcg .. 7 times more
Vitamin A.......... 487 IU vs. 781 mcg........ 2/3 more
Vitamin E........... .97 mg vs. 3.73 mg.... 3 times more
Omega 3 ........... .22 g vs. .66 g.......... 2 times more

Cholesterol.......... 423 mg vs. 277 mg.....1/2 LESS
Saturated Fat........ 3.1 g vs. 2.4 g......... 1/4 LESS

source: Mother Earth News Egg Graph

For a really educational read, check out the Mother Earth article on why truly free range chickens are best:
Meet Real Free Range Eggs

To put all of this into perspective, you would have to eat 3-7 regular eggs to gain the nutrition and taste of one grass-raised egg. Even better, you would have to buy 3-7 cartons of $3 eggs to match the nutrition of one $4-5 carton of grass-raised eggs. If your goal is to actually feed your family, not just fill them up, the grass-raised eggs are the most economical buy.

I can't wait until our little heritage Barred Plymouth Rock hens start producing!

FOOD: WHAT'S GOOD FOOD?

I used to be a food junkie. My body was done growing, I lived alone, and what I ate or didn't eat was a simple matter of what appealed to me at that moment in time. Nachos one day, a super-cheesey (yum!) baked potato the next, and, on a good night, dinner at a fancy Vermont restaurant. Life was easy!

Now? With two young children and an avalance of news on all the toxic stuff that will mess them up, I'm on a motherly mission to feed them the food we should all have access to, and on a fair budget.

But where do you get this food?

"Organic" used to be the byword for eating the right stuff. Then that was taken over by the food giants. Next, "Free Range" became the word of choice for meat products. And that too has become meaningless, as the food giants slap it on all their labels. Now I see many meat and egg products are saying, "Antibiotic and Hormone Free." Right. But will it be healthy for us?

The one phrase you are not seeing in the supermarket yet is "Pastured." This simply means that the animal was not kept in concentration camp housing, but in an open field with access to grass and sunshine. And the nutritional differences from pastured to factory-farmed are HUGE!

Unfortunately, the label can be adulterated too. The food giants just have to throw the animal a bale of hay, and that is considered "pasture."

So, the obvious conclusion is to go to the 100-mile diet and buy foods that are raised close to home. Better yet is to buy our food from farmers right up the road, where I can visually see the health of their animals and crops.

And this is what I've done.

We are now ordering a side of pork from a neat family about 20 minutes from us. The pigs actually come up to the fence to say "Hi" when we visit. (I just won't tell the kids where their supper came from!) They share a huge open pasture with cattle that can also be put in our freezer when their time comes.

And the price? The same as the "good stuff" at the supermarket, which is still 10% salt and water from processing, filled with bacteria, and is far less nutritious than food that has been raised in the open. More on that in a future post.

In addition, since we DO live on a farm with some acreage, I am going back into raising our own chickens this year. We took a two year hiatus as my health was causing problems and the neighborhood raccoons, coyotes and weasel wiped out the previous flock. This year I'm attacking that problem with an energetic farm dog (who'll probably try to eat the chickens himself), electrified coops, and heritage chickens. That is also another post!

In the meantime, the egg-laying chicks will arrive April 7, and then we'll be ordering the meat chicks in July. If my reinforced containment units do their job, the little chirps can feast on bugs, slugs, clover and grass all summer and then let us feast all winter! Stay tuned!

A Need To Note

In the past 43 years of living as a type 1 diabetic, working, traveling, living for horses, then living for my kids, learning to read labels to live with Celiac Disease, and try to grow plants in every nook and cranny of my home and gardens, I have had a pretty curvy learning curve!

I hope that the really cool things I've managed to gather on the things that interest me will save you some time in trying to learn the same things.

If your interests are in learning to cook tasty food without wheat, barley or rye gluten; low-carb meals that can help manage blood sugar as well as weight; garden in a bucket or a field; and raise poultry on the pasture-system; or figure out how to approach the world of medical and food manipulation, welcome!

If your interests are in horses and Morgan horses, give me a year or two? The kids pretty well take my whole day right now and the horses just stare at me over the fence. They'll come back into the conversation very soon!

Welcome!

Lisa