Rooster Removal = Nicer Hens?

OK... not sure what this is all about... but the hens are like puppy dogs now. I arrived tonight thinking; "something will change, not sure what, but removing the rooster from the coop will alter dynamics somehow..." OK so what is the how?

I arrived and opened the coop door and they walked out casually, looked up at me and nodded. One of them curtsied... looked up and winked!

Now I am confused...

I have read that the rooster picks one or two of the hens and focuses his attention on them. The others fight, on occasion, for the attention and try to work up the pecking order, but in the animal/foul/human continuum, I think this behavior mimics in species. The dude spots the girl and makes his move. The girl plays it coy, wide-open or disinterested... I experience the latter. I think this stinks... someone gets lost... "Oh the big rooster doesn't like me" and then the hen is in therapy and the eggs are small or not yellow or muddy green. Then the other hens talk... "Oh look at Sunny's eggs their puny and weird looking" Let's play "scratch" in my corner of the coop. The judgement, the labeling, the hurt... it is simply too deep for me to think about any further.

The coop is calm... the coop is quiet... the coop is easier to manage right now. I like the difference at present, but that is like saying I am having the best vacation ever and I am in the plane on the way there. Juuuuuust a tad bit premature.

I do think this was perfect timing, since they have not starting laying eggs... and I think had I taken the rooster out of there later they would be upset and possibly affect the egg laying production. Or, they are simply happy the big goon is out! The rooster did wear one of those torn up ribbed tank tops with grease stains all over it.

Ohhhhhh great - I just walked out there and the Buff's are consoling the Rhode Island Red - you know red heads all fiery and what not.. She is crying and one scratched in the dirt that that she was upset Kap was not coming back!!!!

I am surrounded by women!!!! A wife, two daughters, a niece, a sister, five sister-in-laws and 5 hens...

Rooster Home!!!!

OK, so as reported before, we have a rooster! And in our search, we found a home. Hosanna Boy's Ranch in San Ramon, CA is taking him. (Actually, just heard he is gone!)

We are so stoked about this, as we did not want this rooster going somewhere we did not trust or to a smaller confined spot - he is on a ranch!

This makes up for my poisoning rats!!!!

Rats!

Literally...




I have had rat problems off and on for the past 15 years, I've lived here. This year, it seems to have exploded! It is purely anecdotal, but this is also the first year I've had chickens! These are not roof rats, but rather fruit rats...much smaller, which in all candor make them more difficult to catch. They are really too big to be caught in a smaller mouse trap and too small for the rat trap. Plus they seem to Mensa Rats, because they are smarter than years past. Which makes them smarter than me. So, we are now in for a battle and a HUGE conundrum. So, let's hit the launchpad.















I am, by nature/up-bringing, conservative, but have have a strong bent towards proper stewardship of the our planet and balance between man and beast. Rats, for me, are the tipping point of environmental consciousness and militant insanity. I go to my local hardware store looking for rodent control . My mind races between utter simplicity of a snap trap to devising new, yet invented robot rodent killing machines. I have even jumped on Raytheon's website in hopes they have a some military grade laser rat destroyer, maybe something they've used in Iraq... hmmmm? Or maybe a mutant cat, that I can stuff into my crawl space and seal it up. Listen for the tussel and then coax the cat back down with some catnip. Anyway, my mind races between joy and guilt... as I stand there I juggle "green/humane" option or utter mayhem.




With a nod to "green" I begin with sticky/glue traps. I put my finger on it to test and it is like a tractor beam. I can barely get my finger out of it. I nearly grab the trap with my other hand only to catch a glimpse of myself in the future, with both hands stuck together as I struggle to release to myself from it, only to fail and die of starvation. Irony? I nail them to the tops of fences where I know these germ infested creatures are making their midnight dashes. I put a scooch of peanut butter to draw them in, with anticipation I go to sleep. I awaken with an extra jump in my step to see the peanut butter gone and no rat, nothing, not even a mark in the glue trap. Are you kidding me? I barely get away with my life and these rats dance across it like it was a parkay floor. Fine, let's try this again. Repeat the same steps with more peanut butter and push it into the glue a little deeper. Awaken the next morning and shame on me.. peanut butter is gone and not a tarred rat in site. Honestly, how can they sell this stuff? If rats dance across it, how can Rat Glue Inc. still be in business? You know, I think when stuff doesn't work, most of us move on. You know, just "Oh well, it was only $4.99" it didn't work", and move on to Plan B. Which I did.




I now elevate my quest to - snap traps and these stooooopid "plug-in" electronic emitters which are suppose to attract them and then make them nuts and drive them away. I get two rat traps, which take super-human strength and dexterity to set and nerves of steel to take your hand away while the spring of death is "loaded". Hoping beyond hope that that hook is making full contact with the clip. I put peanut butter on the trap - organic of course.... want to make sure their last meal is healthy and plug in the emitters. Keep in mind the rats are in our crawlspace and are keeping my kids up and grossing everyone out... they truly sound like they are acting out a scene from Bonanza with stagecoaches and horses galloping through the attic.




I set the traps and come out the next morning only to see the peanut eaten down to the clip and no rats. You've got to be kidding me, are these "zero-point gravity" rats? I can't breath on the trap without it springing and these things are eating off it? Argh!!!!!!




I leave well enough alone and decide to set the traps that evening. As I lay my head on the pillow I remember, "set the traps". All snuggly, wuggly in bed, I get out, slip on some flip flops and a t-shirt, go to the kitchen to get the peanut butter. Walk out to the fence, stand on a log, where I pull the snap back, slip and the snap gets my left index finger spot on the knuckle. I think my cursing scared the rats away that night. My knuckle swells up like a balloon. I set the traps and again, the next morning bait is gone and so are the rats.




Now, the internal struggle begins - these rats are not going away, not getting caught in the glue, not tripping the traps and not put-off by the waste of money noise emitters. And, they have my entire family sleeping in different rooms because of the cacophony of noise they are making. I am beginning to become militant. This is where the eco-friendly me leaves and the rat killing me appears.




I have had to resort to poison... and while I hate it! I know it works. I proceed to nail the poison to the tops of the fence so pets don't get it. I would normally remove it in the morning so not to kill squirrels and birds, but I don't have to, cause every piece of bait is gone! I repeat the process the next night - again, every piece of bait is gone. For 5 nights I do this and each morning all the poison is gone. Finally, on Saturday, I see a rat, which is "in process" of dieing. My biggest fear is unraveling in front of me... I believe in instant death of these creatures, not a lingering death... I know... it is a rat, but ugh. I hate to see this. My Dad always said, "get it over with" when referring to homework... So I applied this to the rat as well. As humanely as possible, I killed it so to not have it suffer unduly. I have now seen 3 more dead in and around water sources. However, they are still there. More poison is going to get place in the crawl space tonight.

Wiped Out

Sorry to be a little slow this weekend... sick kid... family in town, garage that needed cleaning, furniture that needed building, lawn-mower that needed purchasing, rats that needed exterminating, that ultimately turned into the Gun Fight at OK Corral... which I will save for the next post, and a party at my sister-in-laws.

Need to get to work now...

Yeeeee-Hawwwwww

So a nutritionist from John's Hopkins reports....

A new study in the online journal entitled Risk Analysis reports that eating one egg a day accounts for less than 1 percent of the risk of heart disease, the leading killer of American men and women. This, in my opinion, helps deflate the myth that all eggs are always bad for you and can never be included in a heart-healthy meal plan.

The researchers cited lifestyle factors, such as a poor diet, smoking, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle as chief contributors (30 to 40 percent) of someone's heart disease risk, with men having higher risks than women. Risk factors that could be potentially treated, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, accounted for a whopping 60 to 70 percent of the risk. In this light, a single egg doesn't seem so big a threat.

Eggs have gotten a lot of bad press of late. There seems to be a constant drumbeat, perhaps in the media, about eggs being off-limits if you want to keep your heart healthy. (Just today, I was seeing a patient of mine with young children and, coincidentally, one of his daughters asked me, "Are eggs bad for you?")

Instead of worrying about an egg a day, I think we should turn our attention to the potential risks of stress (especially chronic stress), physical inactivity, and poor overall diet choices (like diets high in junk foods and low in fruits and vegetables).

This research, which was (full disclosure) funded by the Egg Nutrition Center, serves to further substantiate the premise that healthy adults really can eat (whole) eggs without upping their heart disease risk significantly. And what's more, the authors noted that their analysis did not adjust for all the health-promoting benefits of eggs, which might decrease some heart disease risk.

What is it about eggs that could actually help your heart?

Eggs are high in choline, an organic, water-soluble nutrient that's usually grouped in with the B vitamins. They are also high in betaine, a nutrient related to choline. Together these 2 are associated with lower levels of homocysteine (an amino acid that studies has shown to be related to a higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease). It's good to keep homocysteine levels under control because high homocysteine levels usually suggest chronic inflammation, a process that has been linked with heart disease, as well as to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Treatment of a high homocysteine level usually involves supplementation of the B vitamin folic acid—but don't take more than 1,000 micrograms—1 gram—a day, or it can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Eggs are a great source of high-quality (or high biological value, HBV) protein; in fact, they are considered to be the best overall source of protein.

Eggs provide 13 essential vitamins/minerals, including riboflavin, an important B vitamin needed to help your body get energy from food. Eggs also contain vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin lacking in the diet of many Americans. People who are overweight and/or have diabetes are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency.

Eggs also help you feel full, since your body produces a hormone called PYY when you eat high-protein foods. PYY tells your brain you're no longer hungry, so if you're trying to lose some pounds, opting for a high-protein snack like a boiled egg can really help you feel full (and it's only 75 calories). I personally like the organic eggs high in omega 3 fatty acids (the healthy fats), from chickens raised without hormones or chemicals. These eggs are higher in omega 3s because of the healthier feed given to the chickens. The high-omega-3 eggs add another possible benefit to a balanced diet.

However, if, for whatever reason, you want to keep the fat and cholesterol content in your diet low, eat the egg whites and skip the yolk, since all the protein (and virtually none of the fat) is in the whites. There are even cartons of pure egg whites in the grocery store that make it easy. Or you could separate the eggs at home by discarding the yolks, or at least a few of them. This study, however, seems to be suggesting that even the egg yolk isn't anywhere near the health risk people have perceived it to be for all these years. They're also a very affordable source of protein, a big plus in today's economy!

Bottom line: If you really like whole eggs, and your doctor or dietitian thinks they're fine for you, then go ahead and enjoy them, yolks and all!

I love this for one reason and one reason only - I think egg producers across the USA, Canada and beyond have got us thinking, eggs in the grocery store are nutritious, while they are, I also believe those produced by folks like us, are significantly better.

One of my goals is to create a venue for backyard chicken farmers to validate themselves through an organizational effort. More on this soon.

Chickens are Giants....

Either the chickens are growing or the coop is shrinking.

In this picture is; Sunny (Buff), Millie (RIR), Loa (Arcauna), and the doggone rooster!

Missing; Scat and Hoot.

The Fruits Of The Labor...

Arugula, Italian Parsley, Tomato's, Cilantro, Bell Peppers, Mesclun and Chickens... are all burgeoning.

So, here is a more serious post... furrowed brow in place...

I am amazed at how, once the soil is prepared, add water and POOF! The garden grows. What a wonderful bounty and what better than to have grow it ourselves. I have noted before and heard,when people eat food locally grow, the health benefits are more significant. I postulate, that as you walk about and breath, touch and live in your local area you bring on local attributes which your system recognizes and is accustomed to - good, bad or indifferent. Ceterus Paribus (everything else equal)... I imagine eating locally grown food would benefit the omnivore in numerous ways. This translates to eggs as well of course since chickens scavenge in the yard are eating bugs and weeds from the local area and therefore are leaving those trace element in the egg.

Therefore, I went on a quest to see if someone had done "the study"... so, while I have not found "the conclusive study" here are some data points which one could theorize that locally grown food are better. Why? They are not adulterated! Period. Eggs are the same theory...

Excerpted from various other sources.... which I am going to put in quotes since it is not in my own pen...

"Produce is at its peak nutritional value when it is ripe. But fruits and vegetables that will be traveling long distances to market aren't picked when they are ripe, but before ripeness. While the produce might gain color and softness on its journey to the supermarket, nutritional value comes through the stem from the living plant. Once harvested, a vegetable is as nutritious as its going to get. And in a double whammy, nutritional value actually decreases every day past harvest. Nor is nutritional value on the top of the agenda for large commercial vegetable farmers. In the days when all produce was local, horticulturists developing new strains of fruits and vegetables only had to consider several criteria: taste and nutritional value. But today, with much of the growing and harvesting handled by machines and with produce shipped around the world, several other criteria take priority, and taste and nutrition take a back seat. Sturdiness and shippability are one factor, and uniformity of size is another. Another key factor big producers take into account is grocery case eye appeal.

While these new criteria are important to the grower's profits, they add nothing to the health of the consumer. If anything, they detract from it. Sturdy produce that stands up to lengthy shipping will be shipped long distances, taking days on its journey to your table, and losing nutritional value with every day that passes between harvest and eating.
So for your health's sake, take a step back in time when you're shopping for produce. Find your local vegetable stand, preferably one on the road right in front of the farm where the fruits and vegetables are grown, selling what was picked that day. Eat produce that was intended to be grown in the area where you live, and buy it at its peak of ripeness, rather than produce that was picked unripe and shipped thousands of miles.

If you live in the city, finding the farm stand might take some doing, and getting there will require some driving. But what better excursion that a relaxing drive in the country to buy freshly picked vegetables? So urban that you don't even own a car? Then look for your local health food store; most of them will have a fresh produce section, and their staff will be glad to tell you where the produce comes from and what days it's delivered.

You might even want to add some healthy outdoor exercise into the mix and grow your own! But if you lack the yard space, time, or inclination, by all means, support your community fruit and vegetable growers by buying your produce ripe, locally grown, and freshly harvested."

These are great reason, pretty qualitative in nature but reasonable. I still want to know if food pulled out of the soil next my bedroom is better for me than a potato pulled out of the ground in Idaho?

Photoshop or not?

So, as I am becoming known at work for my prowess with chickens... a light-hearted co-worked decided to mock me...

So my face is slammed in into some poor unsuspecting kids body who is obviously happily holding his Buff Orpington. And it is quite obvious, this kid needed someone to explain the buttons on the shirt are for his collar and his hair looks like Edgar Winter or that creepy actor from The Firm - Tobin Bell. Seriously that guy is the creepiest actor out there. He scares my chickens and me.

Manure Among Us...

Another nugget I discovered... chicken manure leeching into the surrounding garden mixed with ABM bedding material is the holy grail of garden growth... Good night Marianne!

The past week while on holiday ( I love that expression - "I going on holiday... right-o, bring the car around and put the luggage in the boot!) , the compost pile was leaking into some fruit trees. It was as though I walked into the backyard 12 mos later.

My test this weekend will be to take the chicken manure and begin spreading and mixing it with the surrounding soil to see what effect it has. I am keeping in mind the heat of the chicken manure and the potential burning of the plants.

I will report back...

BTW - look at the line-up in this movie... can't believe I've missed it!

This is bad....

So, I've landed.... and much to my chagrin was awakened this morning to crowing. So while I was holding out hope that my rooster was a hen, it is, in fact a rooster. Bummer... Me needs to find a home for it now. Besides, my neighbor is about as friendly as a badger and one hint of me being in the wrong on something will send her to the City to file a complaint.

I would love to keep him, but ordinances say otherwise. Even if I did, the roosters crow is the saddest crow ever heard and I would need to hire real roosters to come over and teach this bird how to really make my neighbors mad. In fact, this morning I thought my kids were coughing, only to realize "caw-ca-cough, cough cough" is not a kid sound, but a chicken-type sound. I walked out there thinking I would see a spent bottle of Jack Daniels and an empty pack of Camels. The rooster winks at me as I walk up...

So, I then research the question!

If I keep him - do I muzzle him or send him to a Beverly Hills throat doctor and alter him to sound more hen-ish? Why do I risk this...? Standing like Rosa Parks at the front of the City Chambers, not budging cause I am going to KEEP MY ROOSTER! Not quite the landmark political statement, but a statement nonetheless, because fertilized eggs are better for me and the City is not taking away my health intiative! So, are they? Are fertilized eggs healthier?

"Ehhhhh negative tower, fertilized eggs are not healthier, they just have more opportunity"

So, with that little nugget, I need to find a home for old Kapalua, Rue Paul, or whatever it's name is now... "Pat!" Remember Pat on SNL? Anyway, Pat needs a home. My kids are heartbroken...