Friday, January 14, 2011

Another year older but not sure wiser (definitely crazier)

Ok, so that's a lie, I 'think' I am wiser...anyway I hope so for my sake!

In less than 2 days I will be 52, not a terrible age by all means, but it sure makes me wonder how I made it this far....Let me restate that as I don't know how my husband made it this far with me. See, I am 10 years older than my dear husband, which isn't a bad thing, but it sure makes me wonder what his parents were thinking when they raised him.

As I get older I see more of my son in him everyday...maybe its cause I am finally paying attention. When I was a child, nice days meant Mom kicked you outside & you stayed out until you were either bleeding or it was supper time. and if the bleeding could be stopped with a band-aid you went right back outside. Now my husband spent his childhood either stuck to a TV or a computer. If he did go outside he took his comic books with him so he could read them. This man now has 38 boxes of comic books in his 'game' room....Each box holds at least 350 comics...I kid you not...and are they ever looked at...that's a no, because they are covered in plastic so each is protected. They take up more room any anything I have because they have to be in the boxes at all times.

As a child I was allowed to watch Captain Kangaroo before school & Batman after if I wanted to stay in for a bit. We would watch TV with our parents after supper such as Red Skelton, Dean Martin show ect but Thomas watched TV whenever he was home & I am sure not everything he watched was great or good for him.

I also grew up with lots of chores, such as wiping the table, dusting, sweeping the floor & hanging up my clothes, as I got older the chores changed to doing the dishes, moping floors, cleaning the bathroom & so on. I think Thomas never really did a chore in his younger life or if he did he forgot that his coat needs to be hung up, trash doesn't go on the floor by his chair but in the trashcan & if the animals need water he has to do it since they can't reach the sink to do it themselves & I don't want the dogs, cats & chickens drinking out of the toilet or the duck using the toilet as a swimming pool.

Now I can't blame this all on him, but it sure makes me wonder what his mother was thinking as she raised him. Yes, I do remember that the 'boys' got it easier than the girls in some ways since they were boys & a lot of the chores were considered 'women's work'. But the older I get, the more I wonder how we women let this happen. I had my son at 3 yrs old stirring the bowls of batter, picking up & putting away his toys, hanging up his coat or wet towel because for one...I didn't want to have to do it. Two, I felt he needed to be responsible & not depend on a woman to do it for him.

I must admit for heavy labor, he comes in handy now that I am older & can't do some of the things I used to do. I don't mind hauling in wood for the wood stove, but he bought a axe so heavy I can't lift it over my head to cut the wood. Right now we have about 2 foot of snow that hit us in about 24 hours. If its a flat area I can shovel but with at least 2 bad disc in my lower back anything uphill or stairs sends me to bed with the heating pad.

Thomas is very smart & I do adore him when he realizes I am in the house but I don't get this attitude about life & the ways he lives it at times...maybe it is because I have always done everything so it gets done but now with the age I am starting to see just how different we are. Our goals & dreams don't even match up anymore...lol....Oh well I am thankful that he is around as I age since I know in time the burdens of everyday things will fall more on his shoulders & hopefully I won't have to put him in the doghouse....OK just kidding there.

Now, on to my love...chickens

I just lost another girl, Scarlette this last week to possibly intestinal blockage. she had a extended tummy area & her poo was white & yellow. I checked for a egg blockage, which she didn't have but her tummy was hard as a rock at times even though she ate & drank well. I am not shy when it comes to having to put my fingers inside them to see if there is something blocking them. Thomas holds them & with a oiled finger I go in slowly as not to hurt them. they hate it but if you do it very slow they calm down & let you feel around in there.

Unfortunately nothing I did helped her & she got so bad, I put her down with Chloroform. 

I had done research on the web & through my chicken magazines & actually was able to find a 'sick' chicken herbal mixture that helps boost their system when they get stressed or feeling slightly abnormal.  So since I am always trying to find better ways to take care of my chickens I thought going herbal or natural with some of the things I do for them would be a blessing....I hate using medicines or chemicals that can harm them in the long run.  anyway I thought I would share this with you.  It also helps to boost their immune systems & won't hurt any of the birds that are not sick.. 
*****You need to remember this recipe is per bird so when you mix it up you need to times it by the number of birds you have. So if you are creating this for 10 birds you need to measure out all the ingredients 10 times.

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of oatmeal  (corn can be used in the cold months instead of the oatmeal)
1/2 teaspoon of Echinacea powder
1/2 teaspoon of Astragalus root powder
1/2 teaspoon of Golden seal or Oregon Grape powder
1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of plain yogurt, Kefir or Pro biotic powder

Now if you have the herbs in bloom form or the Astragalus root is chopped you will need to grind them into powder for this.

Cook the oatmeal in the water until it thickens,  The corn you will want to cook until soften some.  Let cool to warm off the stove & then add the herbs, apple cider & stir really well, once mixed stir in the yogurt, kefir or pro biotic powder  If it is too stiff add more hot water til you get a nice mash that isn't runny.  It is recommended you do this for one meal per day for 3 days then skip a day & do it again for the 3 days.  The rest of the days feeding is normal chicken feed or whatever you give them.

The nice thing about this is you can still eat the eggs during this time though they may have a bit of a earthy taste but they are not dangerous.  I recommend using those eggs in baking or something where they are not eaten by themselves.

I want to give credit to Laura Haggarty who published this in the Backyard Poultry magazine.

I got my herb order in yesterday & plan to make this up this morning for my Chickens since they have been hiding out in the coops.  I think they all need a boost since they are in close quarters & not getting out in the fresh air.  Plus if any are feeling a bit under the weather I know this will be good for them.  My inside girls are doing well but I think even they might benefit from this, especially my crippled girl Willow.

If you have any comments or would like to see something on my Blog please contact me...until next time have a great chicken day

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