Our Chickens-Survival of the Fittest

We had the misfortune last Sunday night to come home at dusk to most of our chickens in a lifeless trail between the garden and coop. I had left home a little after 6. Before leaving home, I checked on the chickens, who we had let out to free range in the garden that I had picked clean the other day. They seemed happy so I left them out and planned to be home in a couple hours to close them inside their coop.

Now I am wishing I had gone ahead and herded them into the coop before I left, because if I did they *might* have survived. I say "might", because a few years ago dogs had climbed over our chicken fence and killed all but one of our chickens. :-/

We definitely suspect dogs are the culprit in this case as well. Most of the chickens(19) were killed and left for dead, presumably so the killer could run after and kill the next one they saw. Only one of the chickens had anything eaten off of it, and that one was found far away from the others.

I took pictures of each of them(yuck), as well as of the line of them from the garden area to the coop where they were running toward safety when they were killed. Randy called the police to file a report and the animal control officer came and took pics and took a statement. We have been watching every night and haven't seen any sign of other predators that would do this. I figure it was someone's dogs and when they came home with a mouthful of blood and feathers, they probably decided it might be wise to keep their dogs on their property where they belong so they wouldn't get shot.

The 6 chickens we found alive the next morning were up in trees near the house, on top of a rabbit hutch we have out back and in some other unknown places. I am thankful we got to keep at least a few of them to provide us with eggs(once they start laying).

A pic of the line of dead chickens from the garden(the edge is at the left of the picture) to the chicken coop:

Are you spending as much as you "should" on groceries?

I recently came across a copy of the Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels. Considering the average cost of food in July of 2009, it breaks the cost down into four categories: Thrifty Plan, Low-Cost Plan, Moderate Cost Plan, and Liberal Plan. It breaks it down to age of child and age of man or woman and you can figure out what groceries "should" be costing you.

I figured it for us, using the Thrifty Plan figures. According to that, we should be spending $152.30/week, or $660.10 a month. Wow. My goal each month has been to keep it under/around $500. I guess I find this is a bit encouraging(since we've been close to that each month, but I haven't kept a close eye the last few months to be sure...) and gives me some perspective. I am really doing all right, at least according to the government's standards...

I think at the start of next month I will keep a closer tab on what I am spending, just to see for sure how I am doing.

Check it out for yourself and do the math and see what you can learn about your own food spending! :)

BioAllergenix, continued

I went in for my appointment the other day.
I have been having little bouts with my allergies off and on while outside(pollens? mold on the corn?). I have NOT been taking an antihistamine on a regular basis(though I did when we were hauling wood for a day or two) so I am still doing better than I have done for years.
I had also been reacting to some food(s). I wrote down my suspected allergens to present when I went in.
I have also been having a really hard time sleeping for the last 2 weeks or so.


My doc checked out my list and got kind of an idea of what REALLY bothers me most. Then she went and got the little vials that I believe are leftover from when they did NAET and have been used with me at the same office with AAT. She picked out my suspected ones that were available in the box(there is not nearly the same selection as with either of the computer systems), and routinely handed them to me one at a time and did muscle testing. The only one that I tested weak to was Tomato. Not a big surprise as my dad has tomato allergy and I know I have been eating it my whole life and was probably allergic to it much of that time. Also, from previous research I have read that the nightshades can be difficult to treat just once with success. I'm sure it doesn't help that I have been processing them a lot the last month or two--lots of exposure, there!

I was glad to be able to test some of my other allergens with the muscle testing and find they were ok: garlic, basil(the closest I could get to mint-they are in the same family), mushroom, and coconut.

So, after loading the BioAllergenix system up with the grasses, good ol' corn, tomato, peppers and beans(my other suspects), I was treated for them. I went home and stayed inside with the windows closed until this morning. Ate only a hamburger(no bun) and pickled beets for dinner, had Craisins and raw pumpkin seeds and raw milk for a snack.

I slept better than I have slept for weeks! Yay!
I have tomatoes ready and waiting to be made into sauce, but I think I am going to let them wait a few more days before I greatly expose myself to them again. Give the treatment a little longer to hold, ya know? (I have no idea whether it would make any difference to wait longer or not, but I figure it probably couldn't hurt anything!).

Ginger Mushroom Chicken Soup - Good for what ails ya!

I have been reading a lot lately about the different foods that are good to boost our immune systems, and decided that since the kids are fighting something(as am I) after going back to school, I would try to implement many of these foods into a soup.

I decided to start with good ol' chicken soup, and work from there.

Here is what I came up with.
I put an * next to the especially immune-boosting foods.

Ginger Mushroom Chicken Soup

3 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
*5 cloves of garlic, minced
*1 heaping TB of minced Ginger (I used Ginger People Pantry Essentials Minced Ginger)
*4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup hot water and sliced or torn(I added the water to the pot too)
*Generous quart of chicken stock(bone broth is even better!)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced

Put oil in your soup pan and cook onions and garlic until translucent.
Add Ginger, shiitake mushrooms, chicken stock, carrots and celery.
Bring to a boil, turn down and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until carrots and mushrooms are tender.

Enjoy hot with whole grain (or Gluten-free) crackers.
Makes about 4 servings.

How to make Bone Broth

Bone broth is very simple to make, and much better for you than a canned broth from the store. It contains many minerals that are made readily available for the body to absorb, as well as a whole host of other good ingredients. It is more flavorful AND less expensive! It contains no added MSG, and you can easily regulate the sodium level and fat levels. I guess Grandma knew what she was doing when she was making her chicken stock for chicken soup when you were sick!

When I buy a chicken, I generally assume that I can stretch it for at least 3 meals. The first meal is based on roasted chicken and side dish veggies, the second meal is a casserole/sandwiches/wraps/quesadillas from the remaining meat, and the third meal(and fourth?) is soup made from the bone broth/stock and whatever remaining meat there was on the bones and of course added veggies.

Method 1: Crockpot
The way I have been making bone broth for the last few years has been to roast a chicken, remove most of the meat from the carcass, and put the carcass in the crockpot full of water to cook overnight. I include whatever veggies and spices I am in the mood for. I usually include:

A few carrots, washed and broken in half.
A few stalks of celery(especially the leaves)
A whole onion, including the skin
About 1-2 tsp of salt
About 1 tsp of pepper
A splash of Apple Cider Vinegar to help break down the bones quicker
A few teaspoons of dried herbs of choice

The next morning, turn off crockpot and allow broth to cool. Strain through a colander, remove meat from bones and put broth/meat in containers. Freeze or use within the next few days.

Method 2: Pressure Cooker
Last weekend I roasted a chicken and took off most of the meat. I didn't want to have the crockpot running all night, though, and have to deal with it in the morning, so decided to try making bone broth in the pressure cooker.

I put my usual chicken and veggies in the pot, filled it about 1/2-2/3 full with water(read your manual for how full to fill your own pressure cooker), and added some fresh herbs from my garden(few sprigs each of marjoram, basil and flat leaf parsley).

I brought it to pressure(15lbs) and cooked it about an hour and a half, then took it off the heat and let it cool on the stove rather than running cool water on the cooker.

This bone broth is AMAZING, compared to the Crockpot method! I think I will be doing it this way from now on! I used the broth a few days later to make an Awesome soup. Mmmmm!