For those of us who live an organic lifestyle (or try really hard to), it’s knowing where our food comes from that matters to us most. What confirmed my conversion was learning my son’s developmental delays were due to a dysfunctional digestive system and vitamin deficiency. Since his system can’t efficiently remove toxins, I have to minimize his exposure. My sister’s organic choices are based on healthy eating and being environmentally conscious. Both of us have chicken coops in the backyard because homegrown organic eggs are an important way we can contribute to our family’s health and be environmentally “green”.
Many supermarkets today do a terrific job carrying organic products, but that still requires us to trust a label. The term “certified organic” can be really confusing because of differing state regulations and industries. Raising your own backyard hens in a chicken-tractor has some distinct advantages over the carton of organic eggs purchased in a store. It can be achieved in even very small backyards. Here are some of the advantages:
1) No egg is more rewarding than eating the one you just collected that morning from your own chickens.
2) You know exactly what you are eating because you feed the chickens – grass, scraps, organic feed, soy-free feed, etc… Grass-fed or pastured chickens have the highest levels of Omega 3, beta carotene, and vitamin E in their eggs compared to store bought.
3) Unless you buy local organic eggs, there is the carbon footprint from shipping and transportation (may even be out-of-state).
4) If you have children, chickens are perfect way to communicate the values of responsibility and informed food choices. Kids these days are disconnected to the origins of food. Many have never seen a live farm animal, much less tended one.
5) Proper use of a chicken-tractor fertilizes the yard with no use of chemicals. It’s green living.
6) Chickens are fun and beautiful animals. They can provide hours of entertainment (running, pecking, exploring) and many become beloved household pets.
7) Home raised chickens are happy chickens. They don’t live in tiny cages or have their beaks cut off. They aren’t stuffed with medication or forced to molt. They can live a carefree lifestyle envious of anyone.
8) Chicken owners are like a special community. You’ll connect with people who have a fascinating view on life, just like you.
Even with these terrific reasons for raising backyard chickens, many still hesitate. There are the questions of time, money, convenience, city regulations, and all that chicken poop. For you doubters, here are some answers:
1) Tending chickens, like any other pet, does take time. Some make it an extensive hobby but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of it depends on how the tending is arranged. Getting the right coop makes a huge difference. Make sure the family is on board in their participation, and get connected with other chicken owners. There is a vast online community happy to help. Owning chickens 20 years ago and owning them now are worlds apart (kind of like raising kids).
2) Chickens are a long-term investment and require upfront capital to get started, but keep in mind the returns are more than saving a few bucks at the grocery store (reference the list above). A hen can lay eggs for many years. A good coop can also last many years. In any case, certified organic eggs are the most expensive eggs to purchase so breaking even in the long run is not impossible.
3) Modern society is all about convenience. We want it all with little effort on our part. Well chicken coop manufacturers have caught on and the options appear endless (like that helps). I recommend a chicken-tractor for backyard poultry owners because of its size and benefits. These can be tricky to build so getting a reliable, prefab one will save a lot of heartache. Believe me, there is a whole science to building a quality coop. Prices can range from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand. You get what you pay for. Here are some quick shopping tips for making a selection:
4) Most cities have a regulation regarding poultry or livestock in your backyard. Many cities allow for chickens in small numbers and without roosters. If you aren’t sure and don’t want to risk a fine, check it out in advance. If they aren’t legal you can bet there are citizens already petitioning for a change. Help them out. Chickens are becoming very urban.
Besides eating healthy, backyard chickens are a great family project or personal hobby. If you have computer savvy kids, get them to research chicken breeds, coops, and social networks for support. Set aside a family day to build or assemble the coop. Pick chicken names. Argue over who gets to collect the fresh eggs. Wow friends and extended family with a tasty, fortifying quiche (spinach from the garden, right?).
Organic living is not just about consumption choices, it’s about quality of life. With homegrown organic eggs there is never a dull moment. You can learn more about chicken coops and care at http://www.tufclimatecoop.com/. Also find your closest source of organic chicken feed at www.organicfeeds.biz.
Written by: Marguerite Inscoe, Homemaker, part-time employee of Egganic Industries and my dad, the inventor of the Henspa and many other backyard chicken coops. Contact: marguerite@henspa.com
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Hello, and welcome to my natural beauty care blog on blogger!
If you love to take care of your body naturally, and you’d like to find some tips and ideas for your family too, I think you will enjoy this blog.
I love to do everything I can to create great health for myself and my family. I became passionate about this, after having been through many health issues, including chronic fatigue syndrome. Some of you may know, that this debilitating condition is often helped by increasing the health of the body’s immune system. This is what led me to searching for health and body care solutions that would place less strain on my immune system, and actually improve it. I discovered much research and information that showed great results from using as much organic and natural resources as possible.
Natural beauty care is about finding great organic and natural body products, as well as looking at ways we can improve our health, and therefore have better results with our beauty care. In this blog, I will only be covering health principles briefly, and if this is something you’d like to research further (highly recommended!), I will be giving some good resources where you can do that.
So, how do we ensure that the products we are using are good for us and our little ones?
I’m not going to bore you with a lot of information that is hard to understand!, again, I will include some resource options for those of you that are interested. Put simply, many common beauty products use a lot of synthetic ingredients, chemicals, preservatives, and a whole lot of other rubbish, that really is not good for your skin or your body. Many people are discovering the truth about this, and that is why there are more organic and natural body products available now….even the ‘big’ companies are starting to provide healthier options, and celebrities are making it more ‘popular’.
Organic and natural body products should use nothing ‘yucky’, but instead; lovely ingredients like essential oils, coconut oil, nut butters etc.
If we use, or make our own, products with these types of ingredients, our health and our beauty will benefit.
Here’s some tips to get you started;
*…check out your own beauty products, and have a look at their ingredients; if they have a huge list of unpronounceable names, with lots of funny looking numbers, then they probably have heaps of junk in them!
*…you can either choose to start ‘overhauling’ your beauty care gradually (I understand, these products have usually cost you a lot)…or, as I did, you can choose to chuck everything out that’s not good for you, and start over! (mind you, I had extra motivation; we had just bought a new home with a fruit orchard, and all our water goes out onto it….I ‘overhauled’ our whole beauty, cleaning products and everything I could! LOL)
*…I totally encourage any of you that have skin problems, or if your children do, to at least try ‘overhauling’ for a couple of months, and see if you notice a difference….it’s worth at least trying isn’t it?...you can always keep your synthetic horrible products in the cupboard, and go back to them if you want to!!
*...How's your health routine?...Even if you're generally a healthy person, it's worth checking if you can do more, especially if you're struggling with any skin problems.
Ok, I think that's probably enough to work on for now!....hope you have fun making a fresh start with your natural beauty care!
....bye for now : )
Resources; if you'd like to learn more about how you can improve every aspect of your health, check out Garden of Life....this is my favourite resource, they have excellent integrity, provide many free resources, including a great newsletter,recipe ideas etc, and have a whole team of doctors to back up their well researched info.
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