SIMPLE STEPS TO RAISE BABY CHICKS

Raising Baby Chicks can be very challenging but if you know how to go about it, it can be fun. Okay, so, you've found your perfect chicks, you've ordered them, and they're due to arrive tomorrow! Now what? How do you raise them properly? This article should help and answer some of your questions, while giving you a step-by-step tutorial on how to raise chicks

1. First Step to take immediately your chick arrived is Making and Preparing their house.  the chicks house is one of the most important keys to raising chicks successfully. It houses them, protects them, and restrains them, But, not just anything can be used as a brooder. A cardboard box is favored by many a chicken owner, but it is not recommended! Cardboard boxes are very absorbent, and, therefore, they absorb everything from poop, to water. In no time at all, you have to find a new box. This is not a fun thing to do. Good things to use as a brooder are Tupperware containers (without the lids!) and wooden shipping crates (these are actually excellent brooders, so if you can find one available, jump on the chance to get it! They can be used over and over again, as long as they are properly disinfected!). Step Two: Setting Up The Brooder Now, once you have the appropriate object to become the chicks' brooder, you must set it up. After all, you can't just toss the chicks in, and leave them with no food, water, bedding, or heat! That would be absurd! To set up the perfect brooder, you will need: Pine chips, or shredded newspaper. Paper towels work well too, but pine chips are most common.never use cedar chips, these are toxic to chickens, and if swallowed, they can cause death!) A watery can  and a feeder. (Good water-er-s and feeders, meant specially for chicks like yours, can be found in your local feed store.) A thermometer A heat lamp Patience: You will need some patience, as putting together a brooder takes some work (as well as a little extra cash ) When you have gathered your supplies, you can begin preparing/setting up/putting together your brooder. First, get the container. Then, shake your bedding into the container. (I know, you are not a moron, but this is a step-by-step tutorial. ) Next, take the water-er and and feeder and clean them thoroughly. New, or not, they must be cleaned before use! If your chicks are small, like bantams, or quail, you may want to put clean rocks, marbles, or whatever you have in that vicinity, in the bottom of the water-er. This will prevent drowning. Step Three: Introducing Your Chicks To Their New Home No doubt about it, once you are done preparing your brooder, you are going to want to put your chicks in. This can be done immediately after finishing the brooder, but it is not recommended. Chicks are very delicate little creatures, and it only takes a small mistake to make a big mess! It is advised that you prepare your brooder the day before your precious babies arrive. This will allow the bedding and the water to come to room temperature, and give the brooder some time to reach the proper temperature. Which reminds me: the proper brooder temperature for day old chicks is 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 33 degrees Celsius. This is actually very important! It is also very important to lower the temperature by 33.8 degrees, or 1 degrees Celsius, every 2-3 days. When introducing your chicks to their brooder, well, this isn't some fancy-schmancy task, all you do is set them in it, but remember to dip their beaks in the water, and show them where the food is. Dipping their beaks in the water is not cruel, and it's not painful. Just hold the chick, and tip it downward, until it's beak reaches the water. Then, put it near (or in, as I find effective, place it in the food), and make sure to do this with all the chicks. Then, just sit back and watch. Step Four: Recognizing When The Brooder Needs To Be Cleaned, And How To Clean It Sniff-sniff... PU! The brooder smells awful! Chances are, after about 5 days (if that!) of having your chicks, you will begin to smell a smell. A smell that is horribly unpleasant! Your dear, sweet little angels, so innocent in their brooder, can sure make a horrible smell!  It's time to clean the brooder! Yes, this is a part of raising chickens: cleaning up after them. Unless of you have some amazing chicken, that somehow never poos. If you do, tell me your secret! But, alas, on to an unpleasant subject: brooder cleaning-how to! Here is the how-to on brooder cleaning: Remember that shipping box your chicks came in? Put all your chicks back in it! No, of course you're not sending them back to the hatchery! But, this box will keep them contained while you work. (Note: if your chicks are a lot bigger than they were when they arrived, then they will need a different box. Any cardboard box with air-holes will do!) Next, find some kind of scoop. Be it a QT cup, a small shovel, a trowel, a dogfood scoop, anything that will scoop something will work. Once you've found your scoop, you can begin scooping the bedding out. Have a trashcan, or a plastic bag, or something available to toss the dirty bedding into. Replace the bedding with fresh (remember, never use cedar!) This is a good time to refresh the water and (maybe) the food. Again, thoroughly clean the water-er, and (maybe) get fresh food for your chicks. Re-ad your chicks, and make sure their house is clean always. 

MEANING AND INSTANCES OF PRAISE

Praise is the joyful recounting of all that God has done for you. Christian often speak of praising God, and the Bible commands all living things to praise him always. Praise is closely intertwined with Thanksgiving as we offer back to God appreciation for his mercy and mighty works on our behalf. It is merely the truthful acknowledgedment of the righteous acts of another. Since God has done many wonderful things in our life, He is worthy of your praise. The book of Psalm is a collection of songs which is filled with praises to our maker (God), Among these book of Psalms which you can use to praise God are Psalm 9:2 and Psalm 18:3, Praise must also be given to God both for who God is and His faithfulness and his great power(Psalm 21:13), The word praise was use in Psalm 150 for thirteen times in six verses. Jesus also accepted praise as God, in the New Testament, there are examples of praise given to Jesus, this can be found in the book of Matthew 8:2, Matthew 21:16 and Matthew 28:17. Jesus accepted praise as God. Most of the early church often shared in times of praise, For example, the first church in Jerusalem included a focus on worshiping God. The church leaders at Antioch prayed, worship, and fasted during the time Paul and Barnabas were called into missionary work (Act 13:1-5). Many of the letter written by Paul were extended section of praise to the Lord. One Hebrew word for " praise " is yadah, which means "praise, give thanks, or confess". The often translated as " praise " in the Bible is Samar, zamar means " sing praise, all these two words, yadah and zamar contain the idea of giving thanks and honour to the one who is worthy of our praise, our Creator and our protector. Praising God is also a command from God. There are many instance in the Bible where the command to praise God are to numerous to mention. Angels and the heavenly hosts are commanded to praise the the lord this can be found in the book of Psalm 89:5, Psalm 103:20, Psalm 148:2. All the inhabitants of the world are instructed to always give thanks and praise the Lord. We can praise God with our singing, with our shouting, with our dancing steps and musical instruments. But, there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. When it seem God is very far away, praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. When we can not feel His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us, all what you need in those time is praise. Even when life is not going as we think you should always praise God. God is still good and can be trusted. When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms we are passing through, He is honoured, and our faith grow deeper in Him. 

DEALING WITH ADDICTIONS

Addiction is a compulsive tendency developed over a period of continuous and repeated actions or exposures to a certain substance. It can result in loss of willpower and self- esteem, loss of or shift in focus, social and emotional disconnect , poverty, death, etc. According to the American Society of Addition Medicine, addiction leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations.
There are many types of addiction but three will be discuss on this blog.

1. SUBSTANCE ADDICTION: drug abuse like taking of cocaine, opioids-heroine, amphetamines, benzodia-zepines, alcoholism, smoking etc.

2. BEHAVIORAL OR PROCESS ADDICTIONS.
This is addiction that is pertaining to mood altering behaviours, such as gambling, sexual activities like masturbation, sex, pornography, etc. Eating disorders, spending, shopping, watching television, etc.

3.POSITION ADDICTION:  this kind of addiction is an addiction associated with power , influence and affluence. Just as with every other type of addiction, the position addict enjoins his power, influence or affluence at the expense of others . Examples is King Saul in the bible ( 1Samuel 19:1;8-16 and King Hezekiah (Isaiah 39:1-8).

Now, how to overcome addictions. These are steps to do to overcome addiction.
1. Take a stand. You must first of all acknowledge that addiction is an affliction and you are already caught up in it web. Then , you must be willing to break free from its bondage while acknowledge that you cannot help yourself.

2. SEEK HELP. You must open up to people who can help you in breaking the evil habit and you must also put God and prayer in consideration. Make sure you surrender yourself for proper screening and therapies.

3. Make sure you keep the company of those who can encourage you in your journey total victory from addiction.

4. Keep your heart with all diligence and renew it daily. Addiction is really a battle of the mind.

5. You must avoid exposure to all forms of triggers.

6. Lastly, Avoid relapse. Relapse is to addiction what backsliding is to sin and its episode is usually worse than before  the treatment and spiritual deliverance.

WHEN ALL THINGS FAILS, GOD IS IN CONTROL

When things are not going the way we expected, as human we do experience one bad thing or the others but at any use or disposition God chooses to make of any part of His creation, His sovereign regn. God is accountable only to Himself. He does things in His own way, He is not required at any time to give to any person any explanation for anything He does. He is the almighty above all powers in every area of His creation. We as human do not expect to understand fully the purpose for our trials until our Lord calls us home to be with Him. But we do know that He loves us too much and He care so much about us, and that He is far more concerned with our welfare than we are. God's choices are always right. He is capable of carrying out any project to a successful conclusion without the possibility of fault or failure. Nothing on earth happens by chance or accident. For every effect there is a cause. God "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory" . It was Wednesday, the Eighteen years of marriage of Mr and Ma Bobby without a child, They have try all their possible best looking for blessing of the womb, the doctor have try all what they can do so that Mrs Bobby can conceived but no good news. I waited expectantly in the corridor outside Mr Bobby's room. When the doctor appeared his remarks were brief and pointed. The doctor say" We are making arrangements to position your wife for the next treatment. He hesitated. I detected a bit of concern in his delayed reply. I was right. His words came slowly. "There is nothing more that we can do medically for Mrs. Bobby." He placed his hand on my shoulder and patted it gently. "I'm sorry," he said, and he walked away. I took her hand in mine. Then I assured her that there was nothing to fear because God was in control. But did I really believe that God was in control? The mere thought of questioning the sovereignty of God scared me. But then, the government of the universe is a question with which most of us have grappled at some time. We Christians affirm our belief in the sovereignty of God, but our faith is challenged in times of natural upheaval, national disaster, or personal affliction. Pain and poverty, disease and death, sorrow and suffering all tend to cause us to think seriously about God as creator and controller of the world of which we are a part. It is not always easy to believe that God is in control. I tell Mr and Mrs Bobby to believe in God and employed to follow God way , two of them accepted and we agreed to let God take control, Mr and Mr Bobby give their life to Christ and they begin prayer and fasting, I also help them in praying together, we do night vigil in their house and also in my house. After strong prayer and fasting , Mr and Mrs Bobby surrender all to God and they let God take control of their childlessness. To God be the glory Mrs Bobby conceived after three months of fasting and prayer, it was a God doing and is marvelous in our eye. Can you imaging ? What they have been looking for good eight year looking for worldly solutions was solve within just three months of God control. No matter what you are been going for days , months and years if you believe and move closer to God, He will take control and you problems , sadness will turn to joy. He is God, and He knows what we want and what we needs, all He needed from you is your faithfulness and holiness, and believe that He is in Control. Whatever you are going through, He is there for you, stop looking for worldly help but put all your trust and hope in Him, whatever that is above human solution in your life, remember , God is in control and He only can do all things.

HOW TO IDENTIFY CHICKEN BREEDS AND GENDER

As a chicken farmer and owner we all know how fun it is to get that mixed-breed and genders from  the hatchery or from local chicken  sellers, but many of us dont know the breed of the chicks you are buying, or you just want to know the gender! Well here are some steps how to tell the gender and breed of your chicks. But remember! Some breeds (Such as Old English Game Bantams), are REALLY easy to tell the gender, and others can take MONTHS! (Such as Easter Eggers) Some even like us to think their roosters, only to lay an egg.

These are things you Need to Know to determine the breed and gender of chicken.
So heres some stuff you need to know. Firstly please don't be asking the gender or breed of your 3 day old chick. SOME breeds you can figure out if we know what hatchery (if you ordered from one) you ordered from, and if the chick (or Duck, or turkey, but I won't be putting steps for telling their gender or breed, but a lot of this info can be applied to those as well) is unique. As for the gender telling, you must know this.
Saddle feathers

A male has pointed, often long, saddle feathers. Their tail feathers tend to be longer, more rounded, and shinier then females .

As you can see, the male , the saddle feathers are very apparent, vs hens, where it doesn't make much of a difference.
Some female do has same colour as the female. so you can see how the saddle feathers are apparent, even on the same bree
Another thing is, hens do not always have a smaller comb then the cockerels . In most cases, yes, but hens can have larger combs (depending on the breed of course), and hens can have large combs in general.
 To determine gender of chicken 
These are some steps to look for to determine  the sex of most chickens, however, some chickens are later, or earlier bloomers. This is a general guide, and it varies.

1.  Comb. large comb is for the male.
Turkey can be hard to determine their sex, due to having large combs, but I know this was male. As you can see, he has a large comb. That is a classic sign of a male.. The earlier the comb is red, and the larger, the more likely the chicken will be a male. However, after about 6 weeks, all chickens should have some reddening in the comb by then and this tell that they are make and any other chicken and Turkey are male.


2. Another way to tell the sex, is by the feathers. While by this time the gender should be obvious, if your still new, or bought it as an adult, they male feather will quickly shows. while the female will take more day before it shows.
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COPING WITH FEAR, STRESS AND ANXIETY

Fear, Stress and Axiety. Sometimes these emotions can easily pass, but there are those moments where they just stick around longer than you think, and it can paralyze someone from participating in what we need to focus on.

These emotions can be crippling if we don’t know how to recognize it, and know how to deal with them. These unfriendly, and sometimes unwanted emotions can pop up anywhere, for instance in a meeting at work, talking to your friends, or watching TV. It can interfere with our decision making process, and our ability to connect with those around us and also affect our thinking .

If you are experiencing any of emotional problems, here are some steps that could be helpful to get you back on track.

1) Breathe:

Pretty easy, and we as adults get to do it about 12 – 20 breaths a minute. When taking your next 3 - 5 breaths, taking deep belly breaths could help clear up any stubborn emotions that might be lingering.

2) Recognize what the problem  is:
Sometimes the hardest step is understanding what it is that we are experiencing in the current moment. If that emotion is unfamiliar or you can’t put a name to it, take note of it. So, if you experience it again it might feel a little bit more familiar, and identifying that particular feeling can be easier.

3) Change your Scenery:

 if we focus our attention on something else, it can change our thinking . By changing our focus, we can better navigate our focus from the emotions we are currently experiencing. It can be as easy as simply getting up, and taking a walk.

4) Chat it Up:

Also, just another way to help shift your focus is by just chatting with a coworker, a barista, or maybe even spend some time with your pet.

5) Mindfulness/Meditation Practice:

One good way to change your relationship with stress, fear or anxiety is starting a mindful or meditation practice. It can be as long as you need it to be, and to start out 3 -5 minutes might just work. There are so many different ways to be mindful and meditate, and here are a few options to consider Visual Meditation, Loving –Kindness Meditation, and Transcendental Meditation.

These changes may help in the moment, but if you want to ultimately transform your relationship with stress, fear, or anxiety it may take dedication, and being mindful in each those moments when you experience these emotional feelings.

Don't also forget prayer, run for sin because sin bring fear and anxiety. Move closer to God and meditate in his words.

BENEFITS OF HAVING BACKYARD CHICKEN

Are Chickens the new "dog"?

Having a small backyard flock of chickens is a growing trend in countries around the world. And it is not just country folks who enjoy raising chickens, more and more cities are relaxing their laws and ordinances and allowing chickens, so city dwellers can enjoy this pleasant hobby too. Many celebrities such a Jennifer Aniston, Barbra Streisand, Miley Cyrus, Chevy Chase, Reese Witherspoon and Martha Steward raise backyard chickens. So why are pet chickens so popular? Let's have a look at some of the benefits of raising backyard chickens.

Chickens are easy, inexpensive pets with benefits

- Starting with and keeping chickens is relatively inexpensive. See here for a breakdown of start up and ongoing costs.
- Meat birds (Cornish Cross) are usually processed around the age of 7 – 9 weeks. So after feeding them for only 2 months, you can stock your freezer with your own wonderful, fresh, home-grown meat.
- When you raise your own chickens, you know what went into the meat and eggs. It’s a safer and healthier alternative to factory farmed poultry and eggs.
- The meat of farm-raised chicken has significantly less fat (and fewer calories) than typical store-bought chicken.
- Backyard and free ranged hens produce eggs that are very nutritious and great tasting. Not to mention they are always fresh! Free ranged and backyard hens' eggs are also much healthier than battery hens' eggs. Here is a comparison between the nutrient content of free range vs battery eggs:

Nutrient Content - Battery Eggs Nutrient Content - Free Range Eggs
Vitamin A - 0.97mg Vitamin A - 7.37mb
Vitamin E - 487IU Vitamin E - 763IU
Beta Carotene - 10mg Beta Carotene - 76.2mg
Folate - 47mcg Folate - 0.71g
Omega 3 - 0.033mg Omega 3 - 292mg
Cholesterol - 423mg Cholesterol - 231mg
Saturated Fat - 3.1
Saturated Fat - 2.31g

- Chickens make great pets for children and great 4H projects.
- They are friendly, easy to manage, low maintenance and can be kept as house pets as well.
- Chickens are a food source. Hens will provide you with wonderful fresh eggs and cockerels (and retired hens) can be processed and eaten.
- Chickens are entertaining and keeping and spending time with your feathered friends, or just "watching chicken TV", can be rewarding and at times very funny, as this member discovered.

Free range chickens are excellent, hard working gardeners

- Once you’ve harvested everything you want from your vegetable garden, your chickens will happily clear the beds, scratching out and eating unwanted weeds, slugs and seeds and fertilizing the soil while they're at it.
- Own an orchard or a few fruit trees? Chickens will devour the fallen fruit before it can attract insects.
- Chicken manure contains high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
- Chicken manure is more economically valuable than synthetic fertilizers.
- Chicken manure can be used to make fertilizer tea.
- Chickens love digging and scratching around in compost heaps and composting with chickens can be very beneficial for your compost heaps too.
- Chickens will happily take care of crickets, grass hoppers, snails and other pests in the garden.