Celebrating Earth Hour

Tonight between 8.30pm and 9.30pm it is time to turn off the lights.  For more information or ideas on celebrating earth hour click here.

Will you be participating?
How will you be celebrating?

On March 31 2007, WWF-Australia inspired more than 2.2 million individuals and 2,000 businesses to turn their lights out for one hour in the first Earth Hour event – kicking off the world's largest voluntary action for the environment.

This year, Earth Hour Australia is turning Earth Hour on its axis, using the power of Earth Hour to shine a light on one of the world’s most loved – and vulnerable – places: The Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but it’s future is uncertain. Climate change is raising ocean temperatures and making seawater more acidic, threatening the survival of the coral and the animals that call it home. And to make it even worse, the Queensland and Australian Governments are fast-tracking mega port developments, including the world’s biggest coal port at Abbot Point.

The Earth Hour community is taking action to tell Australia’s Prime Minister that if we don’t act now, the effects of climate change on our reef will be irreversible in just sixteen years.

Rain Glorious Rain

Rain oh how we missed you.

We have had no rain to speak of for the last 4 - 5 months.  A few mls here or there but barely enough to reach the ground where there was mulch.  But oh how things can change.
We have now had nearly 250mls of rain in the last 3 days which is more than we have had in the last 8 months combined.
Much of the grass had died off and you can see some of the brown patches in the photo below.  These will take a while to recover but that green in the photo was not there a week ago, it was a field of brown.  Grass is amazing resilient stuff.

We know that for us the lack of grass is nothing compared to what our outback farmers have been going through and hope that many of them have also benefited from this rain.
All around our community bridges have flooded and are being cleared of debris and a few people are cut off until their bridges are cleared, but none the less we are grateful.

I hope that where ever you are the weather has been in your favour.

Enough Is Enough The Film

Enough is Enough is a book by Rob Dietz and Dan O'Neill that presents an alternative to the idea of continued economic growth.  They link back to the fact that we are overusing our earths finite resources and that we should have an economy that is focused on enough not more.

I watched this video which gives a brief overview of some of the topics covered in the book.  I found it to be fascinating and inspirational and I was left thinking about how the ideas presented are much more in line with the life I lead compared to our current system.  It also made me wonder how we can get governments around the world to adopt this type of economy.

Anyway check it out and let me know what you think.  Is this the type of economy you would like to see in place?

First Aid for Chickens

If you own chickens there is a good chance that at some stage you will need to administer some sort of first aid and it is good to know that you are somewhat prepared to deal with issues that arise.

Chicken Saddle in action

Before you read any further please note that I am not a vet and have no medical training.  These are just things that I have personally found helpful and I would suggest doing your own research.

There are a few things that I would say to new chicken owners about dealing with health issues and injuries:

• No matter how bad things look there is always hope.  Chickens are tough little creatures and they have the ability to endure quite significant injuries and behave like nothing at all has happened.
• Use the internet to look for answers.  I had never come across chicken pox before but by searching "white lumps on a chickens comb" I was able to use the images to diagnose what was going on.  I always look at a number of sites to see if I find the same solution being presented by a number of people.
• Stay calm.  If you can stay calm then you will have a much greater chance of success. 
• Keep the chicken calm too.  Wrapping them in a towel and covering their head loosely so they are in the dark will help with this.
• Have somewhere you can isolate an individual chicken.  A pet carry cage is ideal but a seperate chicken tractor or pen will also work.  The benefit of the carry cage is that you can keep an injured chicken inside where it is warm and free of drafts if necessary and they are also a little less mobile so will not stress themselves out.
• Finally - Keep some basic first aid supplies in the house that are suitable for using on chickens.  In my kit I keep chlorhexidine solution (often found in home first aid kits as you flushing or wound washing liquid.  It is far more gentle than hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol.  A good antibiotic cream.  Non stick sterile pads, bandages, steri strips and tape.  Latex gloves.  Water based lubricant in case you have to deal with prolapse or egg bound birds.  Plastic syringes in case a bird gets crop bound and you need to get olive oil into them and massage their crop. Cotton buds and cotton balls, tweezers, scissors and nail clippers also come in handy.  Also a rather recent addition to our kit is a chicken saddle which is now being used on a second chicken and has been worth the $5 it cost.

What tips do you have for providing first aid for chickens?

Do you have a chicken first aid kit?  If so what is in yours?

Chicken Doctoring Update

Back in December we had a bit of a run where we were playing chicken doctors and I thought I would bring you up to date with how things are now 3 months down the track.

You may remember this post about one of our new additions to the flock who had chicken pox and was in a bit of a state.  She has since been named Squawky because of all the noise she makes when she sees you.  It is so funny how every chicken has its own personality.

This was Squarwky with full blown chicken pox.

This is Squawky now chicken pox free and quite a character.

The next photo is pretty shocking and you can read the full story here. 

But after some tender loving care, some time wearing a fancy outfit and going though her seasonal moult Miss Fancy has grown a new set of feathers and you would never know she had ever been in the state she was in the above photo.

Chickens are tough little things but there are few things that make caring for them when they are injured or sick a bit easier and I will post about that tomorrow.