Self-Reliance Expo: Dallas Chicken Coops
We are pleased to announce that DallasChickenCoops.com will be attending the Self-Reliance Expo this weekend in Mesquite, Texas! They will be in booths 510-512 and will be glad to answer your questions regarding building your own chicken coops, chicken coop plans & blueprints, valuable resources available to raising poultry, and many more topics related to the subject.
From their website:
Our main focus is chicken coops. There are several challenges when trying to find the right chicken coop. There are usually not that many designs available locally. So, many chicken owners are faced with building a chicken house themselves or paying to have one shipped to them. Shipping these chicken coops is not cheap!
We offer a different solution! We will bring the chicken coop to you in the Dallas area. We can build the coop on site. You can choose from any of the designs we have available or we can do custom work to suit your needs. We can build custom chickens coops in your backyard. Tell us what you want and we will get you a free quote.
Please be sure to pay them a visit and get their advice on chicken coops.
Featured Post: Older Is Better for Hunting Dogs
An interesting study was referenced on the National Science Foundation’s website almost two weeks ago. The study was focused on researching success rates between younger and older, male and female hunting dogs. The research was conducted in central America and shines light on little-known areas of the topic.
Nicaraguan hunting dogs, credit: National Science Foundation
Older dogs and male dogs are better hunting companions than younger dogs and female dogs says the author of a new study on the hunting ability and nutritional status of domestic dogs in lowland Nicaragua. In addition, he says, dogs are more suited to wildlife sustainability than other hunting options.
“I was a little surprised to find that male dogs are harvesting more than females because few anthropologists have commented on sex-related variation in hunting ability,” said University of Cincinnati anthropologist and lead investigator Jeremy Koster. “In fact, when anthropologists have reported anything along these lines, it’s usually to report informants’ claims that there are no differences between males and females.”
Koster and anthropologist Kenneth Tankersley, also with the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, recently examined key demographic variables such as age and sex on the amount of harvested game that dogs contribute from subsistence hunting in an indigenous community, which has a long and important role in community survival. The research was one of few projects to study these differences in hunting dogs.
Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Dr. Koster’s and Dr. Tankersley’s research findings make a crucial contribution to understanding human subsistence strategies in tropical rain forest environments,” said Deborah Winslow, a program director for NSF’s Cultural Anthropology Program. “Such knowledge is essential for preserving these environments while still allowing sustainable economic exploitation. On a larger scale, the research also helps us to understand our evolutionary past, including the reasons that dogs may have been domesticated in the first place.”
Koster and Tankersley found that as both male and female dogs reach three years of age, they tend to increase their hunting success and produce greater harvests. Older, male and female dogs in the study population returned more game to their owners than did younger dogs.
Image of a Mayangna hunter and his dog resting in a dugout canoe. With talented hunting dogs as companions, hunters exhibit return rates that compare favorably to hunting with projectile weapons, including modern firearms, says a new report appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. credit: Menuka Scetbon-Didi
“The increase in hunting success with age could reflect learning via experience,” said Koster, director of graduate studies in Anthropology at UC. “On the other hand, the apparent age-related increase in ability might indicate that only talented hunting dogs reach advanced ages, perhaps because unskilled hunting dogs receive poorer care and die relatively young.
“We expect that hunting ability would eventually decline as dogs get older, but the reality is that few dogs reach eight or nine years old because even well-treated dogs often succumb to snakebites or jaguar attacks.”
There also seems to be a trend that bigger dogs are able to track and corral bigger prey, said Koster, which increases the hunting return rates of their owners, and in general, male dogs are bigger than females. Even so, more work needs to be done to determine if males are better hunting companions at other locations in which locals use dogs to harvest prey, he said.
Koster and Tankersley conducted the study in Nicaragua’s Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the largest unbroken tract of Neotropical rainforest in Central America, north of the Amazon Rainforest. The researchers based the study on the hunting activities of the Mayangna and the Miskito, two indigenous ethnic groups, who live along a tributary of the Coco River, not far from the border with Honduras.
Community members in the region capture about 85 percent of harvested mammals with the aid of dogs, according to the report.
“Conservation biologists are justifiably concerned about the impact of subsistence hunting on wildlife populations,” said Koster, “but if sustainable hunting is the goal, then hunting with dogs might be a better option than the alternatives.”
Koster argues that hunters with firearms tend to disproportionately hunt prey that lives in trees, including slow-breeding primates that are easy to over-hunt, whereas hunters with dogs tend to harvest relatively fast-breeding animals such as agoutis, pacas and armadillos. He says these populations are harder to deplete, partly because they adapt well to the heavily-used forests near human settlements.
“Overall, then, if you have a choice of hunting with guns or hunting with dogs, the latter will more likely result in long-term sustainability in many settings,” said Koster, who promotes Amazon Cares, a non-profit organization devoted to the welfare of dogs in rural Latin America.
Most dogs in the study were mutts observed one of Koster’s colleagues at the Saint Louis Zoo. Koster personally observed that there didn’t seem to be much managed breeding of dogs, if at all, among the study population.
The finding leaves open the question which type of dog makes the best hunters, although hunters in the region talk about the different breeds that one encounters in the reserve.
Meanwhile, dogs that are not good hunters are almost never taken on excursions. Instead, they are allowed to lounge around the house and “patio.”
“Perhaps they’re valuable as watchdogs, deterring would-be thieves,” said Koster. He said the researchers didn’t find evidence they received less care than good hunters, but additional study is required for a more authoritative determination.
“It certainly seems like the incapable dogs don’t look as healthy,” said Koster. “They seem to get more mange, for example. Perhaps an owner is less likely to buy medicines for a dog that doesn’t contribute something as a hunting companion.”
The research was funded by a Dissertation Improvement Award from NSF’s Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences. In addition, the Hill Foundation, a William Sanders dissertation grant, the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center and the University of Cincinnati Research Council supported the research.
Visit the original article HERE.
Self-Reliance Expo’sed Radio Show, Friday, January 28, 2012
Join Colorado Ron & Bubba Davinci on their show tonight 8 pm Central on the Preparedness Radio Network. (Click the image for the link or click HERE.)
This week 1/27/2012, on Self-Reliance Expozed, the official Self-Reliance Expo radio show, your hosts Colorado Ron and Bubba DaVinci will be introducing themselves and discussing what the future brings for both the Self-Reliance Expo and Self Reliance Expo’zed.
Tonight they’ll have a special guest who is a long time supporter of the Self-Reliance movement and creator of one of the best solar back-up power units on the market The Humless Sentinel. We will also be introducing a segment called “Radiation Watch”.
BHM Radio and Self Reliance Exposed will alternate weeks in this time slot, Friday at 8pm Central. Please join us again next week for our BHM Radio Show!
Dallas, Texas Self-Reliance Expo: WIN FREE Tickets!!!
With the Dallas’ Self-Reliance Expo right around the corner February 10-11, we want to give individuals and families the opportunities to win FREE tickets to the Self-Reliance Expo! (It’s actually gonna happen in Mesquite, just east of Dallas). What we are looking for:
- Entertaining videos which highlight/demonstrate your most innovative Self-Reliance Creations, Contraptions, or Inventions (this can include modifications to products that you use or a tool that you created to fit your needs)
- A brief & entertaining instructional video that teaches a Self-Reliance Skill or Short-Cut
- A 2-3 minute silent video on anything Self-Reliance themed:
- Comedy/Parody
- Educational
- Entertaining/Creative
- Product Review
- A humorous video that features a song you write & perform on:
- Self-Reliance
- the Benefits/Joys of being a Prepper
- Buggin’ Out
- Things Preppers Say
- Life on the Homestead
We have plenty of tickets to give away for the most creative, fun, and entertaining submissions, so have fun & be SAFE! Only selected submissions will win tickets to the event. Winners will be selected by judges from the Self-Reliance Expo, based on creativity & entertainment. We look forward to seeing your content!
It almost goes without saying, but please remember that the content should be appropriate for families to share & we will be featuring the winners on the Self-Reliance Facebook fanpage, an interview, and will likely be featured on other websites online. By submitting the content, you are allowing the Self-Reliance Expo to use that content in a promotional manner, with the opportunity to win a prize of tickets for admission to the Self-Reliance Expo referenced above. You must be the original producer of the content that you submit. Any prizes awarded for selected & featured content do not hold cash value, void where prohibited, winner must confirm contact, blah, blah, blah…
Several Ways to Submit Content:
- Upload your content to your YouTube account & Email the link to david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com, or
- Upload your content to your Facebook account & share it on the Self-Reliance Expo Facebook Fanpage, or
- Send an Email to: david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com with a link to your content outside of Youtube & Facebook
Winning submissions will be notified via email and announced here & on the Self-Reliance Facebook Fanpage. Content will be accepted until February 6, 2012, with the earliest announcement of Ticket winners beginning this Saturday, January 28, 2012. We are accepting submissions from anywhere and everywhere. Remember: be safe, have fun, and be creative!
I’m thinking that if we get enough submissions…we can open it up for a grand prize winner to be announced at the February’s Self-Reliance Expo…the Grand Prize will be awarded to the winner there. The Grand Prize is yet to be determined….but it’s gonna be GOOD!
-David SafeWater
Shelf Reliance Consultants @ Dallas, Texas Self-Reliance Expo, Feb. 10-11, 2012
Texas Shelf Reliance®
For those of you out there who enjoy the free samples given out at Costco, Farmer’s Markets, or In-Home Presentations, you’re in for a treat at the upcoming Self-Reliance Expo just outside of Mesquite, Texas in three weeks. A team of select Independent Consultants from Shelf-Reliance® & Thrive™ Foods will be there, coordinated by John & Diane Runnells. The Runnells are based out of North Richland Hills, Texas and are excited to share their experience and knowledge of their products.
Shelf Reliance® Consultants will include (click on any one of the links to visit their independent sites):
- John & Diane Runnells, serving North Richland Hills, Texas area
- Vicki & Emmett Koen, serving the Canton, Texas area
- Krystal Windham, also serving the Canton, Texas area
- Carrie & Michale Folsom, serving the Forney, Texas area
John & company will have fresh samples available as well as a display of their practical shelving options for storing & rotating home food storage cans. They look forward to answering your questions & arranging free consultations for individuals as well as families. Having tasted tons samples of the Thrive™ Foods, I can vouch for their quality and goodness!
Please be sure to visit their websites where there are many valuable tools available to guide your food storage. Some of the free online tools available through Shelf Reliance® include:
- Their online store of course!
- Food Calculator- calculate your family’s food storage needs
- Shelf Reliance® University- learn about food storage & becoming better prepared
- Recipes- get tastefully creative with your food storage!
- How to host a Food Storage Party in your Home
- The Thrive™ Q- develop your own personalized food storage solutions
- & Many more…
We look forward to seeing you all in Dallas! Please visit www.SelfRelianceExpo.com for details. To order discounted tickets, please visit the Self Reliance Expo Fanpage on Facebook & be sure to Like it.
-David SafeWater
Lehman’s 2012 Cast Iron Recipe Drawing: Enter to Win a Gift Card!
Lehman’s-”the world’s purveyor of historical non-electric merchandise technology”- is hosting a drawing for a recipe which utilizes cast iron cookware in one of four possible categories:
- Main Dish
- Dessert
- Bread
- Breakfast
I want to point out that this is a drawing and not a contest to select a preferred recipe. All submissions/entries must be received by Lehman’s by February 1, 2012 at the latest, and the drawing will occur approximately one week later. One winning entry will be selected per each category, with each winner receiving a gift card, redeemable at Lehman’s for products they sell.
Once the winners are selected, their names will be posted on Lehman’s blog. Please visit Lehman’s.com for full details regarding the drawing, and GOOD LUCK!
Beekeeping 101…A Sweet Resource
Kate Ferry is a beekeeper in Custer, Washington. Her blog is SacredBee.net and offers great information about beekeeping, as well as many matters focusing on self-reliance. She writes:
- Are you fascinated by the honeybee?
- Do you have access to a bit of land? Anything over about 20 feet by 20 feet will do just fine.
- Are you interested in reaping the benefits of a well-pollinated, seasonally rounded garden?
- Do you have a spare hour every two weeks or so?
- Do you have a sweet tooth for honey?
And, last but not least…
- Can you check off the “no” box on the doctor’s information form that asks “Are you allergic to bees”?
If you can answer yes to these questions – any or all of them – then beekeeping might just “bee” the thing for you.
I first became interested in honeybees while studying anthropology in college a few years ago. The social structure of the honeybee is unlike any other living organism and the level of organization, community and work ethic is second to none. Inside the hive, they are truly remarkable creatures. Outside the hive, they are both critically beneficial and incredibly fascinating to study.
After graduating from college, I enrolled in a six-week course at a honeybee learning centre just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was an intense learning environment and it only fueled my interest and determination to bring honeybees into my life.
That next spring I jumped in headfirst and haven’t turned my back on them since. For the past seven years, I have enjoyed keeping bees at my homestead in northwest Washington. And, through trials and tribulations have managed to keep the honeybee a sacred part of my life and that of my family.
But, back to you and keeping YOUR bees…
1 - First things first – Read up on honeybees. Get familiar with the terms and the level of time involved. Start to understand the basics and what you will be tackling when you make the commitment.
My absolute favorite book on beekeeping goes by a somewhat embarrassing moniker, but it’s loaded with quality information that is presented in an easy-to-follow format – whether you are a complete novice or well-practiced beekeeper.
Beekeeping For Dummies by Howland Blackiston and Kim Flottum
The second and third book worth taking a peek at are Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture by Ross Conrad & Gary Nabhan and The Backyard Beekeeper – Revised and Updated: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum.
Still ready to keep going? Good, because you’re gonna have fun!
2 – Find your local beekeeper’s association and check it out. And, if you are lucky enough to find one or get to a meeting and meet one – try, try, try to hook up with a mentor that you can observe in the field and go to with question after concern after inquiry.
3 – Get your ducks, er bees, in a row. Find that plot of land to keep your hives. Order your gear through a local supplier or a number of online retailers including Mann Lake and Glory Bee. Start-up cost for one single hive and all brand-new gear is going to be about $200 to $300. Be on the lookout for used beekeeping gear (hat, suit, smoker, etc…) but, be wary of used equipment (hive boxes, frames, tools). Hive parts can harbor diseases and parasites that may have infected the previous colony and transfer over to your new, healthy bees.
4 – Scout out sources for acquiring your bees. A box of bees is going to run you about $80 and a nucleus colony is around $100.
- Order them online through a retailer of choice
- Get in with your local beekeeper’s association and join in on their group order
- For the brave at heart – capture a swarm (a.k.a. FREE BEES!!)
5 – Enroll in a formal course. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, check out the Honeybee Centre in Surrey, B.C., Canada. Otherwise, you can check out your nearest university and ask to speak with their agriculture department. Most state universities offer extension courses at the very least, but a number of them have an apiculturist on staff, too!
Well, if you know you aren’t planning on keeping honeybees, thank you for sticking with me and reading the past 600 words. The next bit pertains to those interested in welcoming honeybees into the garden and providing a safe haven for an endangered insect.
The past five years have seen an enormous decline in honeybee colonies.
The honeybee population is vanishing at an apocalyptic rate and keepers are opening the hives in spring to find them empty. The fate of the honeybee is particularly worrisome when considering that over one-third of the food on our table is the direct result of honeybee pollination.
So, even if you aren’t interested or can’t keep honeybees, you would doing a world of good to educate yourself on how to help keep them relatively safe and enjoy the benefits of their industrious work ethic.
How can you help?
Keep that garden natural – a bonus for the honeybee, your home, your health and your environment! Avoid pesticides at all costs and work with natural, environmentally friendly products. Or, embrace the weeds.
Try to have a variety of flowers and plants in your yard that are in bloom all year round. Think early spring to harvest time – work with the dandelions in April and finish with some sedum in late fall.
Get those wasps. Wasps are carnivores that feed on honeybees. A hive can be severely incapacitated by a wasp attack and the only evidence for the keeper is the body remnants after wasps have dissected the abdomens of the bees. Wasp queens are all that live over winter and are responsible for starting the entire hive on their own come spring. So, each wasp you kill in late winter or early spring (you know those sneaky slow movers that come out of the wood pile?) is one wasp hive down. An affordable and effective organic bait for wasps is half orange juice/half water in any sort of trap. If you use a sugar bait – you are going to be killing honeybees, too (a big no-no).
Host a hive. Contact your local beekeeping association and let them know you are interested in hosting a hive. Your provide the land and an experienced beekeeper provides and cares for the bees and gives you a portion of the honey harvest for your support and participation. Can you say win-win?!
Keeping bees is a wonderful hobby, but is understandably not for everyone. Even if honeybees are not an integral part of your life, they can find nectar and pollen from organic sources in your yard.
Give beekeeping a whirl – it’s truly a delightful pastime and a special stewardship to the honeybee.
Rabbit raising Part 1 homesteading, survival, survivalist, peak oil, long term food storage
Don’t know what youtube has changed in the uploading process but this is the SIXTH try in uploading this video. Been at it for nearly a full DAY…… Part 1 of our new series on raising rabbits looks at equipment needed for rabbit raising as well as helpful hints in getting started. This series has been in the works for six months as we have tried to capture video of kits at various ages and stages of growth. This new series is about raising rabbits for MEAT, ie, to EAT. Be forewarned that we will discuss rabbit raising in that format and later videos will show some butchering – with a warning before it actually comes up. So for the PETA crowd, men of the other gender and the “we won’t eat anything with eyes” crowd, you’ll probably want to skip these videos. www.survivalreport.net www.homesteadingandsurvival.com Be sure to visit and support our sponsor- www.jrhenterprises.com 17 years in the preparedness and survival business.
Urban farming, going green
Our first mobile chicken coop, easy to move and safe for the animals, please let us know what you think, thank you Keeping hens in your own backyard is easy with the mobile chicken coop, Roll-a-coop rotates slowly allowing new pasture to be accessed and leaving waste behind, Animals stay more active and more productive, gone are the messy chores of cleaning plus the uv light sterilizers the cage on its slow rotation,
Eglu-An Instant Chicken Coop
I thought this was a nifty product for urban homesteaders. The Eglu is an easy to setup chicken coop that can house 4 medium sized chickens or 6 bantams. The eglu features Twin wall insulation, draft free ventilation, perching bars, a nesting box, and plenty of trays that make it easy to clean and easy to collect eggs. Choose from 5 colors of 100% recycled plastic.
Chickens doing great!
Well, we got the chickens in. We started feeding them poultry feed from our local feed supply store. They have been in to 2-3 days and have all gotten used to roosting in the coop. The first night I was surprised to see them all roosting on the top of the fence when we got home. We scared them off of there and they went straight into the coop. After that they keep going in at night. I will keep them doing this for a couple more days and then open the gate and let them free range. At night they should come back to the coop on their own. Oh yea, we had them in the coop for about 10 minutes when we got our first egg!
Chicken Coop
Yesterday we worked on getting our chicken coop ready. We were lucky enough to already have one built and in place. We cleaned it out and prepared for our new chickens. It should be plenty of room. We ordered 12 laying hens and 1 rooster. Also note that we have a fairly nice grape vine growing in the corner next to the door. From what I understand, we need to keep them penned up for a couple of days until they are used to the coop, then we can open the door and let them free range! You can build your own chicken coop that also lets them free range. We threw some hay in the boxes and ready for the chickens.
