Primal Blueprint 21 Day Challenge Fall, 2013

Today marks the kick-off for the fall, 2013 Primal Blueprint 21 Day Challenge!  If you're not a following Mark's Daily Apple (and if you're living primally, why ever not?) then check out this blog post that details instructions (it's easy!) and even has a contest.  Seriously, this is a great excuse to give it a try and get lots of support as you go for it!  For myself, I'm going to commit to more movement and more lifting of heavy things as I've been slacking in that department (as in it's been non-existent).  I'm also cutting out all the little cheats in my diet that have been sneaking back in there.

So let's challenge together for the next 21 days!

The state of the flock, almost 3 weeks old

Mob 4 turns 3 weeks old tomorrow and are growing quickly.  They've been a spunky bunch with much digging of holes in the litter; in fact one of the little beggars likes to "litter-ally" bury himself under the wood shavings.  We've reached the adolescent stage of scraggly feathers and territorial disputes, but overall they're an easy-going bunch.

As we've learned with the previous mobs, each group possesses its own personality and this group is no exception.  While they seem fairly smart (especially when compared to Mob 3) they haven't been as hearty a group.  We started with 42 chicks and had 7 die in the second week, mostly it would seem from heart failure.  We've gone several days now without a baby going feet up so I'm hoping the weaker individuals have been weeded out.  I have to admit, I really dislike losing chickens - when they're chicks it makes me sad, when they're adults it just ticks me off since we've put so much time and money into each bird. 

The weather is supposed to be good this week so there is a chance we may move them outside by the weekend.  We've had unseasonable amounts of rain in the last few weeks, so this group will have the benefit of fresh green grass and overflow from the garden to supplement their diet.

Stay tuned!

Interesting opinion article on gluten-free living

Mark's Daily Apple posted a fantastic piece today titled "Is Gluten-Free a Fad Diet?"  All I can say is amen, brother. 

Essay: What I Did This Summer

As you may have noticed, I've been missing in action for the last several months.  Summer happened, and it was a busy one.  Here's a fast and dirty update on all we've been up to these past few months.

Me at the White House

I spent several days in our nation's capital touring and attending a conference on public school choice.  I've never been to Washington, D.C., and I love soaking in the history and seeing all the sites.  It was fantastic, and I can hardly wait to go again and take the boys.  The PSO Boot Camp was also excellent.

The youngest's two Cuckoo Maran hens ended up being roos so we traded them in for egg laying models.  The farmer we originally bought the girls from had a trade back policy so that was easy-peasy.  As far as the flock was concerned, it took several uneasy days to get the pecking order reestablished.  The two roosters were the acknowledged flock leaders so in addition to adding two new birds, the rest of the original flock needed to work out who would be in charge.  They eventually got it all figured out and we're back to happy days.  Currently, they've started mottling season.  No eggs yet but a couple are displaying beginning egg laying behavior as well as getting the darker red color around their combs and wattles. 

Coop with new window

Speaking of the girls, the husband installed a window in their coop to allow for more light as we enter the fall and winter months.  Buff Orpintons are known for their consistent egg laying through the darker time of year but having access to more daylight should help in that endeavor.  We didn't want to install a light in the coop - even though having a constant light source keeps egg production up, there is some evidence that it's hard on the hens and may even lead to shorter lifespans and/or shorter egg producing careers. 

One day old

And finally, introducing Mob 4!  42 new Cornish Rock Cross chicks arrived last Wednesday.  We originally were hoping to try another breed, but they were already sold out for the year.  So we went with the good ol' CRX.  I have to admit when it came time to order I was not quite feeling ready to get back into the chicken raising business, as I was still feeling a bit weary from our (mis)adventures with Mob 3.  But once those cute golden fluff balls arrived and started their chicken-y antics, I was back on board.  That and there are only 10 chickens left in the freezer so we needed to get cracking.

One week old

Funny story about their arrival.  We're big believers in short transit times for chick health (buy local(ish)!) and are always happy when the chicks get to us in 24 hours or less.  So our good friends at Jenks Hatchery sent our newest mob off on Tuesday evening, and at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning we got a call from our local post office.  I don't know about you, but whenever the phone rings at that time of day I'm not assuming it's good news.  Anyway, at too early in the morning our local P.O. called to inform us that our chicks were here and that we could come pick them up at 8 a.m. when the post office opened.  Really?  You're calling us at 6 to let us know we can come at 8???  They did allow that if we really wanted we could come knock on their back door and get the babies before 8.  Well since we were already up, you bet we really wanted. 

So that's the recap of our summer.  School starts next week and in other adventures, I'm starting a new online math tutoring business for elementary through high school students.  If your student is needing extra support in math, please feel free to contact me at mathgeniustutoring@gmail.com or at my Math Genius Tutoring website.