chicken butts

I've been way too intimate with chicken butts lately! Several weeks ago when I processed our roosters I had a first hand experience with a post-mortem projectile poo...and now I have baby chicks...which I have now learned means that I get to deal with "pasty butt"....and what is pasty butt you may want to know? Well, basically it is sticky chicken poo caused by shipping stress, lack of protein, and/or too much heat. However, the poo sticks to their butt or vent and if it is not cleaned off they can't poop and die. So, I've been examining chicken butts and cleaning them with a moist, warm rag several times a day for the last couple of days.

However, the peeps are doing great, 7 were delivered yesterday morning and another 2 are going to a friend today...which leaves me with 18 babies....yikes!

Babies!!!

Non-stop conflict between Maya and Anael

We are currently dealing with A LOT of conflict between Maya and her cousin Anael, who is staying with us (along with her parents) for the next couple of months... Maya, who tends to play fine with most children, has never acted out towards Noah, and is generally agreeable, kind, and generous (for a 3 year old) is really having problems with Anael (her cousin, who is 2) to compound things, they do not have a common language, so any communication must be non-verbal.

Anything that Anael touches (even if Maya is engaged in another activity) Maya tries to grab. It might be mine or Maya's or even Anael's...irrelevant... whatever she has, Maya grabs, and then Anael responds with violence and the mayhem must be controlled. The girls are never unattended, usually there are even 2 adults around. I'm generally of the "let them work it out" opinion, but Anael is bigger than Maya and bites and hits, and Maya scratches, so I'm a bit concerned about someone getting hurt. Also, the household just cannot go on like this for the next several months....

So, I've reached out to the Unschooling Basics group and have gotten the following feedback:

Its not uncommon for three year olds to want to take charge of their environment, and another child who's mobile can be a real challenge to that urge (which is likely why you're not seeing any trouble with the baby - he's not up and about yet)! Something that can help a whole lot is finding ways for your 3yo to have lots and lots of chances to make decsions and feel capable. Can she reach all the light switches? Pour her own drinks? Grab a snack without any help? get to all her own toys without asking? Also consider offering her things to do that involve learning to control her own body and exert control over the environment - give her things to pour and invite her to help wipe up spills and wash things. Involve her in cooking and other household tasks.

Does she have a space in the house that's just hers? That could help, too, if she has a sense that she can be the one to decide who comes in to that space or use the things in that space. In a sense, there's a whole other family in her space, right now, which is stressful for a little one. So things that weren't an issue before are more likely to blow up while they're visiting. If your dd seems to do better when you're out of the house, that's something else to try - taking her out more so she's not so keyed up about "her" home being full of other people.

and from another respondent:

It's hard to have someone else come into your house and take all your stuff. Can you go through her stuff, with her, and pick out the things that she really doesn't want to share with Anael? You two could figure out somewhere that she felt was a good place to have all the special stuff, including anything of yours that she thinks should be off limits, and put it up there. Then you can take it down in quiet, private moments and play with those things without Anael being present. Don't worry about this being an issue of being generous or not, figure out ways to meet Maya's need for her stuff to be her stuff and her home to still feel like her space. Maybe going out more would help. Make life more about public spaces than Maya's private space.

At 2 and 3 working it out themselves shouldn't be part of the picture. Step in and hang out and help distract. Talk to Maya about what would be fine for Anael to play with and have lots of those things to hand to distract Anael with if things are moving too quickly to conflict. 2 to 3 months is a long time, figuring out ways to buffer Maya as quickly as possible will help to make that time move more quickly.

I really like both responses, and it's giving lots of food for thought...and things to work on.

Chaos...and I seem to thrive with it!

Tuesday, after 3 days of canceled flights, my husband's uncle arrived with his wife and child (2years). They are staying indefinitely, as long as Zvulon's dialysis goes smoothly. For now, they are staying with us...and 2 families in our large house still feels a bit cramped. Also, lots of conflict between Maya and Anael....but we love them dearly, and I am enjoying every moment of it...even if it feels like my head is about to explode most of the time.

Maya has been having a hard time sharing with Anael...which is strange since usually she is really good about that...so I had a talk with her, and asked her to please think of Anael as her sister, and to treat him as kindly and generously as she treat Noah...so she thought about it for a moment, and said "Ok, Mommy. When is my sister going home?" She never ceases to amaze me with her spunkiness and creativity!

So...we've been adjusting to a combined household for the last week, and I totally forgot that I was throwing a party tonight for the Oscars...luckily, I asked all of the guests to bring an appetizer to share, so Estelle (who is a great cook) and I will just prepare a little bit of food...I think she's doing some sweet and savory tarts, and I am doing carmel and spiced popcorn, in keeping with the whole movie/ Oscars theme.

And the excitement doesn't end tonight... tomorrow I'm hosting a meet up for attachment parents...we used to have meetings, but attendance dropped off and the meetings stopped, but there has been demand lately, so I decided to have one and see how it went...and then 25 baby chicks are coming on Tuesday! I think I have homes for 10 of them, and we will raise 15...10 for eating and 5 to add to the flock...While I make party food now, Haim is off to construct the brooder!

More chicks...a lot of them

I just ordered 25 chicks for delivery next week. And what do I plan to do with a flock of 33 in a city where chickens are illegal? Well, I hope to sell some of the older ones, sell some of the babies, raise some of the babies for eggs, and raise some for meat. I originally had decided to purchase hybrid meat birds, but after reading about some of the leg problems associated with the fast growing tendencies, I just decided to get heritage breed chickens and eat some of them...

I'm looking forward to the babies, but not the work...last time my hen did the work!

Rooster processing

Yesterday was the day that we "processed" (slaughtered) our roosters. There were 3 of them, and while they were a bit young for slaughter, they were old enough to crow, which makes them old enough to slaughter in my book. I very fortuitously found a man who was willing to help and teach me the process, in exchange for a share of the birds. I considered bringing Maya with me, but thought it might be too gruesome for a child her age, so in the end, Noah and I went, and Maya stayed to play with my mom.
In fact, it was really not gruesome at all. The birds were peaceful and the process very simple and respectful. I saved some of the beautiful tail feathers for art projects, and learned to kill and clean a bird. Art, who seems to be a mover and shaker in miami's urban homesteading community, was a wonderful teacher and a really great guy.
When I got home, Haim had the grill fired up, and Maya, Haim, Eli and I shared a delicious grilled chicken. The meat was different than what we usually get from the store...more sinewy and maybe "athletic" but really delicious and flavorful. The leftovers and bones are currently bubbling away on the stove as a chicken soup.
All in all, a really special experience, though I think I may be off store bought meat forever!

Garden

Our tomatoes have recovered from the frost, though we did loose a bunch of blossoms....otherwise, radish, peas, lettuce, carrots and fennel doing particularly well. The herbs are always yummy and easy, and I've been experimenting with broccoli and cabbage, which got planted too late, but look good. For some reason, my squash and melons are grumpy...oh well, chicken food I guess!
However, my eggplant is beautiful, bushy and keeps getting and losing flowers. What is that about?? I can't find anything about it online. Maybe I'll ask a farmer when I'm down in Homestead with the roosters tomorrow!