Where's The Summer?

I haven't disappeared I was just hibernating, but it seems that I have come out of a metabolic depression with the same body temperature that I started with, and the feeling of the blahs, since my conserved energy has now been put into full use, rescuing chickens from flooded coop, and tons of wet t-shirts and untumbleable items.. 


This series of pics sums up my day so far..

Bad hair day

No sandals just boots

Miss wet T-Shirt

I was born today!!!

'You promised me a scarf'!

Floody Hell

Cock rescue

Work carries on..

In the end

Something's gonna get you in the end my friend
And those people who upset you
Will become inconsequential
Compared to what will take you to your end
That is something that you really can be sure of
This is all about a person who denied herself the pleasure
Missed the only one true measure
Of the real and true credentials
That was justified to please her
And the reality check that was her life
The awful cut of fate's sharp knife
That brought her back to reality
Instead of wishing she could be
The woman of her vanity
Because that's not the real true she
And that's what brings me right back to

The end.

written by Cheryl Powling

Is Garlic Bad for dogs?

Recently I made my dogs some superb dog biscuits.. the recipe like most other dog biscuit recipes had garlic in it, I made them then was advised by a friend (thanks Sophie), and my vet, that garlic could be harmful ..

The truth is after much searching on the net, it seems there is much confliction when it comes to advice, some experts say that it is beneficial, boosting the immune system, and fights infection, but most are warning that it can cause damage to the red blood cells, which can cause anemia and even death, but I think what we need to look at is the dosage.

Vetbase.co.uk advises....."Onions and garlic, along with similar plants contain chemicals called organosulfoxides, such chemicals are readily absorbed through the gut when the plant is eaten, and in animals they, or their metabolites, can then cause oxidative damage to the animal's red blood cells. This is often serious enough to cause the destruction of the red cells - a process known as haemolysis. This can result in haemolytic anaemia if large numbers of red cells are destroyed. Haemolytic anaemia is a serious condition.Poisoning usually results from pets consuming a large amount of onion or garlic product in one go, or after repeatedly eating smaller amounts at regular or frequent intervals. The quantities of onions consumed does not need to be particularly large; for example, onion poisoning can occur after the consumption of as little as 150g in a 10kg dog."


But I'm still confused.. I google  'Dog Biscuit Recipes' and they are still telling me to add garlic,in fact I have a few doggie treat books, with 80% of the recipes using garlic..
My conclusion is that I will not be using it.. 


In the meantime here are some great recipes for your canine companions WITHOUT THE GARLIC!!..


http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Peanut%20Butter%20Dog%20Biscuits.htm 

http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Vegetarian%20Dog%20Biscuits.htm 

Cheese Biscuits 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups. Flour
1 1/4 cups. Grated Cheddar
1/4 cups. Veg. Oil
4 Tbl. Water 

Directions: Preheat oven 180 degrees.

Cream the ingredients together, adding the water one tablespoon at a time to help bind the dough. When it begins to form a ball, roll it out on a floured surface, using cookie cutters, cut the dough into fun shapes and place on cookie sheet. Bake approx. 10 min. until lightly browned. 

Makes about 30 med. size biscuits..

My advice is to store them in a tupperware box but make some holes in the lid with a hot skewer, if they are kept airtight they go soft.. keep them hard and crunchy by having a non-airtight container.. also let them cool down in the oven.. (turn off oven after cooking them and leave them in there) they will get really nice and hard.. 

Happy Baking

Oh and you will need one of these... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Cookie-Cutter-Extra/dp/B000YJB934/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331914934&sr=8-3

New Puppy .. Poppy

Here is Poppy, she is our new baby.. she was born on the 5th November 2011.. She will be 19 weeks old this Saturday, she has been with us since the 2nd of January.. Boston Terriers are absolutely amazing.. we love her to bits..

Little Bird

Fly little bird fly

The sky is vast, 

And life is yours

To spread your wings, goodbye

Come back and see me soon

I'll wait until

We meet again

Each time that you have grown

Don't be afraid little bird

If you feel that

You have flown too far

Just turn back I'll be here

Fly little bird fly

The world awaits your beautiful song

And all the lands afar

Will love you for the joy you are


written by Cheryl Powling

Things about eggs..

Fact number 1.. Hens do NOT need a cockerel to lay eggs, unless you want chicks..they don't in fact have anything to do with egg laying...I get asked this all of the time, so here is some reading material for all of you who are interested in exactly how things work eggwise...

Egg Production

It takes different times for the egg to pass through the different areas of the oviduct (egg tube), the addition of the shell taking the longest time:

• 15 minutes in the infundibulum (fertilised here if cockerel available plus chalazae added)
• 3 hours in the magnum to add albumen (white of egg)
• 1.5 hours in the isthmus to add shell membrane
• 20 hours in the uterus/shell gland for shell deposition plus pigment
• 1 minute in the vagina which is extruded out past the vent to avoid the faeces

This is an egg I cracked open to find it had been fertilised and was in fact alive .....

An egg takes a total of 25 hours to lay ,which is why the hens do not lay every day, they then ovulate again about 30 minutes after laying.

Brown eggs have pigment placed on the outside of the shell which can scratch of wash off  unless you are one of those gorgeous blue/green eggs from an Araucana which has pigment all the way through.

The other thing is that egg shells are porous so they must be washed with water that is warmer than the egg (with a disinfectant like Virkon or an egg wash)  so that the shell membrane expands and blocks the pores, because if the water is cooler the membrane shrinks and will draw in any bacteria on the shell.

If the eggs are needed to be fertile, there are semen storage glands in the oviduct so the cockerel does not need to be with the hens every day, important if the hens are exhibited so that their feathers do not get damaged. If another breed cockerel has been used and a different cockerel is wanting to be used (for instance, to change to a pure breed) you will need to wait 2 weeks for the eggs to be true to the new cockerel, due to the semen storage capacity

.The composition of an egg is shown.. 

This is important as it is how a fresh egg is determined. The airspace is very small in a new laid egg and gets progressively larger as the egg loses moisture through the porous shell. When a fresh egg is cracked onto a plate, the thin white and the thick white are easily distinguished and the yolk sits in a defined dome on top of the white. The chalazae can be seen. A not-fresh egg will appear to have only one type of white, no chalazae and will be flat when viewed from the side. Sometimes there may be a small brown mark in the white – this is a tiny amount of blood (known as a meat spot) and is not harmful, it just doesn’t look nice. Commercial eggs are candled (looked at in a dark room with a bright torch held to the egg) to remove any with meat spots. Fertile eggs are candled to check on the development of the embryo. The colour of the yolk depends on feeding and commercial feed has additives to enhance yolk colour. Carotenoids in green plants are the basis of yolk colour, so outdoor birds usually have darker yolks in the summer and paler in the winter.

The laying process is hormonal, and very much influenced by light levels, which is why you can hear me moaning when I have so few eggs during the Winter, for so many birds.. If I had Ducks I might have a good deal more eggs as they are less influenced by the light and light breeds do lay in the darker months.

What a cock! 

My children

My children are my energy

And in their eyes myself I see

And in their tears myself I see

My children are the best in me

When they are not here by my side

I wear the cloak that they provide

Of mother love of wealth of pride

No other keeps me safe inside

And from the belly that they came

The cord of life still has a claim

Invisible but still commands

The life long link like holding hands

My children are my heart and soul

My sustenance my rock n roll

I see their brilliance and their glow

And smile with ease because I know

That nothing in this world could alter

My life long bond my sons my daughter

written by Cheryl Powling