Where it all began... my backyard hens

I've been debating writing this post for a couple months now. I was scared about what people might think. But I want to let people know why I do what I do, and perhaps  begin to shine a light on what they support with their grocery money.

I believe I was 14 or 15 years old when I spent a summer working for a large poultry farm in rural Michigan. Me and a group of locals were instructed to clean the tiny cages between the loads of broilers (meat birds). I will never forget those experiences. The horrors of seeing dead birds that fell in "the pit" (where the manure falls below the stacked cages), the horrors of opening the doors first thing in the morning and not being able to open your eyes because of the sting of ammonia. Don't even get me started on the bathroom situation... Then cleaning cages with chickens' legs caught in the food dispensers, and seeing genetically mutated birds with three legs left after the "good ones" were taken to slaughter; or the dying yellow chick that lay on the ground after it was accidentally stepped on. These are just a couple of the scenes that haunt me to this day... and what encouraged me to get my own backyard hens.

I do want to note that I do not blame the farmers. Though I was too young to understand it at the time, they were no doubt under the grasp of manipulating contracts of large brands seen in supermarkets. The farmers were trying to make a living... and had to do it the way they were told. I don't blame them. They were in no way making it "rich" by choosing the path of large scale food production. If people valued their food more and paid farmers more they wouldn't have to do it this way...

There was no choice for me, I had to go there the mornings. I had to distance myself from the living creatures stacked in rows that I was walking past... I had to play mind games to make myself believe they weren't real, and just "stop thinking about it," and "get through the day." And I did. I got through the days with a paycheck in hand and sights that will never leave me...

These experiences are why I support small sustainable farms. I am not a vegetarian. I enjoy eating meat... but I VALUE the life that gave it to me, and am willing to pay more to the farmers who treat it with the dignity and respect it deserves. We pay a lot more than supermarket price for our meat, and dairy products and thus eat a bit less than we would normally. This is OK with me and my family. We know our money is supporting something we believe in rather than getting a deal that causes suffering (for large-scale farm families and their livestock).  

I was one of the workers in those long, white barns you pass down the back roads of America. I know there is a better way to do it... if people just spent a little extra on meat, dairy, eggs... and a bit less on soda and potato chips. 

Burt's Bees Photo Shoot (Behind The Scenes)

If someone told me that I would be a Burt's Bees model in the future, I would have laughed in their face. Beyond blonde hair, I am as far as a model as they come. I am built like a football player, very solid with broad shoulders, something I've been conscience of my whole life. But guess what, they choose to feature me and my story!

Click here to read the Raise Your Burt's Contest back story!

There is a bit of a delay in this blog post. I needed to wait until the campaign ran to post this! Here it is (you'll have to scroll down to the bottom to see my photo and story). The shoot actually happened mid-November 2012.

The breakfast catering (yes, as in gourmet food) arrived around 8:00am. They set themselves up in the kitchen. Then the lighting and camera equipment arrived, followed by THE Stephanie Rausser and her amazing team (Camera experts and professional hair makeup artist)! Get this, Claudia (the professional hair and makeup artist) was from Milan, Italy, and worked on famous celebrities like Kate Moss and Reese Witherspoon! Bonus, she rescued her black cat from outside her NY apartment!

We all sat down and ate breakfast in our tiny dining room :) The staff from the ad agency (Jennifer and Hayley, the masterminds behind the contest) arrived.

After we ate it was time to try on the outfits they brought for me. Then hair & make up! I had such a blast having my makeup professionally done. That was a first (hopefully not a last) for me.

They photo team set up lights and equipment outside. Then Kyle and I wrangled up the animals (the two cats, two dogs and five hens) and corralled them to the "set."

Kyle outfitted Jennifer, Hayley and Claudia with rakes to stand "behind the scenes" and keep the hens from running off set! Couldn't stop laughing.

Miles, Duncan, Marlo and Riff Raff hung out and did a great job posing for the camera, although the chickens did NOT like to be held next to the cats (can't blame them)!

Half way through the morning the catering  truck came back, and switched out the breakfast with lunch! (Bonus, we got to keep all the leftovers!) Score.

We took a break and came in for lunch.

The second half of the day was shot on the hammock in the back yard. We shot with Duncan, Riff Raff and the hens. By this time, the entire team were expert chicken catchers! Check out the amazing photography assistants' mad chicken catching skills video!




At one point in the photo shoot I remember stating that I've put on so much lip balm that I'll be good for the next five years!


By about 5:00pm we were wrapping up. The team chilled for awhile in our living room, as they one of the team members did a conference call in the upstairs bedroom. It was fun getting to know everyone. They all had a fantastic sense of humor, and were very nice house guests.

Even though I didn't win, this was an experience I will never forget and I was very fortunate to be a part of this. Since I am local (the Burt's Bees company headquarters is located in Durham, NC... an hour down the road) the company invited me for a tour of the HQ! I'm sure there will be a blog post to follow the tour, stay posted!

The photos were used as part of their online social media campaign:
Facebook Post 1 (The pit bull advocates LOVED this one!)
Facebook Post 2 (Fricken 3,400 LIKES and over 450 Shares!)


Enjoy some of the "Behind the Scenes" photos courtesy of Stephanie Rausser Photography!

                                                       

                              

                                      


                          

A Toast to Compost

Compost pile prior to
 being "turned"

Turning the compost pile; an event that happens every three to four months, or in our case, once every year. Yes, we'll admit it. We're horrible at remembering to turn the compost pile. There's no excuse. It's not too late to make another new year's resolution, right? None the less, our compost pile is the gift that keeps on giving.

The amazing compost at the
bottom of the pile. Ready
for the garden.

There are two components (that we were told) to compost. There are "Green" and "Brown" elements. Browns are considered leaves, grass clippings and more leaves. The greens are the "other" compostable elements including foods (breads, fruit peels, leftovers) manure and other compostable goodness! The ratio between greens and browns should be 50/50. It's typically the greens that people have a hard time finding. However with 5 hens living in our backyard, chicken manure is something we're never short on! 

Did you know that hens actually help accelerate the
composting process? They kick and turn up the
material while they eating the weed seeds you
don't want! How cool is that?!

Chicken compost is really potent. Much more potent than horse, pig, or cow manure. You don't want to just place it right on your garden, it will burn your plants. To make kick-ass compost with your chicken manure... it needs to cook in da pile a while (at a hot compost temperature of 130 to 140 degrees for about 60 to 90 days) just to be safe. You don't want to burn your little seedlings! 

The chicken manure I'm pulling out of the coop today should be ready about May. Here's to healthy composting and a yearning for spring!  

Hello. I'm here for Trudy

"Hello. I'm here for Trudy." These were the first words from my mouth this morning when the receptionist at the vet hospital greeted me. She looked me in the eyes and we both knew what I was there for.

Trudy came into my life just 5 short month ago in early August. I had the opportunity to pull the Saint Bernard from death row at rural shelter about an hour southwest of Raleigh. As soon as I saw her photo, my heart sank. But it was worse in person... her rib cage was clearly visible, fleas and ticks covered her filthy coat. Clearly she suffered (with heartworms) in the scorching NC heat for too long. I was so glad our organization, the SPCA of Wake County, could step in and give her a fighting chance.

The first day I took her to the SPCA's Holding Center. I set her up in a kennel and made a comfy bed of blankets so her protruding bones wouldn't hurt on the concrete floors. I took off her old, ragged electric shock collar and replaced it with a new bright red collar. The next day, Saturday, Kyle and I drove down to the Holding Center with frozen KONGS of peanut butter. We gave her a long and cold bath to cool her down in August heat. We spent hours picking fleas off her coat. Then gave her another bath of cold water just for good measure... we set her up with clean blankets and another frozen KONG for the evening.

Clearly she had an assortment of medical issues beyond the heartworms, which we knew when we rescued her. She lived in foster care for weeks, where she suffered from separation anxiety. But she lived inside, with a family in a home as we tried to work with her sad emotional state and medical situations.

After a couple months she came back to the SPCA where she lived in a room where she got a lot of volunteer and staff lovin'. She enjoyed early morning walks around the shelter's woodland paths. But we still knew she had a number of medical issues that needed to be addressed prior to her adoption.

I found out last night that the medical issues were worse than we thought. She had a cancerous tumor in her right front leg. This leg would need to be amputated. Plus the cancerous tumors may have spread to her spleen. This in combination with the heartworms would be too much for us to humanely ask the senior girl to withstand. She needed to be euthanized.

I was the only one she had in this world. I needed to be there for her to stay goodbye.

"Hello. I am here for Trudy."

With a heavy heart the vet tech lead me into the room where Trudy would meet me. A few minutes later a bubbly Trudy pranced into the room and gave me a big lick across the forehead. The vet looked at me and asked if I wanted a few minutes to alone. With tears in my eyes I looked up from the floor and nodded, yes. She left us alone. I sat there with Trudy for five minutes and just pet her. I tried not to get angry at the situation. Where was her family? She had a collar. She was owned. Why didn't her family look for her on death row? Why was she so neglected, flea ridden, and underweight? Above all, how many other Trudys are out there dying ALONE in shelters? I swallowed my anger and exhaled as the vet entered with a series of syringes in her hand.

She joined Trudy and I on the floor. After the first syringe, we slowly guided her to lay down. The second syringe Trudy relaxed completely and went limp. Her chest stopped moving. After the third syringe, the vet listened for her heart beat and gently informed me she was gone.

I say it every day when I wake up in the morning, I have the best job in the world. But sometimes it is tough. Really really tough. But I won't trade it for the world. I was there for Trudy. 

Oh how far a photo will go... Burt's Bees Contest

Early September I saw a Facebook post from Burt's Bees asking their fans to submit a photo "Raising Your Burts." Being the HUGE fan of Burt's Bees that I am, what they say, I do (Ok not literally, but you get the idea).

I've been a fan of Burt's Bees since my aunt LuAnn gave me my first BB lip balm in my Christmas stocking years and years ago. As I grew up, I fell in love with the brand even more because of their commitment to not test on animals, and use only natural products. This solidified my love affair with this brand. 

There were a handful of categories with which you could submit your photo. I chose to highlight my hens and the social issue they stand for. Not only do I support local, sustainable farms, but I also strongly oppose animal testing. My hens are treated humanely and supply my friends and family with "healthy, happy" eggs. 

So I grabbed the bowl of scratch (AKA Chicken Crack) and plopped the nearest tube of Burt's Bees in the middle. With the girls being as dramatic as they are, this was the only way I'd be able to get a shot of them together by the BB lip balm. Feed 'em chicken crack, and they will do whatever you want.

I submitted the photo and that was that. Done. Didn't think anything of it, didn't expect anything to come of it. I thought of it as a fun way to show my support and boast about my lovely hens!

6 weeks later... I get a call from Burt's Bees. I was chosen as 1 of the top 40 semifinalist! Say what!? I won 100 tubes of PERSONALIZED BB lip balms. Guess what you all are getting for Christmas :) 

The next step in the contest was to create a short video showing why I love BB! This normally would be a breeze for me since I do video editing all the time for the SPCA. HOWEVER, it happened to be on a very busy week for me, and we were leaving for a family reunion that weekend. Sigh. So Kyle and I managed to find one evening where we could rush home before it got too dark, and quick throw together a video. It was VERY impromptu and rushed. I hated having to rush it but that was the only way I could have a shot of moving on in the competition. I'm glad we did it.

I was chosen as a finalist. Top 3 in the country, out of over 850 submissions! 

The next 2 weeks were the longest two weeks of my life. The public was asked to vote for their favorite video! Uggg, I shared my video on FB everyday, and told all my friends, family and co-workers to vote for me!

They even posted my photo on their FB page, to over 1.3 MILLION fans!

Thursday, November 1 was the day I was supposed to find out if I won or not. I held my breath all day. Literally. I got mad at people who called me that day because they weren't BB! It was mind numbing, and it reminded me why I hate competition! I have always said that I was the 'least competitive person out there' and this proved it. But I had gone this far, I really wanted to win.

About 4pm that day we got an email saying they weren't going to know... until Monday! Words cannot express how upset I was. I know what it is like to not breathe for 5 days straight. Longest. Weekend. Of. My. Life.

Finally, Monday afternoon at 4PM I had enough. I was so sick of holding my breath... I needed to email my contact at BB with a friendly follow up. My stomach couldn't take the anticipation any longer. A few minutes later I got a call. I didn't win. BUT they are still going to feature me in a BB ad campaign! I wasn't too upset. I was just glad the competition was done. PLUS since I'm local and such a huge fan, they still invited me down to the company factory for a tour and lunch! How sweet is that? I told them that THAT would mean the world to me :)

Tomorrow, Saturday, the contest creator is stopping at the house to scout the place out for the photo shoot! How exciting! I will give you an update and let you know where we go from here!

A Hen House Mutiny

Day One: Mother Clucker lays an egg in the middle of our backyard.

Day Two: One egg found under water bowl, another in back of chicken run.

Day Three: Two eggs found in far corners of hen house.

Day Four: (Pictured on right) Three eggs, all laid in the hen house. Not one in the nest box....

What message are they trying to send?

Shiver Me... Feathers

105 degrees, 103 degrees, 107 degrees! A heat wave hits the Carolinas! For the last three days the temperatures have been in the triple digits here on the homestead. It's been a game of running to/from an air conditioned building to vehicle and vice versa. I actually heard Kyle take a deep breath and hold it before opening the door to leave the house! It was that bad.

I felt so bad for our three backyard hens. They were taking a beating in the heat. Did you know chickens' combs actually act as cooling agents? Since chickens do not sweat, they rely on blood flow through their combs and wattles to cool them off. This is why chickens such as Leghorns do great in heat. Brahmas (which we have) have pea combs, meaning they barely have anything atop their heads. Though they are hearty in cold weather, the extreme heat (for any chicken) can be deadly. So extra precautions in triple digit heat must be taken. OK I admit it, I find every excuse to spoil my girls.

The night before the heat wave make 'landfall' I decided to make poultry popsicles. They're fun and simple. Just pour corn, strawberries and broccoli heads in little containers of water. Let them sit in the freezer over night until they were frozen solid. You could also do this with peas, carrots, mint (which is known for its cooling properties, and fights bad breath in chickens :), blueberries, grapes... etc. The next morning, (before it gets too hot) tie the popsicles in their coop (to a beam or roost).

The icing on the cake was our next project... the hillbilly air conditioner. We took a frozen jug of water and placed it outside the coop and placed a fan behind it. Voila. A cool breeze for the chickens. The frozen jug would need to be replaced every few hours, as the ice melts.

As you can see in this photo, the girls weren't really sure what to think of the frozen broccoli sprouts hanging from the ceiling... they're consulting each other before taking the first step to pecking at it.

You can really see that Mother Clucker (left) has a very pale comb and wattle compared to the other two. Also Drama Queen Jolene (center) has her wings spread, and all three are open-mouth panting. These are signs of over heated hens. The ultimate need in extreme heat is fresh, clean water. It is also a good idea to have a bottle of Gatorade (for the extra electrolytes) and eye dropper ready, just in case anyone 'faints' or became too lethargic (beyond Drama Queen Jolene's regular 'show').