I have never been a ‘skin & bones’ type of gal..ever. Even in high school when I drastically reduced my food intake and was the skinniest I have ever been, I was never stick thin. As a teenager, it was hard to accept my curvier shape and while I do still have my off days I do have to admit I have now accepted the fact that I will always have curves and have {dare I say it?} grown to love them {sometimes}. That being said, I do have my share of complaints of short comings when it comes to my body type. Especially now, 2 years after meeting my now-husband and enjoying newlywed bliss..when I have packed on the pounds and allowed me to ‘let myself go’ a little. By no means have I grown out of my clothes but I do notice I am filling them out more than usual and I think with summer around the corner, its time to take my 28 year old body back to reality.
How so? Well, yesterday while out on a walk I realized I do love a good challenge..even just a small one. And then my idea was born – 304 miles in 152 days. From yesterday until the first day of fall there are 152 days. If I walk just 2 miles a day, I will have walked 304 miles..and that has got to count for something! I can walk more if I want to, but I have to walk 2 miles every day in order to complete my personal challenge. Do I have a goal weight in mind? Not really. But, any pounds lost is a good thing, no?
I will track my mileage here on the blog over the next few months and countdown the mileage as I go. And, higher powers willing, I will also track my pounds lost here {if any} to help keep the motivation going. If I gain weight? Well – I just might not tell you 😉
So – cheer me on, I could definitely use it!! And if you are interested in joining me – I’d love to hear from you and hear how you are doing on your journey to 304 miles!! Good luck to us all!
Challenge Began: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Mileage Down: 4
Miles to go: 300
Total Number of Photos I took today: 70
So Day 2 felt a lot less hectic than Monday. We were still just as busy in the field and the yard, but it felt more calm, more natural and more like after a winter off of farming – we’ve finally gotten back in to the swing of things. Adam woke me up before 6 this morning to let me know he was off to the field and I slept in this morning til 7:10 only to find Jakey at the foot of my bed, snoring so heavily! And as soon as I was up, my allergies kicked in so Sinutab was first on the menu for me Then I commenced my daily ritual, unload/load the dishwasher, fed the dog, ate breakfast and made the bed.
After packing Adam’s lunch I took a minute to capture the beautiful waves in my hair from sleeping on the braids from yesterday {love it!} Then I headed out in nothing but capri’s and a tshirt and shook my head in disbelief that it is only still April and I was boiling. I found Adam in the binyard moving augers so of course I had to stop and visit before heading in to see my chicks and find that some of them have taught themselves to roost on a little rooster my hubby built for them. After giving them fresh food & water I decided it was time to get in my garden so I convinced the hubs to spend 10 mins getting the old rotatiller going so that Noel and I could till of the garden in the afternoon {Ryder really wants to plant his own pumpkins this year and I promised him I would look after them while he was away}. Then it was time to head back South and help Adam move trucks around while filling the guys up with fertilizer and seed!
Thankfully, at lunchtime my mother in law brought hot food down for all of us to quickly scarf before caring on with the work that needed to be done before coming home, cleaning up and heading out to walk the boys and enjoy the sunshine & new greenery that seems to be popping up everywhere I look! After a walk in the heat, Jakey and I came in to the dome to cool off and I still cannot believe its April with this weather!! Capri’s in Spring? Never heard of before in my world!!
Later in the afternoon, we finally got to rotatilling my garden site, planting pumpkins for Ryder and Adam was able to bring in top soil for me with the skid steer. I still have a lot more work ahead of me, but the garden is finally taking shape! Now tonight we drove 30 miles to the town where our newest semi has been parked for a safety, picked it up and came home to grilled cheese sandwhiches and are ready for bed! Tuesday, you’ve been amazing..can’t wait for what tomorrow brings!!
Are you participating in a Week in the Life? I’d love to see your blog posts! Please comment below, leaving a link to your post for me to view.. Can’t wait to read your blog posts!
Number of Photos I took today: 253
First day of A Week in the Life is documented and WHEW was today ever busy!! Adam woke me up at 5:45 to let me know he was heading out and I was up & at ’em by 6:19. Watered my growing strawberries, made some breakfast and sat down to do some pinning on Pinterest. Then it was time to get dressed, make the bed and head out to the shop to find my hubby and check on my 2 week old chicks (who were awesome, by the way). I took a couple of my chicks on their first adventure outside and my gosh were they ever curious! Afterwards I proceeded to take a walk with Jakey, pump out our septic tank and pick rocks in my future garden site. When I came back inside I found my little love note Adam had left me on our white erase board then was called to come help drive vehicles down South where we are seeding. Adam did a few depth checks to see how the air drills were working and I grabbed a couple of shots of the boys in action. When I got home I showered and headed over to the farmhouse where my brother-in-laws girlfriend braided my hair (second day in a row). Then Adam & I enjoyed a picnic lunch on the swing while Jake took in the sunshine on the patio. This afternoon my BIL’s girlfriends boy was running through the sprinklers, making me miss my youth and we relaxed on the lawn with my mother in law, visiting and taking in the beautiful weather today. Then I came in, enjoyed some leftover chili for supper, a glass of wine and before I knew it, it was time to head down South to help Adam move vehicles in the field. We were able to hang out with my brother in law and his girlfriend this evening in the field as well, who are down here this week to help kick off the seeding season.. and that folks, was my Monday!! I’ll be right back here tomorrow evening with my Tuesday photos..Happy Crafting!!
As mentioned the other day, I have a baby chick with some crop issues. On Thursday I noticed this particular one had a very puffy chest, it felt like a water balloon below her neck and I panicked, called the breeder who informed me I needed to add apple cider vinegar to her water and hopefully that should resolve it. But, being me..I knew that I needed to know everything about this issue and deal with it head on. One thing I have learned about myself over the years is that I am a researcher, a thinker, a person curious for more knowledge and when I stumble upon an issue like this, where I am unsure of myself or how to deal with it, I research it, gain knowledge on the subject and prepare myself for any/all scenarios. What I found through my research was that sour crop is a common ailment that affects chickens – especially in growers or those fed hay & grass and, while it is a serious problem, it can be treated effectively at home with a few simple methods.
 Now, if you google the treatment of sour crop, you will notice there are 2 distinct sides to its treatment..vomit, or don’t vomit. Some websites are all about helping your chick throw up the food stuck in its crop while others are very against even the idea of it. Me? I don’t know..when I hear something could be fatal, I’m very cautious..BUT, that being said, I’m also desperate to make the situation better and not worse. So this is what I did:
Day 1 (Thursday): Isolated my chick to her own brooder box, not because she’s infectious but because I wanted to remove food from her diet, watch her water intake, make sure she was pooping frequently and also to give her space to rest and get better. She was drinking a lot, very alert, pooping like crazy and wanting to eat. I took these all as good signs but her crop was still very enlarged so I took her out and massaged her crop for 20 minutes and then convinced my husband to hold her upside down to see if any vomit would come out – and nothing happened. We tried about 4-5 times to see what would happen…and nothing
Day 2 (Friday): Woke up to find my baby still doing very well but still had quite the bulge. She needed fresh water so I moved her to the regular brooder while I freshened up her space and while she was there, went crazy for the food!! And again, crop was a very large bubble. But I separated her immediately, massaged her crop for 1/2 hr and then put her back in to her brooder with ACV water and let her rest. A few hours later I came back in and massaged her crop again for another 1/2 hour. I knew this must have felt amazing because she would snuggle right in and fall fast asleep as soon as I would massage it. While massaging, I could feel grit and food in her crop and would notice little bubbles that would sometimes make her burb (further confirmation of sour crop) and put her back in to rest.
Day 3 (Saturday): Woke up and was scared to see what I would find…went down to her brooder and…she was back to normal! Not allowing new food allowed her crop to heal and get the fermented food down to the rest of her system. But, to err on the side of caution, I am keeping her isolated for now just to give her enough time to fully heal before reintroducing her to food and the other chicks. But, as per my google research, I fed her a tablespoon of plain probiotic yogurt and she ate it right up! This will be easy for her crop to process and will give her nutrients she needs while also providing healthy cultures to help rid her of the fermented food in her crop. I did notice that her crop went up again after she ate but this is a normal occurence for chickens during the day while they eat and I will continue to monitor her for another day or two to see what happens. So far, so good though!
Day 4 (Today): This morning I went & checked on my baby and although she had a little ball in her crop – I felt she had made an amazing recovery! I put her in with the other chicks and, of course, she went straight for the food! I knew she was hungry but I am still very cautious. When I lifted her up she had a very hard ball of food in her crop, which worried me, so I massaged her til she fell asleep and put her back in isolation, just to see if she processes this food on her own. So far, so good!!
 Thursday
Saturday
Now, all birds are different. Some will have puffy chests/crops (as does this little lady above) but there is a huge difference in a healthy crop and one that is enlarged. If they are experiencing crop issues, you will know by the distinct bubble that will exist on their right hand side of the breast bone. It will feel like a water balloon and although I don’t know if it is painful for them, it can be fatal if not taken care of. At this time, I am super relieved to see such progress in my little girl but am hesitant to get too excited just yet. I won’t be fully confident until she is 100% better and able to eat and process her food normally. And the craziest part of all of this? I didn’t even know what a chicken crop was til 3 days ago!! Amazing what you can learn in just a few days..
Well, its Day 11 and I am happy to report all fifteen of my babies are doing very well. They are growing and changing everyday, eating like crazy and trying to fly out of their brooder at a rapid rate. I had no idea my chicks would grow up this fast! They began sporting tail feathers 3 days ago and this morning, when I checked on them, they are growing feathers around the back of their necks! Pretty soon they won’r be chicks anymore and while that saddens me a little, I’m very happy they are all happy & doing well. With that being said though, I do have a Barred Rock with a swollen crop that was noticed yesterday. She has a huge bulge in the front of her neck to the right side. When I felt it, it was squishy and felt like a water balloon. Immediately I panicked and contacted the breeder who informed me that it was ‘sour crop’ and to give her a mixture of 1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of water, which I did immediately. I was an emotional mess yesterday over the thought that I could lose a chick but, thankfully so far, she is alert, awake, eating, drinking and pooping {sorry} and those are all very good signs. Hopefully the apple cider vinegar water does the trick and my babe can return to normal..I will let you know how she does over the weekend though. With that being said, who wants to see some cute baby chicks? Here is my flock at 1.5 weeks old..
Yes – I am quite the proud owner of these babies..my husband says he wishes they could realize how lucky they are to be at our farm 😉 Now – the baby with sour crop is below:
Notice the bulge in front of her neck?
Please cross your fingers that her crop starts working and gets the food processed and away. I’m hoping to see the swelling reduce as time goes on – I’ll let you know. Other than that, have a GREAT weekend everyone! I’ll be back next week with evening posts for A Week in the Life
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Kim H. - Love it!!! Good luck and can’t wait to keep cheering you on!!