a small backyard, a decent fence and the will to make a safe coop for your fluffy dames is all you need to make it happen
they will eat your vegetable scraps and gobble down pretty much any kind of food waste, turning discarded crusts and mushy fruit into big fat eggs full of protein!
and depending on which breed you buy, they will lay an egg almost every day. free, nutritious food every morning! what other pet will do that?
it’s a misconception that eating eggs is inherently cruel, or that you need a rooster for your chickens to lay eggs! all the eggs you buy in supermarkets are unfertilised, which means there is no chance of that egg ever hatching. you’re not eating a potential life, your chickens will lay eggs regardless of whether there’s a rooster around
so only buy a rooster to go with your lovely ladies if you want baby chicks - otherwise, just get some girls and enjoy those omelettes!
the way cage egg farms are run is terrible, and you can’t always be sure that a free range farm is as idyllic as the picture you see on the carton. lots of sad chookies who can’t perch or scratch or eat grass and clean themselves. :(
this way, you will always be certain that your girls are happy, healthy, doing what chicken are meant to do and eating what chickens should be eating, which means bigger and better eggs for you!
you can give eggs to your friends! give eggs to strangers! eggs for everyone!
tiny and furious lawnmowers. chickens LOVE grass, especially clover. if you have a small backyard, they will do all the work of keeping the grass trimmed.
a caution, pls buy your chicken a friend - they will get lonely if you only buy one. my friend had two chickens and one died, leaving Gizmo all alone. she got depressed and stopped laying, so they put her in the rabbit hutch. now she has a best friend bunny called Jimmy and she’s very happy! she often sits on him and purrs.
chickens are good around most other pets - cats and chickens usually regard each other with mutual indifference and disdain, but they generally bond with dogs. however, if you know your pooch or kitty is particularly aggressive, make sure you check it won’t be a problem!
scratch scratch scratch, scratch party!!
one time I was cleaning out the stables and my chicken came over, saw that I was using a big rake and went !!!! scratch time!!! and she started scratching furiously next to me like she was trying to help
they’re very clean animals and will clean themselves every day with a dust bath and a thorough preening
when it starts raining it takes them a good 10 seconds to process what’s happening, then they RUN to shelter
gloriously stupid tiny velociraptor running
peck peck peck. is food? I check! peck. not food!
rip all snails and slugs that live in your garden
they will also go after mice and spiders
chicken poop is great fertiliser! when you clean out their coop, spread the poo on your garden and watch your flowers and veggies grow!
kiddos LOVE chickens!!
seriously, looking after chickens is a great job for little kids - any little fella can fill up their water and give them some food, and collecting a warm, fresh egg every morning is so rewarding for them!!!
hours of entertainment watching their antics
some (not all) like a cuddle! the ladies will let you know what their preference is. they may also gently peck and groom you because they love you.
you can give them fancy names like lottie, ethel and lady beatrice so it sounds like they’re a supporting cast in a Jane Austen novel
in conclusion give a pretty chicken a happy home today
The song “Jolene” but the singer never stops describing Jolene, going into more and more details and getting more and more disturbing until you’re not sure what Jolene is except that you’re afraid of her.
New original 3D animated movie: Ducks. The secret life of ducks when humans aren’t looking.
Whenever ducks fly south in the winter, they’re actually flying to a big city of ducks where they talk and have jobs and have traffic lights with pictures of ducks in them and every billboard and storefront is a bird pun.
A generic duck guy is a young adult who feels inadequate because his dad is a big broker in the bread stock exchange.
He accidentally reveals the secret life of ducks to a human child, and now he must take her south with him to duck city. On the way they get into hijinks and find out about a big duck conspiracy or something.
My mom said that today in church her pastor said in the sermon that Jesus told us to help the poor, and taking money away from public schools to give to charter schools only widens the gap between the rich and the poor. She then added that Jesus spoke against adultery and lust and would not have approved of bragging about sexually assaulting women. According to my mom, people got up and walked out.
The pastor also started the sermon by noting that she’d heard of another minister who read the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount at the pulpit, to be told by the so-called Christian parishioners after the service that it was offensive and they didn’t agree.
The Sermon on the Mount is straight up the words of Jesus.
Any time someone tells me birds aren’t descended from dinosaurs, I show them this.
(source)
Unsplash - photography, illustration, and art
Pixabay - same as unsplash
Pexels - stock photos and videos
Stockvault.net - stock photos
Veceezy - vectors and clipart
Getdrawings - simplistic images and drawing tutorials
Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)
Canva - needs login but has lots of templates
Library of Congress - historical posters and photos
NASA - you guessed it
Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie
Even Adobe has some free images
There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without infringing copyright! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own.
Please add on if you know any more sites for free images <3
Maki Naro @ The Nib
First thing I saw when I opened Twitter (x)
Words cannot express how ready I am for ragweed season to be over.
Also, reminder, if you have allergies and or asthma, we are entering into Peak Weak when ragweed, plant from hell that it is, will be going into peak pollen season, and also viruses are on the rise as flu and the common cold viruses start to emerge.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannecroteau/2019/09/16/its-asthma-peak-week–heres-how-to-get-ready/#41484caf7d0f
Some helpful advice from the above article if you are prone to allergies, have asthma, are immunocompromised or know someone who is:
Take off your shoes and change into indoor clothing when you enter your home
Keep doors and windows closed during peak allergen season
Use an air filter that is certified asthma and allergy-friendly (HEPA works best)
Shower before going to bed
Seriously, that last one? You don’t realize how much pollen you carry with you into your home, and if you don’t shower it goes into your bedsheets, a place that should be a haven for you. (And then you have to wash your bedding more than you really want to and it’s just a whole ordeal.)
I know not all of us have the energy or capability to shower every day, but if you are the spouse, friend or loved one of someone who is immunocompromised in any way, please be aware of what you are bringing into the home during this season. Vulnerable people can die during Peak Weak, it’s like the perfect storm of illness and allergic reaction bullshit. We’re also starting to see early cases of flu, so if you are able to do so, please get vaccinated before the flu season fully hits. You’ll be doing yourself a favor and those around you who rely on herd immunity to not get sick.
Also a reminder to fellow vogmask users! If you’ve had your vogmask in use for over 6 months, now is the time to replace it! Vogmasks are also not ideal for protecting you against cold and flu season, they can help, but given the unwashable nature of the vogmask (due to the filter) they can actually begin to harbor bacteria, so while they are great for pollution and pollen, not so great for flu! If you do need to wear a face mask during winter, swap for something that can be washed/sterilized at high temperatures, or switch to throw-away paper masks which can be worn once and then discarded. Never re-use a paper mask, and always be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after swapping them out.
You can read more about different types of masks and their effectiveness against cold and flu here:
https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/mask#2
Stay safe out there!
I’m going back to bed and hopefully, when I wake up tomorrow I won’t still be one giant hive.