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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought suffering and hardships to many, but at the same time it inspired a surge in young entrepreneurship. Remaining at home and playing with the dog or cat could not replace football, basketball, friends, and school. When it became clear that ‘Lockdown’ would be long, our Grandchildren, Caroline, Henry, and Isak decided that they needed something to do and they also needed to make a few dollars to help the family survive. Thanks to their entrepreneurial mother, Dixia, they decided to raise chickens. Of course, research had to be done and materials obtained. The information below was provided by Dixia:
“The first thing we needed were baby chicks. Buying from a producer would entail expenses we could not entertain at the time so I went to the internet in search of information on how to make an incubator.
From time to time, the Grandparents send home boxes with goodies, etc., all the way from Minnesota. The young entrepreneurs and I decided that one of the medium sized cardboard boxes would be ideal for the framework of the incubator. This box was lined with aluminium foil. We placed an electricity line to the box within which we placed a light bulb, Watt 40, six to eight inches above the floor of the box/eggs. A container of water was placed under the bulb. A large thermometer was needed to monitor the temperature which had to be kept between 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This is important for if the temperature is too high, you will end up with ‘scrambled eggs’ rather that chickens, as we did find out in the early days of our enterprise. If the day becomes hot, it will be necessary to open the box flaps. If it gets too cool, drape the box with blankets and check the temperature constantly.
Use the freshest eggs, those laid within a week, and do not shake the eggs beforehand. Newly hatched eggs can be placed in a refrigerator after they have cooled to room temperature; this keeps them fresh. Start with about a dozen fertilized eggs. One way to check for fertilization is to hold them in front of a bright light in a dark room to look for dark splotches which indicates a fertilized egg. A candle would work.
Once done, the eggs are dated and placed on the floor of the box which is covered with straw or pieces of paper. The eggs are turned twice a day, in the morning and at night. Gently move the eggs around with the palm of the hand until they turn over. Three weeks later, you will have your first brood of chickens. To make the project more interesting, you can hatch different types of chickens; include some Guinea Hens and Cornish Hens. You do not have to use only chicken eggs, but also ducks, turkeys, quail, and others.
The beauty with this project is that it costs very little. Soon, you will have chickens for your Sunday dinner, barbecues, for sale, eggs for breakfast and pastries which you can also sell. Anyone can do this project in their own yard. All you need are a few inexpensive items and to develop the Art of Raising Chickens.”
Thank you, Dixia.
VIDEOS:
(1) Farmer Henry’s Chicken Run: Go to "Farmer Henry’s Chicken Run" on YouTube or click on the link below:
https://youtu.be/CJSFSm70pxQ
(2) “An Incident in the Chicken Run” staring Isak. Go to "Farmer Henry’s Chicken Run - The Uncovered Bucket" on YouTube or click on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPHFuOAz--w
Henny-Penny: The Sky is Falling!
Henny Penny, is a European folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes that the world is coming to an end. The phrase "The sky is falling!" features prominently in the story, and has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent. Similar stories go back more than 25 centuries and "Henny Penny" continues to be referred to in a variety of media. One of the earliest to collect tales from Scandinavian sources was Just Mathias Thiele, who in 1823 published an early version of the Henny Penny story in the Danish Language.
Henny-Penny is a story young children (adults too) should learn early: trying to incite panic can result in opportunists like Foxy-woxy doing real harm. The iconic story was published in English Fairy Tales, retold in 1922 by Flora Annie Steel (1847 –1929), illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This is the version presented below.
One day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the farm yard when—whack!—an acorn hit her upon the head. "Goodness gracious me!" said Henny-penny, "the sky's a-going to fall; I must go and tell the King."
So, she went along, and she went along, and she went along, till she met Cocky-locky. "Where are you going, Henny-penny?" says Cocky-locky. "Oh! I'm going to tell the King the sky's a-falling," says Henny-penny. "May I come with you?" says Cocky-locky. "Certainly," says Henny-penny. So, Henny-penny and Cocky-locky went to tell the King the sky was falling.
They went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Ducky-daddles. "Where are you going to, Henny-penny and Cocky-locky?" says Ducky-daddles. "Oh! we're going to tell the King the sky's a-falling," said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky. "May I come with you?" says Ducky-daddles. "Certainly," said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky. So, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles went to tell the King the sky was a-falling.
So, they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Goosey-poosey. "Where are you going to, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles?" said Goosey-poosey. "Oh! we're going to tell the King the sky's a-falling," said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky and Ducky-daddles. "May I come with you?" said Goosey-poosey. "Certainly," said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles. So, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey went to tell the King the sky was a-falling.
So, they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Turkey-lurkey. "Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey?" says Turkey-lurkey. "Oh! we're going to tell the King the sky's a-falling," said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey. "May I come with you, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey?" said Turkey-lurkey. "Oh, certainly, Turkey-lurkey," said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey. So, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey all went to tell the King the sky was a-falling.
So, they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Foxy-woxy, and Foxy-woxy said to Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey, "Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey?" And Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey said to Foxy-woxy, "We're going to tell the King the sky's a-falling." "Oh! but this is not the way to the King, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey," says Foxy-woxy; "I know the proper way; shall I show it you?" "Oh, certainly, Foxy-woxy," said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey. So, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, Turkey-lurkey, and Foxy-woxy all went to tell the King the sky was a-falling. So, they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they came to a narrow and dark hole. Now this was the door of Foxy-woxy's burrow. But Foxy-woxy said to Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddies, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey, "This is the short cut to the King's palace: you'll soon get there if you follow me. I will go first and you come after, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey." "Why, of course, certainly, without doubt, why not?" said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey.
So, Foxy-woxy went into his burrow, and he didn't go very far but turned round to wait for Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey. Now Turkey-lurkey was the first to go through the dark hole into the burrow. He hadn't got far when—
"Hrumph!"
Foxy-woxy snapped off Turkey-lurkey's head and threw his body over his left shoulder. Then Goosey-poosey went in, and—
"Hrumph!"
Off went her head and Goosey-poosey was thrown beside Turkey-lurkey. Then Ducky-daddles waddled down, and—
"Hrumph!"
Foxy-woxy had snapped off Ducky-daddles' head and Ducky-daddles was thrown alongside Turkey-lurkey and Goosey-poosey. Then Cocky-locky strutted down into the burrow, and he hadn't gone far when—
"Hrumph!"
But Cocky-locky will always crow whether you want him to do so or not, and so he had just time for one "Cock-a-doo-dle d—" before he went to join Turkey-lurkey, Goosey-poosey, and Ducky-daddles over Foxy-woxy's shoulders.
Now when Henny-penny, who had just got into the dark burrow, heard Cocky-locky crow, she said to herself:
"My goodness! it must be dawn. Time for me to lay my egg."
So, she turned round and bustled off to her nest; so, she escaped, but she never told the King the sky was falling!
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