Boxers Make Great Pets

Boxers are working dogs and was one of the first breeds in Germany to be trained as police dogs. Their courage and bravery led them to be used to run messages on the battlefields during World War I and World War II. I have boxers and belgian malinois working in Iraq that I have leased to the United States military. If you get the right bloodlines the breed is very intelligent and trainable with few health issues. The best boxers in my opinion are found in France and Italy. Germany would be my third choice. In the USA most dogs are basically bred for conformation and they let everything else go. Some show breeders have healthy bloodlines however their dogs would rather lick an intruder instead of stopping him. If you can find a breeder with imported working bloodlines the dog will probably perform like they were intended to. My dad imported some boxers out of France and Italy in 1970. He didnt mess with registering them and his puppies had a two year waiting list. During wars he was able to meet many of the worlds best working dog breeders. The French and Italians breed with only healthy dogs that have been thoroughly screened both physically and mentally. Very few backyard breeders it seems. First registered with the AKC in 1904, the boxer did not become popular with American families until the 1940s.

Boxers are a medium sized, square built dog with a noble appearance. He combines strength and agility with elegance and style. The breed has a short back, strong limbs and a short square muzzle with a protruding lower jaw and facial wrinkles. His well developed muscles are hard and appear smooth under tight skin. Most boxers in the United States have docked tails and cropped ears but in some countries, these cosmetic procedures are outlawed.

Boxers hair coat is very short, shiny and lies smooth and tight to the body. It can be brindle, fawn or brown, with or without white markings. Completely white boxers are not common since breeders typically cull them due to their high risk of deafness. When boxers have lots of white on the body its called flashy. Because of the short hair flies can sometimes eat holes in their skin. So keep an eye on them if keeping them outdoors in summer. In addition in cold climates boxers must live indoors because of their lack of hair to provide warmth. The adult boxer stands 21 to 25 inches at the shoulder and weighs 65 to 70 pounds. European boxers are more heavily muscled than ours and still have plenty of drive.

Boxers are the ultimate people dog. They are deliberate and wary with strangers but curious, and he will bark if he feels his family is threatened. Boxers from working bloodlines will remove the threat and keep the family safe. Boxers can adapt to nearly any environment, as long as they are with people. They have terrific hearing and notice all unfamiliar noises. They generally only bark when needed. You must teach them not to jump up on people, because it comes natural for them to use their front paws. Thats how they got the name boxers.

Boxer are a friendly breed, devoted to his family. They accept visitors to the home when their owner shows that they are welcome. Thier temperament is fundamentally playful, yet he is patient and stoical with children. He is tolerant of their antics and loves to play. He is a natural watch dog and, if from working bloodlines, can be a great guard dog. Boxers bond very closely with children.

Boxers are low maintenance but they require consistent exercise. Their short hair coat requires minimal grooming. Though they are excellent family pets, they tend to fight among themselves, especially if the other family boxers are the same sex. The most significant concern regarding the boxer is the high rate of cancer compared to other breeds. European bloodlines have a much lower rate of cancer and health problems. Because of his short muzzle keep him from getting too hot.

Prey drive includes those behaviors that highlight hunting and foraging behaviors. Dogs that hunt and kill their toys (or objects of clothing, pillows, etc.), chase anything that moves, steal food, stalk the cat, and pounce on toys or other animals are probably high in prey drive. Pack drive involves a dog’s affinity for humans or other dogs. A dog with a high pack drive cannot get enough of people; he barks or cries when left alone, solicits play and petting, likes to touch, enjoys grooming, and loves the sound of his master’s voice. Fight drive is defensive and indicates a dog’s self confidence in stressful situations. A dog with a strong fight defense drive stands his ground, walks high on his toes, guards his territory and his family, may guard his toys and food, tolerates petting and grooming but does not really enjoy these activities, enjoys tug of war, and seems ready to fight. Flight drive is also a defense drive and indicates a dog’s lack of self confidence. A dog with high flight drive is unsure in new situations and may hide behind his person, is stressed when separated from his person, crawls on his belly or urinates when reprimanded, and may bite when cornered.

When dogs are in defense drive, they are displaying aggressive behaviors. Barking, lunging, snapping, snarling and growling are all part of the act. The hair on the dogs neck may be up. Understand that the dog feels that he must fight for his life. A dog in defense drive is under extreme stress. They may be feeling extremely ambivalent, and you’ll see ears swiveling back and forth, the dog may bark and back up, then move forward again. This is why good trainers never, ever introduce elements of defense into protection training until the dog has sufficient emotional maturity and self confidence to be able to manage his stress. Defensive behavior is not fun for the dog. Unfortunately, it seems to be really fun for far too many owners. It’s very easy to understand why so many dog owners mistake a defensive display with genuine protection. Remember, the dog who is in defense feels threatened. All of the lunging, snarling and other displays have one common goal which is to drive the threat back. That’s why a defensive display has such forwardness to it, the dog wants to push the threat away. In fact, if the dog felt that flight was an option, he absolutely would flee. It’s very important that owners of defensive dogs understand this. Too often, people incorrectly assume that the dog won’t bite unless he is cornered. That’s not true. All that matters is the dog’s perception of the situation. If he feels that he cannot escape because he is on lead or even because he could lose face, the dog could very well bite. Is there anything positive about defense drive? Yes it is essential for a good protection dog. Because defense drive is always accessible. It’s not subject to exhaustion or boredom. Defense is what puts the seriousness into protection work. Again, it’s all a matter of degree and threshold. Assuming the dog has good, strong nerves and a reasonably high threshold, a dog with strong defense drive can be a good working dog. Keep in mind the next time someone tells you that his growling, lunging dog is protective, that protection, by its very definition requires the presence of a legitimate, identifiable threat. If the dog is carrying on defensively toward a non threatening person or object, that’s not protection, that’s a spook dog.

What’s so terrific about prey drive, other than its utility is that it is such great fun for a dog. Prey and play are very closely related. In other words, when a dog is in prey drive, he’s having a pretty good time. A high prey dog will chase balls forever and love it. When you throw a ball, does your dog tear after it with great enthusiasm? Good, if it rolls out of sight, does he continue to hunt for it, relentlessly or does he give up and walk away? Those dogs who will continue to hunt for their beloved tennis balls are showing hunting instincts, which can often be channeled into work. Prey drive is also the foundation for good protection training. Remember, unlike defense, prey work is fun. Prey driven dogs are not growling and snarling. They may bark, but you’ll hear a higher pitched, playful kind of bark. What you’re hearing is actually a prey flushing bark. The dog is trying to stimulate the prey to get moving so he can chase it. Look at the dog’s body language. Their ears are up, tails are up, they’re excited about the game. Prey drive remains important, however because it provides a mechanism for relieving the stress of defensive work. Prey drive, as wonderful and useful as it is, however will not, in and of itself make a true protection dog. A dog working only in prey lacks seriousness. The other problem with prey is that it is subject to exhaustion and boredom. The dog may simply quit working if he’s being worked exclusively in prey. Defense drive, however is always accessible. No dog is too tired to defend himself. It’s defense that adds the serious edge to the protection work.

Polish Chickens Great For City Dwellers

This summer I came across two ladies and one gentleman who are all keeping Polish hens in large cities. None of them are having any problems with their neighbors and all are getting lots of tasty fresh eggs. When living in the city a person must choose a relatively quiet breed of chicken that does not like to fly around. Having a rooster probably is not an option unless you have bantams which do not crow very loudly. Both ladies bought their Polish chicks from Ideal Poultry and the man purchased his from Murray McMurray. All three have nice looking birds from the pictures they email me. Polish is a breed that herds very easily, so they all let their hens graze their backyards. Their chicken coop’s do not have scratch pens to draw unwanted attention. If allowed to graze outdoors a few times each week, pens are not really needed with this breed. Chicken coops should have plenty of ventilation and room when chickens spend most of the day in them. Build the poultry quarters attractive so as not to create unwanted attention. If you put up a chicken building that is an eyesore, the complaints will start rolling in shortly. Hand fed Polish chickens should be very easy to pick up if needed without making any noise. You must protect chickens from cats when living in a city, where they are extremely abundant. One of these ladies has already lost four hens to cats. She was letting them graze the yard unattended and caught a glimpse of the cat pulling a hen over the fence. It was a mistake she plans to never repeat. City chickens face more predators than country chickens. The thousands of stray cats and rats that live in cities prey upon them. Its best to keep the feed in your garage or house because it will attract mice and rats by hordes to your chicken house or coop. If you have a metal barrell or old chest freezer, they both work great for storing sacks of feed. Only feed what the chickens will eat in a day. At night you dont want any feed attracting vermin. If you have light breeds of chickens make your roosts up high, providing refuge from rats and weasels. Its almost impossible to find and seal every small hole in the coop. My polish hens have always been good layers in both cold and hot weather. Their eggs are not so big, however they will lay reliably. This breed does not stress easily. All three people are glad they selected the Polish for home egg production, and have no regrets.

Labor Day

Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and family get togethers. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer recess. Similarly, some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school, although school starting times now vary from state to state. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. This weekend I am meeting some relatives I have found over the internet. Hope all my readers have a terrific weekend.

Some People Should Avoid Gluten From Wheat Flour

Gluten sensitivity is estimated to potentially affect nearly half of the population. Although this is a vague estimate, it’s clear that gluten poses a risk to the health of many people and can even cause many of today’s most serious diseases. Gluten was making my mother sick, until she removed most of it from her diet, by switching to baking with cake flour. We buy most our baking supplies from Honeyville http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/ In our opinion all their products are high quality and their prices are low.

Gluten sensitivity can result from the inability to completely digest the gluten proteins found in most grain based foods. Unfortunately, celiac disease often takes years to be diagnosed and gluten sensitivity is rarely even diagnosed at all. Because grains are such a large part of our diet, many people who unknowingly don’t digest gluten well are consuming it on a regular basis and are destroying their health and inviting disease in the process. My dad preferred eating cornbread with his meals so mother didnt make much yeast bread, until after he died. Thats also when she began purchasing more bread from the store. Took the doctors two years to figure out the source of her problem the gluten allergy.

During the course of a lifetime, the chronic immune reactions, inflammation, and tissue damage associated with the incomplete digestion of gluten proteins is often the root cause of conditions such as cancer, autoimmune disease, and neurological disease. As such, undiagnosed cases of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity often lead to a significantly compromised life and even premature death. Problems with gluten digestion are also associated with osteoporosis, epilepsy, learning disorders, infertility, miscarriages, liver disease and a wide variety of other conditions. Despite the compelling evidence, gluten sensitivity and celiac disease are rarely considered as possible causes of these problems. Mom has been an organic gardener all her life, not letting her family consume chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Maybe its why she has not been sick a day in her life.

Having cancer is either rare or non existent in primitive cultures that follow diets consisting of natural and traditional whole foods such as meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. History shows that the introduction of grain based foods to such cultures is paralleled by an increase in the prevalence of cancer. As obvious as this connection may seem, it’s been ignored for far too long. Gluten is sticky and difficult for our bodies to digest. High gluten flour is used in rolls, breads, bagels, submarine sandwich buns, and pizza crust.

Gluten certainly isn’t the cause of all cancer, many terminally ill cancer patients have experienced dramatic improvements from following a gluten free diet. Despite this, many medical professionals are unwilling to embrace this possibility and claim that a gluten free diet will result in nutritional deficiency and be too compromising to a cancer patient’s quality of life. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. The potential damage caused by improperly digested gluten is much more likely to cause nutritional deficiency than the absence of grain based foods, especially when they’re replaced by highly nutritious whole foods such as meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. Furthermore, the challenges of following a gluten free diet are nothing in comparison to the horrendous side effects of most modern cancer treatments. When my dad was dying from lung cancer mother fed him a low gluten diet and it seemed to add a few years to his life. Using Almond flour in your baking reduces the gluten in your breads and has many health benefits.

In good health, we all produce mutated cells that have the potential to become cancerous. However, a strong immune system can regulate and destroy these cells without any problem. It’s when immunity is compromised or inhibited that these cells are more likely to reproduce and cause cancer. Gluten contains opioid mimicking peptides called exorphins that have been found to cause such a state. These peptides can increase the risk of cancer by preventing the immune system’s natural killer cells from detecting and destroying cancerous cells. Exorphins can also facilitate the progression of cancer by increasing insulin production which has the effect of feeding cancer cells and assisting their growth. I use lots of barley, cake, and almond flour in my kitchen now. Nobody in my family has as many belly aches as we use to, and mom got over her type two diabetes after reducing the gluten in our diets.

The National Institutes of Health says, more than 20 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease and the number is growing. I personally know quite a few people who suffer from autoimmune disease and it saddens me to see such a simple and promising solution to such a debilitating disease be so easily dismissed. Get checked if you believe you are gluten intolerant.

Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissue. Although there are many forms of autoimmune disease, the most common forms include arthritis, insulin dependent diabetes, thyroid disease, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and cirrhosis. In many cases, it’s the consistent presence of incompletely digested food molecules in the blood stream that leads to autoimmunity. This is especially the case with gluten because it contains peptides that closely resemble human tissue and provokes the creation of antibodies that attack organs, glands, joints and other important areas of the body. You need not take my word for it. Do some researching of your own.

Instead of considering a gluten free diet as a potential or even partial solution, most conventional treatments are based on potent medications that inhibit the immune system and create additional susceptibility to infection and illness. Although gluten is not always the cause of autoimmune disease, people who suffer from it have a lot to gain and little to lose by trying a gluten free diet. What worked for my mother may work for you, if you are having symptoms.

Although it would be easy to believe that gluten sensitivity can influence the development of osteoporosis by interfering with calcium absorption, this isn’t entirely the case. In addition to calcium, other nutrients such as magnesium, boron, zinc, and vitamins A, D, and K are also essential for proper bone development and maintenance. However, the absorption of these nutrients is often impaired by the intestinal damage that’s characteristic of gluten sensitivity and especially celiac disease. The multiple nutrient deficiencies that are likely to result will significantly increase the risk of osteoporosis. You might want to consider this if you are a woman over forty. Even without celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the consumption of grain based foods are still a risk factor for osteoporosis. This is because grains contain a substance called phytic acid that can bind to the important minerals needed for bone maintenance and prevent their absorption. Fortunately, you can eliminate this problem by soaking grains in water to deactivate the phytic acid. Nuts and seeds should be soaked as well.

Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease are often associated with autism, memory loss, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and neurotransmitter deficiencies that can lead to depression, anxiety, and irritability. In more extreme cases, gluten sensitivity and celiac disease are also associated with seizures, schizophrenia, impaired ability to walk and talk, and visual and auditory hallucinations. It’s believed that undigested gluten proteins can cause these disorders by affecting blood flow in the brain or by causing irreversible damage to brain tissue.

In the intestines are where the problems associated with gluten sensitivity first start. As such, it should be of no surprise that gluten is often involved in the cause of various bowel disorders. Gluten has a strong association with irritable bowel syndrome in particular. Approximately 80 percent of people who suffer from it, experience improvement from following a gluten free diet. In addition, research has shown that 60 percent of people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome are sensitive to wheat, and that’s only one of the many grains that contain gluten. Many people become dehydrated from diarrhea and end up in the emergency room because of food allergies. In addition to irritable bowel syndrome, the intestinal immune response that’s often provoked by undigested gluten can cause autoimmunity. Furthermore, the inflammation and damage associated with this immune response can also cause colitis and increase susceptibility to intestinal infections.

Gluten provides many important qualities to bread. For example, gluten keeps the gases that are released during fermentation in the dough, so the bread is able to rise before it is baked. In addition, gluten firms up when it is cooked and, with the help of starch, helps ensure the bread maintains its proper shape. Gluten also has an absorbent quality, which is why bread is capable of soaking up broth. Because of this feature, gluten is often used by those on a vegetarian diet as an imitation meat. On the downside, gluten is believed to be partly responsible for causing bread to become stale. If you have a rash or are feeling tired and depressed, and your doctor cant seem to cure the problem. Maybe gluten intolerance is the problem.

Milk And Eggs For Beautiful Hair And Skin

Buy a can of condensed milk from your local grocery store and a dozen eggs. Because of some of the ingredients in the milk it can help you achieve smooth salon hair. This is why you can find milk as a key ingredient in so many expensive shampoos and conditioners. If you have dry hair massage two tablespoons of pure butter into your hair after applying the milk.

Now fill up a spray bottle using the condensed milk you purchased, you should end up using about 1/2 to 1 cup of milk depending on how much hair you have. Spray your hair with milk until your hair is very damp your hair might drip a little, but it’s worth it for salon hair. Its best to do this in the bath tub or shower. Apply to dry hair that has not been washed yet.

Now is your opportunity to work the milk around in your hair for a few minutes, and get out any tangles and knots you may find. Apply more milk as needed, and after you have worked it around for a few minutes, let the milk sit in your hair for about 15 minutes. If you do not work out the knots and tangles, you will not end up with smooth salon hair. Now if you have dry frizzy hair with split ends massage a few tablespoons of butter into your wet hair during your 15 minutes of wait time.

While you are letting the milk sit in your hair for 15 minutes, apply four beaten eggs to your face and body covering your skin completely. Wash or shower the milk out with cool water. Hot water can destroy milk proteins and prevents the milk from working effectively to produce smooth salon hair. Use a mild shampoo to wash out the milk, with cool or lukewarm water. Rinse your face and body with a mild soap or body wash until the egg is removed. Your skin and hair will begin looking better in just two or three weeks.

After all the milk and egg has been removed using water. When you become ready to dry your hair, blow dry it on a cool setting, or let your hair air dry naturally. A hot setting will again ruin the effect the milk has on salon quality hair. As your hair is drying, comb and style your hair as you wish. When you becomes dry, notice how smooth and silky your hair is.

Use a round brush if you wish to make your hair straight while drying. If you want volume in your hair add an egg to the milk. If you have milk or egg allergies this might not be the treatments for you. This is my family’s secret for beautiful skin and hair, which everyone seems to notice.

Help Me Save Livestock Breeds From Extinction

Over ten thousand years ago, humans partnered up with denizens of the animal kingdom to create the world’s first domesticated livestock. This happened in all regions of the world.

Since then, thousands of types and breeds of poultry and farm animals have evolved through natural and human selection, all tailor made to suit the needs of the people who kept them and the climate and conditions in which they lived. Many people spent their lifetimes improving a specific breed.

Now they are disappearing from the earth at an alarming rate and it’s up to dedicated conservators to save them. I became interested in rare breeds as a young boy, and have devoted my life to propagating them. Alone I cannot save them all, however hopefully I can generate interest in them.

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says at least 1,500 of the world’s estimated 6,000 livestock breeds are in imminent danger of becoming extinct. The organization further asserts that the world is currently losing an average of two domestic animal breeds each week and that half of the breeds that existed in Europe in 1900 are already extinct. These are really sad statistics. More people need to get involved in protecting our food supply.

Poultry breeds are likewise threatened. In 2004, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy conducted a census of chicken breeds. Of 70 breeds maintained by American poultry breeders, half are endangered and 20 are practically extinct. I raise 56 breeds of chickens and I try to start new flocks all over the world.

Large corporations maintain factory farmed livestock in controlled environments thus eliminating a need for breeds adapted to various regions or climates. They control their animals health through liberal doses of antibiotic cocktails quashing the need for disease resistant heritage strains. And they feed their unfortunate victims exacting rations of high protein, growth hormone enhanced feed so they reach market size in record time. Its all about profit instead of producing tasty meat.

End result is a bountiful supply of cheap, essentially tasteless, hormone and antibiotic laced milk or meat produced at the cost of the animals’ health and well being. We are seeing a huge increase in ecoli and salmonella food recalls.

Fortunately, increasing numbers of farmers are stepping forth to reclaim our forbearers’ heritage livestock and poultry breeds. This rare breed renaissance is occurring throughout the world and for numerous reasons. You need not be a farmer to save a breed of livestock. All you need is the ability to love animals.

Often conservators long for the mouthwatering fried chicken our grandma used to serve for Sunday dinner or melt in your mouth, home smoked hams like the ones great grandpa fashioned from his homegrown hogs. Some yearn to preserve living remnants of our distant past such as Spanish goats or Texas Longhorn cattle, American Cream horses and Dominique chickens. Rare breeds of livestock helped build this country and we should do our best to save them from extinction.

Some people do it in the name of biodiversity, they feel that if disease or genetic malady should strike down, for example, the world’s leghorn chickens, which represent 90 percent of the worlds chicken flocks. There must be hardy heritage breeds ready to take up the slack. Some simply prefer livestock and poultry breeds created for specific environments and needs: Canadienne and Randall Lineback cattle for New England’s snowy winters; parasite resistant and heat tolerant Navajo-Churro sheep and Tamworth hogs for the deep South; Lakenvelder, Buttercup, and Campine chickens for free range eggs.

Making Your Very Own Film

1. Watch a large number of documentary movies. Go see them on the big screen if you can. If not, then hit your local video store or join Netflix to get movies mailed to your door. Learn what makes or breaks a documentary film. Think about what kinds of documentary films you like. Learn the various genres and filmmaking styles. For example, Michael Moore’s filmmaking style is very different than Ken Burns’ filmmaking style.
2. You need to become familiar with technical equipment. Purchase or borrow equipment like DV cameras, final cut pro editing systems, mics, flood lights. Experiment with lighting setups, audio recording, splicing clips together. Read filmmaking forums to get sound technical advice from experienced filmmakers. There is a wealth of information on the internet.
3. Pick a subject that you find fascinating and is accessible to you. Choosing a subject that is compelling and timely will result in a strong and relevant film. It is often better to focus on a local personality or local event so that you will have access to loads of resources for your film. Besides, it’s much simpler and cheaper to shoot at home than traveling abroad.
4. Try to become an expert on your chosen subject through research. Research your subject as thoroughly as possible. Gain knowledge through the internet, books, and word of mouth. Attend events pertaining to your chosen subject, and interview lots of people.
5. Next create a structure and outline for your film through visualization. Close your eyes and imagine how you would like the final product to look. Think about how you want to structure your film. What do you want to start with? How are you going to build your film? Write down your ideas. This will give you a blueprint for shooting. But remember that in documentary filmmaking, unlike fictional filmmaking, the footage informs the final structure of the film. Your initial written outline exists to serve as a guideline for shooting.
6. You need to analyze your wants or needs for making the film. Make a wishlist of any people, locations, items, equipment you wish you could have for your film. Cross reference this list with any people, locations, items and equipment that you do have access to. Ask people. Check with local art centers, film departments at universities and colleges. Talk to the local film office. If you still can’t find it then go to Myspace or Facebook and see if you know someone who knows someone who can help fulfill some of the items on your wishlist. If you are looking for footage, check with stock libraries for material that is in the public domain and free to use.
7. Find ways to finance your film. Use search engines or check with your local film office to find out what existing documentary funding programs are available to you. For example, the International Documentary Association has a great list of grants you can apply for. Hold fundraising events. Other options are to apply for credit cards or borrow from your relatives.
8. Start shooting. Don’t talk about doing it, get out there and shoot your film. This is the step that differentiates the aspiring filmmakers from the actual filmmakers. Have confidence in yourself and be optomistic. You can’t get anywhere unless you’re willing to take a risk.
9. Post production. Fast forward through all of your footage, and take printable screenshots of key scenes. This way you simplify the editing process by creating a visual map of your footage. Once this is done you should watch all of your footage and create an action log listing timestamps. This will help you to save time in the editing room. Typically, the post production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actual shooting of the film, and can take several months to complete.
10. Finally show your film. Upload it to the internet, show it in a theatre, send the cut to distributors and networks to see if they are interested, hit the festival circuit. You can apply to multiple film festivals at once through the website Withoutabox. If all else fails, invite people to your place to screen. Burn multiple DVDs and get the film into the hands of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, anyone you know who is in the film industry. I think most people would enjoy producing a movie on a topic they care about. There are endless possibilities. I am making some documentary films on chicken breeds, rabbit breeds, horse breeds, cattle breeds, goat breeds, and sheep breeds.

Sheep Milk

Sheep have been raised for milk for thousands of years and were milked before cows. The world’s commercial dairy sheep industry is concentrated in Europe and the countries on or near the Mediterranean Sea. The dairy sheep industry is in its infancy in the United States. There are approximately 150 dairy sheep farms in the United States. They are found mostly in New England and the Upper Midwest. There are several large commercial sheep dairies in New York and California. I got into the sheep dairy business and was milking 400 ewes and making cheese. It took up too much of my time so I sold my flock in 2008. I really enjoyed it and wish more people would give it a try. My profit was around $50,000 a year.

Milk from sheep is highly nutritious, richer in vitamins A, B, and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium than cow’s milk. It contains a higher proportion of short and medium chain fatty acids, which have recognized health benefits. For example, short chain fatty acids have little effect on cholesterol levels in people. They make milk easier to digest.

Sheep milk has more conjugated linoleic acid than the milk from pigs, horses, goats, cattle, and humans. CLA is a cancer fighting, fat reducing fat. The fat globules in sheep milk are smaller than the fat globules in cow’s milk, making sheep milk more easily digested. I sold lots of sheep milk to mothers of babies and children with health problems. Several pediatricians referred patients to me for sheep milk.

Sheep milk can be frozen and stored until a sufficient quantity of milk is available to sell or make cheese. Freezing does not affect the cheese making qualities of the milk. You do not need a large flock to enjoy your own sheep milk. Sometimes its best to start out small. I began full scale because I had worked in cow dairies as a young boy.

Milk from sheep has a higher solids content than goat or cow milk. As a result, more cheese can be produced from a gallon of sheep milk than a gallon of goat or cow milk. Sheep milk yields 18 to 25 percent cheese, whereas goat and cow milk only yield 9 to 10 percent. Making cheese from sheep milk is really quite simple. If you keep things really clean you should have no problem at all.

Sheep usually produce less milk than dairy goats and much less than cows. Sheep milk sells for a significantly higher price per pound, almost four times the price of cows milk. When given a high protein high energy diet sheep produce a suprising amount of milk. You must slowly increase the amount of grain in their diet.

Most of the sheep milk produced in the world is made into cheese. Some of the most famous cheeses are made from sheep milk: Feta, Ricotta and Pecorino Romano and Roquefort. The United States is the largest importer of sheep milk cheeses. Sheep milk is also made into yogurt and ice cream. I made lots of ice cream from my sheep’s milk which tasted delicious.

Lactating ewes of any breed can be milked, as with other species of livestock, there are specialized dairy sheep breeds. Worldwide there are more than a dozen dairy sheep breeds, but only a few are available in the United States: East Friesian and Lacaune. Specialized dairy breeds produce 400 to 1,100 pounds of milk per lactation, whereas the milk production from conventional sheep breeds is only 100 to 200 pounds of milk per lactation. I began milking my Suffolk sheep a year before my East Friesian crossbred ewes were born. I kept my ewe flocks 25 percent suffolk.

The East Friesian is the most common and productive breed of dairy sheep in the world. Their average production is 990 to 1,100 pounds per 220 to 240 day lactation. Two other highly productive breeds of dairy sheep are the fat tailed Awassi and Assaf breeds from Israel. In France, the Lacaune is the breed of choice for making the country’s famous Roquefort cheese.
I bought a Lacaune ram in 2006 but did not get many lambs out of him before he was taken by coyotes.

Most sheep in the world are milked seasonally by hand. This is because many dairy sheep are raised in remote areas where no cow could survive. Modern sheep dairies use sophisticated machinery for milking: milking parlors, pipelines, bulk tanks, etc. Ewes are milked once or twice per day. I always milked twice a day because you get lots more milk production out of your ewe’s. My friend did the morning milking for me, in return I loaned him my tractor.

Here in the United States, dairy ewes are managed in different ways. On some farms, ewes are not milked until their lambs have been weaned at 30 to 60 days of age. Another system allows lambs to suckle their lambs for 8 to 12 hours per day, after which time they are separated for the night and the ewes are milked the following morning. After the lambs are weaned at 28 to 30 days, the ewes are milked twice per day.

The maximum milk yield is obtained when the lambs are removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth and raised on artificial milk replacer, as is common in cow and goat dairies. Running a goat dairy is a great way to make a living if you love being around animals.

Sheep Goats Cows
Solids, total 154 104 96
Energy 154 99 87
Protein 580 346 319
Fat 160 94 76

Lactose 78 64 68
Minerals 480 410 360
Ca 603 419 372
Fe 333 167 167
Mg 600 467 433
P 1128 793 664
K 267 400 298
Na 259 294 288
Zn 335 176 224

Ascorbic acid 83 26 19
Thiamin 400 200 200
Riboflavin 986 383 450
Niacin 236 156 474
Pantothenic acid 182 139 141
Vitamin B6 800 600 600
Folacin 100 20 120
Vitamin B12 1580 144 793
Vitamin A 143 76 90
Vitamin D 450 275 75
Vitamin E 32 9 26
Vitamin C 125 25 25

Salmonella In Eggs

Recently saw someone claim that you can not get salmonella poisoning from organic eggs. I thought that salmonella was a risk for all eggs. What is the truth? Be careful taking advice from internet chicken forums.

I was correct that all eggs and poultry carry some risk of salmonella, which is the leading cause of food poisoning in the U.S. Buying organic or free range eggs and poultry are not immune from contamination with this bacteria. The only way to eliminate all risk of salmonella is to thoroughly cook all eggs and poultry to a temperature that kills the bacteria. This means no runny yolks in your fried eggs.

That’s not to say that every egg is contaminated. Many people regularly order their eggs sunny side up or easy over. Recipes for Caesar salad dressing, mayonnaise, and chocolate mousse all involve raw eggs and many of us enjoy these foods every day and live to tell the tale. Nonetheless there is always some risk involved. And it is true that the risk is lower with free range eggs.

Commercially raised egg layers are kept confined in very close quarters, where as free range layers have more space. The extra space translates into less contact with waste and lower contamination rates. A recent survey found that about about a quarter of caged hen populations tested positive for salmonella, versus less than 5% of organic flocks and 6.5% of free range flocks. In fact, the amount of salmonella contamination was directly parallel to the size of the flocks. Huge commercial chicken farms housing 50,000 or more birds had five times the level of bacteria of the smaller flocks mandated by organic standards.

It is obvious, if you want to eat your eggs raw or undercooked, free range and organic eggs are much safer, although the risk is not zero. They also appear to be a lot more nutritious. Analysis conducted by Oklahoma State University found that eggs from pasture raised chickens contained twice the omega-3 content, three times more vitamin E, and a whopping seven times as much beta-carotene as commercially produced eggs. They also had a third less cholesterol and a fourth less saturated fat.

Maybe its time you switch to buying free range or organic eggs. Better still, keep a few laying hens in the backyard.

Beating The Summer Heat

A reason humidity makes hot weather more unbearable is that the higher the relative humidity, the higher the temperature actually feels. For example, a temperature of 95 degrees feels like about 95 degrees when the relative humidity is 30%. But increase that humidity up to 65% and that same 95 degrees feels like a whopping 117 degrees. A heat index chart lets us know what the temperature on any given day will feel like with humidity factored in. In summer it gets real hot in western Oklahoma however because of the high elevation humidity is low. Because of the low rainfall trees are mostly near the creeks, rivers, and lakes.

When the outside temperatures approach the temperature of our body, about 98 degrees, the body undergoes a series of changes to help keep it cool. Sweating, alteration of the rate and depth of blood circulation, and increased respiration are all measures the body takes in an effort to cool itself down. This summer the heat with humidity has been almost unbearable to work in, on our farms east of Oklahoma City.

Our sweating, however, only works to cool us down if the water that is expressed through our skin evaporates. This is where humidity comes in. The concentration of water, or the relative humidity, determines the rate at which the water will evaporate from the skin. When the air is more full of moisture, it is harder for the air to absorb the sweat from our skin. The end result? We feel hot and sticky, and the body is eventually forced to do other things to cool us down. When sweating lots drink plenty of gatorade or something similar to replenish your body fluids and electrolytes. If using water make certain you are getting enough salt in your diet.

The problem with high humidity making us feel hotter is not just that we are more uncomfortable, but that we actually are hotter. And our bodies compensate by working harder and harder to cool us down. When sweating does not work to cool us down and we continue to heat up, overheating results, which causes loss of the water and chemicals that the body needs. Overheating, or more commonly, heat exhaustion, can lead to dehydration and chemical imbalances within our bodies. When spending hours working in the summer sun I always wear a hat, which helps some and a light colored thin cotton shirt to reflect heat.

Dehydration depletes our body of water needed for sweating and thickens our blood, requiring more pressure to pump it through our body, thus straining the heart and blood vessels. As blood goes to the external surface of the body, less goes to the muscles, the brain, and other organs. Physical strength declines, and fatigue occurs more quickly than under normal conditions. Mental faculties, such as alertness, may also be adversely affected. In the dry climate west of Oklahoma City our bodies can dehydrate quickly from the strong dry winds of the open prairie. Most the tree shelter belts, built during the Dust Bowl have been removed or died out. They slowed down the speed of the winds as they blew across the prairie.

The effects are more pronounced, and more dangerous, depending on age and overall physical condition. However, young people that are not aware that their physical activity or exercise could be dangerous in humid conditions, are also at risk. Each year during football practice heat and humidity sends players to the emergency room. Overheating is a serious condition, and can result in the following

Having heat cramps: Exercising in hot weather can lead to muscle cramps, especially in the legs, because of brief imbalances in body salts. Cramps become less frequent as a person becomes used to the heat.
Having heat syncope or fainting: Anyone not used to exercising in the heat can experience a quick drop in blood pressure that can lead to fainting. As with heat cramps, the cure is to take it easy.
Having heat exhaustion: Losing fluid and salt through perspiration or replacing them in an imbalanced way can lead to dizziness and weakness. Body temperature might rise, but not above 102 degrees. In some cases victims, especially the elderly, should be hospitalized. Heat exhaustion is more likely after a few days of a heat wave than when one is just beginning. The best defense is to take it easy and drink plenty of water. Don’t take salt tablets without consulting a physician.
Having heatstroke: In some cases extreme heat can upset the body’s thermostat, causing body temperature to rise to 105 degrees or higher. Symptoms are lethargy, confusion and unconsciousness. Even a suspicion that someone might be suffering from heatstroke requires immediate medical aid. Heatstroke can kill you.

Eat small meals and eat more often. The larger the meal, the more metabolic heat your body creates breaking down the food. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.

Run your wrists under a cold tap for five seconds each every couple of hours. Because a main vein passes through this area, it helps cool the blood.

Eat spicy food. Although this may be the last thing you fancy in hot weather, curries and chillies can stimulate heat receptors in the mouth, enhance circulation and cause sweating, which cools the body down.

Take a cool bath or shower just below body temperature, especially before bedtime. Although a cold shower might sound more tempting, your body generates heat afterwards to compensate for the heat loss.

If you have a basement, use it during the hottest hours of the day when the sun is highest. Basements are usually 10-15 degrees cooler than the upstairs part of the house.

Wear lightweight, light-coloured cotton clothes. Heat is trapped by synthetic fibres, but cotton absorbs perspiration and its evaporation causes you to feel cooler. The light colours reflect the sun’s radiation.

While you’re out, keep the house curtains drawn to stop it heating up like a greenhouse.

You may be longing for a cold beer or a chilled white wine spritzer. But you should avoid alcohol because it dehydrates the body. You are better off with mineral water or low sugar carbonated drinks. Also, avoid drinks with caffeine such as coffee and colas. These increase the metabolic heat in the body.

Slow down and avoid strenuous activity which will stimulate your body and raise its core temperature. If you must go jogging, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually before 7am.

Sleep on a feather or down pillow with a cotton pillowcase. Foam pillows will retain heat. Better yet purchase a feather bed.