That's our goal is to have at least 2-3 hens! We have been talking about it for over a year now and being super envious of friends who have coops.

We have the land to do it (almost 3 acres) but will need to build a super-secure coop because our land is COVERED in raccoons, opossum, squirrel, deer, and the neighbors beagles are known chicken-killers and have a bad habit of busting out of their pen. We caught one on our back deck last year with someone's dead hen. :(

I'd love to have fresh eggs! The omelets I would make!

I just (within the last month) found out that the city of Pittsburgh allows you to have three hens per every 2000
sq feet of property you own. So I have been researching
everything hens. (the chicken manure is super excellent for soil). No roosters allowed in the city, I can understand that.

I'm sure you've seen my postings all over the place, that I don't like meat and my father did a very good job of teaching me ways to get protein into my diet. He used to
put very cold orange juice into the blender and a raw (but fresh) egg and blend them. You can not taste anything but the cold juice. We didn't have chickens on our farm, he grew grain (mostly). We did the barter thing.

Eggs that go to the store go through a series of washings, and each *wash* if you will, washes away vital nurishment and vitamins. Fresh is best.

They actually sell some nice hen *huts* on the internet (of course) I've borrowed several ideas that I intend to incorporate into my hen house.
Mine also has to be super secure. Not so much from other animals, although thats always a concern, but from ASS HOLES. Living in the city
come with it's share of issues. I had a hell of a time keeping the passerby drunks from raiding my garden, imagine what they'll do to my chickens. I installed motion detector flood lights and bought three imitation security camera's one moves constantly, one is in a dome and has a red light that is always on and one is a boxed camera mounted to the side of my house,,,,, as if I have some kind of compound here (its a 6 x 12 sq ft garden sheeze):fastdraq:

And its a proven fact that fresh eggs are healthy. I am imagining those omlets!

I have raised hens for over 10 years. I'm happy to help. You don't need a fancy pen but if you have predators you need to protect them. Obviously the best and most healthy will be a chicken tractor. This is a pen that can move across your land/yard providing fertilizer for your lawn and fresh bugs, grass and grit for your hens.

Recently I saw where someone modified a 4 foot chainlink dog kennel, putting a top on, a set of wheels on one end, a few nesting boxes. It was very simple and they put a top on it for weather and shade. The nesting boxes we're hanging on each side by the gate. The water supply was a hanging bucket with open top they could fill. When moving they just lifted the non-wheeled end and pulled it.

This would work just fine for maybe 4 hens. In the winter cover 3 sides and add a heat lamp.

get 4 hens for two people. Some days they lay a little, some none at all, some a lot. I eat eggs sometimes everyday. They are a complete food source and I make omelets for dinner all the time, especially when I'm growing fresh tomatoes and veggies.

Raccoons can grab a hen through the fence and will work hard at trying to do this. There is an expensive fencing system that is easy to put up, some poles and a netting that is electrified by a plug in or solar panel. Its great for keeping coons, dogs, etc out of your yard. If you start gardening you probably want this. Or motion activated sprinklers. Coons and beagles hate water,

WOOT!

I love pesto and have been kinda sad about not having any lately. Most of the pestos I have seen in the store are BAAADDDDD calorie-wise so I found this one on the WW site:

Artichoke pesto!

1 1/4 cup(s) canned artichoke hearts, without oil, drained and rinsed (about 5)
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), quartered
1 1/4 cup(s) basil, packed
1/4 cup(s) pine nuts, toasted*
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, fresh, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp table salt
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade; pulse a few times, then process until well-chopped but coarsely-grained. To refrigerate up to 2 days, spoon into a small bowl and press plastic wrap right against the dip's surface to minimize the dip turning brown. Yields about 2 tablespoons per serving.
Notes
*Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, to release their aromatic oils.

Just got off the treadmill.

I walked a MILE without stopping! Made my goal!

My brother is awesome! He brought over this super high-tech treadmill for me to use cause his wife is not using it! I am super excited! Gonna take some Ibuprofen for my knee and get on the sucker and walk for a mile and half, and try to run the last half mile.

I don't recall if we can post links to websites here!

I joined a place, my fitness pal, on April 11th and lost 24 pounds so far :)
It's a website to track calories and exercise. I downloaded the APP on my phone because I am barely ever on my laptop anymore.

It's free and SO simple and fun! (big community)
basically, it gives you calories to keep at to lose/maintain or gain
and you track exercise and such :)

I also go to the gym 3-4x a week, sometimes more.

Going to JAMAICA in August and I wanted to have a bit more confidence walking about half naked.

I do feel totally sexy-feeling right now at the weight I am at, but I do feel mentally and physically better since I started eating better and going to the gym. So! I am going to keep it up.

I have been watching everything that I have been eating. While moving and the following week afterwards, I was eating stuff that wasn't good for me and I gained a few pounds. On Friday, I went grocery shopping and picked up several things. I eat like a bird and I love to space breakfast out. I usually start with a cup of Chocolate SoyMilk, Greek Yogurt and coffee with just a tablespoon of French Vanilla creamer. Since I have been working the 6am shift, I usually eat breakfast around 5am. Around 8am, I am hungry again, so I bought a package of Everything Bagel Thins with whipped cream cheese and that is what I have. I drink a ton of water during the day and then with dinner, I have a 12oz glass of orange juice.

It feels like I have lost a few pounds, but I am not sure since I don't like to step on a scale.

Zimmy

Last night, instead of munching on chips or ice cream or other such things during TV watching, Scoote and I had fresh strawberries.....and then, when that wasn't enough :) ....I made us a big salad with 2 kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber (hers got the tiniest sprinkle of cheese)...and, yes, I made some homemade croutons just because...and went easy on the ranch dressing.

I love that quote Ms, I think I will write that somewhere and tack it up on the wall so that I can look at it when I get frustrated and need a boost :-)

Good Morning Tonya,

Thank you and I will look for these ice cream treats when I go grocery shopping. I have also found that Publix grocery store makes a delicious frozen yogurt that I truly enjoy...

Have a great day,

Zimmy

Like you Pinkie, I love ice cream. These are very good too. I don't know how they stack up on WW points, but just 130 calories, so probably not too badly - and they are very rich and creamy and decadent tasting. :)

http://www.musesofmegret.com/reviews...2.24.02-PM.png

Great stuff! Just remember that artificial sugars and stuff have a reverse affect on weight loss.

Clipped :

Diet Soda Drinkers Gain Weight
By Lloyd de Vries

S
(WebMD) People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.

The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at this week's annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain

Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.


Your body knows what to do with sugar, it is confused by fake sugar......the pancreas is tricked when artificial sugars are introduced, resulting in an opposite affect.

Just a tidbit for anyone who is interested.