TURN PEST- SNAILS TO COSTLESS FEED FOR CHICKENS

One of the major concerns in poultry production is the high cost of feeds.

Some commercial producers keep to best practices while some cut corners using unaceptable inorganic means to boost growth or egg production.

This would of course affect the consumers of the poultry meat and eggs.

Even the poop of such birds  used for manuring plants such as vegetables  indirectly pose health hazards to the consumers of the plant foods.

So if you can, do ascertain that the producers and handlers  of the chicken products you buy keep to healthy practices.

If you are in an urban area and able to raise chickens, you will likely not be able to allow them free-range.

 You shouldn't want want them to wander into neighbour's premises and you probably don't  have enough vegetation and space.

But you can still ensure what you feed them is healthy  and cost effective whether they are the 'local chickens' or the ones generally called 'Agric'.
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One of the many costless or cost- effective organic feeds for chickens are pest-snails. Those are snails that roam gardens and farms and devour vegetations making farmers' hearts ache.

If it's a big garden or farm, picking snails would be time-consuming. But you can draw comfort from the fact that they can provide good protein for your chickens and other omnivorous livestock or pets you have.

LITTLE BUSINESS  IDEA
Anyone who needs a side hustle and has access to large farms or gardens, can pick large number of snails. 

After removing the shell (if you first boil the snails with the shells a little, removing shells becomes easier), rinse the meaty part, add salt, if you choose, add pepper and other seasonings especially turmeric  to preserve, roast or boil the meaty snail part.

After cooking, package in disposable containers or nylon and sell to interested rearers of livestock like chickens.

If very well-prepared, seasoned and packaged, even humans can buy to eat -  while we were  children, can anyone recollect picking these pesty- snails and cooking to eat? You see even life lived simply can be so gloriously happy and fun-filled  at any age.

HEALTH BENEFITS
According to WebMD, snails possess  anti-cancer properties and boost the immune system due to their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects.

Snails also possess considerable amount of protein, iron and some bit of healthy fat.

You can either eat them directly or feed them to your chickens - whenever you give your livestock or fish healthy food, remember you are also aiming to safeguard your own health.

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#intercroppinginsoilsack.

ACHIEVING HORMONAL BALANCE WITH LOCAL CHICKEN EGGS

Do you know that chronic stress can disrupt hormonal balance in our human body? It's still a wonder to me how I can work so very hard and  when I get tired and rest very well, I  feel better and ready again for work.

But if I get so very stressed by people and keep trying to cope over a prolong period, I would become so very tired or wearied that it takes considerable time and efforts to recover. 

One of the problems that can result from constantly enduring stress is hormonal imbalance. 

Hormonal imbalance caused by certain stresses can be even worse than the one caused by unhealthy food, drinks, atmosphere and drugs.

I have been making efforts to recover from certain stresses I endured and coped with as best as I could for months. I didn't even realise how seriously adverse the effect was on me until recently. 

Since I believe in natural therapy for achieving or maintaining good health, I keep exploring natural solutions.

Egg especially that from local chicken reared naturally  contains a good balance of fats and proteins necessary for hormone production. 

It is good for brain health and indirectly help in hormone regulation. It also contains healthy fat i.e. omega-3 fatty acids, essential vitamins and minerals and antioxidants.

Various researches have shown that antioxidants combat free-radicals in the human body  linked to serious health problems like heart attacks.

If a chicken is raised in healthy ways; the eggs will have less saturated fats and bad cholesterol that can cause or worsen health problems. 

Local chicken egg of course tastes better. It is also good for eye-health as it is a good source of protein,  vitamin A, multiple B vitamins, selenium, folate, phosphorus, calcium and zinc. 

The calories is low compared to the amount of essential nutrients in one egg. As an adult; you can eat this sort of healthy egg everyday if available and not have adverse health effects but rather good health benefits.

My urban garden is relatively small due to space constraint so I cannot rear even the few chickens on free-range, else they will destroy my precious plants. I only allow them roam once a while for few hours.

But I ensure their diet is healthy - I feed them lots of leafy greens some of which are considered weeds from the garden - so I have not had to give them drugs or vaccination.

 I don't buy already compounded feeds; I just ensure that what I feed them contain carbohydrates; proteins; vitamins and minerals and of course water. 

Most of the vitamins and minerals come from the plants in the garden. Feeding them other nutrients come at a cost but it is well worth it because it is not just about getting food to eat but maintaining good health. You do know medical care and treatments cost so very much more. 

So eggs from chickens raised so intentionally tend to provide superior nutrition than commercial eggs.

At least two people have said the odour from my chicken pen is not foul and asked how I achieve that. Apart from regular cleaning, what they are fed is the main reason for normal or foul odour. That foul odour is indicative of potential health danger to the human consumers.

Also commercial chicken rearers insist that chicken poop need weeks or months to cure before being used to manure plants or they would have burning effects on the plant. 

I suspect that it is due to the inorganic or chemical elements in the feed or drugs the chickens are given causing the poop to have adverse effects when used immediately in manuring. 

So recently I started using some  poop from the few chickens I rear to manure some plants (not all).

I am still observing but noticed that the tumeric plants  and a growing pawpaw tree in one of the drums are faring better. In fact the small pawpaw tree is flowering and I wonder why because it is just about two years old. Anyway observation is ongoing because this mini-gardener is also a keen researcher.

#hormonalbalance

#achievinghormonalbalance

#balancinghormoneswithgealthyfood

#pureagriculture

#agricutureversusgoodhealth 

#minigardenresearch

#growingcornindryseason

#growingcornallyearround

#throughbredseeds

#purebredseeds

#agriculturalmedicine

#gardeningindryseason 

#growingcropsindryseason 

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

 #minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

I HARVESTED CHINESE PURPLE YAM IN MY LITTLE MINI-GARDEN!

.....purple yam was grown in sack, can boost the brain...

No wonder the Chinese have chosen Nigeria to grow yams and some other crops o!

Nigeria soil is so very fertile  even without use of chemical fertilizers. I do organic farming, using wastes like soya bean chaff, coconut chaff, remnants of fruits like bananas,  orange and leaves of some plants. I hardly use poultry poop because I personally prefer green manuring. 

This morning I harvested a purple yam I planted in January this year  - ending of January to be precise. This yam was even planted in a worn -out sack - see pictures. 

I started this morning by trying to harvest another purple yam growing in a drum along with the almond tree. I had thought that the yam would mature before the almond tree but surprisingly the almond tree grew so very fast and started fruiting. The tree roots thereby have spread all over the drum in the soil. 

So I had to make the tough decision to prioritise the already fruiting almond tree over that purple yam and stopped that harvest process. The almond tree is not just producing fruits to eat but every part of it has very important health benefits - for example anytime I have bodily discomfort from hormonal issues, I use what I get from the almond tree to counteract the body discomforts. 

Other crops in this my little mini-garden also have powerful health benefits which I have promised to share so that as you develop a garden or farm, you will be more intentional in what you plant and how you plant.

BENEFITS OF PURPLE YAM

Purple yams derive their colour  from an antioxidant called  anthocyanins.

According to moneycontrol online, purple yam boosts brain health- wow! That means as I eat purple yams,  I'm going to become even more intelligent! 😰

I will grow more purple yams next year o ! If you can, let us grow as many purple yams  as possible within the space we have available   so that around this time next year  we can have purple yam harvest celebrations. 

I will discuss with farming, gardening or plant enthusiasts on modalities for that celebration - like I always advocate- celebrate your  wins, even if little because it's the efforts that count whether in a small space or big space. 

Purple yam has also been found to be good source of vitamins and minerals, it can manage blood sugar and blood pressure and improve gut health. 

Purple yam also called Kand  can be baked,  roasted, mashed, or boiled. They can also be used in dishes  such as pies, cakes, breads, curries, and stews. 

I think I should sun-dry this first purple yam and mill into powder to be adding  in bits l to meals to boost my brain so I can become more and more intelligent😘

But today I will cut a little, cook and chew  so that my brain boosting can start. Maybe I should change my name to IntelligentYinkus 😃

Though not everyone can engage in farming or gardening, if you have the opportunity, please do. You may not become rich from it but if you do it right,  it will improve your health, your well-being  - the quality of your life and can make you more contented with life