| Chickens, Incubators, and Animals |
Symphonies of Hope– Choirs of Faith
It doesn’t take much time after you cross the southern border of the US before you hear the sound of chickens. Elizabeth, Coleen, Sarah, and of course Samuel are all small animal enthusiasts, so its not too surprising that they began taking a special interest in these feathered fowl that always scurry around our camper. Many families of the south raise their own chickens for food and eggs. Chickens are an important and sometimes fun part of daily life. Recently we have began delving deeper into methods and strategies that families can use to increase the health and production of their chicken flock. Activities include—building incubators, encouraging chickens to lay eggs, chicken health care and vaccinations, incubation and nest box making. We are not professionals yet but are making good progress in making a real difference for some families. Training others in any topic is often slow and requires a lot of patience. Chickens also are great for building relationships with other families and at times they can be great entertainment. |
In Malacatancito, Guatemala we had our first classes on building incubators with some of the ladies in the area. The most difficult part of it all was that the materials available to use were minimal. We used Styrofoam sheets to build the box. For the heat source we used a 50 watt light Chris is very inventive! He used an empty fuel injector fluid bottle to control the temperature. As the bottle heats it swells which pushes a little stick up under the contact for the electricity. It actually works really well. The temperature stays within a few degrees of 100. In the class we also made candlers… a box with an egg shaped hole on top and a bright light inside. A few days after the eggs are started the candler can be used to check to see how many are alive. Then a couple of weeks later we check them again. It is interesting to watch the baby chicks develop. Towards the end of the 3 weeks you can even see the chicks moving inside the egg. How exciting it is when the final day arrives and the chicks begin to pip… everyone crowds around the incubator to see the little chicks hatch. Soft, fuzzy and perfect, they remind us that we have an amazing creator… and that all life is a miracle. |
| Our children are often also involved in a fair amount of animal boarders… puppies, kittens, birds, and the like. At this time we had a kitten which we “tamed” for a family in another community. One of Kitty’s favorite activities was to watch the chicks. He never showed any inclination to eat his small friends. Samuel has always been very enthusiastic about these animal friends! |
| Symphonies of Hope Chris & Coleen Anderson P.O. Box 1061, Pharr, TX 78577 In the U.S. : 608 - 313 - HOPE Message phone in U.S. : 956-781-5133 Email: chriscoleen@symphoniesofhope.org Email: chriscoleen@choirsoffaith.org |
| ChoirsOfFaith.Org SinfoniasDeEsperanza.Org CorosDeFe.Org |
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