Transition Year students Julian Pawlowski, Niall McSharry and Jack Roden from Magh Ene College in Bundoran have posed a challenge to the hens in their home town - what makes the best egg?
This is just one of a number of exciting questions posed by students from eight of Donegal’s colleges in the 27 projects submitted in a number of categories for the 48th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition which takes place this coming week at the RDS in Dublin.
This will be Niall and Jack’s second time to compete in the exhibition, as they previously conducted a project investigating the antibacterial properties of spices.
This year, the Bundoran students are researching the effect of hen feed on egg quality. The students came up with the idea for this project as they noticed that many people in their local area were setting up small chicken coops to produce eggs. The main cost in keeping hens is the cost of their feed and the students decided to investigate whether it is necessary to buy commercial feed or if household food waste could be used alternatively. Every person in a household produces on average 70kg of food waste which is dumped and is enough to feed a hen for a year.
One of the members of the group, Julian Pawlowski, rears hens and over the twelve weeks between September 15 and December 15, the students collected and analysed 24 batches of eggs produced by 14 hens. Half of these hens were fed solely on commercial hen feed while the second group of hens were fed on household food waste. The students test the eggs collected from each group of hens under each of the following categories; egg size, egg mass, shell strength and shell colour. The results should be fascinating!
The Young Scientist event will be open to the public from this Thursday, January 12 until Saturday, January 14 with tickets available at the door costing 6 for students, 12 for adults and 25 for a family pass.
The exhibition is a great family day out packed full of fun, creative inventions, interactive education and live shows including Robot Wars and 3D Theatre which includes a cosmic voyage of discovery. There will also be a real NASA astronaut attending the exhibition this year - Dan Tani will fly in from the U.S and talk about his experiences in Space including his 100th spacewalk on the International Space Station! Coding club Coder Dojo will also feature at the exhibition with workshops teaching creative problem solving skills and practical creative skills.
In addition to the displays of up to 550 student projects, there are a further four exhibition halls filled with science and technology based exhibits making it a must-see event. The annual BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition attracts over 40,000 people making it one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, if not the world!
The other Donegal schools taking part include Choliste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon; Coliste Ailigh, Letterkenny; Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh, Beal an Atha Mhór; Loreto Community School, Milford; Loreto, Letterkenny; Pobalscoil Gaoth Dobhair and St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny. The topics they chose include the effects that drugs used for asthma have on the heart, smoking, a study of the relationship between temperature and the rate of erosion of aluminium, a study of the level of carbohydrates in different types of milk, the question can the type of musical instrument you play effect the size of your lungs; a study of pollution on the river Finn and a number of its banks; an investigation into gathering rain water which explores the benefits of the energy it generates; an investigation on whether your fear changes with age; the effects that walks, climbing and tourism has for the Mount Errigal and a study of the effect water has on a golf ball.
2012年1月9日星期一
2012年1月4日星期三
Local shop owners offer beauty and whimsy to Alden community
Keeping up with the accelerated pace of working as a small business owner can be rough, especially during the holiday season. One needs to stay one step ahead of customer demand while offering a unique supply of goods and maintain a personal rapport with customers. Married couple Tom and Theresa Shriver of Alden know the techniques for running a smooth business. Their company, Chicken Coop Originals: A Country Gifts and Herb Shop, has been a local favorite for years now.
Chicken Coop Originals, located at 13245 Clinton St., Route 354, features hand-painted country artwork, herbal wreaths, “oldtiques” and collectibles, pine trees, herbs, and perennials in season. The shop is open April through December, and just wrapped up a profitable holiday retail season. Since 1999, the shop has been open; it started off with the sale of perennials, herbs, and eggs 30 years ago. The couple began their business enterprising when they first got married and lived in West Seneca, by selling Christian books and later, little pine trees.
Now, the couple lives on the Alden/Marilla border, and their business has grown into three little buildings, which make up Chicken Coops Originals. The story behind the couple’s business is one of inspiration and true ingenuity.
“My husband and I always liked to make our own gifts, but I never thought I’d be selling them to other people,” Theresa said. “I’m a self-taught artist, and that’s one of the things that got me inspired, when I did a show and people bought my things. We have a creek and chickens and five children, and I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. It was a major choice we made in our marriage.”
Theresa went to school for recreation and took care of the household, while her husband Tom went back to school to become a teacher after he lost his job with a carpet company during their marriage.
“We felt it was important to have stability in the home,” Theresa said. “We would rather live on less than have me gone and the kids home with the babysitter. We learned to live on less and started a business.”
The couple started Chicken Coop Originals by packing up their wares and selling them at home parties, similar to today’s Avon or Tupperware parties. Then Tom got cancer, right after he secured his first teaching job in Buffalo that provided good health care. He almost died and was paralyzed from the waist down.
“We prayed ourselves through that with doctors and friends,” Theresa said. “Him getting better was a two year process and after that, we were so thankful. Now it’s been 17 years cancer free.”
Today, many themed gardens blossom in the sunshine at Chicken Coop Originals. Plus, several art and garden workshop classes are offered to the public. Such classes include learning how to make hand-painted cards and fresh Christmas centerpieces, lessons in herbal table arranging, watercolor painting seminars, and peaceful retreats for gardeners. It is a true marketplace of both beautiful items and creative energy.
“I felt like I needed something for myself and Tom encouraged me,” Theresa said. “He fixed up the chicken coop – he was really the backbone pushing me to do it. Little by little we keep growing. I own the business; the business doesn’t own me. We’ve been married 35 - 36 years and we recognize our differences and complement each other.”
During the off months, Theresa works as a teacher’s aide/substitute teacher and Tom is a full-time teacher. Both teach art lessons and run a summer camp for People of Praise. They host a Christmas open house where they welcome the general public into their home as if they are all old friends.
“We just had this little country home that we paid $28,000 for in 1977, and since then we’ve paid it off, built up the property, and made something of it,” said Theresa. “We burn our own wood to keep the house warm, and my husband started raising turkeys. The people we meet, we are so blessed by them.”
Chicken Coop Originals, located at 13245 Clinton St., Route 354, features hand-painted country artwork, herbal wreaths, “oldtiques” and collectibles, pine trees, herbs, and perennials in season. The shop is open April through December, and just wrapped up a profitable holiday retail season. Since 1999, the shop has been open; it started off with the sale of perennials, herbs, and eggs 30 years ago. The couple began their business enterprising when they first got married and lived in West Seneca, by selling Christian books and later, little pine trees.
Now, the couple lives on the Alden/Marilla border, and their business has grown into three little buildings, which make up Chicken Coops Originals. The story behind the couple’s business is one of inspiration and true ingenuity.
“My husband and I always liked to make our own gifts, but I never thought I’d be selling them to other people,” Theresa said. “I’m a self-taught artist, and that’s one of the things that got me inspired, when I did a show and people bought my things. We have a creek and chickens and five children, and I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. It was a major choice we made in our marriage.”
Theresa went to school for recreation and took care of the household, while her husband Tom went back to school to become a teacher after he lost his job with a carpet company during their marriage.
“We felt it was important to have stability in the home,” Theresa said. “We would rather live on less than have me gone and the kids home with the babysitter. We learned to live on less and started a business.”
The couple started Chicken Coop Originals by packing up their wares and selling them at home parties, similar to today’s Avon or Tupperware parties. Then Tom got cancer, right after he secured his first teaching job in Buffalo that provided good health care. He almost died and was paralyzed from the waist down.
“We prayed ourselves through that with doctors and friends,” Theresa said. “Him getting better was a two year process and after that, we were so thankful. Now it’s been 17 years cancer free.”
Today, many themed gardens blossom in the sunshine at Chicken Coop Originals. Plus, several art and garden workshop classes are offered to the public. Such classes include learning how to make hand-painted cards and fresh Christmas centerpieces, lessons in herbal table arranging, watercolor painting seminars, and peaceful retreats for gardeners. It is a true marketplace of both beautiful items and creative energy.
“I felt like I needed something for myself and Tom encouraged me,” Theresa said. “He fixed up the chicken coop – he was really the backbone pushing me to do it. Little by little we keep growing. I own the business; the business doesn’t own me. We’ve been married 35 - 36 years and we recognize our differences and complement each other.”
During the off months, Theresa works as a teacher’s aide/substitute teacher and Tom is a full-time teacher. Both teach art lessons and run a summer camp for People of Praise. They host a Christmas open house where they welcome the general public into their home as if they are all old friends.
“We just had this little country home that we paid $28,000 for in 1977, and since then we’ve paid it off, built up the property, and made something of it,” said Theresa. “We burn our own wood to keep the house warm, and my husband started raising turkeys. The people we meet, we are so blessed by them.”
2011年10月12日星期三
Talking chickens: Plastic v wooden houses
In recent years a new player has emerged onto the backyard poultry housing market: the plastic chicken house.
One of the biggest claims you will see in the advertising literature for these new plastic constructions relates to the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae).
For those that are not familiar with this little devil, it's a small ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of poultry and other bird species. In the right conditions it can complete its life cycle of egg to egg-laying adult in seven days, so populations can explode if they're not dealt with quickly and effectively. And they can survive without feeding for up to nine months. All this makes red mite the bane of the poultry keeper's life and something that is capable of killing your flock. For those familiar with it, you will no doubt be itching by now, in the knowledge that they are not opposed to trying out a human as a potential host.
I've seen one or two adverts that stake the claim that plastic housing is red mite-proof. Don't be fooled by this. The consensus is that red mite lives in cracks in the housing and come out to feed on the birds blood at night when they are roosting; but this isn't not the whole truth – red mite can and will live on the bird if the conditions are favourable.
Let's face it, the other widely-held belief is that wild birds transport red mite. Well if red mite are only present on birds when they are asleep, how can they be transported to poultry and poultry housing by wild birds - sleepwalking sparrows perhaps? Agreed, a house that minimises the cracks and crevices stands a fair better chance of not harbouring a red mite population, but that doesn't mean you or your poultry will necessarily be red mite-free: very little other than vigilance and good animal husbandry will stop the charge of the mite brigade.
Where plastic house construction does come into its own versus wood is when it comes to cleaning and annual maintenance. The cleaning of plastic houses is much easier than wooden housing, and maintenance is practically zero. Many of the plastic designs can be cleaned out, washed and dried in under 30 minutes, while wooden housing will take significantly longer to dry, especially in the depths of winter. This advantage should not be underestimated. In the height of summer your flock may not require the house for the whole day and so cleaning and drying times won't be relevant, but on bad weather days you won't want the house out of action for too long or for the birds to face roosting in a soggy house.
So what's to be said for wooden housing? The cost of a high quality wooden ones will be in the same region as the plastic designs (avoid the poorly constructed cheap and nasty wood built houses mentioned in my last post), so there's little in it from a price perspective. It boils down to design. Plastic housing represents a fraction of the market when it comes to available options. Wooden houses offer a far greater level of flexibility and modification with housing available not only to meet the specific needs of your specific breeds, but also the needs of your garden. They are also far easier to repair should the need arise.
Wood is a naturally breathable product and a well-designed wooden house will not suffer from condensation, which can be a problem in poultry housing. Inadequate ventilation coupled with a non-breathable material such as plastic will result in moisture running down the walls, resulting in a damp floor litter that leades to fungal growth and respiratory disorders in the birds.
The plastic v wooden debate has been going on in the poultry world for a few years now. I use both and they each have their pros and cons: in the end it can be down to personal preference. As long as the house is designed with both the keeper and the poultry in mind, and preferably designed by somebody whose experience of poultry extends beyond a visit to the butcher, then they both wooden and plastic housing serve their purpose in equal measure.
One of the biggest claims you will see in the advertising literature for these new plastic constructions relates to the poultry keeper's nemesis, red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae).
For those that are not familiar with this little devil, it's a small ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of poultry and other bird species. In the right conditions it can complete its life cycle of egg to egg-laying adult in seven days, so populations can explode if they're not dealt with quickly and effectively. And they can survive without feeding for up to nine months. All this makes red mite the bane of the poultry keeper's life and something that is capable of killing your flock. For those familiar with it, you will no doubt be itching by now, in the knowledge that they are not opposed to trying out a human as a potential host.
I've seen one or two adverts that stake the claim that plastic housing is red mite-proof. Don't be fooled by this. The consensus is that red mite lives in cracks in the housing and come out to feed on the birds blood at night when they are roosting; but this isn't not the whole truth – red mite can and will live on the bird if the conditions are favourable.
Let's face it, the other widely-held belief is that wild birds transport red mite. Well if red mite are only present on birds when they are asleep, how can they be transported to poultry and poultry housing by wild birds - sleepwalking sparrows perhaps? Agreed, a house that minimises the cracks and crevices stands a fair better chance of not harbouring a red mite population, but that doesn't mean you or your poultry will necessarily be red mite-free: very little other than vigilance and good animal husbandry will stop the charge of the mite brigade.
Where plastic house construction does come into its own versus wood is when it comes to cleaning and annual maintenance. The cleaning of plastic houses is much easier than wooden housing, and maintenance is practically zero. Many of the plastic designs can be cleaned out, washed and dried in under 30 minutes, while wooden housing will take significantly longer to dry, especially in the depths of winter. This advantage should not be underestimated. In the height of summer your flock may not require the house for the whole day and so cleaning and drying times won't be relevant, but on bad weather days you won't want the house out of action for too long or for the birds to face roosting in a soggy house.
So what's to be said for wooden housing? The cost of a high quality wooden ones will be in the same region as the plastic designs (avoid the poorly constructed cheap and nasty wood built houses mentioned in my last post), so there's little in it from a price perspective. It boils down to design. Plastic housing represents a fraction of the market when it comes to available options. Wooden houses offer a far greater level of flexibility and modification with housing available not only to meet the specific needs of your specific breeds, but also the needs of your garden. They are also far easier to repair should the need arise.
Wood is a naturally breathable product and a well-designed wooden house will not suffer from condensation, which can be a problem in poultry housing. Inadequate ventilation coupled with a non-breathable material such as plastic will result in moisture running down the walls, resulting in a damp floor litter that leades to fungal growth and respiratory disorders in the birds.
The plastic v wooden debate has been going on in the poultry world for a few years now. I use both and they each have their pros and cons: in the end it can be down to personal preference. As long as the house is designed with both the keeper and the poultry in mind, and preferably designed by somebody whose experience of poultry extends beyond a visit to the butcher, then they both wooden and plastic housing serve their purpose in equal measure.
2011年4月14日星期四
Fire destroys barn in Four Lakes community near Issaquah
Flames destroyed a barn in the Four Lakes community south of Issaquah early Thursday morning, but a pair of chickens roosting inside at the time escaped unharmed.
Firefighters extinguished the flames, although the structure collapsed in the blaze. The incident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. in the 24000 block of Southeast 167th Street.
Neighbors called 911 after seeing flames leaping from the wooden structure just after 5 a.m.
Units from Eastside Fire & Rescue and Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety responded to the fire as news helicopters thudded overhead.
No injuries occurred as a result of the fire. The chickens — a hen and a rooster — escaped from a coop inside the burning structure.
“We opened the door, but they didn’t want to run out,” EFR Capt. Michael Geppert said. “We had to carry one out and shoo the other out while he was squawking at us.”
Investigators later determined a heat lamp in the chicken coop sparked the blaze.
The fire claimed a classic Chevrolet pickup parked inside the barn. The booming sounds neighbors reported hearing amid the blaze probably resulted from the truck’s tires exploding, Geppert said.
“That will make quite a boom when those explode,” he added.
Firefighters extinguished the flames, although the structure collapsed in the blaze. The incident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. in the 24000 block of Southeast 167th Street.
Neighbors called 911 after seeing flames leaping from the wooden structure just after 5 a.m.
Units from Eastside Fire & Rescue and Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety responded to the fire as news helicopters thudded overhead.
No injuries occurred as a result of the fire. The chickens — a hen and a rooster — escaped from a coop inside the burning structure.
“We opened the door, but they didn’t want to run out,” EFR Capt. Michael Geppert said. “We had to carry one out and shoo the other out while he was squawking at us.”
Investigators later determined a heat lamp in the chicken coop sparked the blaze.
The fire claimed a classic Chevrolet pickup parked inside the barn. The booming sounds neighbors reported hearing amid the blaze probably resulted from the truck’s tires exploding, Geppert said.
“That will make quite a boom when those explode,” he added.
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