another use for chicken poop?

From the "I think I've seen everything" department:

My Google Reader alerted me to this fine product this morning: Chicken Poop Lip Balm. Really. Follow the link and you can buy your own tube of it.

Now, my eldest has a challenge with chapped lips, so maybe I can take some of what Sophia and ZsuZsu are excreting daily and put it to better use than simply tumbling it into the compost bin.

Oh wait, there in bright blue at the bottom of the product page it says "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS NO POOP!!"

All is not lost though, I've at least got a good story to share with my daughter when her own lips are cracked:

The Name....Chicken Poop comes from Jamie’s goofy grandpa replying to her complaint of having dry lips. He’d say, “I know how to fix those dry lips, I’ll rub some chicken poop on ‘em so you won’t be lickin’ ‘em.” Brilliant, don’t you think?

Brilliant indeed.

Opinions on Urban Chickens in Wake Forest?

Can any of you help respond to this post from Emily Cole over on the Urban Chickens fan page over on Facebook? (I've inserted the links in the post)

The Wake Weekly is looking for opinions on Backyard Chickens in Wake Forest. Could you please email the editor your opinion? The Wake Forest Board of Commissioners is discussing the issue August 19th, and I sure could use all the support I can get! The email address is below. If you need more information about this issue, check out my blog at www.wfchickens.blogspot.com. Thanks! Emily Cole

Not sure if there's a geographical limit to the folks they're looking to hear from, but maybe us owners in towns that are more progressive toward urban chickens can share our own experiences?

Send your note to editor@wakeweekly.com

saying goodbye to our kind soul

We arrived home with heavy hearts last night from our 13-day road trip to Canada.

Argus, our beloved Great Dane, passed away at the kennel in his sleep Saturday night.

I never did get that picture of him with our two chickens walking between his legs, so this picture will have to do to show just how friendly he was with our urban chickens (more perplexed by them than anything else).

I'm still trying to come to grips with his being gone, and with his passing while we were gone, away from him.

Argus was only eight years old (yes, that's old for a big dog, but still he came from a long-lived lineage), and he'd shown no signs of distress or discomfort anytime before our going on vacation. Yes, he was slowing down, but his appetite was as good as ever, and we'd just chased each other around the yard a couple days before we left. He loved the kennel he stayed at, and they loved him, too, so it's not as though he wasn't enjoying himself (he was, wasn't he?).

So Argus's passing came as a real shock, and hearing the news early on a Sunday morning in some distant, generic hotel room didn't make it any easier to hear.

Argus was (and always will be) a great dog all around, and I'm thankful for all the lessons he taught me in patience, in love and in compassion. He helped blow away all stereotypes I'd formed about big dogs and taught me the true meaning of a gentle giant. You can also read Left Coast Mom's tribute to Argus.

Today's a day of "dealing with the details" as we go to the kennel to handle the paperwork and then to the Humane Society to say one last goodbye.

I'll climb back on the chicken-blogging wagon a little later this week.

I'll miss you Argus, and I'll carry you in my heart, always.

drawings of a chicken growing up

Greetings from the road to Alberta! Found this little gem thanks to the good folks at boingboing:

A (very talented) science illustrator, Mieke Roth, has posted to her blog drawings of a chick growing up (one each week) from day 20 to day 68 of its life.

A sample of the work (day 31) is shown to the right.

Great to find this little gem on the web. Click on the image to see her whole series.