Hi everyone, I have a problem with my chickens. ot is very frustrating. I got them from auction about Two montsh ago as Point of lay Hens I have Three Black Rocks and One Welsummer Bantam. I am feeding with a mix of layers pellets and cracked corn, someone said to me to mix the feed together so they get a good mixture of the feed. so i did this now my hens are scratching all the pellets out and eating the corn and leaving the rest laying on the ground. my hens are very fussy and when there feed goes on the ground they wont touch it AT ALL!!!!! so becasue of this i am now giving them a wide mixture of greens,vegetables small amount of bread and corn on the cobs (which they actually jump for). Today I moved my hens into a movable run i made so they can eat the grass and have some exercise, and noticed they are a litlle thin for my liking. I dont like thin animals but i dont like fat ones either. can anyone give me some tips on how to fatten them up and give me some hints on why they have kinda gone off laying, i was getting a egg from each every day and now im lucky if i get one. please help I dont want to loose my �45 each birds.

What a great day! It was wonderful seeing Marion and meeting Wanda and Scott! Charles Boning was so interesting we could have listened to him for hours! He brought his wife Susie and two children and they served up the best tasting carambola I have ever tasted! I of course, purchased his book on fruiting plants and trees and am looking forward to his upcoming book on herbs! The day was complete with a final stop at Pender's nursery before heading back with my two garden buddies, Pepper and Dotty in Dotty's Prius! (my next car, for sure) Wish you could have all been there with us! Life is Good!~ Kat

What type of refrigerator will you be getting? French door (FD)? Side-by-side (SxS)? Single door? The answer will help define your landing zone for your refrigerator. If it's a FD or SxS, then ideal landing zone is in front of the refrigerator. If a single door, than either the island or the counter next to it on the handle side will work. To your questions... (1) Garbage Disposal (GD)...If you only have one disposal, the prep sink is the better location. I speak from experience here. We made the mistake of (a) thinking it would "save money" to not put one at both sinks and (b) putting the sole disposal on the cleanup sink. In reality, a second GD is not that much of an additional expense. Additionally, it's need far more often on the prep sink than the cleanup sink. So, based on my experience...put it on the prep sink. Or, better yet, get two. It's not "extravagant", it's common sense to have the two. (2) Pullout Trash...Either place it b/w the Prep Zone and Cleanup Zone or place it in the Prep Zone. This is yet another mistake we made...and it's the biggest regret I have in our kitchen. We placed the trash pullout next to the cleanup sink. I have since realized that far more trash & recyclables are generated during prepping and cooking than cleaning up. Not only by quantity, but also length of time needed. I have to cross a 6-foot aisle to get from the Prep and Cooking Zones to get to the trash pullout...often dripping all the way. Again based on my experience, place your trash pullout in the Prep Zone! (3) Filtered and hot water spout...I don't have either, so I cannot recommend based on experience. How do you use it? Just for drinking water? Or, do you fill your pots and pans from them as well? If the latter, then I would say the prep sink, although it might mean too much non-Cook traffic in the middle of the Prep and/or Cooking Zones. If the former (drinking only), then probably the cleanup sink to keep people out of the Prep & Cooking Zones. (4) Location of sink on island...For this one, I'd have to see the layout. I'm better with a "visual" than a verbal description. Normally, it's best close to one end so it doesn't interrupt the workspace, but sometimes it works better in the middle. I would want it where I could use it easily for prepping and cooking and not where it might compete for floor space with the cleanup sink. I think 6" to 12" from the end of the island would be just fine...depending on the width of the island, you might even do 15" to 18". It not only would give you landing space in front of the refrigerator, but it would also give you some workspace on both sides of the prep sink...two people could prep there if needed! All of this is very general advice. To get more detailed advice and tailored specifically to your situation, it would be much better if we could "see" the layout. So, could you draw up your layout and post it here? Read the "Read Me" thread...

We don't have a Whole Foods here in town, but we too went through the "Wild Oats buying out a local natural food chain" fiasco. When Wild Oats decided they weren't making enough money, a local grocer took over the stores. Now they're amazingly well stocked, with very knowledgeable staff (the cheese and wine stewards are amazing). They will let you sample anything in the store like Whole Foods and Trader Joes and will order in anything you want. Recently I was feeling lazy and wanted to just buy a jar of dulce de leche, found that the brand I was used to seeing was no longer on the shelf and spoke with the cheese steward. She had brought it in as a special purchase, but promised to have it back on the shelves the next week! While I don't know if you'll see the same responsiveness at a large chain like Whole Foods, sometimes it is well worth the money to get the quality, selection and service that a higher end grocery can provide. Good luck with your personal chef endeavor Eileen! Oh, and Annie, I get odd looks for my Carhartt jacket too, you're not alone! Bri