1) About Sexing Chicks
2) U.S. Government Will Buy Foreign Food to Distribute
3) Pesticide Risk for Children
4) News Bits
a) Newsletter covers news of chipping people and products.
b) Symptoms of stroke?
5) Feedback
a) Peak Oil b) Homestyle chicken food c) Eggs with "blood clots"

1) About Sexing Chicks
Hey carla, my grandfather and uncle Lawrence always sexed eggs by "point and round." A female egg looks like a little tennis ball; the male egg is pointed on top. Never has proved wrong for me. I let the setting hens hatch them out. My chix are community spirits. Somebody is always setting.

Also, the more dandelions I feed my chicken flock, the deeper yellow the yolks are. I also let them run for a little while at dinnertime when the dogs are in. At sundown they go in, hop up on their roost and go to sleep. I put my spoiled hay in on their floor. They scratch around and are never bored. Then I sweep it up and put it in the orchard. All things go in a circle around here. It's comforting when serendipity is in place. Take care.
Laine

A visitor to the homestead here told me that her mom sexed chicks by very, very gently picking them up by the head for a moment. "If the chicks legs hand straight down, and stay quiet, it's a pullet. If the legs are fighting and / or not hanging straight down, it's a rooster chick."

2) Administration’Äôs Food Aid Plan Adds Insult to Injury
Commentary by Dave Frederickson, National Farmers Union President

American farmers and ranchers have been the brunt of several disheartening administrative plans recently: budget cuts, detrimental trade deals and now this. The Bush administration plans to displace American products with foreign foods in the national food aid program.

Andrew Natsios, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, told the Associated Press that in 2006 the agency plans to use $300 million worth of foreign products to administer the $1.2 billion international food aid program. Coming at a time when agricultural imports are already at historic levels and U.S. exports are lagging behind, this announcement adds insult to injury.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service recently announced that for the first time in 50 years, the United States will import more agricultural products than it exports this year. It is almost scary to think how the trade imbalance will be perpetuated once beef imports start flooding in ala the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the administration’Äôs plan to reopen the U.S.-Canadian border to live cattle.

I see the United States teetering on a slippery slope headed toward dependency on foreign foods. One only needs to look at the petroleum industry to see what happens when we rely too heavily on outside sources. Before the administration finalizes its plans to bypass U.S. producers in food aid, to move forward with unbalanced trade deals and to cut food and agricultural programs, I hope it will carefully consider the direction in which these plans would lead our country.
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National Farmers Union (www.nfu.org) works to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life for rural citizens through legislative representation, educational opportunities and support for farmer-owned cooperative ventures. Contact NFU at nfunews@nfu.org.

3) Pesticide Action Network Updates Service, Resource Pointer #378, Children's Environmental Health, February 16, 2005. For copies of these resources, contact the publishers or organizations directly.

*GreenCare for Children, 2004* Grassroots Environmental Education. A study of environmental hazards in schools and childcare settings that details the presence of substances--specifically pesticides, lead, and indoor air quality factors--that are known or suspected to cause harm. The authors demonstrate that children are frequently exposed to environmental hazards that may be preventable, and that childcare providers need the training and tools necessary to prevent this harm to our most vulnerable population. 46 pages. Available as a free download at http://www.greenchildcare.org/. Contact Urban-Ag Ecology, attn: Phil Boise, 41 Hollister Ranch, Gaviota, CA 93117, phone (805) 567-1420; fax (805) 567-1420; email pboise.ipm@earthlink.net.

*Making a Difference: Indicators to Improve Children's Environmental Health, 2003* World Health Organization. Directed at decision-makers and technical experts in the field of environmental health, the report details criteria for designing, collecting and reporting children's environmental health indicators. Enclosed CD-ROM contains a set of template indicators for the links between environmental exposures and the five biggest health threats, risks, and diseases of children under five. 46 pages. Includes CD. $13.50. Contact World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; phone (41 22) 791-2476; fax (41 22) 791-4857; website http://bookorders.who.int/bookorders/index.htm/; email bookorders@who.int.

*Our Children At Risk, 2004* Video. Grassroots Environmental Education. Explores the latest scientific research linking environmental toxins to children's health outcomes. Based on interviews with leading experts in the field, this program informs parents about the risks toxins pose to children and suggests precautions to take in homes, schools and communities. 30 minutes. $14.95. Contact Grassroots Environmental Education, 52 Main Street, Port Washington, NY 11050; phone (516) 883-0887; fax (516) 944-6586; website http://grassrootsinfo.org/; email info@grassrootsinfo.org.

*Pediatric Environmental Health 2nd Edition, 2003* American Academy of Pediatrics. Created as a tool for physicians to identify, treat, and prevent pediatric environmental health hazards. This 2nd edition updates and expands the scope of the original publication with 10 new chapters on emerging environmental threats, and updated content for a wide range of health hazards. 721 pages. $44.95. Contact The American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-1098; phone (847) 434-4000; fax (847) 434-8000; website http://www.aap.org/bookstore/; email pubs@aap.org.

*Safer Schools: Achieving a Healthy Learning Environment Through Integrated Pest Management, 2003* School Pesticide Reform Coalition and Beyond Pesticides. Intended to inform the school community members and activists, policy makers and pest management practitioners who are all critical in implementing effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in schools. The report explains what an IPM program is and why it is necessary; highlights 27 school districts and individual school IPM policies and programs; and, outlines the basic steps to getting a school IPM program adopted. 52 pages. Available as a free download at http://www.beyondpesticides.org/. Contact School Pesticide Reform Coalition; c/o Beyond Pesticides, 701 E Street S.E. Suite 200, Washington DC 20003; phone (202) 543-5450; fax (202) 543-4791; email info@beyondpesticides.org.

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.


4) News Bits

a) Concerned about chips in products and people?
To stay up-to-date on this topic, subscribe to the CASPIAN Newsletter, which covers news on consumer privacy and RFID. It's edited by Sunni Maravillosa and Katherine Albrecht. newsletter@nocards.org. Their 2/18/05 issue featured:

NEWS:
1- Another win: No spychips for California school kids!
2- Massive Data Breach at ChoicePoint
3- Casual Male improves customer service without RFID
4- Businesses implementing RFID could face legal battles
5- Share your fingerprint with the retail world
6- Spychips hidden in British university IDs
7- Berkeley: Haven for Birkenstocks, books, and ... RFID?
8- Automatic identification rogue's gallery
9- K-Mart's demise hurts retail diversity
10- World Cup in Germany to feature privacy invasions
11- Tesco talks up "belief" in RFID
CASPIAN ACTIVISTS UPDATE
1- CASPIAN in the news
2- CASPIAN members sound off
3- Tools you can use

b) IS IT A STROKE?
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1 *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2 *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3 *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

5) Feedback

a) Peak Oil

Hi Carla. There's a great DVD about oil peak issues--plus many links provided at their website for more information on the topic. I purchased the DVD and am hosting a showing tomorrow night at a local theater. It's a great way to network and educate at the same time: http://EndOfSuburbia.com
--Leslie

b) My chickens also have never pecked at each other. I housed them similiarly. They always had some pellets available but mostly they ate what the kids would have otherwise thrown away at lunchtime. I ran an organic based vegetarian daycare at the time so their diet was pretty wholefoods. The kids would scrape their plates for the chickens. The chickens spent the day running around the backyard eating bugs and running away from the kids. I think they were happy chickens, had lots of room, and a good diet. Angela

We do everything you do in the summer and fall with the weeds. It works great. Thanks for the great newsletter.
Brenda, Maine.

Carla, we have, currently, 25 laying hens and 4 roosters. I have 50 day-old chicks arriving, however, hence the need to expand. Our current hen house is 8x8x8 with a 16 x 24 run. They have roosts in the house as well. We're going to about double the size of the house and expand the run as well, probably making it 24' square. Hopefully that will be enough room for them. If not, we can add more later. I do have chicken wire across the top of mine, though, because though a hawk won't fly in, owls will. I've had hens carried off by owls before, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

My chickens eat table scraps, cracked corn, weeds (during garden season here), bugs, laying pellets, and all the parrot food that my parrots throw out on the ground (parrots are VERY messy - another reason they have their own room). In the parrot food they get sunflower seeds, millet, wheat, dried fruit, peanuts, safflower, and many other goodies. They love the stuff. I also keep hay on the floor of their house, and they do enjoy scratching in it on rainy days. I think you're right, if they're occupied and happy they don't fight. Thanks for the good info.

c) Eggs with "Blood Clots"

Hi Carla: I love your newsletter. I'm having a problem with my fresh eggs having 3 to 4 clots of blood in them. My Rhode Island Red hens have always been healthy. We sometimes see an occasional spec of blood but never this much. What could be causing this? THANKS! Mitzi

Answer: Hmmm. The spec of blood means you have a fertile egg. I don't know about multiple specs. Triplets? It won't affect taste or the healthiness of your homegrown egg.